Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater coax for home theater

I was wondering if anyone could tell me what kind of coax would be best for my sattelite setup? I know the standard is RG6 but I see there are different types of this cable. Does it make a difference in performance? Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance.

RG6 will do very well.

Chad, you didn't describe specifically what part of the satellite system you mean. If you're installing a dish and mean the cable bringing in the signal from the dish to the settop box(which is in the gigahertz frequency range), RG6 is generally suggested, especially if the run is over about 50'. If you mean the signal coming out of the box, which has been converted to a lower frequency, RG6 is unnecessary and a thinner cable, such as RG59, is fine.

Chad, are you referring to the difference between double-shielded and quad-shielded? Double shield has a single foil wrap with braided aluminum wire. The quad has two layers of foil and two layers of wire. These extra layers make it nearly impossible for stray signals to leave or enter the cable.

Depending on where you buy it, you will find differences from $0.01/ft to $0.10/ft to upgrade to the quad.

Hope this helps,

I used RG-6 for my satellite system and it has worked well for years. You can buy it pre-cut with connectors on both ends or on a spool.

If you don't want to use RG-6, why not??

First THANKS for all the replys!!! I guess I didn't explain myself well enough. I was just overwhelmed with all the choices of coax. I'm building my house and I start wiring next week, I just hate to spend all the money on a nice home theater and have it not perform because of something as cheap as coax. Thanks a ton and I will be asking lots of questions when I start setting up my system.