Sky tv in other room

BANNERMAN98

Last Christmas I ran a cable from my sky box on my bedroom to the living room( open fireplace) and the cable was in and around 30 ft, it worked but every now and then static would come on screen and I had to move the cable to improve tv quality on screen, the house is a bungalow and concert built, over 25 years old, so what's the best way to do it this year the cable is unreliable and I get interference or is it a lost cause without having to get another sky box. Would the magic eye thing help or is it just too far apart to work?

riclad

MAGIC eye should be fine, use good quality cable, real coax.
not the very thin tv cable,
i know someone using 35 ft cable with magic eye, picture is perfect.
THE COax cables connectors at both ends need to be put on right ,
and tight ,
otherwise picture will be bad.
try refitting the coax connector on both ends ,it might be loose,
or shielding insulation is touching centre wire.

BANNERMAN98

By any chance would you know exactly what cable I should get? I got one in to electrical shop that cost me just €12.50 which I was lTer informed by a relative that wasn't the best quality cable I could have got

riclad

get it in a tv shop, a good , etc good hardware store, eg b and q ,
ASK for high quality tv coax cable, say its for a satellite dish.
they usually have it on drums.
dont buy it in a 2 euro shop.

electrical parts components store would probably have it too.
flexible soft cable is bad , at least for sky tv use.

BANNERMAN98

Forgive the ignorance of the question but do I need a cable with the magic eye?

riclad

you buy a magic eye kit, cost 25 euro approx,
tv , shop, hardware store.

bad coax cable ,soft,thin, flexible,

good tv cable is kinda stiff, not thin.
you,ll need to acess the sky menu, services,
to turn on rf 2 coax out on the sky box,see here


http://www.internet-tools.co.uk/sat/docs/3.pdf

BANNERMAN98

Great thanks for that, so I should really be paying more than €12 for a good qualify tv cable?

riclad

BUY the cable separate,
any good tv,shop, hardware store,
b and q store etc
you need to get in to the setup menu on the sky box to turn on
rf outlet power supply ,
set to ON,

see pdf above.

magic eye cost 25 euro,last time i checked price.

cable coax separate, 10 , maybe 15 euro approx.

BANNERMAN98

Will do thank you

riclad

long time since i bought any cable,longer than 3 foot.
price varys from hardware store to tv shop.

i,d estimate maybe 15 euro.

hardware stores tend to be cheaper .
i cant give you an exact price

i tried it once, got cheap,cable, it was too thin and soft, to work on a magic eye kit,

you have to place the remote control signal reciever ,

somewhere where you can see it,
ie you point at the small round red unit to change the sky channel on the tv
upstairs ,

the remote round ,reciever unit ,hangs off a cable which plugs into the round coax connector on the back of the tv.

there,ll be a setup manual in the box,

plug unit into rf2 coax out on the sky box,

NOT rf1 coax .they look identical.

BANNERMAN98

http://www.currys.ie/Product/LOGIK-L10SAT12-Satellite-Cable-10m/314220/339.1

Is this what I need?

riclad

no ,
ill post a link here.in a minute.

BANNERMAN98

Thanks again your help is much appreciated

riclad

http://www.maplin.co.uk/buy-cables-and-connectors/cut-cable/tv-satellite-and-coax-cable

low loss coax.

do NOT BUY thin miniture coax ,no,use,
will not work on magic eye.

you,ll need 1 of these fitted at each end,
put on perfect ,
http://www.dicksmith.co.nz/tv-video-cables/75ohm-metal-tv-coax-line-plug-dsnz-p2020

it can be unscrewed ,

so the shield cable goes round the side,
the signal hard metal cable
goes thru the central middle prong.

buy cable in a tv or hardware store,
in a hardware store ,ask nicely and they,ll fitt the coax cable on
each end,
there needs to be a bit of shielding cable left around the
coax connector to stop interference.


the coax cable needs to to big enough ,
standard size to fit tight in the coax connector ,
otherwise magic eye will not work properly.

so buy cable, 2 coax connectors in the same shop.

