Components, and thoughts on what I would have done different in the structured wiring.

I have a few people following my structured wiring project. And if you are reading this, then obviously a structured wiring project is at least of some interest to you. Let me give you some explanation of what I am doing, what I would be doing differently if I didn’t have my home IT lab setup, and what products I would be using and why for that setup.

            To keep the discussion on an even keel, we are only going to discuss this in the frame of reference of a single story home, with fairly simple access to the wall headers where you want the cables run, and preferably pre-existing penetration holes for the cables. (where phone or coax ran before would be best).

            Before we get too deep into the discussion, let’s lay out a shopping list of materials and tools you are going to need to get this job done.

So let’s make the assumption you are on Comcast / Xfinity cable, want your own modem, and we can make a shopping list. I am also making the assumption that you can manage the plywood, and any necessary screws on your own.

1.       Monoprice 4u wall mount rack. 12” deep. http://amzn.to/2pDCFJV OR...

2.       Monoprice 7u wall mount rack 12” deep. http://amzn.to/2ptJ6OK (This will allow you room to expand in the future.)

3.       2 @ NavePoint 10” deep cantilever shelf. http://amzn.to/2pDLDqw

4.       Cable Modem. This is to avoid cable modem rental fees, and keep control of YOUR network. Zoom 5370 DOCSIS 3.0 16x4 http://amzn.to/2qjv5jS

5.       WiFi Router, TRENDNet TEW-828DRU http://amzn.to/2pDHcvA

6.       24 port Gigabit switch. TRENDNet TEG-S24DG http://amzn.to/2qjSJwI

7.       TRENDnet 24-Port Cat6 Unshielded Wallmount or Rackmount Patch Panel, TC-P24C6. http://amzn.to/2oQ3hSQ

8.       Rack Mount kit for TEG-S24DG http://amzn.to/2oAQ05B

9.       Extreme Broadband 1x8 splitter. (Port orientation front / top depending on mounting configuration) http://amzn.to/2oQ3bM2

10.   Obi 202 VoIP adapter. http://amzn.to/2oQsiy8

11.   Leviton 47689-B 1x9 Bridged Telephone Module with Bracket http://amzn.to/2oFodB5

12.   2 @ 6 inch extension cords. 5pk Outlet savers. These get wall wart transformers away from the surge suppressor. http://amzn.to/2p865yi

13.   CyberPower RKBS15S2F8R 15A 10-Outlet 1U RM Rackbar Surge Suppressor. Provides power distribution and protection. http://amzn.to/2oB5yX0

14.   Cable Matters 25 pack Category 6 keystones. White. http://amzn.to/2qbkmsj

15.   FYL 10pcs RJ11 keystone jack, white. http://amzn.to/2oBgqEd

16.   VCE 10pc Type F keystone. White. http://amzn.to/2oBvTEb

17.   Type F 10pc 75ohm terminators. http://amzn.to/2pr4Xq1

18.   TII 212 Broadband Cable TV Lightning Surge Protector http://amzn.to/2pE81A7

19.   1PLUS HDTV Antenna Outdoor 150 Miles Range 360°Rotation Outdoor TV Antenna with Wireless Remote. MUCH better reviewed than the Polaroid I am using. http://amzn.to/2oNSmtb

20.   Cable Matters (100-Pack) Cat 6 RJ45 Modular Plugs for Stranded UTP Cable. These will work for both Category 5e and Category 6 cable. http://amzn.to/2qkgpB0

21.   Monoprice RJ11 6P4C Plug Round Stranded 50-Piece/Bag (107315) For custom making telephone cables. http://amzn.to/2pE672l

22.   PPC Belden EX6PLUS RG-6 Snap & Seal Outdoor Compression Connector, Comcast, DTV & Dish Approved, 50 Piece http://amzn.to/2qbFezQ

