How to protect outdoor coax entry?
Moved into our new townhouse in April, and had to have Comcast run a new cable line through the front wall. Right now, I have the cable trenched and it comes up out of the ground and goes into the wall through a grommet.
My main concern is that burglars or vandals could walk up and snip the cable before my doorbell camera even notifies me that someone is out front. My goal is to deter this and make my unit look like a worse target. Or at least make it so cutting the cable takes a few minutes and looks highly suspicious to my nosy neighbors.
My original idea was to run the coax through iron pipe as it comes out of the ground and a 90 degree fitting into the house. Then I thought I should use actual conduit, and mount a junction box to the house, but I want everything to be low profile if possible - my infant garden isn't full enough to hide the entry yet.
Any other suggestions or advice?
Edit: The bottom line is I have an exposed cable entering the wall of my house, and I want to cover it. My motivations are irrelevant. I'm trying to figure out how to do this right, and so it looks clean.
Posted Aug 17, 2020, 3:42 PM UTC · edited
IMO - no one is going to cut your coax.
I think the risk is low, given that we are the middle unit on a 4 unit townhome. However, I have a lot of smart devices and cameras that rely on wifi to work. I'd sleep better at night if I could spend < $100 to eliminate a potential security risk.
If someone is casing your house to the point where they're cutting your coax as a first step, you are totally fucked and they aren't going to stop if you have some pipe around it. It's an absurd worry.
Just use real conduit and a junction box, anything else is insanity.
I'm just describing my motivation for the project. Surely it's not crazy/paranoid to encase a wire coming into your house.
If you're that concerned about someone breaking in; then you need a LOT more than a simple shield over the co-ax; and might need to re-evaluate some of your life choices, or get professional security help.
No one goes around cutting people's co-ax cables.
It is not crazy or paranoid to encase a wire to ensure that moisture does not enter your house, or that there are no drafts, or that it is protected from the elements outside, or that it looks clean and professional, etc, etc.
It is crazy or paranoid to do so thinking that it will prevent some bad dude from cutting it as a first step to breaking into your house.