If you’re in an older house, chances are there’s coax cable in the walls. A previous owner might have had an antenna or cable TV. No one ever goes through the trouble of fishing cable out of walls, they just leave it there. So what can you do with it?
Most of the cables you’ll find from the 20th century use a crimp-on connector like the one in the photo above. This was common back then, and this sort of cable works fine for low-bandwidth applications like analog cable or over-the-air antenna. But can you use them for cell phone signal boosters? After all, if you don’t have a cell booster, you should. Your phone is the way you connect to the world and chances are, that connection isn’t that good inside the house. Take a second and shop for one now.
These old cables aren’t much good for cell phone boosters.
We recommend compression connectors for all coaxial cables, but mostly because they offer superior weather resistance. A compression connector is mandatory for satellite because of the dense, high bandwidth signal that passes through it, but cell signals do quite well with crimped-on connectors on cables.
If you’re trying to use up some old cables or are just looking for an inexpensive way to extend a line, I’d avoid using cables with crimped-on connectors. I used to say it wasn’t a problem, but that was in the days before 5G. Today, you could be sending signals in the 3GHz range down the line and crimped-on connectors won’t handle it. If the cable itself is in good shape, just cut the old connectors off, and put all new ones on. Before you do, though, use a multimeter to at least confirm that the cable isn’t broken somewhere inside the walls. That does happen from time to time.
Is there anything you can use hex-crimped cables for?
Hex crimped connectors on cables are also just fine for antenna lines inside the house. If your home was wired for cable TV in the 20th century it probably has hex-crimped connectors throughout. These won’t help you for satellite, that’s for sure, but you have a built-in distribution system for your antenna if you want to go that direction.
Even these days, crimped-on and screwed-on connectors are common for over-the-air TV in other parts of the world. In Europe, it’s much more common for apartment buildings to share an over-the-air antenna, and you’ll find crimped-on connectors everywhere there. TV frequencies, no matter where in the world you are, rarely get above 800MHz. That means crimped-on connectors are just fine.
Get the cables you need from Solid Signal
Solid Signal is your home for cables and connectors, whether you need them for cellular, satellite, or even industrial use. Check out our great selection of pre-made and bulk cable. If you’re not sure what you need, call the experts! We have a team of technicians on staff to answer your questions. Call us at 888-233-7563 during East Coast business hours. If it’s after hours, fill out the form below. We’ll get right back to you!
