Multi-room for B&B

aaf

My girlfriends parents run a B&B. They have 7 tv's in total. The reception in all rooms is terrible. Presently, they only have an aerial from which they pick up the following channels: RTE1, NET2, TV3, TG4, BBC1, BBC2, UTV, CH4. One of the newer tv's loses it's channels every couple of months, which may or may not be related to poor signal/reception. Anyway, I told them I'd look into TV package options. They don't want to spend an arm and a leg on it. I'm thinking NTL MMDS (as they are located in Ratoath, Co.Meath - no cable NTL) and get the house rewired / recabled and add boosters? Basic NTL analogue channels should cost them €23.50/month according to ntl.ie. What do you guys think? Is Sky an option or too costly due to need to have extra box in every room? Any particular kind of coax cable and boosters you would recommend?

Gran Hermano

Pretty sure from a legal viewpoint you'd need to pay commercial rates to
Sky or NTL - similar to how Sky charge different prices for pubs and hotels.

Have you contacted their new business departments?

maxg

There are no analogue channels beeing offered via ntl mmds.
Like sky there would be a digital box needed for every room.
I don't think its worth the money for B&B.

joe25

Best system to get would be a FTa satellite system
One off payment and good picture.
You would need 6 receivers,a dish and a Octo Lnb.

maxg

And whats about the irish channels?
The cheapest solution would be a proper distribution of the analogue channels till 2012 and after that dvb-t boxes.

BuffyBot

joe25 wrote: »

Best system to get would be a FTa satellite system
One off payment and good picture.
You would need 6 receivers,a dish and a Octo Lnb.

FTA seems like an reasonable option to be honest

joe25

maxg wrote: »

And whats about the irish channels?
The cheapest solution would be a proper distribution of the analogue channels till 2012 and after that dvb-t boxes.

If you can get a good picture in your area go ahead

aaf

maxg wrote: »

The cheapest solution would be a proper distribution of the analogue channels

What exactly do you mean by this?

Which FTA Sat system would be best?

maxg

aaf wrote: »

What exactly do you mean by this?

I guess there is no distribution amplifier installed but only one cable splitted after the other.

aaf

maxg wrote: »

I guess there is no distribution amplifier installed but only one cable splitted after the other.

I'm not sure of the existing setup but I'd be surprised if it's anything more than basic and cheapest. Where would one source a distribution amp? Any online sites? I might give this a go before looking at NTL or Sky options.

byte

Your best bet first would be to find out where all the TV points are distributed from (presuambly one central point, like attic), then find out what's being used to connect them all to the aerial.

aaf

byte wrote: »

Your best bet first would be to find out where all the TV points are distributed from (presuambly one central point, like attic), then find out what's being used to connect them all to the aerial.

Will do a quick survey and post results here. Cheers.

aaf

Ok, I went into the attic and took the following pic. Major case of overloading. I also noticed that one of those white connectors has a loose brace if that's what it's called. Any advice? Also, the day after I had a look at this, the aerial was blown over so it has only been fixed today!

DingDong

Looks like nasty cheap, cable, connector and splits. You may get away with the cable if you get better quality, connectors splits and amp/booster.

byte

3 lossy Y-splitters in series!

I figure there's about 9 feeds altogether. I'd say look for perhaps an 8-output distribution amp with a "Full" output. Basically these are 9 outputs but the Full output has usually about double the gain of the other 8, so maybe put one of those Y splitters in there to double it, or feed the main TV into it (provided it doesn't cause over-amplification problems).

aaf

byte wrote: »

3 lossy Y-splitters in series!

I figure there's about 9 feeds altogether. I'd say look for perhaps an 8-output distribution amp with a "Full" output. Basically these are 9 outputs but the Full output has usually about double the gain of the other 8, so maybe put one of those Y splitters in there to double it, or feed the main TV into it (provided it doesn't cause over-amplification problems).

How about this or this? Anywhere else I can find these? Any brands to look out for or stay away from. Will I just get one of these 8-way distribution amps and see if that works out better?

Also, one of their guests took one of their tv remotes. The TV is a Digital ZX-Series Model CE-3748-1. I couldn't find much about it on google. Will any cheap universal remote do? Power City job?

Cheers for all the advice so far.

DingDong

Either of the amps should do the second one you wouldn't have to change any connectors on your cables.

Any old universal remote will do for changing channels but if you ever need to retune the tv you may need a better remote that gives you that option.

maxg

aaf wrote: »

How about this or this? Anywhere else I can find these? Any brands to look out for or stay away from. Will I just get one of these 8-way distribution amps and see if that works out better?

Cheers for all the advice so far.

It depends how much gain you need.
The first one has 12db gain at 8 outputs and 18db at the ninth and f-sockets.
The second one has only 8 outputs, 6 db gain and coax sockets.

aaf

maxg wrote: »

It depends how much gain you need.
The first one has 12db gain at 8 outputs and 18db at the ninth and f-sockets.
The second one has only 8 outputs, 6 db gain and coax sockets.

So the first one would be preferable? The more gain the better the signal getting to each TV? Any brands or shops I should be looking at or will I just go ahead and order the first amp I linked to above?

byte

CHeck your local electrical retailer to see if they may have some.

Labgear do a good 8+1 amp aswell, though gain would be about 8dB per port.

maxg

aaf wrote: »

So the first one would be preferable? The more gain the better the signal getting to each TV? Any brands or shops I should be looking at or will I just go ahead and order the first amp I linked to above?

A too strong signal is as bad as a too weak signal.
For instance if the signal come in with 68 dbuV from the aerial the first one from your posting would oversteer.
Maximum output is 83 dbuV and 68 dbuV plus 18 db gain give 86 dbuV and that would botch the picture at the output.

aaf

maxg wrote: »

A too strong signal is as bad as a too weak signal.
For instance if the signal come in with 68 dbuV from the aerial the first one from your posting would oversteer.
Maximum output is 83 dbuV and 68 dbuV plus 18 db gain give 86 dbuV and that would botch the picture at the output.

The two 8-way amps I listed have 83dBµV max output. I'll check out my local maplins and power city.

Judging by the cable mess (from pic), the guy who put the cables in doesn't have a clue. Is there any cheap way of measuring the dBµV level of input from aerial so I can decide what distribution amp I need to get for them.

maxg

Check at the sticker how much gain in db the current amp is able to deliver.
Connect the longest cable run to one of the outputs straight without any splitter and check the picture quality.
That give you a idea what you need.

aaf

Had another look at the existing amp. It doesn't have the gain in db's. All I can see is "Mini 4 Distribution Unit 40 - 880MHz" (or 800MHz). TV reception is woeful on every TV. Reckon I'll just take the plunge and pick one up in either Maplins or Power City and see what the reception is like. I can always return it. Should come in at less than €100?

byte

I think those Fringe amps had gain of about 7dB, though any gain achieved from that amp will be totally lost through those Y splitters.

You could try just connecting 4 of the leads directly into the amp, and see the result on whatever 4 TV's are connected.

EDIT: just noticed that maxg more or less said the same thing.

It might also be an idea to just connect one TV directly to the incoming aerial, to ensure that the amp is functioning properly. If picture is better on the one TV when amp is bypassed, then amp is faulty.