He has been complaining of weak signals. I always thought it was just due to him being a great distance from the cable box. But maybe the wire is shot.

Or maybe it's the wrong kind of wire?

A common mistake in hooking up satellite dishes is to use regular coax video cable instead of the special made-for-satellite wire. I forget the technical names for these two types of wires, but it's important to use the correct kind. Remember that the ones used for satellite dishes don't just carry a video signal, but also electrical power for the dish's antenna assembly.

Because regular video cable and the satellite cables use the same screw-on connectors, it's common for people to think the two kinds of cable are interchangeable.