Aerial – 4 way booster - job not finished!

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12 Jan 2010
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Location
Cheshire
Country
United Kingdom
All,

Need a bit of advice/ instructions. Hade an aerial company out to fit a new aerial and 4 way mains booster in my house. Although not perfect job was done however, because there was no mains power in loft the aerial guy fitted the booster in one of the spare bedrooms which looks a monstrosity (socket off wall and loads of aerial wire on the floor) and said he would be back to put in loft when I get mains power up there.

Spent an hour running mains to loft after he left but after three weeks of trying to get hold of the guy again (company telephone number has been changed/ disconnected) I have no option but to try and sort it myself.

Currently I have:
1. A Wolsey WPS 100/1 12v 100mA mains booster connected to an aerial wire in the spare bedroom

2. A black box in the loft. At one side of the box you have the main aerial wire coming in from the roof and on the other side of the box the four internal aerials in row

According to the guy that half fitted the booster, it is a pretty straight forward job moving booster upstairs but he would need to change all the wiring around....

So does anyone have any idea what I need to do – my questions are as follows:

1. Do I now need to connect the main aerial wire from roof into the ‘in’ socket on the booster (which I can now plug in in the loft)?

2. Do I then need to run a second aerial cable from the ‘tv’ socket of the booster into the black box?

3. Will everything work then?

Thoughts appreciated, am I on the right tracks...?
 
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It sounds like you have a seperate power supply for the amplifier (which is the box in the loft.).

You do not need power in the loft. The power supply should be mounted next to an aerial socket (any socket) and a (very short, you can make your own easily) cable run from the 'in' socket on the power supply to the aerial socket. Then you simply connect the TV to the TV side of the power supply. There is no need for mess.
 
This job just screams Cowboy!!

JimboGog1,
Just so you know what you have and so we know we are talking about the same thing... The box in the loft is the actual amplifier. It is called a Masthead Amplifier. The Wolsey WPS 100/1 is simply the power supply for that amplifier. Power gets from the Wolsey to the Masthead Amplifier by going up the aerial cable.


IMO, your aerial installer has given you bad advice about putting power in the loft.

Leaving mains powered devices unattended in the loft is a fire risk. That's part of the reason why the Masthead Amp has a separate power supply. It's so you don't put the power supply in the loft.

Second, adding a socket is expensive, and in this case unnecessary. There's a huge temptation to take power for a loft socket from the lighting circuit. A good electrician will tell you that this is a no no. The proper way to do it is to take power from the ring main from the floor below.


My suggestion to you is to check all your TVs work correctly. Choose one of the aerial sockets as a place for the power supply to live. Get him back to tidy the wiring and install a short link cable from power supply to the wall socket. Don't get this person back to do any further work on your aerial system unless it is to sort out (for free) any problems caused by his install.
 
Thank you so much, this clears things up no end.

I have been trying to track them down for three weeks now, all three numbers have been disconnected and their shop has moved – nightmare!

Not sure what else to do – think I’ll have to put pen to paper and hope they have a mail re-direct in place!
 
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... all three numbers have been disconnected and their shop has moved ... hope they have a mail re-direct in place!
In situations like this I think it's a waste of time chasing them. They're gone. It's probably because they don't want their creditors to find them, so they're hardly likely to pay Royal Mail to send bills to a new address. Just write it off as one of those things about cheap or unknown tradespeople.

Chances are you have a working system, it's just that the cables are a bit messy and there's a socket off the wall. As long as there's nothing more serious, then that's not too difficult to tidy up as a DIY job.

If you are uncertain, or you haven't got a family member who is confident then do get a pro in. I notice you are in Cheshire. I am too. If you live anywhere near the Sandbach/Middlewich area then I could pop by and take a look.

:)
 
ive found all the phone numbers u need for the aerial guy.
*************
and yes he is a rip off ,he takes the money and he over charges for everything.
 
Just found this site very helpful. I have been tearing my hair out trying to get aerial installer back as small tv in kitchen will not work properly, he says it's the tv needs returning,tv company say check booster 20-40 decibels, installer won't answer my questions.Have Wolsey WPS100/1 in lounge and just have aerial in loft going to outside aerial.Main tv works ok but small tv breaks up all the time. Anyone know how to correct this and if I can do it myself as Herts Aerial Systems will not come back and do it even though I paid them more than the tv cost.
 
