Trouble tuning new Samsung into terrestrial & Astra

lucheen

Hi there folks - been driving myself mental trying to setup a new Samsung TV I purchased for Christmas, on both Saorview & Astra 28.2e.

This is the TV: 2023 43” CU8070 Crystal UHD 4K HDR Smart TV - and my setup is as follows.

Indoor aerial in the attic with a combiner like this

..tieing in the antenna cable and the satellite cable. The satellite cable is seemingly a newer version (assuming RG6), whereas the aerial cable is of an older origin, a brown color, which is run through the walls down to the living room. The house is about 40 years old, so whatever cable went in then, I'm not entirely sure.

In the sitting-room, there's a wallplate with a Satellite, Antenna and FM - similar to this:

..but of Labgear make.

On initial setup of the TV, I plugged in the antenna cable, and satellite cable from the wallplate straight to the TV. I can find Astra's channels no problem, but no terrestrial / Saorview.

Through various experimentation, I managed to pick-up the Saorview channels when I unplugged the satellite cable from the TV, but soon as the satellite cable is plugged in, or even partially screwed in, the Saorview signal drops completely.

Seemingly the two cannot exist together or be tuned in together, and it's driving me mental!

I also went to the effort of using a newer coaxial cable for the terrestrial connection from wall-plate to the TV, but now I can't pull in any Saorview/terrrestrial, even with Satellite cable disconnected as before.

I'm really unable to find out what's going on before I reach out to a professional, but surely it can't be a major issue? Is interference between either of those cables common, or might it be a frequency issue between Astra / Saorview (channel 22/25).

I hope this is the right place for this, please let me know if not, and many thanks for any advice in advance :)

After noticing someone with the very same issue in a post a couple of days ago as well: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121557705/#Comment_121557705 :🤔

dermo2014

Check both cables from the wall plate to the tv for damage or shorting from outer to inner of the cables.

If both work independently then it likely to be the wall plate. Open it and check if the cable is secure - both core and ground. There are cheap enough to replace.

It could also be an issue with the cables going into the combiner in the attic.

lucheen

Thanks for the reply.

This is the combiner in the attic if it’s of any use:

I will look into getting a new wall plate today and try swapping it in.

Would having an older indoor aerial (inside roof, in attic) make any difference?

There wasn’t any problems with the SaorView signal quality previously, mind.

alternetively, and probably not a goer, but would an aerial beside the TV directly to it, and the satellite cable from the wallplate into the TV circumvent any of these issues I wonder?

Thanks again

dermo2014

Depends how far you are from your nearest soarview transmitter but an aerial beside the TV and satellite from the wall plate would work.

lucheen

I tried running newer Coax from that Combiner pictured above, down directly to room with wallplate. Same issue.

I am able to pickup Saorview / terrestrial, but as soon as the Satellite cable is plugged in, the signal drops completely. I also tried it on an older Samsung TV where I can see Signal strength / quality on the applicable Channels (22/25) and it fluctuates a lot, but goes flatline when satellite cable is involved at all.

I will look at calling out a professional to look at it & get it sorted once and for all! 😂

Thanks for your help.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575074#Comment_121575074

Is your wallplate diplexed?

Would need to be something like this in order to split your combined signal.

https://www.freetv.ie/diplexer-wall-plate/

Elvis Hammond

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575074#Comment_121575074

So, the signal from the aerial is poor, or the combiner in the attic isn't filtering out LNB noise very well, or a bit of both. Changing things downstream won't fix this.

Did the combined terrestrial/satellite setup work before, or did you just use Saorview?

dxhound2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058329302/trouble-tuning-new-samsung-into-terrestrial-astra

You may have seen that the person on that other thread found the solution, a simple case of using the Shortcut menu on the remote. It is not the same problem as yours. You say that the Saorview signal drops completely, but I would be interested in knowing the signal reading when you have a picture, and when there is none.

It could be that the Saorview signal is still there, but at too low a level to give a picture. The likely cause being some signal loss on terrestrial when the satellite cable is plugged in. Maybe an outside aerial is required, to give enough signal. I don't think we have your location, but 22/25 suggests that you are tuned to Holywell Hill in Donegal. That is 20 kilowatt power, very low compared to most main transmitters. If you are somewhere else it would be a really low power relay?

