Old antenna coax for MoCA

[Daylight_Invader]

We have just moved into an old house in the UK which has old antenna coax going around the house and want to use that to feed MoCA signals to save running Ethernet around the place.

My current wife backhaul is not really fit for purpose and it only takes a moment for a device to lose connectivity and cause the network to fail.

The current coax is no longer connected to an antenna as the antenna is long dead (suspect it died in a storm at least 10 years ago). All the coax current goes into a loft into a very old amplified splitter. This is the connected to a cut cable.

As the old coax will never be used for anything, what is the easiest route to get the coax runs working for MoCA? Can I just buy a cheap splitter without a filter making the various coax runs into a virtual single cable? Or is there a specific filter that is recommended? Literally the coax won’t have any deliberate signals injected into it minus the usual interference that can get into any cable.

Any recommendations would be very much appreciated.

 

[ColinTaylor]

We have just moved into an old house in the UK which has old antenna coax going around the house and want to use that to feed MoCA signals to save running Ethernet around the place.

MoCA isn't "a thing" in the UK. AFAIK it's only used in North America.

 

[Daylight_Invader]

MoCA isn't "a thing" in the UK. AFAIK it's only used in North America.

Actually whilst it might be rare, the parts are all available on Amazon UK and various other suppliers, so it is definitely here. I’d never use it on Virgin Media cable, but normal antenna coax I would not hesitate.

 

[Tech9]

My current wife backhaul is not really fit for purpose

I'm sorry?

but normal antenna coax I would not hesitate

MoCA may work, but it will increase your cost significantly.

 

[degrub]

sketch out the cable layout and indicate what sections you need to connect. If the cable is RG59 and in good shape, for short runs it should work for MOCA 2 or 2.5
You will have to obtain MOCA2.0 certified splitters to replace any existing. TV splitters and Satellite splitters will block MOCA signal bands or severely attenuate them. Should not need any amps as the MOCA modems have their own.

Make sure the MOCA modem power adapters are rated for your locations voltage and frequency. Plug ends are easy to adapt.

Any unused ports on splitters will need 75 ohm caps to avoid generating reflections. If you need to use a multiport splitter at the head end, then get a MOCA 2.0 blocking filter or get a MOCA2 splitter with it built in. This will help the signal quality over the cable plant, particularly if RG59 instead of RG6.

THe fastest layout is a point to point as this does not share time with other nodes.

 

[Daylight_Invader]

I'm sorry?

MoCA may work, but it will increase your cost significantly.

Autocorrect issue - Wi-Fi.

Cost not an issue and definitely not for consideration in this situation. It’s more about providing a reliable way to make things work in a dead zone serviceable by coax.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Actually whilst it might be rare, the parts are all available on Amazon UK and various other suppliers, so it is definitely here.

Yes there are a few suppliers on Amazon UK but that's only because you can buy anything on Amazon if you look hard enough. That doesn't mean they're legal for use in the UK - I very much doubt they are. If you look at the Amazon UK reviews for those products there's literally two or three from UK buyers and the rest are from the US and Germany. Of course that's not to say that some people don't care whether a product is legally sold or not, they're only concerned if it works for them.

 

[Daylight_Invader]

sketch out the cable layout and indicate what sections you need to connect. If the cable is RG59 and in good shape, for short runs it should work for MOCA 2 or 2.5
You will have to obtain MOCA2.0 certified splitters to replace any existing. TV splitters and Satellite splitters will block MOCA signal bands or severely attenuate them. Should not need any amps as the MOCA modems have their own.

Make sure the MOCA modem power adapters are rated for your locations voltage and frequency. Plug ends are easy to adapt.

Any unused ports on splitters will need 75 ohm caps to avoid generating reflections. If you need to use a multiport splitter at the head end, then get a MOCA 2.0 blocking filter or get a MOCA2 splitter with it built in. This will help the signal quality over the cable plant, particularly if RG59 instead of RG6.

THe fastest layout is a point to point as this does not share time with other nodes.

Excactly the info I was looking for.

will ensure the caps are placed on.

 

[degrub]

search this forum for recommended certified splitters.

 

[degrub]

just a suggestion - since you are dealing with old coax of unknown condition, i would get just a single pair of moca 2 modems and check each run of coax to find out the max link speed it is supporting and identify any troubled runs. You will need access to the diagnostics / config page of the modem to check the link rate, signal level, power, etc. Some of the posts in this forum show which modems provide the screens.

 

[Crimliar]

Yes there are a few suppliers on Amazon UK but that's only because you can buy anything on Amazon if you look hard enough. That doesn't mean they're legal for use in the UK - I very much doubt they are.

MoCA adapters are legal in the UK provided they do not cause interference. They've never really taken off here for a number of reasons:
Many UK homes will only have cable running from a roof/loft antenna to one or two rooms. The cable that is used is often VERY cheap and of poor quality. Where you have communal TV or Satelite feeds, you may have to get building management to approve the MoCA device that sits between your unit and the TV/SAT distribution units. At least when dealing with a single short-distance electrical ring-main HomeAV and G.hn are usually far less hassle - provided you are not on xDSL which they can sometimes interfere with!
Another popular approach can be to run new ethernet cable around the outside of the house - this can easily be camouflaged!

 

[Tech9]

Another popular approach can be to run new ethernet cable around the outside of the house - this can easily be camouflaged!

This is what I would go for and this is what we did on a large house with no cables inside. Paintable raceways are available and it can be done really nicely. We used similar to the picture 90-degree angle type for 8 runs to a central switch. Different sizes and colors were available, including wood colors.

 

[Daylight_Invader]

just a suggestion - since you are dealing with old coax of unknown condition, i would get just a single pair of moca 2 modems and check each run of coax to find out the max link speed it is supporting and identify any troubled runs. You will need access to the diagnostics / config page of the modem to check the link rate, signal level, power, etc. Some of the posts in this forum show which modems provide the screens.

I did a whole lot of continuity testing today and sadly the three runs of cable I have don’t meet. I also can’t see where two terminate. I now understand why the previous owners ran some new cable to a dish to support Freesat rather than deal with what must have been a bad coax situation. Added to this, when we moved in the other week we installed a new antenna, but I use a HomeRun HD to pipe Freeview (FTA/OTA) around the house via all the Apple TVs.

Now I’ve pulled out the multimeter and done my continuity checks, it’s clear the old coax does not help me as the work required to bring that to one of my dead spots is as much as I need to get real Ethernet sorted out so I think I’m going to drop the MoCA idea and go back to drilling holes and running real Ethernet.