23.   Cat6 Ethernet Cable 1000ft UTP Bulk Pull Box (BLUE) – WireShopper http://amzn.to/2oQagLG

24.   Premium Cat5e Ethernet Network LAN Cable 1000ft UTP Bulk Pull Box ( GREY ) – WireShopper http://amzn.to/2pGjsHx

25.   Southwire 56918245 500-Feet Dual Shields Type RG 6/U 18 AWG Coaxial Cable, Black http://amzn.to/2oTw1Lm

26.   Greenlee 430-500 Poly Fish Line, Tracer Green, 500-Foot http://amzn.to/2oQiYto

27.   Arlington LV1-10 Low Voltage Mounting Bracket, 1-Gang, Black, 10-Pack http://amzn.to/2oTrf0x

28.   Midlite DBPWH Midlite Dbpwh Décor Brush Plate with Brush (White) http://amzn.to/2oBmNY5

29.   Mounting Bracket, Low Voltage, 3-Gang http://amzn.to/2pGh3fY

30.   Leviton 80611-W 3-Gang Decora/GFCI Device Decora Wallplate, White http://amzn.to/2pceCA9

31.   5’ EMT Conduit for push pole / antenna mast. Choose your local home center. Shipping on something like this is insane.

Now that we have the supplies rounded up… You need to make sure you have the tools. And we are going to assume you have basic maintenance tools such as a level, straight edge, cordless drill, assortment of spade bits, and pencils.

1.       TRENDnet Network Cable Tester, TC-NT2 http://amzn.to/2pGkq6r

2.       TRENDnet Network Signal Testing Probe for TC-NT2, TC-TP1 http://amzn.to/2oTeZwP

3.       Greenlee PA1116 Data SureStrip Cutter And Stripper http://amzn.to/2oTvrxf

4.       TRENDnet 8P/RJ-45 and 6P/RJ-12, RJ-11 Crimp, Cut, and Strip Tool, TC-CT68 http://amzn.to/2pGsF2B

5.       TRENDnet Punch Down Impact Tool with 110 and Krone Blades, Spare Blade Storage, Interchangeable & Reversible Blades, TC-PDT http://amzn.to/2ptRYUn

6.       Greenlee 70008P (Data Shark) Cable TV/Satellite Toolkit. http://amzn.to/2qkcRie

7.       Klein Tools VDV512-058 Coax Explorer Plus Tester http://amzn.to/2qeCunY

8.       33' Electric Fiberglass Wire Pull Rods Fish Tape http://amzn.to/2pGqiMY

9.       Stanley 15-206 Jab Saw with Wood Handle http://amzn.to/2qf1x7T

First of all. We live in a world with WiFi all around us, yet we also live in a world of brick, concrete, metal and glass blocks. Crowded WiFi spectrum, and security concerns. I am a strong advocate for wired Ethernet where possible. We also live in a world with pay TV companies with constantly creeping fees and raising rates, while our paychecks are either staying at the same rate year after year, or shrinking.

The reality is that with broadband internet, fantastic streaming service offerings, and excellent digital over the air TV signals unlike the analog signal and rabbit ears our parents or grandparents had, Ethernet and TV signals should be distributed through the home. For security and logistics purposes, this should be done using a wired network. And while pretty much everyone has a cell phone, yet somewhat counter intuitively, almost everyone buying a home expects a home to be wired for telephone of one sort or another.

So we have determined we want a distributed video network, wired Ethernet network, and a telephone network. In the past the telephone, using a POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) line came into the house through a box on the outside, and was likely split in the attic. If it is like mine was, split badly. Somewhere with wires stripped bare, and twisted together to make the connection, you were lucky if the installer bothered to think of reliability and safety at all, they ran the split in a box, or at least taped the connections. Mine didn’t. TV signal, likewise typically came into the house via either Cable TV coax, or a coax off of a satellite dish from an overpriced pay TV service. And likewise, somewhere in the attic there was a splitter where the signal was distributed through the house. At least there weren’t bare wires up there for the TV… And now you want to add Ethernet, to keep from cooking your router and switch, typically you keep your IT gear inside, where the AC is.

Now picture a few years down the road. A splitter goes bad, or you want to upgrade your router, or switch, or have a signal problem with the telephone. Who wants to deal with these issues in the attic? Simply put, we are working hard, and investing on the front end, so that we can have it easier later on down the road. We want our entire communications infrastructure in one place, where it is easy to get to, and laid out where it is easy to maintain, upgrade, and repair when the time comes.

Now considering that when I worked with a consulting firm doing network installations, we were charging $150.00 per line installation, and we were very competitive in our market, costs could have only gone up over the years, you can see how it would be better if you could DIY this job. And hopefully I am able to effectively show you how. For the project at hand, we are talking about pulling 16 ethernet, 6 telephone, and 7 TV / Coax drops for a total of 33 drops. At $150.00 each, that runs into $4950.00 for just running and terminating the cables. Mounting antenna, configuring routers and modems etc… add to that cost. So basically speaking, we are looking at an approximate $7,000.00 datacom job for this conversion. We can DIY for far, far less and save money in the long run…

You will have aside from your broadband modem, the following major components of any home communications network. They are.

