Distributing Sky through amplifier around the house

[stevek54]

Until recently when I moved my main TV from one room to another I had my Sky HD box feeding a second TV in the master bedroom. Everything was working well. Then I moved the main TV and satelite box to another room and now we can't get a signal let alone picture on the Tv in the bedroom whixh is connected with a Triax magic eye and cable. The cables and presumably the aerial are connected to a Wolsey 8 way IR pass distribution amplifier. What I'm wondering is should I have switched something in this amplifier when I moved the TV to a different room and connected to a different TV and Return socket from the original points. The guy who installed it a couple of years ago did do something with this amplifier but I didn't see what and now I can't contact him. Does anyone know how these amps work and what might have happened when I changed the TV which has stopped me getting a signal on the second TV?

Additional info: RF output is On
When connecting the aerial to the main TV I get a good clear TV picture as well as HD.
The RF2 socket on the Sky box (9v) is connected to a wall plate called Return. The TV signal comes from a second socket next to Return called TV.
I have retuned the second TV and this makes no difference.

 

[Lucid]

The usual way of wiring a system like yours is this:

-Outside aerial to Sky box (RF in)

-Sky box RF2 out to Wolsey aerial amplifier (UHF in)

-Aerial amplifiers outs (1~6/8/etc) to the various other TVs in the house.


In brief, wiring in this way will add Sky's analogue RF signal to the Freeview signal so each TV receives both. You can then add Sky magic eyes to those other TVs and control the box from elsewhere.


I've always associated Wolsey with basic amplifiers. That's to say that they do nothing fancy with the return signal from a wall plate. Of course there's always the slight chance that you have the exception to the rule, and with no model number then I can't rule out that possibility. But until you can provide a model number then I'm going to presume it is a simple Wolsey amp.

Based on how you described the wall plate, and combined with a basic Wolsey amp, then there's a reasonable chance that your aerial guy wired like this:

-Outside aerial to Wolsey aerial amplifier (UHF in)

-Wolsey aerial amplifier RF out (1/2/3/4/5/6 etc) to old lounge wall plate "TV" socket

-Sky box RF2 out to wall plate "Return" socket

-wall plate "Return" socket back to Wolsey amp location but not connected to the amp. Instead, it is connected to the cable that goes to the bedroom.

This isn't the only way of wiring. He could equally have done a variation on the first wiring list, but fed the aerial signal in to the loft then directly down to the old lounge and then used the return back in to the amp. As you can see, there are several ways to skin this cat

What these all have in common though is two cables to the old Sky box location. One is the aerial feed. The second is the return from RF2 out. If you haven't got two cables to the new Sky box location then you're going to struggle to get the same functionality as before.

If all you need is the Sky signal to the bedroom and nowhere else in the house, and if you don't mind foregoing Freeview on the TV at the new Sky box location, then with the just the wiring you have you can make this happen. What you'd do is work out which cable feed from the Wolsey amp goes to the new room. Disconnect that at the amp end. Find the cable running to the bedroom. Join these two cables. Then at the Sky box end you'll need to connect the cable in the wall to the RF2 out on the Sky box. The only unknown is how the wall plate will react having a signal travelling through it in the opposite direction to its design. If you get no picture in the bedroom then it may need a change of socket or even just a basic cable jointing kit.

 

[stevek54]

Thanks Lucid for your very helpful response. I can't see a model number because of the way the amp is fitted. I have attached a picture if that helps.

 

[stevek54]

Untitled

• stevek54
• 23 Nov 2013
• 1

 

[Lucid]

Yeah, it's a simple Wolsey distribution amp. UHF in for the TV aerial. VHF for FM/DAB. 8 outputs with the voltage pass thru so Sky eyes work. Incidentally, the install is a bit untidy. All that copper screening spilling pout of the backs of the screw-on F connectors looks untidy and can pick up interference.

The wiring will probably be like one of the examples I gave before. Most likely it's the last one if the new room has just a single coax.

 

[Sam Gangee]

There's no point in having a Sky "magic eye" pass through from the TV aerial. That UHF input has to come from a Sky Digibox RF2 output. The aerial will be connected to the Digibox aerial input. (This is what Lucid stated his first post but contradicted in the second.)

See relevant sketch: http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/split.htm

 

[stevek54]

I have a signal, strong picture coming out of the Sky box and going to the Return socket but that seems to be where it ends. Is something at the Wolsey box supposed to distribute that signal along all the Out cables to the various rooms? Because I still can't get a picture on the second TV whichever room I put it in. Still wondering if I need to switch the cables on the Wolsey box, that the Main TV has to be connected to a Master or controlling socket on the Wolsey box....

