Extended sky box not working

[DHFrames]

Hi, I've tried to extend my sky box from a bedroom up into the loft. The box originally had a shotgun cable going into the sky box but only one actual connected in, so from that I've put a connector on and ran some single sky cable up (we only use it as free view). I've now realised that the phone line type connection also needed to be ran up as well, what now are the options??
Will a wireless phone line extender be suitable?
Any help would be good

 

[alan333]

If you're trying to view the same Sky channel on a second tv - I think you have wrongly connected to one of the inputs.

There are two coax inputs for the shotgun cable on the back of the Sky box. There is also a coax output, which is supposed to be connected to the ariel socket on your main tv. If your Sky box is connected to your main tv via scart or hdmi then this coax output might not be connected, since it doesn't really need it. It's this coax output that you need to run to your second tv. You also need to tune your second tv to receive the Sky signal as if it were a tv channel (like we used to do before digital tv came along). If your second tv doesn't have an old-style analogue tuner then it probably won't work at all.

Also, there's a setting in the Sky menu, but I think this is only if you want a magic eye type device to work from the second tv. If you get stuck with this setting post back and I'll have a look for it.

Edit...the phone line connection isn't needed. We have three tv's upstairs all working from our main Sky box using only coax (and a Sky splitter). We have magic eyes on them all and they all work fine.

 

[DHFrames]

Thanks for your reply
We're not trying to view a same channel, we're basically moving the TV and sky box up into our loft. Step by step I've done the following...
Run some single sky cable from the existing bedroom up to loft
Connected the shotgun cable to the single cable, not sure if one of the shotgun cable has any importance to the other but I've tried the join connector on both
Move TV and sky box up to loft and connect as it was previously.
The only thing not connected in is the phone line

 

[Sam Gangee]

Freeview comes from an aerial; nothing to do with Sky.

What problem are you trying to fix? Please describe the symptoms.

If you are using a Sky Digibox without a subscription, you don't need a phone line connected.

Keep the LNB cable run as short as possible and preferably direct from the LNB without joints.

If you really can't avoid extending the LNB cable, be sure to do it properly with the correct cable and connectors.
http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/extend_cable.htm

 

[DHFrames]

There is one join in the cable in which we've used a F plug, we have no aerial on the house so thought by extending the cable up to a different room nothing would change. We ended our subscription with Sky a while back but still got all the free view channels through the sky box

 

[Sam Gangee]

You didn't answer my question.

 

[Lucid]

Check your cable joints. One little strand of the braided shield wire touching the centre conductor can cause all sorts of issues. These things are important. Get it right.

If it's still not working then go back to basics. Take the TV and Sky box back to the bedroom. Hook them up as before. If all works then mark which of the two shotgun cables was active and in to which socket on the box. Move the TV and box back to the loft. Repeat the connections but this time you definitely know which cable in the bedroom to connect and which socket on the box. The only unknown is the bedroom to loft shot gun cable. There are only two possibilities now on each end of the extension cable.

If you've covered all possibilities then either your F connector wiring is stall bad, or the extension cable is poor quality and it's causing too much signal loss. Unless there's something else you're not telling us, then these are the only two additional elements in the system, so it has to be them.

 

[GoodDIYjob]

If the skybox is now "freesat" you shouldn't require a phone line, even for active sky boxes they still work without a phone line although it used to be some interactive functionality wouldn't work and sky may contact you about it.

In your case I can't see that is the problem.

If both runs of the "shotgun" are still connected at the LNB - either will work. So that leaves connection quality, the length of your "extension" and the quality of the coax.

Sat signals are much higher frequency than terrestrial TV, so a cheap length of coax that might work on TV aerial may not work as a satellite extension. Even better as pointed above, run a new continuous length [edit: of sat grade coax] back to the LNB.

 

[DHFrames]

Maybe it's the length of the extended cable, this is 15meters??!! I've moved the lot back in the bedroom and it works fine.

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• DHFrames
• 24 May 2014
• 1

this is the box connected in the loft

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• DHFrames
• 24 May 2014
• 1

this is the problem

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• DHFrames
• 24 May 2014
• 1

this the join/extended bit

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• DHFrames
• 24 May 2014
• 1

this is the cable remaining in bedroom

 

[GoodDIYjob]

What grade of coax are you actually using to extend?

What is the signal levels in the service menu when the STB works in its original location?

 

[GoodDIYjob]

Also what is the length of the original shotgun cable to the original location before the 15M extension using yet to be identified coax?

 

[Sam Gangee]

Whether 15m is too long depends on:-
* the total length of cable from LNB to receiver
* the type(s) of cable
* the effective dish size

And I recommend you ensure that you've fitted the F plugs correctly:
http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/fconn.htm

 

[DHFrames]

The shotgun from the sky dish to the bedroom is approx 20-25meters, it goes along the front of the house, up over the roof then down into the bedroom!,
Here's the type of extended cable http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/2510...f11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108&ff19=0

 

[DHFrames]

Whether 15m is too long depends on:-
* the total length of cable from LNB to receiver
* the type(s) of cable
* the effective dish size

And I recommend you ensure that you've fitted the F plugs correctly:
http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/fconn.htm[/QUOTE]

The cable came with F plugs on, I haven't had to crimp or cut anything if you know what I mean

 

[GoodDIYjob]

Total run perhaps over 40M and I can't see a grade or spec mentioned on that coax extension. My guess is you have no signal left in the loft.

Can you not make a more direct run straight back to the Dish which is shorter?

Relocate dish?


Back to an original question asked by others, is it just that you want the STB and TV in the loft room now?