The other thread has a link I put to the manual for that TV, where you can see how to get the signal readings.

lucheen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575542#Comment_121575542

I believe so, it's a screened diplex TV/Sat outlet. Would an outlet that's not splitting the signal, still allow for either to work generally?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121576957#Comment_121576957

That could very well it. The setup worked before with the older TV using a receiver box, which took the Satellite cable and returned it to the TV via scart cable. I haven't tried using that box with the newer device, but it might be worth a try? It's an older box from 2012.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121577264#Comment_121577264

I managed to bring up signal readings for Saorview for the indoor aerial. Signal strength is between 30-34%, Signal quality is almost always 95-100%. Would a signal strength of that percentage fail to register on the newer TV / be overpowered by the satellite signal?

I may be misreading it, but I believe channels 22/25 are for the Castlebar, Mayo transmitter. I am about 20km from there, so signal should be grand? Perhaps the aerial needs the outdoor placement.

Nevertheless, I will have someone look at it and see what the story is, and update this thread with hopefully the final chapter. Thanks for all the input folks.

dxhound2005

Yes 22/25 is a low power relay for Castlebar, but at 2 kilowatts it should be OK. But you could check to see if neighbours are using outside aerials. I think there is a more up to date list than this from 2019, but I can't find it.

https://2rn.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/2RN-DTT-Television-Transmission-Network-Sept-2019-Rev.1.2.pdf

You could try the channels on the main transmitters, Truskmore, Cairn Hill and Maghera, but Castlebar is probably the best choice. I think 34% is probably too low, and Saorview always recommend an outside aerial.

https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Castlebar

Elvis Hammond

OP, it could be something simple, like the aerial having been moved or blocked by something; especially at this time of year when people are in the attic getting Christmas stuff.

It shouldn't be 'looking' through anything metallic or water-containing, & roof is usually preferable to wall.

lucheen

An update: managed to move the aerial to a more optimal position in the attic. Signal strength ranging from 62-68% now, up from 30-34. With that, both satellite and Saorview can be pulled in together, so almost perfect scenario now! However, I am missing a couple of channels on one of the Mux's (?) - which I can only assume is down to the still sub-optimal signal strength.

Either way, I think we can confirm that this issue is indeed down to Signal Strength / poor attic aerial coverage, and an outdoor aerial, positioned properly, will likely close out the loop on having spot-on Saorview signal, alongside Astra 28.2e. Thanks again for everyones help 🫡

dxhound2005

If you are getting any channels you should be getting them all. On my set up Mux 1 with RTE 2 has 6 TV channels, and Mux 2 with RTE 1 has 10.

Antenna

OP, you say you were able to run a new cable from the attic down to the TV, so is it the case you have 2 cables now? Remove the diplexers and use both cables dedicated for each (Terrestrial and Satellite). You will need a different wallplate with separate connections. With a near marginal terrestrial reception this will eliminate diplexer losses/ LNB noise leaking over.

lucheen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121594908#Comment_121594908

I ran the cables down as a test, but down the stairs in the open, not through the wall itself. It might not be feasible to pull them up through the wall, but I am considering it..

even with about 64pc signal strength, separate wires for the separate connections should eliminate the interference, shouldn’t it? 🤔

lucheen

Finally solved. It was an issue with the combiner in the attic, wasn’t working nicely with the newer TVs.

Able to tune in both now and switch between them, albeit lowish signal strengths still.

Nevertheless, all is good now. Plenty learned along the way as well, thanks for all the comments folks!

tosulliva

Hi, I have the same problem.. cu8070 TV l, just got it last week.. I can either have Sat on it, or Terristeral/ saorview, but not both.. to go from one to the other, I need to return the TV and scan for one or the other!

I had a direct line to from the Sat to the TV, but then I also tried the splitter idea you have.. I'm in the same position and a bit disappointed with it..

TV aerial is inside.. how can I read signal strength, who did you get to look at it in the end? Was it all down to that?

Thanks and sorry for a tonne of questions here, I even rang Samsung support and they ended up saying you can only have one or the other, so get a bit of hope after reading your thread.

Thanks

dxhound2005

From a previous thread I remember that there is a 123 Shortcut on the remote to move between Terrestrial and Satellite. It is detailed on pages 71 and 72 of the e-Manual.

https://www.samsung.com/ie/support/model/UE43CU8070UXXU/