Sky HD aeriel cable broken problem..help??

[adamfernadam]

Hi all,

The aeriel cable going from the sky wallplate to the skybox has been pulled and caused the cable to snap actually back in the wall behind the plastic faceplate. Have removed the faceplate and hacked out plaster abit so that i can attach it to the faceplate thats loose again just to get a picture for now....but it keeps going on and off as the plate moves

I have bought a new plate and metal wall box but i cannot get the signal to stay and with alot of expensive AV gear well its driving me mad!!

Have rung a few aeriel companies to see if somebody can come fix a new wallplate in for me but they all say they just test signal etc (which i know is fine) and wont touch plates/cabling in walls etc...

Can anybody give me an idea who to ask or call or where i can go for help to get the job done for me....please??

Many thanks in advance!

 

[ChrisFrost]

I'm surprised you're having trouble getting this sorted. Do you live in flats or somewhere with a communal aerial system that means only certain companies can work on the system?

 

[adamfernadam]

Thanks for the reply...

No i just live in a normal terrace townhouse..nothing communal. Live in the North East of england. Iv tried a few aeriel companies who all say they wont touch construction stuff..walls..plaster etc even the metal boxes...they will only run cables or dishes or check signals.

Maybe its more of a DIY job but im pretty good at most stuff in the house but this has just turned into a pain now and iv tried and failed with it and am making it worse...

Any idea who..or what to try?

 

[ChrisFrost]

I'm struggling a little to visualise exactly what you have...

If this is a satellite cable then does it come in from outside? If so, then perhaps cutting the cable outside and joining a new piece in to feed through the wall to the back of the faceplate might be the answer.

The same could be true if your cable is plastered in to the wall.

Have a look here for some info about joining cables.

 

[adamfernadam]

Thanks for your help ChrisFrost...

Your correct its the cable running from the sky dish on the roof...down the bedroom wall and into the front room wall..plastered in all the way through...(not in a plastic conduit so no movement)

When it reaches the front room it terminates on the plastic sky outlet faceplate. It has no connector on the cable at that end..it just attaches to the faceplate via a screw on the bare wire.

Then a seperate cable with 2 F Type connectors (as shown in your pic) runs from the faceplate to the sky box.

The cable that has snapped is the one in the wall so there is just bare wire sticking out the wall 6 inches further up from where the original faceplate was.

 

[ChrisFrost]

OK then. It looks like you need to dig in to the plaster maybe 12"~18" up from the socket and join on some new cable. Then it's a case of replastering and making the decoration good. It probably explains why the aerial guys weren't so keen; most of the work is plastering and redecorating.

The links should give you a good idea what to do with the cable. Just FYI, the black tape is a special self-sealing waterproofing product called self-amalgamating tape.

 

[streetlighter]

To save the plaster and decoration it might be best to join the cables externally before they enter the house and then drill a new hole for the cable from the inside out.
You can then fit a plastic surface box over the entry hole and fit the wallplate to this, installing a blank plate over the old box in the wall.
The ideal solution is to avoid any joints in the cable a replace the whole run from the LNB to the wall plate.
Im not a proper satellite installer its just one of my hobbies and i have learned most of what i know from reading what satellite magazine for the past 11 years and going on internet forums. So my advice may not be the best solution.