Sky box relocation question

Stimpyone

Hi,

Very shortly I'll be putting an extension on the back of my house.

I currently have a SKY+ box in the front room and I want to eventually move it into the new room in the back. The problem is that the dish is on the chimney and I've never been great at heights.:o

If I ring sky will they come out and relocate it for me?.

Cheers,

watty

Sky only use 3rd party contractors.

You could extend the cable.

Are you wanting to move dish or simply run a new cable?

Stimpyone

watty wrote:

Sky only use 3rd party contractors.

You could extend the cable.

Are you wanting to move dish or simply run a new cable?

I wan't to leave the dish where it is and just run a new cable. I'd heard ( from a bloke down the pub ) that extending the cable would degrade the signal ( i.e. you get a better signal with one lenght of cable ).

The cable currently runs from the dish on the roof down behind the drain pipe on the front of the house, into the living room via two drilled holes and directly plugs into the box.

The cable is attached to the drain pipe with cable ties and I was thinking of snipping these and pretty much throwing the cable over the roof and hoping for the best....

Cheers

Mellor

Stimpyone wrote:

I'd heard ( from a bloke down the pub ) that extending the cable would degrade the signal ( i.e. you get a better signal with one lenght of cable ).

Im not sure but I dont think thats true.
Digital signals are either recieved or not. On or off.
Onlt analoge is affected by signal strenght.
There is not bad reception with digital, its either recieved or not, full picture and sound or nothing at all.
I dont think the signal would be affected if it was all connected correctly.
This is based only on my understanding of digital signals.
I somebody knows better or knows that the cable could be affected in an other way then im sure they post it up.

byte

Will the cable be long enough as it is to reach to the new room, once the cable is rerouted?

Ideally, it's best not to extend the cables, though if you do need to, then use F connectors and an F back-to-back coupler to join. Under no circumstances use Belling Lee connectors or worse, twist the cables together.

Mellor, your theory isn't entirely true. The signal strength from satellite transponders can vary, so while some channels can have good signals, others may be blocky, due to low signal levels.

Also, low signal strength will cause problems in bad weather.

Stimpyone

byte wrote:

Will the cable be long enough as it is to reach to the new room, once the cable is rerouted?

Unfortunately not, I'd have to extend the cable.

Is there any particular quality/grade cable that would be better to use.

I also have a sky box in the master bedroom that I hope to connect up to the TV in the front sitting room with coaxial cable and a magic eye.

Cheers

byte

Use only CT100 or QF100 cable (copper braid, copper foil) for satellite.

When extending the cable, will the joints be outside or indoors?

Stimpyone

byte wrote:

When extending the cable, will the joints be outside or indoors?

Not quite sure yet, hopefully inside but could you recommend connectors for both situations.

Thanks

Oh and where can I get hold of the connectors and cable. ( Maplins? ). I'm in Dublin by the way.

Thanks again.

byte

Well for both situations I'd use F connectors and an F coupler (barrel).

However, if the joint really needs to go outside, use self-amalgamting tape to seal the areas, making sure to tape it well so that no water will seep through.

Stimpyone

Sorry to drag this thread up again, but would RG-6U cable be suitable for this job?

Tony

read the thread, bytes comment

byte

Stimpyone wrote:

Sorry to drag this thread up again, but would RG-6U cable be suitable for this job?

For such a long cable run, no.

Stimpyone

Bugger!

Byte/Tony.. any ideas where I can get some of the cable previously mentioned? ( CT100 or QF100 )

Sorry if this is a stupid question but I'm a complete novice.

Tony

Not a stupid question, take a look at the supplier sticky for CT100 suppliers.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=155714