Is all CT100 aerial cable the same? What's best for external use?

[DIYNotIan]

Hi all

I want to replace the aerial cable in my house as the old stuff is... old! And it has several joins along the way. In the first instance the run from aerial to TV will be around 20 metres.

I remember when I looked into it years ago that CT100 is the best stuff to get. So just looking now I see that Toolstation do CT100. What I wondered is, is all CT100 made by the same company or is it more of a general term, and made by different companies and therefore of differing qualities?

Also, the run will all be internal, but at some point in the future I may have to do a longer external run to a different part of the house. That'll be around 40 metres in all. Is CT100 suitable for external use?

Cheers

 

[sparkymarka]

Not all the same quality ....webro wf 100 is pretty good

 

[winston1]

Hi all

I want to replace the aerial cable in my house as the old stuff is... old! And it has several joins along the way. In the first instance the run from aerial to TV will be around 20 metres.

I remember when I looked into it years ago that CT100 is the best stuff to get. So just looking now I see that Toolstation do CT100. What I wondered is, is all CT100 made by the same company or is it more of a general term, and made by different companies and therefore of differing qualities?

Also, the run will all be internal, but at some point in the future I may have to do a longer external run to a different part of the house. That'll be around 40 metres in all. Is CT100 suitable for external use?

Cheers

CT100 was only made by Volex and has not been made for over a decade. If Toolstation claim to sell it they are lying.

That said there are a number of 100 type cables of varying quality. You need to find one with a copper centre conductor (not copper coated steel), and copper foil and braid screening (not aluminium).
Black cables are usually OK for external use, white cables should be protected (paint or conduit).

 

[Lucid]

Replacing the house coax is a good plan.

Aside from the fact that coax doesn't last forever, the advent of the change from analogue to digital TV means that coax now has to be better shielded than the TV coax of old. The signals running through it are susceptible to picking up interference, and also for radiating some interference out as well. That's why the old coax shield of a single mesh braid is no longer sufficient. All modern TV coax has both a braid and a foil layer for shielding.

Use Webro WF100 if possible. The stuff from Toolstation should be fine too, but the Doncaster Cables website doesn't list the sort of detailed spec that's available for WF100, so all we have to go on is some physical details and a very basic electrical spec.

Oh, and before the hounds are released to tear Toolstation to bits for daring to use the name CT100, it's the manufacturer, Doncaster Cables, who lists this cable (DRC100) as an equivalent to CT100. Personally, I don't think it is. Proper CT100 didn't use a foam dielectric. It was air-spaced, but that's really getting too nerdy about these things.

In summary then, if you can, use WF100. For TV and satellite coax in a typical home it's the best you can buy without either over-speccing or over-spending. However, if the cable from Toolstation is more convenient for you to buy then use that. It's still miles better than most stuff listed as RG6 or (shudders) 'low loss TV coax'.

If this or any other reply was helpful to you, then please do the decent thing and click the T-H-A-N-K-S button. It appears when you hover the mouse pointer near the Quote Multi-quote buttons. This is the proper way to show your thanks for the time and help someone gave you.

 

[DIYNotIan]

Great, thanks, that's all very helpful indeed. I'm going to go with the WF100 seeing as it is quite a long run. So next, onto connectors! I'll save that for a different thread though...

Cheers

 

[winston1]

Crimp or compression F connectors with Belling Lee adapters where required.