1.       Broadband / WiFi router.

2.       Gigabit Ethernet switch with sufficient port capacity to cover every port you could potentially desire. It is best to get one with an internal power supply instead of an external transformer. To determine your port count, figure out how many devices could potentially be in any given location, and then number of locations, then do the math. In my case 16 ports off of the switch to cover everything. I can squeeze by with a 16 port switch. A 24 port will offer expandability down the road.

a.       Office. 6 1 for crossover between router and switch, 1 for VoIP adapter, and 4 for wired computers. TV will be via a USB TV Tuner, so no need for extra drop there. Most people can reduce this number by 3. My home IT lab precludes this though.

b.      Guest bedroom. 1 for SmartTV

c.       Kids room / Father In Law suite. 1 for Android TV Box.

d.      Living room. 4. 1 for Android TV Box, 1 for Wii, 1 for PS3, 1 for Xbox One.

e.      Master Bedroom. 2. 1 for Android TV box, 1 for PC.

f.        Kitchen. 1 for Android TV box. (No joke. They make it super easy to pull up recipes online!)

g.       Garage Workshop. 1 for Android TV box. (You might see a pattern here).

3.       Coaxial TV cable splitter with sufficient ports to cover every area you want cable in.

4.       VoIP adapter unless you are running POTS into your home. Without 911 service, VoIP service can actually be free after the cost of the adapter… More on that later. IF you are planning on running a fax on a separate line, I highly recommend you getting a dual line VoIP adapter instead of 2 single line VoIP adapters. VoIP really doesn’t take that much bandwidth, you will save yourself money in the long run, not to mention the power supply and Ethernet cable space saved.

5.       Telephone hub. In my case I opted for a Steren FastHome 4x6 meaning 4 potential lines x 6 outlets telephone hub. Most hubs support 4 lines, in most residential applications, that isn’t really useful, but oh well. IF I had to do it over again, I would have opted for the Leviton 1x9 Telephone Module. This is designed for a structured wiring cabinet instead of a panel, but can be panel mounted, and has the port capacity I really needed without having to select a room to leave without wired telephone.

With all of that long winded stuff behind us now, and knowing what I know now, I would have chosen…

1.       Router. I would have stayed with TRENDNet, I have had great luck with their gear over the years in many applications, and they are reasonable cost wise. Nowhere near as TP Link, but I am more comfortable with the reliability of their stuff… I would pony up the extra bucks for the AC3200 model TEW-828DRU. I am not impressed by the array of external antennae, but I do like the higher bandwidth afforded by it, and it does tend to future proof us somewhat. And it is in the price range of the Netgear AC1750 model. If you are pinching every penny though, go for the AC1900 model as a minimum. We have the AC1750 model, and love it, but wish we had the USB 3.0 port of the AC1900 model.

2.       Switch. We have the TRENDNet TEG-S16DG 16 port gigabit switch, which is great, we should have gone with the TEG-S24DG 24 port. The extra ports afford room for expansion which we do not have. Any additions down the road, and I need to replace the switch. Lesson learned.

3.       Coaxial TV Splitter. So far we are happy beyond words with the Extreme Broadband Engineering 1x8 bi directional digital coaxial splitter. Stick with a proven winner.

4.       VoIP adapter. We presently have 2 @ Obi100 VoIP adapters that work with Google Voice. It is a good setup, but in the world of do it over again, I would have opted for the Obi202 dual line adapter, saved myself one Ethernet port, and one power port. Another lesson learned. FWIW, when we got the first Obi100, we were not planning on a fax, but so many businesses, most specifically medical related, still rely heavily on fax. Try dealing with your health insurance or FSA provider without a fax these days and see how that goes…

5.       Telephone hub. Like I mentioned above. I would have gone with a Leviton 1x9. I only need the second line distributed to the office fax, and I need more phone outlets through the house. I would have liked to have been able to have… Phone #7 Father In Law suite, and Phone #8 Dining Room.

