TV aerial issues

[TW]Fox

[TW]Fox

[TW]Fox

Man of Honour
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
160,154
Hi chaps,

Just moved into a new build and the developer has helpfully left a coil of coax in the loft for the TV aerial connection. I've wired it up a proper aerial I picked up at toolstation. The coil of wire contains just one lead - I queried this as I expected to see a lead from each aerial point which I'd then connect into a signal splitter or similar but apparently not, it comes like this.

Well, it doesn't quite work. The upstairs TV point yields a full complement of channels. The lounge TV point does not - I get about 9 freeview channels.

I have a second downstairs point in the dining room which works perfectly as well - its just the lounge one that doesn't.

Any ideas?
 
There will be a splitter / booster tucked away somewhere and given that two of three sockets are working that is probably ok.

It might be worth checking the connection in the one which isn't if you are confident enough to unscrew and take a look? Is it just a single aerial output or does it have sky connections etc. on it too?
 
I would start by unscrewing the socket in the lounge and check that it's terminated properly. Then find the splitter (I'd expect it to either be in the loft or a utility cupboard somewhere) and check the same. If it's not obvious, see if moving/fiddling with it affects the signal that you do get.
 
chris.tarry85 said:
It might be worth checking the connection in the one which isn't if you are confident enough to unscrew and take a look? Is it just a single aerial output or does it have sky connections etc. on it too?
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mattyg said:
You've definitely not got any of the outer foil/wire touching the inner sold core
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So I've had the face plates off and this is exactly what is going on - where the cable terminates into the faceplate its touching the outer foil in numerous places. Furthermore, the worst of the sockets in the lounge is at a 90 degree angle and has at one point been bent back on itself - would this have damaged it?
 
Does the back of your wall plate look like the upper or the lower image; i.e. do you see a PCB or is everything enclosed in metal casings?

qtJMu5.jpg


Unshielded wall plates are cheaper but open up the system to all sorts of potential noise and interference issues.


Yes, bent cable can cause problems such as selective filtering.

The foil is part of the shielding system, and the shielding forms the return path for the electrical circuit. However, foil is a very poor conductor which is partly why the braid is there. It has lower electrical resistance. If the cable has been poorly installed, and the braiding cut back leaving just the foil as a means of contact, then the circuit won't be working correctly. You'll need to remake the connections ensuring (if possible) that the cable is cut back past any damage, and that some braid is in contact with the cable clamping.


A common theme with larger housing developments is that it’s the electrical contractor doing the aerial cabling work. They’re rarely experts in this field, and so often use the lowest priced materials and hand off the physical work to the least qualified spark on-site - the junior or the apprentice – because the work doesn’t need to pass the same safety tests as for mains and lighting circuits.
 
lucid said:
A common theme with larger housing developments is that it’s the electrical contractor doing the aerial cabling work. They’re rarely experts in this field, and so often use the lowest priced materials and hand off the physical work to the least qualified spark on-site - the junior or the apprentice – because the work doesn’t need to pass the same safety tests as for mains and lighting circuits.
Click to expand...

That would explain why presumably the same guy wired all my ethernet ports in series :rolleyes:
 
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