Do I need to get an aerial or can I connect my old sky dish straight to an aeri
Brian Butterworth published on UK Free TV Unlike with analogue or Freeview which use ground-based transmitters, satellite systems require a unique connection from each digibox to the satellite dish. If you want more than one digibox (or have a personal video recorder like Sky+ that requires two connection) you will have to upgrade the LNB on the dish to a multiple-output variety (a "quad LNB" as they are known) and have a satellite grade cable run in for each digibox.
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Wednesday, 12 February 2014
stacey: If the dish is connected to more than one room then it will be apparent because:
- there will be at least one cable from the dish for each room, and;
- the sockets in each room will be threaded f-connectors rather than push-in aerial connectors.
If the sockets are for terrestrial TV then two possibilities spring to mind:
1. The aerial feeds into the main room such as the lounge. There is another aerial socket which is the "out" feed to all other rooms. There may be a booster fitted to split this single "out" feed into multiple feeds, one for each room. This may have been the case in order to allow the Sky box (assuming it was Sky as the dish can work equally with Freesat) to be viewed in other rooms.
2. If it is a relatively new-build then the feeds in the other rooms may eminate from the loft but not be connected.
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stacey: Further advice on reply; investigate which of the above apply.
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Stacey Green8:37 PM
Dave Lindsay: Thank you for your advice. I've just been into the loft and the aerial is mounted there, I've managed to trace the aerial cable which disappears towards the outlet which picks up freeview signal in my living room. The cable from my bedroom, the one I'm trying to get to work is not connected to the aerial cable but disappears towards the Sky dish so I need to disconnect the bedroom cable and reconnect to the aerial cable, is that correct? And if so what kind of connector will I need? Stacey x
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Stacey Green: Yes, the cable that was/is being used for satellite is suitable for terrestrial television.
Within the loft use threaded f-connectors if possible. I say "if possible" because some amplifiers (boosters) use plug-in coax plugs - not that you necessarily require one, you may be able to use an unpowered splitter, depending on the strength of the signal. See here for information:
Satellite, Television, FM, DAB, Aerial, Coaxial Cable, Plugs, Sockets, Connectors & Leads
Before you cut any cables, think about how you might leave them in a state where they could be reused should your requirements change. For example, if the cable from the dish comes into the loft it's probably not a good idea to t cut the cable right at the point where it comes in as you won't be able to join onto it again in future and may require a new piece of cable running from the dish.
If the cable from the dish runs into the loft you may find that the cable from it joins to a separate piece of cable to the socket in the room. It may be preferable to disconnect at the joint rather than cutting it.
You may need some more cable to do what you need. Use f-connectors and a female-to-female adapter to join them (there is no need to cover them in tape if they are within the loftspace):
Satellite, Television, FM, DAB, Aerial, Coaxial Cable, Plugs, Sockets, Connectors & Leads
You can't simply connect two or more aerial cables to the terminals on the aerial. Well you can, but it's a bodge.
If you use an unpowered splitter, then something like this will do:
Konig Satellite F-Splitter: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics
Other models and suppliers are available. Try to avoid leaving outputs on an unpowered splitter not connected to a TV/box.
In the bedroom, if it's a threaded f-connector socket, as it should be for satellite, replace this with a push in coax socket. That said, if it is I don't understand how you've tried it with your TV. The other alternative is to use an adapter with f-connector to coax socket.
Use double-screened cable such as Webro WF100.
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Friday, 11 April 2014
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pat sommerville4:04 PM
Dave Lindsay: my sister has a freeview box but does not appear to,have an aerial to connect the aerial cable to. At the moment it is going to an unconnected dish outside her house. Can she get an indoor aerial to work with her freeview box or does she need to have a proper aerial.
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pat sommerville: The question you are asking is "will a set-top aerial work at your sister's address?" Without knowledge of that location it is impossible to get any idea as to what the chances of success are.
It is important to understand that that is what it is: a chance of success. Even at a single address there are often parts where the signal isn't as good because of obstructions (walls, buildings etc).
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Wednesday, 2 July 2014
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Dan10:56 PM
hi,
Please help...
I have a dish outside my house which was previously installed for my virgin fibre optic years ago. This is no longer in use as I have cancelled the connection but the wires are still attached to my room and the sky dish is still outside. Can I use this dish and connect my sky box to view channels? Would it pick up the signals for sky? It has the same connector head as my sky connector downstairs in the living room. The reason I asked this is because I do not want to bring the wires from downstairs to my room upstairs.
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Dan:
the dish would never have been for virgin fibre optic, the dish will only have been for sky.
you can connect a sky box to it but will receive limited channels unless the sky box is on someone's account receive a channel package
if you connect a Freesat box you will receive many more channels.
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jamie's: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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Dan11:54 PM
Jamie: thank you for your reply.
I am very certain the dish outside was installed for my fibre optic. Virgin media contractors came down years ago to install this when I ordered my connection. This was probably 5 odd years ago when fibre optic was first introduced to the UK. I have also checked outside my home and see that a cable connected to the dish is also wired into my room. My virgin modem was connect to this cable. It was never connected to my home phone line nor any other line from outside. I understand virgin media now goes through a BT line but at the time I got virgin fibre optic, it actually went through the dish they installed.
Never the less, my question is can I connect my sky box F5s (freesat type box) into this connection in my room (previously used for virgin fibre optic) to pick up signals to view channels? Or is this dish solely for fibre optic use only?
Can any dish be used to pick up any signals regardless if its for sky or freesat? If this is the case, my sky box F5s surely will be able to pick up signals with this dish right? Correct me if I am wrong.
Many thanks.
Dan
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Thursday, 3 July 2014
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Dan12:02 AM
The connection in my room looked almost identical to this picture below.
http://imagizer.imageshac….jpg
It has the same connector heads and installed in the exact same way. It's connected to my dish outside of the house.
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