Now you need to decide how to contain your stuff, and this generally requires more stuff. Many installations use an in wall structured wiring enclosure, and you can certainly do that, but the metal enclosure can, and often does interfere with the WiFi signal, to some extremity. Or you can panel mount your installation.  Your needs will again, vary depending on your desires, and of course, how you get a TV signal. In my case we opted for an over the air antenna, with a rotator. The rotator has a power control box that needs to be contained as well. So in my situation, and again, bypassing the fact I have the lab so no need to include things like the iSCSI SAN or KVM switch, I have the following that needs to be contained.

1.       Cable modem.

2.       Broadband router

3.       NAS disk attached to router.

4.       VoIP adapter(s)

5.       TV Antenna rotator control box.

6.       1x8 coaxial splitter

7.       Telephone Distribution hub.

8.       Ethernet switch.

9.       Power conditioner / surge suppressor.

10.   Transformers.

In my preferred method we would do that with a wall mounting board, wall mount bracket, and rack mount shelves. The arrangement would be thus.

1.       First shelf.

a.       Modem, router, NAS disk all in vertical orientation. VoIP adapter, and TV box on shelf.

2.       Ethernet switch.

3.       Gap for allowing cable to run through, OR patch panel and jumpers. I prefer patch panels as it is more professional, however they are not required.

4.       Power conditioner / surge suppressor.  These typically can not accommodate the typical wall wart transformers of your modem, router, VoIP adapter etc… So we use short extension cords (6”) and then those rest on.

5.       Second shelf to hold the transformers and keep tension off of the plugs on the power conditioner / surge suppressor.

This would mean you would need a 4u wall mount rack.

This rack would in turn be mounted to a mount board, sized sufficiently to be 24” wide x at least 18” tall. Preferably at least ½” thick with a rounded / relieved edge so you don’t mash yourself into it accidentally. I like mine painted, YMMV.

The mount board would be mounted to the studs providing a solid surface to mount to. The rack mounts to the wall, and the telephone module / hub and coax splitter mount to the board above the rack.

You will of course need cable. I like to use different cable for Ethernet and telephone, although technically using Category 5 / 5e cable IS Ethernet, I use cat 5e cable for phone, and Category 6 cable for Ethernet. 1000’ pull boxes are inexpensive, and readily available. And while I would like to recommend Amazon for video coaxial cable, I can’t. They just aren’t competitive. Go to your local Lowes, or Home Depot and pick up a 500’ pull box of RG6. I got 500’ of Southwire RG6 for $32.00 at my local Home Depot.

You will also need keystones, the socket ends, for telephone, data, and video. They typically come in 10 packs. In my case I needed 2 10 packs of Category 6 RJ46 keystones in white, 1 pack of RJ11 telephone keystones in white, and 1 pack of Type F coaxial keystones in white.

Along with your keystones, you will need plug ends for each to make the coax cables, and jumpers for telephone and Ethernet. A bag of 50pcs of Category 6 RJ45s, RJ11s, and RG6 Compression fittings will do the trick and leave some leftovers for later work.

There is no need for a contained box for the wall as this is all low voltage and merely requires low voltage brackets.

You will then need suitable keystone faceplates, 2, 3, 4 and 6 outlet face plates.

And lastly you would need a suitable wall penetration faceplate. I opted to go with a  triple gang bracket, 3 brush plates, and a triple gang decora wall plate to finish it off. There are other types out there, and you could most likely squeeze it all into a single gang opening, but I didn’t want to . Simply put, I like being able to reach into the wall and grab the cable as need be.

            Now assuming you are doing the same thing I am, and adding an external TV antenna for over the air TV signals, you will need the following.

1.       Over the air TV antenna. We opted for a Polaroid AMA-1850p, with its 150 mile range and remote control power rotator, it is easy to dial in the strongest, cleanest signal, even with my neighbors pecan tree in the way. I have concerns for the function of my antenna rotator while isolated behind a ground block, but I am pending a reply from Tuff Manufacturing / Polaroid on how to properly ground this antenna. IF they fail to provide a solution that is compliant with the NEC, and has everything still working, I WILL report that back on my blog.

