Freesat + Saorview cabling setup

MoogDroog

After reading through many excellent pages of info re: Triple Tuner Combo capabilities (h/t NCM, THHB, Johnboy, et. al.) I'm stuck with a cabling query.

Located in Dublin 9 & am considering DIY installation of new dish+aerial for Freesat+Saorview.

I have one television (in living room, ground floor) with adjacent wall faceplate connections for 2×coax cables and 2×ethernet cables (to attic above 1st floor).

The 2×coax cables used to carry a Sky feed from a Sky dish but neither that dish nor the Sky subscription are still available & there is/was no aerial installed.

Currently limited to those 2 coax cables for carrying sat + aerial feed (i.e., not possible to add new cabling & I assume ethernet cables can’t carry sat/aerial signals).

Would the following setup work to deliver unified channel listing (Ireland+UK), simultaneous recording, 7-day EPG, and series-link-type functionality:

* New dish + LNB + aerial (both wall-mounted, south-facing [Three Rock for aerial])
* 1 coax cable from aerial
* 2 coax cables from LNB
* 1 of the 2 LNB coaxes to connect directly to existing (first) coax in attic
* The other LNB coax to combine with the aerial coax (via diplexer) then direct to second coax in attic
* First coax feed (to living room) direct into combi box tuner A input
* Second coax feed (to living room) then reversed/split via diplexer: one (origin LNB) to combi box tuner B input and the other (origin aerial) to combi box tuner C input

Sanity check much appreciated! Is there a better/optimal way to go about this?

Perhaps some sort of unicable setup, or swap the aerial for a 2nd LNB and go with Saorsat instead of Saorview?

Current 1st preference for a combo box is Zgemma H7S followed by Tiviar Alpha+.

The H7S seems to only have 2×coax inputs (plus an RF input) vs. 3×coax inputs on the Alpha+ — maybe there’s no need for 3 coax cables where 2 will do?

con747

The sat dish will need to be east facing for Astra 28.2 °E and the cable might be degraded or broken in spots if it's old. Also the Sky cable will not work for Saorview. You will need two cable feeds into a tuner for recording. I'm sure more posts will follow with better advice for you.

The Cush

MoogDroog wrote: »

Would the following setup work to deliver unified channel listing (Ireland+UK), simultaneous recording, 7-day EPG, and series-link-type functionality:

* New dish + LNB + aerial (both wall-mounted, south-facing [Three Rock for aerial])
* 1 coax cable from aerial
* 2 coax cables from LNB
* 1 of the 2 LNB coaxes to connect directly to existing (first) coax in attic
* The other LNB coax to combine with the aerial coax (via diplexer) then direct to second coax in attic
* First coax feed (to living room) direct into combi box tuner A input
* Second coax feed (to living room) then reversed/split via diplexer: one (origin LNB) to combi box tuner B input and the other (origin aerial) to combi box tuner C input

Yes, that's the best option with the 2 cables.

A module like the MW750 (TV Radio SAT 1 & SAT 2) or similar could be used at the TV point to split the diplexed feeds.

MoogDroog

con747 wrote: »

The sat dish will need to be east facing for Astra 28.2 °E and the cable might be degraded or broken in spots if it's old. Also the Sky cable will not work for Saorview. You will need two cable feeds into a tuner for recording. I'm sure more posts will follow with better advice for you.

Thanks con747. Wall is south facing but plan is to turn the dish to approx. 140° to pick up ASTRA2. Sat cables were newly installed around 5 years ago, no obvious cuts or breaks on the lengths in the attic. Not sure about what’s behind the wall though.

The Cush wrote: »

Yes, that's the best option with the 2 cables.

A module like the or similar could be used at the TV point to split the diplexed feeds.

Thanks The Cush. The Zgemma H7S has 2×F connecter inputs and 1×RF input. My 2×coax lines come in to the living room from behind an existing face plate (together with 2 ethernet ports). One of the coax lines should be straightforward (faceplate F connection directly to box F connection) but for the other, would this work:

F connection out of faceplate -> diplexer input (F conn.)
Diplexer output 1 (F conn.) direct to 2nd box F conn.
Diplexer output 2 (F conn.) to RF converter and then in to RF input on box?

Would that be sufficient for the full functionaliy I mentioned above (simultaneous recording, EPG, etc.) or would I also need the combi box to have an internet connection (in addition to a HDD for recording obviously)?

con747

Have a look here https://www.freetv.ie they have a lot of videos about set ups. Might be of some help. I have bought off them as well and they are ok to deal with if you need anything.

The Cush

MoogDroog wrote: »

F connection out of faceplate -> diplexer input (F conn.)
Diplexer output 1 (F conn.) direct to 2nd box F conn.
Diplexer output 2 (F conn.) to RF converter and then in to RF input on box?

Would that be sufficient for the full functionaliy I mentioned above (simultaneous recording, EPG, etc.) or would I also need the combi box to have an internet connection (in addition to a HDD for recording obviously)?

What is the RF converter?

If using this splitter simply connect the feed cable to the input. At the other end connect the sat output (950-2250 MHz) to the sat input on the box, connect the terrestrial output (5-860 MHz) direct to the RF/aerial input on the box, nothing else required.

MoogDroog

Thanks — I'm not sure about the terminology. I think 'connector' is what I meant — something like this: https / www. freetv.ie / coaxial-male-to-f-connector-adaptor-1s/

(Sorry for the spacing but as a new user I can't post links or images)

My confusion is that the RF input on the Zgemma is a different shape/type to the 2 other inputs, see here: https / www. world-of-satellite.co.uk / image/cache/data/ZGEMMA/zgemma-h7s-rear-500x500.png

Is it as simple as putting the correct plug type on the end of the cable that comes out of the terrestrial output of the splitter?

The Cush

MoogDroog wrote: »

something like this: https://www.freetv.ie/coaxial-male-to-f-connector-adaptor-1s/

My confusion is that the RF input on the Zgemma is a different shape/type to the 2 other inputs, see here: https://www.world-of-satellite.co.uk/image/cache/data/ZGEMMA/zgemma-h7s-rear-500x500.png

Is it as simple as putting the correct plug type on the end of the cable that comes out of the terrestrial output of the splitter?

Yes, you can make up your own flyleads by using the connectors required. Satellite connections use screw-on F-connectors while RF aerial feeds use push-in Belling-Lee co-axial connectors.

Legacy LNB and terrestrial signals can be combined on the same cable as both use a different frequency range so neither conflict, easy to combine and split with the right adapters.