Replacing the Wallplate for Co-ax Connection: DIY - Will I Die?

CrankyCarrot on 05/06/2019 - 22:25
Last edited 05/06/2019 - 22:27

We have a dual connection wall plate co-ax thingo (technical term) for both NBN and Digital TV signals. The hole for the Dig TV output appears to have worn down though and the TV's not picking up channels any more. I tried replacing the cable and nothing. Tried using an indoor aerial and got some extremely patchy results.

So I'm thinking of replacing the worn output hole myself and am just wondering how dumb of an idea that is given my elementary experience with this stuff.

This vid makes it look extremely simple:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_klP14RV5gg

So I think all I need to do is order in/buy this part from Bunnings:

https://www.bunnings.com.au/hpm-linea-tv-audio-f-coax-coax-o…

…and just unscrew the plate and swap it out. I'm assuming that co-ax plates for NBN HFC connections and Digital TV ones are the same?

Is there any reason doing this myself would be dangerous or a bad idea? I mean, am I gonna get shocked?

Alternatively, is there anything that conducts the signal I could use to fill in the hole? I tried aluminium foil and …no dice.

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 05/06/2019 - 22:33
    +4

    If you had to ask, I say just pay someone to do it. After all, if your DIY skills are really that questionable, we should question if it's really a coax wall plate you are removing.

    Maybe it's 25A oven plate. We just don't know.

  • blitz on 05/06/2019 - 22:36

    Is there any reason doing this myself would be dangerous or a bad idea?
    I tried aluminium foil

  • CrankyCarrot on 05/06/2019 - 22:37

    Ok, my skills aren't THAT bad. It's just that I've never had much to do with co-ax cables and have never had to replace a wall plate like this.

    It looks extremely simple. I just want to know if there's any risk of electric shock as there would be with a powerpoint and if there's anything I'm missing from the links I posted (ie is it one size fits all for the replacement plate and is there any way it wouldn't be as straight forward as it seems in the Youtube vid?).

    • xuqi on 06/06/2019 - 00:58
      +2

      It is that simple. If you feel uneasy, turn off power to your house at the mains…..Oh and don't do it during an electrical storm…

  • timthetoolman on 05/06/2019 - 23:53
    +3

    If it's just cpax you will be fine. There are no volts running through it. Make sure it's a good tight connection once you take it off the wall plate to replace it

  • [Deactivated] on 06/06/2019 - 00:37

    If you still have 2nd thoughts, you plugged the live coax cable into your TV etc probably 100s of times before over the years without an electrical shock.

  • crentist on 06/06/2019 - 01:08

    I once moved into an apartment that had the telephone cable cut, and I read somewhere that an electrician is apparently required for any fixed wiring in the house. I think this included telephone, and probably also your tv connection

    That said, DIY. Wiring is basically just stringy LEGO

  • endotherm on 06/06/2019 - 01:47
    +1

    Will I Die?

    Yes, one day.

    • mskeggs on 06/06/2019 - 06:26
      +2

      That’s quitter talk.

    • [Deactivated] on 06/06/2019 - 23:00
      +1

      We are all going to die, OP, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in your place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Arabia.

      Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton and antenna fixers better than you . We know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively exceeds the set of actual people.

      In the teeth of these stupefying odds, it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here. We, privileged few, who won the lottery of birth against all odds. How dare we whine at our inevitable return to that prior state from which the vast majority has never stirred?

      TL;DR: what mskeggs said :p

  • CrankyCarrot on 06/06/2019 - 03:22
    +2

    Ok guys. Sounds like it's fine to take care of myself.

    Cheers.

  • samcro on 06/06/2019 - 08:52

    Just be aware. The ones shown in the video are the "F" connector (screw on) type. The ones you've shown from Bunnings are the "PAL" (push on) type. Make sure you get the correct type.

  • eug on 06/06/2019 - 09:19

    If there is enough slack in the cable behind the wall plate and your TV is close enough, you could just pull the cable out and plug it directly into your TV through an adaptor. I did that with a USB tv tuner. Eliminates one point of failure and impedance mismatching.

  • BertieBrown on 06/06/2019 - 12:54

    As a very general rule, you should be fine, there shouldn't be any risks of shock from coaxial, however, really important to note here, some older houses will have a power outlet and a coaxial in the same wall plate. Typically it was two outlets, with a coaxial connection in the upper middle. Now even in that scenario the coaxial shouldn't have any live current going through it because the connections were separated in these older style plates, however it's worth noting that if you have a connection like this, or you're not even sure, and you have no experience working with electricity that it might be worth at the very least getting a TV gal/guy to check it out, just in case.

    For what it's worth, if you're really paranoid, just turn all the power circuits off at the mains before you do anything, and you should be okay.

    Mostly though I'd say that many people would have the skills, not necessarily the tools mind you (crimpers) to be able to do coaxial installations themselves. Hell, even most electrical work is pretty straight forward, but for insurance purposes you're just better off getting a sparkie to do it because it could start a fire.

    Just take your time, and you should be okay :)

  • CrankyCarrot on 07/06/2019 - 19:20

    Yeah, we definitely have the F-connector types.

    Thanks for the additional info, guys. All useful.

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