2.       Pole mount for your antenna. My long term intent is to reutilize the DirecTV dish mount on my roof, but until my wife is satisfied with OTA / streaming, I have to leave it there. I do have the ¾” EMT conduit to do the job, just not doing it yet. BUT… At least 5’ of EMT conduit as a mount pole, and some sort of mounting mechanism / surface. I am temporarily mounted to the fence post. The bottom of the conduit is 5’ off the ground, so my total height of my antenna mount is 10’ currently. This WILL go up with the DirecTV dish mount. I created mounting blocks for the EMT by cutting off short sections of 2x4, drilling a 7/8” hole through them, and then drilling pilot holes for the mounting screws. Simple, crude, but effective enough for now.

3.       Ground rod.

4.       Coaxial ground block.

5.       Sufficient sold conductor 10ga wire to connect splitter to ground.

6.       Coaxial surge suppressor / lightning arrestor.

Tools to get the job done.

1.       Cordless Drill and 1” spade bit for boring cable penetration holes assuming none already exist.

2.       Ethernet cable tester / tone generator.

3.       Ethernet cable tone probe.

4.       RJ45 / RJ11 crimp tool

5.       Ethernet cable stripping tool

6.       Krone / 110 punch down tool

7.       Coaxial cable installation kit including.

a.       Coaxial Cable stripping tool

b.      Coaxial Cable cutters

c.       Coaxial Cable crimp tool

8.       A coaxial cable test tool was not something I had in my tool kit ahead of time, but after running 2 dead cables, I found the cable test tool a critical tool.

9.       Fish tape / rod set

10.   Tape measure

11.   Drywall saw

12.   Pencil

13.   Polypropylene pull cord.

Basic networking skills. 2 videos today. Terminating RG6 video coaxial cable. Terminating ethernet cables.

In the first video, I show you how to terminate RG6 Coaxial cable using modern compression fittings.

In the second video. I show you how to terminate, and test for continuity Category 5, and Category 6 ethernet cabling. We discuss and illustrate both RJ45 plugs, and RJ45 keystones. We are cabling to the T-568B standard.(See https://www.cableorganizer.com/telecom-datacom/connectors.htm)

If you, or someone you know needs to learn the basics of video or ethernet cabling, please share the link to my videos. Thanks.

Progress on the structured wiring

The wall that the structured wiring rack his on is now painted the rack mounted and the low voltage 3 gang wall bracket is installed.

The over the air TV antenna is installed in a temporary location due to some mind changing by my wife.

I have the TV coax switched around and the Android TV box in the master bedroom is working perfectly.

The digital to analog converter box in the living room is working fine however the adapter to convert the HDMI output of the Android TV box to the RCA input of the TV came in defective.

The vendor was kind enough to quickly turn around a replacement for the defective unit. Should be in tomorrow I am looking forward to getting it set up.

I have started pulling the new cable starting with telephone in the kitchen sadly I was unable two pull the old cable out and the new cable through without getting an access hole in the wall due to the original home builder stapling the telephone cable to the studs. I now have the cable run properly and the wall patched where I cut for access.

I am removing all of the original and corroded station wire out of the house as I go through this project. I expect a similar result in the master suite however hi I'm not going to reuse the same phone location so I will most likely simply patch over the box or put a blank plate in its place.

My next step to the project will be to run ethernet and coaxial two the overhead position in the kitchen bay window where the kitchen TV used to mount and we'll once again.

The living room cabling will be fairly simple to move as ut is simply disconnected and pulled up one wall then  down the other.

Some unplanned work on the car

While running errands today and keeping an eye out for pallets that we might be able to pick up strip down and convert into flooring I was greeted by a nasty noise from the front of the car.

Given my experience and leave somewhat recent time spent with the wheels off of this car I knew it was time to put the brake pads on it.

This quickly followed up after plenty of work was put in on my polishing of the headlights getting rid of the old yellow Haze and not all but most of the scratches.

We will be putting out a video on the headlight restoration using mothers headlight restoration kit. The results are really impressive however it's not like those composite headlights look like new but they are certainly clear far safer then they were before and saves us a ton of money compared to replacement.

We still need the source up and tear down a bunch of pallets that we can prep for flooring but I did make some progress on the structured wiring project. The antenna finally came in so I have all of the pieces I need however there's more than a little assembly required.

Yesterday I applied the fourth coat of Glidden Los White to be structured wiring Mount port and it should be ready to go up on the wall now.

Hi found where I had misplaced the punch down block for the telephone and I managed to lay out how the telephone and coaxial splitters will run. I would like however to be able figure out how to make the 180 degree turns out of the bottom of the coaxial splitter. I am actually seriously considering mounting the splitter sideways so that I only have to make a 90-degree Bend to go up and through the wall.