BANNERMAN98

Will do thanks very much, one last question, last time I ran it along the attic from one room to the other, is that advisable or should I keep it lower to the ground and run along the wall

riclad

YOU could buy satellite cable,
then you,d have to cut off 2 inches,

remove the f connectors,

and put on 2 coax connectors ,which have to fit perfectly on it.

just go to hardware store buy,
30ft coax cable high quality ,
with 2 coax connectors,
takes about 2 minutes to put on a coax connector onto a cable.

by the way i just set up a sky box last week,


the last step is to tune in tv,

so go to menu,tv, tuning,
set tuning search, manual,
sky tv magic eye, is on uhf ,somewhere between 30 and 45
on the uhf frequency.

when you get a good picture,
press ,store, channel,
save, exit menu.

if you use channel 1 on tv,
when you turn on tv,
sky will come on ,on the tv upstairs, in bedroom.

i set up 2 boxes, 2 tvs, 2 magic eyes.


each sky box ,one old,reciever sky tv,
one new hd, reciever was on a slightly different tv frequency on the uhf spectrum/.

BANNERMAN98

Cool thank you, I will get the cable http://www.maplin.co.uk/low-loss-satellite-cable-ft125-278 and the connectors you recommended and hope it works

riclad

the most important thing is the cable is thick, has proper shielding,

it must fit standard SIZE tv coax connectors ,
otherwise ,
it wont fit in the sky box, coax out ,
and wont work on a magic eye kit.
buy cable and connectors in the same shop,

thin ,minature cable is no use to you at all.

it must be FULL SIZE STANDARD coaxial tv cable.


thin cable is ok for going to a lnb, satellitte dish ,
or a sat box using f connector ports.

NO USE for a magic eye setup.


if a standard tv coax connector does not fit on it ,

its too thin,

its no use to you ,

BANNERMAN98

The cable I have now fits into the sky box and tv but it works fine for a while then static on the screen, it only clears when I move the cable and it works fine for a while again then static again

riclad

heres the ideal coax magic eye cable,

wf100 type.

get black or white cable to match the walls .

BANNERMAN98

Cool thanks again, big big help

riclad

the cable you have now,

on either or both ends ,
the shielding could be too short,

or else its too long maybe, its touching off ,the central signal wire,

if the coax connector is say 1 inch long, the shield should go up
about halfway,
http://www.google.com/search?gcx=c&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=how+to+++fit+++a+coaxial++tv+connector

cut off a bit before the plastic which covers the main central signal wire ,
or the screw cap,on the connectors could be loose.

you could open the connectors ,to check this,

turn round one way loosen ,open,

other way, to tighten them.


normally for a magic eye ,i cut the outer shielding so it just fits inside the

coax screw cap unit, without getting to close to the end of the plastic sheath,


ALSO i cut the main central coax wire ,so its just long enough ,
to reach the end of the central coax prong ,



if the main wire is too short ,it,ll give a bad picture ,
wont make contact with the sky box coax rf out port.


i installed about 20 sky recievers ,so , i,ve run alot of cables.

BANNERMAN98

I will try the cable you mentioned there as my cousin told me the cable I have now is not the best quality I could have got

riclad

maybe get someone in a hardware store to fit the 2 coax connectors ,
if not done right the magic eye will not work.

http://www.electronics2000.co.uk/images/data/coax.png
see pic.

the shielding should be cut so its a bit longer on the lower end, than the brass claws that go over it,
and theres a bit of plastic insulation left with no shielding on it ,as in picture above.
press the brass claws down to hold the shielding in place,
before screwing on the cap.

BANNERMAN98

I followed. YouTube video last November on how to fit the cables and watched it several times to make sure I done the fitting correctly but the problem of the static interference persisted so what I will do this time round is go to maplin and look for the low loss wf100 coaxial cable and get them to fit the metal connectors there for me

riclad

with great respect,
i,m doubtful if maplin would fit the connectors,
i think you,d be better off going to a tv ,or electrical supply shop,

or a satellite parts shop,
or a good hardware store ,
and asking them to fit the connectors,

AND ask for good quality tv cable .
its hard to cut the shielding, and strip the connector ,unless you have a wire cutters tool.
if you wanna go to maplins, first ask,can they put on the connectors,
do not go to the main sales counter,
go to the desk ,at the back that deals with parts, components ,chips etc

if i ,m buying more than 10 ft cable i go to an electrical parts,store ,or a hardware store,
or a builders providers.

BANNERMAN98

Will do thanks

riclad

they have great staff in maplins,
i,d say 90 percent have never picked up or used any tool ,
or stripped anything ,apart from wallpaper.
they mostly sell whatevers in the store ,and whats on sale this week.