 

[plugwash]

The incoming aerial should be connected to the sky box directly. The RF2 on the sky box should be connected to the input of the amplifier and then the outputs of the amplifier should be connected to the other TVs.

 

[Sam Gangee]

And the Wolsey amplifier requires power. The Sky Digibox can't provide sufficient current.

 

[stevek54]

Thanks guys. I think I had it wired correctly. A coax from socket marked TV on the wall to aerial in on the Sky box. RF2 on the box to a socket on the wall marked Return. But no signals are coming out of the amp along the cables to the various rooms.

 

[Lucid]

The Wolsey doesn't have any switches as such with which to "switch" any signal. It has sockets, so you can swap signals about, but that's about it and the permutations are really very limited.

As far as TV signals go, it's a simple 1 in: 8 out amplifier




In terms of your system, here's what constitutes a TV signal



The image about showing the Sky box is how Sky's RF output gets added to the Freeview picture. The signals use different tuners though. That's important to remember when tuning: Freeview uses the digital tuner (marked as DTV on some remotes). Sky uses the analogue tuner. This might simply be shown as TV on the remote or selected as Analogue via a TV menu; it all depends on the TV set itself.

The resulting output is something like this



If a Sky RF2 distribution system is installed correctly, then as far as the house goes the wiring layout will look like this:



The important feature here is that the room where the Sky box is located has two cables. The first is the aerial feed. The second is the return signal from the Sky box that then feeds the signal to the distribution amplifier. If the room where the Sky box is located has just one aerial cable, then distributing Freeview and Sky would be impossible without some extra equipment.

As far as I understand it from what you have written so far, you have moved the Sky box from a room with two cables (aerial feed + return) to a room with one aerial cable (aerial signal from Wolsey amp only..... No return signal from the Sky box) and now you're wondering why there's no Sky or no Freeview for the the bedroom TV. Can you see what the problem is here?

_______________________________________________

There is an alternative way of wiring for homes that had an aerial distribution system before Sky was installed, but it has a major caveat. The limitation is that only one room gets the Sky signal. This is how I think yours is wired.



The wiring goes like this:

Roof aerial to Wolsey amp, then Wolsey amp to all rooms. This means the whole house has a Freeview signal.

Main lounge (where the Sky box was previously installed) has a return feed back to the loft where the Wolsey is located. This is how Sky's RF2 gets back to the loft.

The aerial cable from the Wolsey that feeds the master bedroom is disconnected from the Wolsey. At this point the master bedroom receives no TV signals. This cable is then connected to the end of the return feed from the lounge. The master bedroom only now receives Freeview and Sky's RF2 signal.

Please note: this wiring still requires two cables to the room where the Sky box is located. If you move the Sky box to a room with a single feed only, then tinkering with the wiring layout and connections won't help. What you really need is a second cable to act as a return. Get that extra cable installed and you'll have the same as what you had in the first room.

 

[stevek54]

Thanks Lucid for your detailed illustrations. I can confirm though that the new room we have placed the main TV in does have two points. TV and Return. I have included pictures on the wall socket (there are connections for the wires from the Sky dish to the Sky box too but these are not in picture). And the back of the TV. I have a cable from TV on the wall to aerial in on the Sky box and a cable from RF2 to return. And a cable (the white one) feeding an analogue picture to the main tv.

Untitled

• stevek54
• 27 Nov 2013
• 1

Untitled

• stevek54
• 27 Nov 2013
• 1

 

[stevek54]

Sorry to be a pain with this. I'm sure it's a simple fix, if only I could see it.

 

[Sam Gangee]

I used those modular sockets in my living room. They are a pain to wire up and, after everything was installed, I lost the Return signal. Eventually I traced it to the socket. The copper wire had snapped next to the screw and was no longer making contact.

 

[Lucid]

Right, well if you have a return socket on the wall then it should be straight forward. This next might be going over old stuff but don't skip it. It's important to complete each step when trouble shooting...

1) Check that RF2 is giving a picture to the TV next to the Sky box. I have had a couple of situations where the pin in one of the RF sockets was broken. Connect RF2 to the local TV, bring up the Sky TV guide, tune the analogue tuner and just satisfy yourself that there's some signal coming out



2) Reconnect RF2 to the wall socket. As Sam suggested, lever out the return socket and check the integrity of the connection from inside the box.

3) Go find where the RF2 return lead comes out in to the loft or wherever your Wolsey is located.

4) connect the RF2 return lead to the end of the lead that goes to the bedroom TV

5) if not already on it then put the Sky box back on the TV Guide, switch on the bedroom TV, select the analogue tuner, retune analogue if necessary.

If it's not working and you've followed all the steps above then the most likely cause is a break in the cable somewhere. At this poingt it's time to call in a local professional.

Good luck