I think for the time being while we're working on the flooring I'm simply going to paint the part of the wall behind and immediately surrounding where the Mount board will go. That way I can move forward with a structured wiring project without having to have the rest of the whole thing completed.

So I need to squeeze a bunch of video editing in this week as well as climbing around the attic pulling a bunch of cable yada yada yada. As well as somewhere in there I need to finalize my taxes and get them submitted and get forward with about a dozen long-term projects that have been in various stages completion.

Cord-cutting part 2 assembling the kit.

With our cord-cutting project plant firmly in hand we set about Gathering the needed materials and tools for a project.

First off we are going to be running fresh coax in two areas of the house that do not have it already while we are pulling this we are going to be pulling Category 5 and category 6 cable.

The Cat 5 cable will be for telephone and the cat 6 will be for ethernet. We have sufficient quantity of Cat5e and Cat6 cable as well as all the fittings, keystones,  etc that we can need. They have been in my toolkit for years.

My ethernet termination and test tools are all TrendNet devices and have served me well on a professional basis as long as I am testing simple connectivity and not necessarily physical layer performance. There are better meters on the market but typically for residential networking and even small business Networks they are far and above what you need.

The termination and test tools for the coaxial cable are from Paladin tools and it is the data shark set from Home Depot.

We did not have sufficient RG6 coaxial cable in our inventory to even begin this project. I compared the product available at both Lowe's and Home Depot locally as they had better prices than of other companies and they both carried 500 foot schools of Southwire RG6. I do not see the need or the quad Shield or its added expense.

While we were there we picked up a couple of 10 packs of F-Type compression fittings for the coax thinking we only had a couple left in our service kit. Boy were we wrong!

I went to put the compression fittings in the storage well in the datashark toolbox only to find the storage well and the large compartment underneath the storage well nearly crammed full of probably 70 or 80 compression F-Type fittings. As God as my witness I haven't the slightest idea how all of those fittings got in there or fit. I haven't done that much actual work over the years yes I've done some but not enough to justify that many fittings.

Non conductive fish rods again from Home Depot and the Greenlee brand will help fish cable through the wall.

With everything that is in hand we are almost ready to move forward with the project however a major item being the yagi beam type antenna has yet to be delivered. I fear it will be delivered when we won't have time to deal with it.

There is a good deal of this that is going to get terminated in the Attic or simply pulled to the Attic above the termination point and a service tube left in place for now.

The concern is that we have much work to do in what will be the home office where they structured wiring panel will be. We do not want to bring in the structured wiring until the walls are done the trim is done and the flooring is done.

Which brings mean two the concept of how we are going to do the flooring in the home office. The idea is to finish the home office and move on to a separate music room which has been dictated by my lovely bride. In order to do this with some Style , good stewardship of Natural Resources. And good stewardship of our budget , we are planning on upcycling wooden pallet wood for flooring in the office.

This will keep with our country rustic theme that has gone through out the house. It will also make 4 a lot more physical labor to prep the material for installation.

Simply put it would be much easier to just go out and buy pre-made tongue-and-groove flooring but it would not have the character or attachment two us as a couple as flooring we made for ourselves. Not to mention this gives me the opportunity to go out and buy some really cool router bits.

Cord cutting with an analog TV. Future-proofing

One of our recurring monthly cost has been the satellite TV service period every time we turn around we are faced with a bill that is ever increasing the most pitiful customer service on the planet just barely behind AT&T and Comcast.

We find that we are streaming most but not all of our media excluding certain local over-the-air channels.

The time getting record and freeing ourselves from that bill is overdue. We have a challenge though as power main TV in the living room is an older Sony 37 inch CRT. It's a great bomb-proof TV but it is anything but digital.

So we needed to adapt..

Some online shopping and research on the reviews of the various over the air digital antenna choices let us to a Groupon for a Polaroid built Yagi beam Style antenna with a rotator and remote.

The base of the antenna should be the same as the existing DirecTV satellite dish the plan is to Simply disconnect the DirecTV dish remove it and swap in the yagi beam antenna.

