Freeview picture breaking up.

justaquestion

Hi folks,

Looking for a little advice, I have four tv's in house in different rooms, I am using a amplifier/distribution box in loft to distribute the freeview signal from living room and also sky signal, (magic eyes operated in three other room using an old type sky box)

Last year I got a chap to replace the aerial coaxial cable as it was completely water ruined, distorted picture etc, and also got a new sat dish fitted. The aerial cable is fed direct from aerial to my main living area and then both the freeview signal and the sky singal are then sent from RF 2 on the box to the other rooms in house. The living room signal is usually fine on freeview.


Now the problem is in all the other rooms the freeview signal breaks up poor picture and squeaking sound.

Please note the following points.

1 If I switch amplifier/distribution box off in loft (can do form bedroom) there is no freeview singal at all on main living area tv though I do get the impression there is a direct cable run connection between aerial and that tv, masthead amplifier or what I wonder? Update , I did a check and there are actually two amplifiers up there, one original amplifier/distribution box I just remembered getting done many years ago and another separate amplifier/distribution box for the RF2 setup.

2 the SKy singal is perfect in every room through the magic eye, as I have said it comes from RF2 on same cable as freeview that has the problem.

3 If I by pass the magic eye in one of the rooms and hook and connect the cable to the TV point in the wall (30 year old build) then same problem exists with freeview, I thought by doing this bit of troubleshooting might eliminate the amplifier in loft as problem as I would think that tv point in wall would bypass the loft amplifier.

4 using a different sky box doesn't help same freview problem.

And finally I am looking at this in Screwfix if it was needed

https://www.screwfix.com/p/labgear-ldl204r-4-way-distribution-amplifier/2407x

It does say on manual that it needs to quote "Input and output connections to the amp are made using F-type (IEC 60169-24) connectors"

I take it these are not the the same coaxil plug that goes into tv?

Probably will have to get someone out to have a look at it, but as its a intermittent problem might be difficult to detect. I have retuned all the tv's so not that.

Any advice appreciated.

Many thanks.

wongataa

justaquestion wrote: »

It does say on manual that it needs to quote "Input and output connections to the amp are made using F-type (IEC 60169-24) connectors"

I take it these are not the the same coaxil plug that goes into tv?

F type connectors are the screw connectors usually found on satellite cables/equipment.

justaquestion

wongataa wrote: »

F type connectors are the screw connectors usually found on satellite cables/equipment.

Thanks for that, as the old amplifiers in loft have co-axil plugs like ones that plug into back of tv, will it be fairly easy to fit the F type connectors on without having to re-cut the cable too much again?

Are these ones the right one, or are there easier to fit ones, such as twist on connectors?

https://www.screwfix.com/p/black-crimp-type-f-plug-pack-of-10/55114

Says on the new labgear manual,

Input and output connections to the amp are made using F-type (IEC 60169-24) connectors.
Connections can be made using a tool for crimp or compression connectors or by hand with twist-on connectors (see Fig.1
opposite).

Seems these are easier to put on do you think,

https://www.screwfix.com/p/labgear-coaxial-f-plug-pack-of-10/17061

Thanks once again.

knightstyle

I thought Freeview was only available through a normal aerial?
So is the problem with Freesat? If so best reception is cable direct from the sat dish.
Is the amplifier/splitter one for sat signals it does not sound like it?
If it is it should have F type inputs. Be aware that your Freesat receiver will be putting a voltage out on the cable to the dish, this could mess up the amplifier you have in the loft.
Personally I think you need a decent aerial guy to come and sort this out.

wongataa

Twist on connectors are the easiest to fit as you don't need tools. You should be able to fit them without too much trimming of the cables.

justaquestion

knightstyle wrote: »

I thought Freeview was only available through a normal aerial?
So is the problem with Freesat? If so best reception is cable direct from the sat dish.
Is the amplifier/splitter one for sat signals it does not sound like it?
If it is it should have F type inputs. Be aware that your Freesat receiver will be putting a voltage out on the cable to the dish, this could mess up the amplifier you have in the loft.
Personally I think you need a decent aerial guy to come and sort this out.

Thanks I do have an aerial for the freeview.

almillar

I thought Freeview was only available through a normal aerial?
So is the problem with Freesat? If so best reception is cable direct from the sat dish.

I think you're confused. There's an aerial and an amplifier. The Sky signal gets to the TVs via the Sky box's RF (aerial) output. Not actual satellite cabling involved here, no Freesat.

F-connectors are generally satellite, but are also used in aerial amplifiers. I have a similar setup to OP.

Wongataa is right, they're easy to fit. If the copper doesn't look fresh I would do a fresh cut, and you'll only lose up to an inch if that's all you want to do.

Now the problem is in all the other rooms the freeview signal breaks up poor picture and squeaking sound.

Very long cables - aerial - living room - roofspace - the rooms. You want the cable to be as short as possible. I guess your signal was marginal before and something has changed to make it slightly worse, causing the breakup. Aerial moved slightly? One cable damaged? Cable not fitted securely ANYWHERE? If it affects all boxes, you can assume it's BEFORE the amplifier.

2 the SKy singal is perfect in every room through the magic eye, as I have said it comes from RF2 on same cable as freeview that has the problem.

The Sky signal comes from the dish and is unaffected by this setup. The Sky signal on the TV is via ANALOGUE RF (like the old '5' TV stations. Simply, this is much easier to carry and will gradually go 'snowy' as signal degrades, rather than the much more obvious and annoying breakup of digital.

3 If I by pass the magic eye

Magic eye is just 5V down the RF cable. You're doing well having it working through 2 amplifiers - I had to change mine to one that was Magic Eye compatible.

4 using a different sky box doesn't help same freview problem.

Nope, worth a try though. On a similar note, try this. The Sky box transmits on a certain RF channel. You can change this. It's worth a try, in case you're too close to some of the digital stuff. Change it to, I dunno, 40. You need to get into the services menu to do this - Google it. Now, you need to save it, keep the Sky box switched on, and retune one of the bedroom TVs on analogue. It'll pick up the Sky 'channel' on the different frequency. Did that fix it? If so, reture the other TVs too.

That Screwfix product is just another amplifier. I doubt 3 will help if 2 are no good. Why do you have 2 amplifiers, and how many outputs do you need?