Secondary TV set reception dependent on primary TV being on

[otoboi]

The signal from my TV aerial is split at the aerial , one cable going to ground floor and 2nd separate cable going direct to 1st floor bedroom . Downstairs reception ( with booster) is fine but bedroom TV , even with separate booster, is poor and entirely dependent on downstairs TV being "on" . If the downstairs is off or in "sleep" mode , upstairs reception is awful even with booster . I cannot see the logic as to why one TV should affect the other when there is no connection between them . The downstairs connection is --booster--SkyHD box- VHS/DVD recorder - TV , upstairs its into the boster then directly to the TV . Has anyone any thoughts ??

 

[Diyisfun]

So what if you disconnect aerial from 1 tv, is the other good?
Do this 2 both tv's?
I would have put the aerial into a spitter/booster, then off to each of the tv's, thats the usual way.

 

[otoboi]

When disconnecting TV 1 reception on TV2 remains good . Disconnecting 2 has no impact on TV 1 . I mention that the TV1 input is through a " MonsterPower " box which Comet inveigled me into buying !!. Re the splitting that would have meant running a line upstairs from the downstairsTV which didn't seem logical at the time the new aerial ( replacement after a storn) was put up . Looking at the aerial it looks as if there is a splitter ( Teleste) out of which 3 white and one black cables run . One of the white ones runs into the bedroom and the other 2 go downstairs .

 

[davelowe1977]

Some types of booster boxes are mains powered and supply current to an amplifier in the aerial itself. Are both booster boxes the same?

 

[otoboi]

Each of the (single output) boosters are linked to the mains but are different . Downstairs its Telesta Communications which is wired in and upstairs its a cheap Philex where the cable plugs , input and output, are simply inserted into the body of the booster . I mention that, downstairs, I have tried by-passing the MonsterPower box by putting the aerial (after the booster) directly into the TV , however it made no difference to the problem .

 

[davelowe1977]

You say that the TVs are not linked together, but they are at the aerial. That's just something that I sketched on a piece of paper while thinking about the problem.

I'm thinking digital vs analogue TV... Are both or neither TVs receiving a digital signal? I believe that digital TV coax is braided but also shielded. If you had new cable fitted (different colour you mention) for the downstairs TV it would be shielded (necessary). The other cables may not be (just shrouded). What could be occurring is that the downstairs TV is partially shielding the signal by its common connection to the aerial.

Having said all that digital is either on or off not 'shades of grey' so you are likely still on analogue....

 

[otoboi]

I confirm that the basic cabling is analogue ( the "new" aerial was put up over 10 years ago ) . Downstairs the digital input is achieved through a separate aerial and cable into the Sky HD box . I must correct my earlier comment as the analogue aerial goes into the VHS/DVD player/recorder and thence to the TV and NOT via the SkyBox. There is no digital input to the upstairs TV (new) and it will only pick up analogue programmes (3) . I still have the old analogue TV upstairs and that's performance is no different i.e. Ok when downstairs is on but lousy when it's off.

 

[davelowe1977]

EDIT: content removed.

Still thinking...

 

[otoboi]

Have now tried various combinations and have come to conclusion that this is to do with the "PowerSaver box" on the lounge TV/DVD etc . I've run the portable analogue TV beside the HD set and , together they are OK . However if I turn off the HD set ( at the set) the analogue runs OK for 30 seconds or so and as soon as the "Power saving " function on the Power Saver box kicks in the reception reverts to lousy . I had noted that the aerial booster actually made no difference to the reception downstairs - I turned off its power and there was no change in reception i.e. it was equally bad . I tried disconnecting the powerbox and simply running the HD TV from the mains and the analogue aerial but got no reception at all - not even lousy . The TV showed " no signal" however when I moved the power source from the mains socket into the PowerBox socket I got perfect reception . The aerial input was the only aerial connection and this was direct from the aerial booster not via the PowerBox- I confirm that I had removed the HD cable so there was definitely no other source of input.

 

[Sam Gangee]

Sounds as if your TV is providing power to an aerial amplifier. I'm not clear, from your post, just where your amplifier is connected. You need to make sure it's in the right place.

http://www.google.com/search?q=Where+does+a+masthead+amplifier+go

Note that you can't simply connect two cables directly to an aerial. You have to use a proper splitter or masthead amplifier.

 

[otoboi]

Following your lead and the link I have looked again at the aerial and this has a box (Teleste) on the mast into which go one black lead and 3 white ones . The black comes down the mast and the 3 white ones lead off down the house wall and then 1 goes to each of the 1st floor bedrooms and the 3rd to the ground floor lounge . There is no sign of any power being fed into this box. I presume that this is a splitter rather than an amplifier . Where the leads are fed into equipment ( one bedroom lead is unused) this is through amplifiers/boosters . The main one ( Teleste ) has the cables wired in and the bedroom (Philex) linked by plugs . Each booster has a single output .

 

[ericmark]

I will guess that one booster is in fact not a booster but the power supply to the mast head booster so turning it off means no signal?

 

[otoboi]

PROBLEM SOLVED

The problem was a seemingly simple one . The issue was the power to the lounge booster . I realised that this was in fact being taken through the "PowerBox" and once this went into"sleep mode" when the lounge TV was turned off it disconnected the booster which , for some rather ( to me ) bizarre reason. has an effect on the upstairs aerial and booster . If the booster is now plugged into a wall socket it solves the problem PROVIDED THAT I KEEP IT SWITCHED ON . If I turn this off at the mains then upstairs reception is impaired . I can live with this and simply leave the lounge power booster permanently switched on . Once again , my apologies for something which I could have identified earlier and my thanks to evryone who responded .