The Direct TV swim devices work at a different frequency than normal cable or broadcast TV signals so we have to replace the splitter amplifier , we found an excellent price on a 1 in 8 out Monoprice splitter amplifier at Walmart. So that issue is easily handled once we pull the DirecTV dish off swapped in the antenna we are simply going to swap the swim splitter for the Monoprice splitter. Then you should have appropriate signal through the house.

There is some additional coaxial work we are going to need for rooms that do not currently have a coax run to them most notably the new office / home studio does not happen as well as I want a line run to the garage.

So with the TV signal being distributed through coax to the whole house we now have to deal replacing the DVR function and compatibility with an analog television.

I happen to have an old one terabyte Spinning Disk hard drive leftover from when I upgraded my editing laptop to SSD. I ordered an inexpensive USB 2.0 to SATA 2.5 inch internal hard drive enclosure. It was a bargain and is from a well-known brand again from Walmart. This will provide storage for the digital to analog converter box with DVR.

From this device we can record live TV with double the storage capacity of the satellite DVR.

Lastly is we want an additional storage device for locally ripped and encoded media.

We are sick and tired of dealing with DVDs and there's a lot of media we like to watch frequently that is not available on any streaming service that we are aware of. Not to mention we have personal videos and the raw storage for our video work.

We have and Android streaming box that is connected to the smart TV that has multiple USB 2.0 we are researching compatibility with that right now but we believe the maximum Drive size compatible with it is 2 terabytes. We ordered a Western Digital 2 terabyte USB disk just for this purpose.

While it is costing a little bit up front through careful shopping we are keeping the cost down to around $300. With the ever creeping up of the cost of DirecTV that is 3 months worth of service so the break even point is very short again this will help us reign in our finances without sacrificing too much in the way of the services we have grown accustomed to.

Which brings me two of how this relates to woodworking it all. Like I mentioned above I want to run a coaxial line into the shop as I am seriously considering adding a small inexpensive Smart TV into the shop for streaming things like how to videos or watching the game in solitude.

However I am uncertain of what budget-friendly sets are available on the market now that are reasonably tolerant of the Heat humidity and dust that is prevalent in a workshop.

So I am reaching out to my followers and subscribers and ask you for your input what a good smart TV for Workshop use be? What are you using? And are you happy with the set you are using?

If possible I would like a set that features 802 11 AC Wireless connectivity. Might as well not have my smart TV be The Slowdown on my network.

Portable air conditioning in a garage workshop. Troubleshooting the broken A.C. Unit and trying to figure it out.

So last summer, the portable A.C. unit that makes my coastal Texas workshop tolerable to me in the summer heat, died a loud, miserable death. Or at least it was in critical condition. The unit is a Royal Sovereign ARP1400WW,if I recall correctly it is allegedly a 13.5 BTU unit, and it has always been a little rattly, but last summer all bets were off...

So with it simply running for less than 2 minutes and throwing a breaker, something had to be done. It was obvious there was a fan problem. I honestly thought it had to be a bearing in the motor on the lower fan. After all, there couldn't actually be an issue with the fan blade itself right? Well it took me far too many small, sweaty and obnoxious projects before I could take the time to find out...

So now the mystery is solved, somehow the fan blade, which appeared to be fused to the shaft needing to be pressed off, war run into the inner half of the fan housing. Nice... Not exactly great quality control from Royal Sovereign as this unit sees somewhat infrequent use since new...  And I wasn't certain I knew what material this plastic was, but my gut feeling told me epoxy wasn't going to cut it...

This stuff sure did feel like an ABS plastic pipe. And so I did some online research, and, well basically found the types of plastics, and how they work blah blah blah... Long story short, this stuff sure SEEMED like ABS, and Home Depot had ABS, PVC, and CPVC multi purpose glue. Well basically plastic welding solvent. So I more or less got after the damage with the glue, and Q tips.

Long story short. Or not. I got it fixed. It was in the low 80s at the shop, and raining today. I fired up the unit and let it run for about an hour, with an added fan helping stir things around, the same way I have always run it. Within an hour I had to turn the thermostat UP because it was freezing me out of the shop.

Do I anticipate these sorts of results in say August with 100 degree heat and 89% humidity? Not hardly. However the one wall that has yet to be insulated is pending and might just happen this year. That should keep the colds and hots away within reason.

So now, no slips, slides, or bumps. Just cold air and quiet operation.

Basic Tune Up Skills part 1. Gapping and prepping spark plugs.

