You can save yourself a ton of money by running your own coaxial cable instead of having it professionally installed. Extending cable or adding in new cable lines is relatively easy and you will only need a few specialty tools which you can find at your local hardware store. What makes it possible for a non-professional to do this is the availability of twist-on connectors for coaxial cable. If you can twist and push and operate a pair of pliers, you can do this task.
Instructions
1. Strip 9/16 inch of cable cover from the center conductive core of the wire with the wire stripper. Coaxial cables are different from regular electrical wiring in that the interior of the cable is not braided together, but consists of two separately jacketed parts. If you look at your cable dead on, you will see this. You want to strip the center area first.
2. Strip 1/4 inch of jacketing material off the braided parts of the coaxial cable. Look at the exposed cable from the side and dead on and make sure that no part of the braided section is touching the conductor core. If it is, use the tip of your finger to separate the two.
3. Press the exposed coaxial cable into the open end of the twist-on connector. Hold the connector by the ridged ring and twist the connector clockwise while pushing it onto the exposed cable end. When the cable locks into the connector, you will neither be able to push the connector further onto the cable, nor will you be able to turn it anymore--the cable will just twist in your hand because they have now become one unit.
4. Place the thinner part of the twist-on connector (which is holding the cable inside) into the coaxial crimper tool. Squeeze the crimper closed as tightly as you can and then release.
Tags: coaxial cable, cable will, exposed cable, Strip inch, twist-on connector