BANNERMAN98

Som I'm looking for wf100 cable with 75ohm metal plugs?

riclad

when i ,m ready ,ill be installing 2 sky boxes in my gaff,
so ,ill buy about 200 ft of cable ,
eg 2 boxes, 2 magic eyes ,
to connect to upstairs tvs
i,ll put 2 lnb units on the dish.

Peter Rhea

BANNERMAN98 wrote: »

. . . every now and then static would come on screen and I had to move the cable to improve tv quality on screen

Intermittent fault cured by moving the cable, would point to a dodgy connection being the cause.

BANNERMAN98 wrote: »

Would the magic eye thing help or is it just too far apart to work?

The 'magic eye' is just for transmitting remote control signals back to the Sky box: it's an infra-red sensor & a sender unit that converts the IR to radio frequency (RF) signal & sends it through the cable back to the Sky box RF2 socket. It won't do anything to improve the picture or sound on the living room tv, just means you can change channel etc. from the living room.

riclad

the magic eye sends the sky picture to tv upstairs and allows you to control
the box,
ir bring sky remote upstairs, change the channel,,

so you point at the ir sensor upstairs,to change from say bbc2 to sky sport.

Peter Rhea

riclad wrote: »

the magic eye sends the sky picture to tv upstairs

The magic eye is the IR sensor & sender unit, installed at the 'remote' tv. It doesn't send pictures anywhere.

The newest Sky boxes, which don't have an internal UHF modulator, use an add-on called the 'IO link' to 'send' picture & sound to remote tvs.

BANNERMAN98

So Peter what can I do to watch the sky in another room without another box

Peter Rhea

Find what is causing the intermittent 'static', more than likely a bad connection, & fix it.

Roger Hassenforder

Peter Rhea wrote: »

The magic eye is the IR sensor & sender unit, installed at the 'remote' tv. It doesn't send pictures anywhere.

The newest Sky boxes, which don't have an internal UHF modulator, use an add-on called the 'IO link' to 'send' picture & sound to remote tvs.

thanks Peter.
Is there a Sky+ specific magic eye i need?
Have the cable running to TV, in room overhead sky box. decent cable, and have picture, but my magic eye wont work.

Peter Rhea

There is no specific eye for Sky+. If the eye isn't getting power, check the installer setup menu, RF outlets, & see if power supply is on.

Video here shows how to access the menu on Sky+, here for Sky+ HD.

If power still isn't getting to the eye, then it's likely to be a connector issue. Ideally, the centre pins should be soldered on Belling-Lee type aerial plugs: http://www.megalithia.com/elect/bellinglee/index.html

Roger Hassenforder

Peter Rhea wrote: »

There is no specific eye for Sky+. If the eye isn't getting power, check the installer setup menu, RF outlets, & see if power supply is on.

Video here shows how to access the menu on Sky+, here for Sky+ HD.

If power still isn't getting to the eye, then it's likely to be a connector issue. Ideally, the centre pins should be soldered on Belling-Lee type aerial plugs: http://www.megalithia.com/elect/bellinglee/index.html

and I'll know the power is on....?
should the little red light on the tvlink be on all the time?

RF power supply "on", but eye still doesnt work
where's me meter...

Roger Hassenforder

Problem somewhere between skybox and the end of the cable. Eye works (anf led on!) when shoved straight into rf out2 on sky box. But nada at the other end of cable.

BANNERMAN98

Problem sorted, turned out it was the connection in the back of the tv I was using last year, tried a different tv and all systems go! Thanks folks:D

Peter Rhea

BANNERMAN98 wrote: »

. . . turned out it was the connection in the back of the tv I was using last year

Same conclusion you came to last year.

batistuta9

when i've the sky box switched on, it appears to be affecting saorview & freeview channels if i change back to aerial as the input source.
say 2 fw & 1 sv muxes will be gone completely

i only noticed this by coincidence after rescanning there recently, none of the muxes are on the same channel so i don't think it's that causing it & like i said only happens when the sky box is on it appears

anyone know what's the cause of this?

Peter Rhea

The Sky box modulator doesn't have to be on the same channel to cause problems.