Thanks for explaining this I have similar problem but no masthead amplifier in loft just wire leading outside to aerial on roof.How can I check decibels, tv company say I need 20-40?

This job just screams Cowboy!!

JimboGog1,
Just so you know what you have and so we know we are talking about the same thing... The box in the loft is the actual amplifier. It is called a Masthead Amplifier. The Wolsey WPS 100/1 is simply the power supply for that amplifier. Power gets from the Wolsey to the Masthead Amplifier by going up the aerial cable.


IMO, your aerial installer has given you bad advice about putting power in the loft.

Leaving mains powered devices unattended in the loft is a fire risk. That's part of the reason why the Masthead Amp has a separate power supply. It's so you don't put the power supply in the loft.

Second, adding a socket is expensive, and in this case unnecessary. There's a huge temptation to take power for a loft socket from the lighting circuit. A good electrician will tell you that this is a no no. The proper way to do it is to take power from the ring main from the floor below.


My suggestion to you is to check all your TVs work correctly. Choose one of the aerial sockets as a place for the power supply to live. Get him back to tidy the wiring and install a short link cable from power supply to the wall socket. Don't get this person back to do any further work on your aerial system unless it is to sort out (for free) any problems caused by his install.
 
Well, you could always try one of the little hand-held signal meters like this...

DVB_T_Signal_Meter.jpg


If you can get 50dBuV to light up then you have more than their recommended signal level.

These sort of meters can be bought cheaply from Ebay. Search for dvb signal meter

:D
 
Leaving mains powered devices unattended in the loft is a fire risk. That's part of the reason why the Masthead Amp has a separate power supply. It's so you don't put the power supply in the loft.

Chris, I have to ask.. How is that any different to the extractor fan or downlighters in my bathroom?
 
Do those meters have any way to select which channel they are measuring on? if not I would think they would be of rather limited utility.
 
Well your downlighters are lights (obviously) and the extractor fan is probably linked to the lighting and has a timer so it runs after the light switch is turned off. So, both should be connected to the lighting ring for that floor.

Have a look at your main fuse box. You should have switches to isolate the lighting circuits on each floor, and also isolation for the ring main circuits on each floor. Anything with a mains plug really ought to be connected to a socket ring main.

An experienced DIY'er or Electrician would always test for dead even after switching off at the circuit board, but what about whoever buys the house after you?
 
Just had new aerial installed with 4-way splitter on mast to feed four rooms, NO need for amplifier . You have been royally reamed.
 
Well your downlighters are lights (obviously) and the extractor fan is probably linked to the lighting and has a timer so it runs after the light switch is turned off. So, both should be connected to the lighting ring for that floor.

Have a look at your main fuse box. You should have switches to isolate the lighting circuits on each floor, and also isolation for the ring main circuits on each floor. Anything with a mains plug really ought to be connected to a socket ring main.

An experienced DIY'er or Electrician would always test for dead even after switching off at the circuit board, but what about whoever bus the house after you?

None of which addresses the supposed fire risk issue. ;)
 
It is all down to an assessment of risk. Any electrical item has some risk but of course if battery powered the risk is very low. With mains powered using a power supply in the area of TV and amplifier in loft the risk of the loft mounted part having a fire problem is also very low with maybe a little more risk with TV area power supply. And with all in loft since no coax used to transmit power as a whole risk will be lower than with separate power supply but risk of loft bit going wrong will be higher.
So if you are the person who unplugs the TV at night including the VCR and DVD and only charges his mobile telephone during the day when attended and unplugs it as soon as charged from wall, and does not use any wireless telephones in the house. Turns of router when finished with PC. And only crosses the road where there is a pelican crossing then to use a amplifier in the loft without having an isolator you can switch off before going to bed may be too much of a risk.
But most people consider to live a purposeful life we must take some risks and the risk of a TV amp going wrong in a manor to cause a house fire is very very slim and most people will accept the risk.
 

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