Sky connections

[HamishDougal]

When we bulilt an extension on our house two years ago the electrician ran cables from the sky dish to a main entry point (living room). He also installed Sky sockets (2 female ones for F connectors) in two other rooms a bedroom and the kitchen so that we could run two TVs off the dish (not multiscreen just the same programmes at the same time). This worked fine at first and in differtent combinations we have had the system working from all connections (2 at a time). Now I want to activate the Sky socket in the kitchen but when I connect my sky box I don't get a signal. I've tried the join the cables in the loft which extend the main Sky terminal but nothing changes. Is there something I need to make this work?

 

[Sam Gangee]

You need a cable connection direct from the LNB on the dish to the receiver - or two if it's a PVR.

How many connections has the LNB and how many are in use at present?
See picture: http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/split_feed.htm

 

[HamishDougal]

There are 8 holes and 4 cables.

 

[Sam Gangee]

OK, so you have an OCTO LNB with 4 spare outputs that you can connect to wherever you need them, without messing with any existing connections.

 

[HamishDougal]

I think the electrician rigged it so that one pair goes to the main TV and the other pair can be used either in the kitchen or the bedroom. The cables run through the walls and only appear in a bit of a mess in the loft before going on to the F connectors. I think he joined two cables in the loft to direct the signal to whichever room we chose (kitchen or bedroom) to have the second TV. He has marked some of the cables but the ink is feint! Is there a cable I should look for that might connect to the dish? If so how?

 

[Sam Gangee]

Unfortunately, it's a rare electrician who understands how to install coaxial cable correctly. If you can't do it yourself, I'd recommend getting an experienced dish (or dish + aerial) installer to sort out the mess.

For DIY there are eBooks to download, here:-
http://www.The-Cool-Book-shop.co.uk/book.htm

For other readers, I would recommend never using an "electrician" to install signal cables unless you can be certain that he knows that job as well as his own. After all, you wouldn't employ a plumber to do it!

This is not disrespectful of electricians or plumbers; they simply haven't had the training and, in my experience, have very little idea of the technology involved.

 

[GoodDIYjob]

This sounds like an rf feed to be distributed from the skybox - he may have only connected one of the two rooms to the supply, allowing you to add a loft box or amplified distribution box a later stage and connect the second room at to it. This would mean the signal always shows same as selected an the skybox.

Note, that if this is the set up the signal will never supply a sky box to either of the remote locations, as it is not a satellite signal it is an rf analogue signal and requires and analogue tv tuner to receive it.

Although it's not clear when you say it has been used in various configurations and with two tvs whether you mean the two remote locations in addition to the lounge


As above, either it's an rf feed and is not connected, require a distribution amp or your trying to connect a sky box to an rf feed which will never work. As they are not compatible signals.

 

[ericmark]

(not multiscreen just the same programmes at the same time).

I would guess he has routed the analogue output from the sky box not the digital connection to LNB this is what I have in my house.

From dish to Sky box and then Sky box to main TV with HDMI and also RF output then routed to loft with 8 way booster splitter with digi-eye through ability and sockets in bedrooms, kitchen, and dinning room connected to booster. I still use old analogue TV's to watch.

 

[GoodDIYjob]

Yep that's what I was referring to by RF feed. From memory Sky label them "RF" on most of their STBs that offer them. And unless you test with a TV which has an analogue only or in addition to a terrestrial digital tuner, it will also not work.