Which channel is it using & which channels are the affected muxes using? Has the problem only started since the rescan?

batistuta9

sky is using 66

it seemed to affect different ones but i think always ch39 + another freeview one and maybe ch44 too at times

i've only noticed it since the rescan, i can't say it wasn't happening before for sure as i've only had sky back since around mid september.
i said i noticed it by coincidence, the day or day after i rescanned, i changed over to watch football on UTV HD, it was gone giving a no signal message.
I thought the new saorview mux might have something to do with it, so i tried doing a first time installation and that brought the channel(s) back but it happened again

i tried auto tuning and noticed the when at ch39 it hangs - like on any other channel there's stations - but stored nothing.
i can't remember exactly now how i thought sky could be having something to do with it, fluke perhaps, but i can stand in the hall and see two tvs, so that might be it, and on the one in the kitchen the channels were fine while missing in the sitting room.
so i've just switched the sky box off before changing input source since

i checked it a couple of times this morning with sky on and the channels were there fine
but if do a signal test when the sky box is on:
the signal quality on ch39 doesn't go above 55, starting as low as 0.
on ch45 it starts around 50 but goes up to 100
the rest are at 100 quality
the lowest signal strength is ch39 with 82

with the box off the sig. quality on these channels is at 100 from the start when checking

Peter Rhea

batistuta9 wrote: »

i checked it a couple of times this morning with sky on and the channels were there fine
but if do a signal test when the sky box is on:
the signal quality on ch39 doesn't go above 55, starting as low as 0.
on ch45 it starts around 50 but goes up to 100
the rest are at 100 quality
the lowest signal strength is ch39 with 82

with the box off the sig. quality on these channels is at 100 from the start when checking

Would seem the Sky box is causing the problem then, more than likely aided & abetted by a terrestrial signal that isn't great to begin with. Assuming the Sky box isn't faulty & this kind of interference is typical, an aerial system overhaul is probably the best long-term bet. In the meantime, you could try moving the modulator output to different channels & see if it shifts the interference off your wanted channels.

riclad

If YOU have a sky subscription ,
theres hardly any reason to have a saorview aerial connected to the tv upstairs,
just one cable from the box ,with the magic eye on it.
as far as i can see most of the saorview channels are on the sky
reciever.
Apart from rte hd, or the news channel.

Peter Rhea

riclad wrote: »

If YOU have a sky subscription ,
theres hardly any reason to have a saorview aerial connected to the tv upstairs

What if there's more than 1 person living in the house & people want to watch different channels at the same time?

batistuta9

Peter Rhea wrote: »

Would seem the Sky box is causing the problem then, more than likely aided & abetted by a terrestrial signal that isn't great to begin with. Assuming the Sky box isn't faulty & this kind of interference is typical, an aerial system overhaul is probably the best long-term bet. In the meantime, you could try moving the modulator output to different channels & see if it shifts the interference off your wanted channels.

what made you think the signal isn't great?
tonight here the strength is down a bit on some channels (the sky is off)
Would it be aerial related after all

which is more important for terrestrial, strength or quality?
i think i seen somewhere that quality gets boosted by a cable or tuner & isn't as important - could be wrong though.

batistuta9

riclad wrote: »

If YOU have a sky subscription ,
theres hardly any reason to have a saorview aerial connected to the tv upstairs,
just one cable from the box ,with the magic eye on it.
as far as i can see most of the saorview channels are on the sky
reciever.
Apart from rte hd, or the news channel.

yeah you're right most of the channels are on it or can be added but there's something wrong somewhere and it's better to find out what it is

i won't always have sky, i get it free now & when that's up probably won't get it
so i actually hope it's a sky box problem, it's no problem watching sky & will cost nothing to fix as i don't need to

then after i suppose it could be some cable/connection problem, the aerial or the tv itself, that's what i'm looking to find out

Peter Rhea

batistuta9 wrote: »

which is more important for terrestrial, strength or quality?
i think i seen somewhere that quality gets boosted by a cable or tuner & isn't as important - could be wrong though.

Quality is the important measure & can't be 'boosted'. Strength will only be a problem if it falls below the receiver threshold: amplifiers can be used to prevent this, usually with a small price to pay quality-wise. Overly high signal strength can also cause problems.

BANNERMAN98

Well great news, I changed TV set and all is well, I got a magic eye today but it's the type that connect directly into the tv and I have the other end of the coaxial cable in rf2 and power on from the sky set up menu, how ever the red light on the magic eye is not coming on.