So I just bought a new house and found out that the coax cables behind the faceplate were not wired in...

So I just bought a new house and found out that the coax cables behind the faceplate were not wired in. I managed to get one room up and going, and moved on to the next, but noticed it has two wires. Does that mean one is the main wire, and the other might feed a cable in another part of the house? Will I need to jam a splitter in the coax box or something? Pretty confused since I have never done something like this.

anyone? someone must have done this before

I don't know but can't you test out your idea?

I could, but just looking to see if someone knew first

we don't know, we didn't wire that piece of shit house.

Can you not trace it back to where it's going? Is there a central hub to where it goes? You can get a tone tester pretty cheap to see which wire is which. Then again, just crimp an end on those and move your cable box to it and see which one works.

Just leave the other. It could be that coax goes to another room and it mirrors that location if your cable box allows it or it could go to an antennae some where for over the air channels.

thanks for being an ass, enjoy warcraft in your parents basement

The second coax cable is a video feed from the hidden cam your house's previous owner installed in the neighbor's bedroom.

cant trace it because they are all behind walls.. I do know the main line to the house connects to 3 coax lines.. I am guessing maybe left side of house, middle, and right. No clue though

Comcast tech here. this is what you can do OP go to home depot or lowes and get a cable stripper, line toner, fittings and a fitting cripper. find the main panel it'll be behind a double wall plate or a white metal panel and put the toner piece on one end with fittings on both ends and put the tracer on it. whatever you're doing chances are you only need one cable.

This isn't in an office by chance is it for a cable modem hookup?

so it is not common for boxes to have two cables?

It my house, and the room itself is the master bedroom

Not very common but like I said, one could be used for cable modem hookup and cable box hookup or cable box and over the air antennae or mirror to another room. It's all a guess at this point.

Hey OP. Tone tester or just get a cheap multimeter from RadioShack or Home Depot. Look for the central junction for all the coax in your house and verify that none are connected to anything (I.e. unscrew them from the feed if necessary). Then just short the shield to the center wire on one at a time and check for continuity with the meter at the central feed.

You didn't mention how many drops you have all around the house, so you might spend a little time walking around looking.

Ya I meant office in your house. Home office or computer room. Should have clarified.

it happens sometimes. from what it looks like the one on the right looks like it was installed after so that kind of tells me something is up with the one on the left. prewires are usually pretty shitty and dont last very long. find out where they go and trace them broham. look outside your house and see if theres a cable box or something.

7 total, and currently only have 2 working, one which the cable company used to install the cable modem, the other is the one I did.

its a brand new house, they just installed a line from the tower to the house

Go in your basement and look up directly underneath where that outlet is

no basement. :(

then it either goes up to the Attic or to the room right behind it. Call your Builder get the blueprint

I think I will just put ends on both and try connecting directly and see if one works, then move on to the next outlet in the room below, if that doesnt work, ill try splitting the one upstairs and see if that helps

Thanks for the advice everyone

get in the crawl space bro. either way go get a tracer and some fittings crippers and strippers. that will troubleshoot most of your problems right there.

strip one wire and insert it into the small side of a power outlet. The small is the neutral, super low voltage. Go through the house and touch the tip of the cables to your tongue gently. If you feel a slight buzz, that's how you will know if it's a main or a split.

heh heh Ill get right on that! best idea yet!

OP i used to be a cable tech. trust me. you can always trace a wire. i learned that after many times of being in houses for 3 days trying to locate a cable to a outside mdu or a multi mdu building. ive been in hotels when theyve just been built and in the parking garage underneath it would have its own data room with literally hundreds and hundreds of cables all coming to a central unit. the reason for this is there is always going to be a point of origin. this being a outside tap or a mdu with a tap in it. if you just bought a house you should first find out if you have a couple things. this will help you find the origin of all those cables. youll either have a outside ped, a green box or a ariel drop coming from a telephone pole. if you have a drop coming to your house from the pole. or do you have a house box on the outside of your house. if will always start outside. that is where you need to look where it comes into your house. then you can trace it either into a basement or a attic most likely.


sorry for the rambling. im stoned and sleep deprived right now. going through my regular bout of insomnia again.