need some help with loftbox install- plasma and cctv

beolight

hi all


finally hooked up the global comms 8 way loftbox last week and now i am trying to sort out a few glitches. My set up is for SKY PLUS and a second digibox at another location(FTA SKY digibox UK card)

i have it set up with 2 loftbox expanders and at diplex unit at each digibox location at main location i.e sky+ with DIP1 and at second digibox location, i.e sky FTA (uk card) with A dip2-dc diplexer

first problem is to do with my plasma installed in bedroom with second digibox, this plasma is just a monitor with no tuner and i am wondering how best to hook this up to the triplezx wall plate or will i need to buy tuner box or perhaps a vcr willl work to enable me to tune in terrestial tv,sky+ aswell as the uk sky card

next problem is how to tune in the second digibox at the sky plus location i.e to get the UK stations

next problem is to do with CCTV hookup, i have 2 cameras one at door and the other to be used as baby monitor, however i cant get both up and running working together, i can get only one working i have tried all the combinations outlined(i.e cascading them) in their instruction leaflet but with no luck

i presume all these problems are inter related and the only thing i can think is that i have the diplex units wrongly connected at one of the digibox locations

regarding the diplex unit at sky+ location i have read two conflicting instructions on how the rf2 cable should be connected and was hoping somebody could clarify correct installation.

also just wondering if anybody uses the tvlink cctvs as they dont appear to work to well at night time and the sound only comes through for a few seconds, are there better options that can work with the loftbox especially night time camera as baby monitor currently useless at night time?

any help suggestions most appreciated

watty

Don't put diplexer for Satellite LNB signal and TV.

Only use VHF/UHF diplexers to add UHF anf VHF aerials to one cable (or Cable TV and UHF TV) or to split cable to TV and FM Radio.

A VHS will jitter if fed with Macrovisioned Sky Box Office or DVD.
Beside you should use RGB to feed DVD or Satboxes to ANY Tv, especally LCD.

You can get RGB Scart switches, but beware many ties the RGB switching pin and the Scart 12V/5V/0V Normal/Ws/off signal together on all the inputs and then neither RGB mode or automatic widescreen switching will work.

If on WS LCD you don't get balck bands at sides on CNN and older programs and from VHS, then the setup menu is wrong and you are not WS switching. BBC NEws 24 is almost always 16:9 and CNN is always 4:3

Unless you add extra IR lamps or visible flood light sub 1000 Euro cameras are fairly poor at night. B&W is much better than colour.

I used to install Image Intensifier fitted cameras, very expensive, but could see by Starlight.

RF2 feeds Distribnution amp so that TVs on distribution amp can have Sky eye for remote control.

Connect TV aerial to Sky RF in via any other boxes. Only one RF2 can be used if two sky boxes.

beolight

thanks for reply watty

still a bit confused, the following is link to the sky plus set up with the loftbox

http://www.tvlink.co.uk/expanddiag.htm

the expander link is below and they state that diplexer is needed

http://www.tvlink.co.uk/expander.htm

watty

The Loftbox expander has been designed to allow two LNB outputs to be connected to an existing Loftbox distribution system.

It is ideally suited for use when a SKY+ receiver is being installed which requires two feeds from the dish but there are no spare cables available to take the extra signal feed.

The unit operates by adding the additional dish signal onto the returning UHF cable between the RF2 port and the UHF2 port on the Loftbox. A diplexer WILL be required in the living room in order to successfully extract the second dish signal ready for connecting into the satellite receiver.

The Diplexer is a Satellite IF / UHF TV model, truely stupid concept as the bands overlap by 110MHz. A TV /FM Radio Diplexer in contrast is putting two bands that are separated by 300MHz down one cable. A different part that works.

If you have two LNB signals to go to two Sky boxes the ONLY reliable method is two separate coax cables

LNB o/p1==

---

[Sky+ 1]
LNB o/p2==

---

[Sky+ 2]

LNB o/p3==

---

[Skybox]

---- separate coax cables

DO NOT connect any LNB connections to the LOFT BOX. Connect them direct to the LNB inputs on the Digibox. It is a silly scheme to save a coax cable or two.

Make sure the LNB coax is CT100 or better.

watty

In otherwords ONLY use the "Loftbox" do not use the "expander" at all. A stupid gimmick.

I'm sure if everything is perfect and no TV channels at upper part of UHF band it kind of works, but inherently a flawed concept.

You can't reliably diplex LNB signals with anything else.

You can get a thing called a "stacker" that connects two LNBs to one cable and splits them again. This also is a waste of money compraed with doing job properly and having dedicated coax cables.

My three dishes, one with three LNBs, one LNB is a dual has all cables in a plastic waste pipe buried under garden. Dishes at bottom of garden.

watty

Amp on aerial option

|-|-|-|-|| Aerial 
        |      TV in       RF out  IN   OUT   RFin
        |_______[analog Satbox]-->[VHS   ]--->[ SKy box]
                                              |       |
                                              |RF1    |RF2
                                       [Main TV]      |
                                                 [4 way RF Amp]
                                                  |  |   |   |
                                       Splitter  /\  TV3 TV4 TV5
                                                | |
                                               PC  TV1
                                               TV 

4 way Amp is Sky eye compatible
From Argos

Only connect the Loftbox leave everything else out.

It should then be something like mine. The main important bit of the Loftbox
is the RF TV distribution that passes the reverse Sky Eye signal back to RF2 and the +9V supply to Sky Eye at TV.

Everything else is marketing gimcracks.

watty

LNB cables not shown on above for clarity as they only connect LNB to Box.

gipo

What I want to do is combine the sky signal and uhf aerial for tv3 and tg4 onto one down cable (only able to have one down cable). Will the loftbox be able to do this and will I be able to watch for example sky one while recording tv3 analogue from the aerial.??

watty

Which Sky signal? The one from RF2 or one from LNB?

Feed aerial to Sky RF in. If a second Sky box feed its RF in from RF1 out.

Then feed "Loftbox" with 2nd box RF2 and local TV with RF1 of second box.

All TVs will have both Skyboxes and all Analog channels.

You can add more cables two ways:

Use and existing one to pull in two cables.
Drop extra cable down outside.