Deciphering new build wiring for satellite distribution

[jimlee41]

I hope someone out there can help as hours of Googling simply hasn't helped me here!

In the new house (Stamford Homes), I have a triplexer plate (1 x FM, 1 x TV, 1 x Sat) in the lounge, that has a coax cable connected to it behind the plate. There are also 2 other cables in the recess, connected to nothing. The front of the plate has no Return connection.

I have 4 other rooms with TV-only plates on them. I am trying to pipe the Sky feed from RF 2 around the house using these connections.

It is in the loft where things get confusing. There are 2 bundles of cables, one with 5 and one with 4. I am assuming the 4 are for the other rooms. So my intent is to buy a switcher with one input and 4 outputs (not interested in future-proofing for FM, or even for an aerial or Freeview).

However, I have no idea how to tell which of the other 5 is the input. For that matter, I don't even know how there are 5 cables, when I only see 3 in the lounge. I quizzed the site electrician and he sadly gave me a very vague response about it all.

So my 2 questions are: does my proposed solution sound like the best, and how do I figure out which is the live feed (of the 5) into the loft, without fitting connectors to each and going "trial and error"?

I am trying to avoid getting someone in to do what I know is a simple job, even for a DIY biffer like me. Once I can figure out which cables need to be connected I'll be good, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[plugwash]

Does the property have a dish and/or an aerial? if so do you know where the cables from them go?

Do you have/want sky+

 

[jimlee41]

Does the property have a dish and/or an aerial? if so do you know where the cables from them go?

Do you have/want sky+

I already have Sky+ installed directly into the lounge, with the 2 cables from the dish running outside the house, then through the wall in the lounge to the receiver. All I want to do is distribute the feed from the receiver throughout the house, and preserve the option to have Sky Eye (or an equivalent) at some point.

I am not interested in having an aerial for myself, but for the future (selling the house), I would maybe look to buy a switcher that has an input for that, aswell as the satellite, if it wasn't too expensive.

Thanks in advance.....

 

[plugwash]

Since you already have SKY installed on completely seperate cabling there is no point having the triplex plate so I'd get rid of that and replace it with a plate with three plain connectors for the three cables you have). Number these connectors and the single outlet plates in the other rooms.

Then you need to determine which cable in the loft is which. To do this I'd suggest attaching a 9V battery to the end of the lines one at a time and then using a multimeter to check for voltage at the other end. Label the cables in the loft with the same numbering system.

Once you know which cable is which just connect RF2 on the sky box via one of the cables (the other cables can be left for future use, e.g. adding an arial connection) to a booster (make sure you get one that is compatible with the magic eye system) and then from the booster to the cables going to the other rooms.