Our 2006 Chevy Malibu earned its way into a misfire on the #1 cylinder after 130K miles. Looking at the records it would appear I didn't tune it up when we got it at 110K miles, and I bet the original owner didn't either.... So it is time for a tune up...

I realized when talking to the younger guys at work about doing this, that they were lacking in the skills and knowledge to do their own tune ups. This video series is intended to help fix that.

Like always, Amazon links below to help you with your shopping should you be doing the same project on a similar car. Again, a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu LT 3.5L V6.

We son't be linking the Spark Plugs. Simply put, I couldn't find a good price on them on Amazon. Check www.rockauto.com for best prices on plugs. The price on wires that will be needed in part 2 however is at or lower than the house branded ones from local vendors.

P0012 Post Christmas miracle?

2004 Ford F-150 has been parked 2015. We have had the p0012 code that would have to be swapped out VCT solenoid. We did find far too much sludge under the valve cover when we did the solenoid swap. After that since we weren't using the truck we gave it some Marvel Mystery Oil and ran it periodically just to keep the fluids moving.

Fast forward to 2 weeks ago when went out and ran the truck while we were replacing the flooded out headlight assemblies and upgrading to LED turn signals and stop brake tail lights. The engine got up to  operating temperature can he persistently annoying tick that is the signature of the 5.4 liter 3 valve Ford V8 smoothed right out two the low almost sewing machine tick that it's had since we purchased the truck in 2006.

The code has gone away and has yet to return for the last 2 weeks. We will be changing the oil again and following up with some other maintenance issues such as a cooling system flush and fill before we get it inspected and get the new registration tags for it. At this point it honestly looks like vct system is working as it is supposed to.

I am not saying but it is fixed for sure however it does look that way for the time being I need to have some time I'm with it before I can be sure and before I can do that I need to stop the exhaust leak from where the new MagnaFlow cats Are Leaking.

We also upgrade the exhaust most likely with the Summit Racing Cat-Back system hand two and a half by two and a half 3 inch Y pipe dumping the exhaust in the stop location. We may or may not opt to swap in a MagnaFlow single in single out Muffler at that time as well. The stock exhaust is 13 years old now and could really use to be replaced.

We will keep you updated but it looks like the Lumber wagon will be hitting the road again.

Preparing a popcorn textured wall for vinyl wall graphics.

My wife and I wanted a faith based graphic at the entry wall to our home. Unfortunately the popcorn texture on our walls didn't want to cooperate with the vinyl graphics install. In this video I show you how we prepped the wall to accept the vinyl graphics.

Sorry about the wavy start to the video files. Every so often my camera / phone does that when I start a new recording. I forgot about that and didn't pause. Going clip to clip seems a bit choppy for the same reason. This was however a one take shoot so it is what it is...

Prepping and installing aftermarket headlights on a 2004 - 2008 Ford F150

So the Wildersport Wagon, A.K.A.. the lumberwagon, A.K.A. our 2004 F150 4x4 has been sick, and our budget has been lacking. We are handling the issues and preparing to re-register it and get it back on the road, hauling our DIY supplies and camping / hunting gear depending on the occasion...

One of the issues what would have kept us off the road is the headlihgts, due to a faulty seal in the composite headlamps, the passenger side headlight filled with water, and the silver reflective finish was flaking off more than a teenager.

I have wanted to minimize the chrome look on this truck for years, and found an affordable attractive way to do it.

My video walks you through sealing up the headlight assemblies so that we know we have no leaks, and how to locate the OEM flasher assembly for replacement to fix the hyperflashing that is caused by LED bulbs.

This modification will allow you to have more relaible lighting, with improved output / visibility compared to the OEM incandescent bulbs.

I ordered up the following items for my truck. Some obtained locally, some online. I will link the online stuff for you here to make it easy for you. All items have free shipping, but not all are Prime eligible. (sorry). Remember, I do my best to find and link you to the best deals I can find... Sometimes its with Prime, sometimes it's not.

This procedure should apply to Ford F150 trucks form 2004 to 2008.

1. Spec-D Black Euro headlights.
2. Sylvania Silverstar halogen headlight bulbs.
3. Pilot LED 3157 turn signal bulbs in amber
4. Sylvania 194A LED side marker light bulbs
5. Pilot LED 3157 stop / tail / turn signal bulbs in white
6. EP27L LED compatible Ford Truck turn signal relay.