Cable Forum - View Single Post - Superhub How to connect Virgin Super Hub to different points of coax cable?

resander · 09-01-2012, 11:18

We have had Virgin Media TV, Phone and Broadband for about 4 years and it has worked fine.
Broadband has been connected via a Belkin router. The broadband was 10Mb and we decided to upgrade the speed to 30Mb. This requires a Virgin Super Hub (modem and router in one box) which was delivered a couple of days ago.

I connected the Super Hub and found that wired and wireless connections work fine on the ground floor and that wireless has got worse on the second floor where the signal is weak and typically drops after 20 minutes. The previous cable modem provided by Virgin Media and the Belkin router in the same place performed much better which I found surprising. We need the extra speed so do not want to return the super hub and revert to 10Mb.

I think the positioning of the hub may be very important but the cabling does not allow me to experiment.

We live in a mid-terrace house with the Virgin Media cable coming in through the front wall to the living room. The coax cable goes along the skirting board and then through the wall to an extension at the back where the hub (and the previous Belkin router) is located. Two desktop PCs in the extension use wired connections and two laptops and a netbook connect wirelessly in two bedrooms at the front on the second floor.

I want to keep the coax end point in the extension room and have two additional connection points for the hub along the coax cable in the living room: one halfway into the room and the other near the window (can put the hub on the window sill) . I think any of these connection points for the hub would give better wireless on the second floor.

Q1. Will placing two-way coax cable splitters at these points work?

Q2. Would the splitters and the original end point just being present degrade the cable and/or wireless performance? If so, what about having only one two-way splitter?

Q3. My initial thought is to connect the hub to only one of these points and use two ethernet cables for wired connections of the dektop PCs in the extension room, but I still have the cable modem and the Belkin router. Could I use these at the end point in the extension room in addition to the super hub in the living room at the same time and use shorter ethernet cables? This would reduce the cable clutter in the living room.

Q4. There is a 'F-Type Screw Connector Splitter For Virgin Cable 2 way' at amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/F-Type-Screw...6101346&sr=8-5 and probably at ebay and other places too.
Is this the correct type?

Q5. Virgin Media describes the Super Hub as 'The best wireless broadband performance available'.
'Improved coverage, with fewer black spots in your network'. 'Fantastic range, so you can work further away from your router'. The hub is certainly not super here. An ageing three year old £20 Belkin provides better wireless reception on the second floor. Should not be. Any case for having a Virgin engineer come and fit splitters or whatever is required free of charge?

Ken
(cabling newbie)

09-01-2012, 11:18	#1
resander Inactive Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: East London Services: BB:100Mb TV:XL+SkySports&ESPN Phone:M Posts: 43	How to connect Virgin Super Hub to different points of coax cable? We have had Virgin Media TV, Phone and Broadband for about 4 years and it has worked fine. Broadband has been connected via a Belkin router. The broadband was 10Mb and we decided to upgrade the speed to 30Mb. This requires a Virgin Super Hub (modem and router in one box) which was delivered a couple of days ago. I connected the Super Hub and found that wired and wireless connections work fine on the ground floor and that wireless has got worse on the second floor where the signal is weak and typically drops after 20 minutes. The previous cable modem provided by Virgin Media and the Belkin router in the same place performed much better which I found surprising. We need the extra speed so do not want to return the super hub and revert to 10Mb. I think the positioning of the hub may be very important but the cabling does not allow me to experiment. We live in a mid-terrace house with the Virgin Media cable coming in through the front wall to the living room. The coax cable goes along the skirting board and then through the wall to an extension at the back where the hub (and the previous Belkin router) is located. Two desktop PCs in the extension use wired connections and two laptops and a netbook connect wirelessly in two bedrooms at the front on the second floor. I want to keep the coax end point in the extension room and have two additional connection points for the hub along the coax cable in the living room: one halfway into the room and the other near the window (can put the hub on the window sill) . I think any of these connection points for the hub would give better wireless on the second floor. Q1. Will placing two-way coax cable splitters at these points work? Q2. Would the splitters and the original end point just being present degrade the cable and/or wireless performance? If so, what about having only one two-way splitter? Q3. My initial thought is to connect the hub to only one of these points and use two ethernet cables for wired connections of the dektop PCs in the extension room, but I still have the cable modem and the Belkin router. Could I use these at the end point in the extension room in addition to the super hub in the living room at the same time and use shorter ethernet cables? This would reduce the cable clutter in the living room. Q4. There is a 'F-Type Screw Connector Splitter For Virgin Cable 2 way' at amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/F-Type-Screw...6101346&sr=8-5 and probably at ebay and other places too. Is this the correct type? Q5. Virgin Media describes the Super Hub as 'The best wireless broadband performance available'. 'Improved coverage, with fewer black spots in your network'. 'Fantastic range, so you can work further away from your router'. The hub is certainly not super here. An ageing three year old £20 Belkin provides better wireless reception on the second floor. Should not be. Any case for having a Virgin engineer come and fit splitters or whatever is required free of charge? Ken (cabling newbie)