Help needed please - Distributing Saorview and SAT

I'd be grateful for any help in solving a problem I have distributing satellite and DTT signals. In the loft, I am combining a good DTT signal with a good satellite signal. I have broken into one of the shotgun twin coax feeds to my Sky box, inserted a diplexer in and joined a good DTT aerial signal to it. Here's the diplexer, obviously without the cables...



At the wall plate, I have made sure that I have got the correct cable in the Sat I feed. Here's the wall plate (the cable on the left as you look at this photo is the return from the Sky box output, which goes up into the loft for distribution to other outlets



and here's the front view (in this picture the two sat feeds are connected, as is the Sky return, but the TV cable isn't (ithe outlet is at the bottom left of the wall plate)



My problem is this - I get Sat 1 out of the Sat 1 outlet, and TV out of the TV outlet - as long at Sat II isn't connected at the back of the wall plate! The minute I put the Sat II feed into the back of the wall plate, the TV signal disappears. Please help, it's driving me (and in trying to solve it, I am driving the OH) demented

Thanks

PS my end game is to install a Triax DDU but I need to solve this conundrum first

Peter Rhea

Thought you'd sorted this?

Anyhow, there seems to be a few stray braids in your wallplate connections & the return cable has the outer insulation cut through; you might want to check the other two.

I thought I'd sorted it, too, but I haven't. Since taking those photos the other night I have re-made all the connections, and taken care not to have any stray braids. The odd thig is that it works until Sat II is connected - I'd have thought that was just a pass-through in the wall plate?

St Senan

You have broken into one of the shotgun twin coax feeds to your Sky box. Have you Tried breaking into the other feed on the shotgun to see would that work. I did come across your situation before and I just swapped the Diplexer over onto the other feed and it worked. I don't know why but it just did.

scaller

scaller wrote: »

You have broken into one of the shotgun twin coax feeds to your Sky box.

That's right

scaller wrote: »

Have you Tried breaking into the other feed on the shotgun to see would that work. I did come across your situation before and I just swapped the Diplexer over onto the other feed and it worked. I don't know why but it just did.

I haven't, but I will tomorrow. Thanks for the idea

Peter Rhea

Deleted User wrote: »

The odd thig is that it works until Sat II is connected - I'd have thought that was just a pass-through in the wall plate?

Does anything work when you connect sat II?

Peter Rhea

OK, I went up into the loft and broke into the Sat II feed. First, I put an F connector onto the wall plate side of the Sat II feed, removed the satellite input to the diplexer and connected the two together. Then I put an F connector on the LNB side of the (original) Sat II cable, and connected this to the Sat input of the diplexer. Result = sat signal ok on both inputs (accoring to Sky system signal check) but no TV signal. Then I removed the feed to the connector (not the feed to the diplexer) re-made the connection and hey presto, TV signal and both satellite signals!

It didn't last, though. When I changed channels it went to "no signal" and I had to search for the terrestrial channels again on the STB That worked for a short while but changing channel messed it up again!

Peter Rhea wrote: »

Does anything work when you connect sat II?

Yes, I get both sat signals into the sky box

I've got a Triax ST HD 537 so I'm beginning to think that some of the issues are to do with that! I'll change the STB and see what happens.....

My sincere thanks to Peter Rhea and Scaller - all help gratefully received

Antenna

If you can live without Sky RF modulator to other rooms for the moment - try this - If the 'Return Out' cable is also going up to the attic, you could try connecting the aerial directly to that and using that cable to send the terrestrial signals down? (obviously connect the Saorview receiver to the 'Return Out' socket at the wall plate). Do you have reception then?

If your DTT reception is actually 'borderline' - avoiding diplexing it with satellite would improve matters

Peter Rhea

Deleted User wrote: »

Then I removed the feed to the connector (not the feed to the diplexer) re-made the connection and hey presto, TV signal and both satellite signals

Which connection did you remake?

Ronnie Raygun

Antenna wrote: »

If you can live without Sky RF modulator to other rooms for the moment - try this - If the 'Return Out' cable is also going up to the attic, you could try connecting the aerial directly to that and using that cable to send the terrestrial signals down?

OP had that setup already: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=76061836&postcount=1769

OP, hows about a pic of the connections inside the wallplate "can"?

Peter Rhea

Peter Rhea wrote: »

Which connection did you remake?

Peter I took the Sat II feed out of the connector in the loft, re-made the connection and it worked - but only briefly.

This morning (I daren't try this in the evening when the TV's being watched!) I connected the aerial feed in the loft to another coax socket in the kitchen, plugged in the STB in the kitchen, hdmi to the TV there and, yep, you guessed it, a perfect saorview picture, stable at 79% signal strength.

Here are some more pictures of the wall plate, including as much of the innards as I can get to. It's a puzzle, ain't it?






I
I'm now going the to re-assemble the wall plate connections and try again

Later - Have re-made the connections to the wall plate and no signal from dtt! I'm pretty well convinced it's the wall plate not letting something pass through, so will try a different wall plate next.

I finally resolved this - it was (I think) a combination of compatibility problems with the diplexer and wall plate, and the Triax ST-HD537 box (which I have replaced with an Opticum X7 series)

In case anyone is interested, I installed a Triax DDU in the loft, and was then left with the slight problem that the Sat II feed from the DDU is used as the return from the Sky+ box. My wall plate has a separate return so I ended up combining the return and the sat II feed with a diplexer and routing this to the sat II outlet on the DDU. Hey presto, problem solved.

The Triax DDU is a great bit of kit, and has also replaced a Global F180 distribution amplifier in the loft.

Problem solved

What a way to spend Christmas!

Thanks to all those who helped out:)

Peter Rhea

Deleted User wrote: »

... I ended up combining the return and the sat II feed with a diplexer and routing this to the sat II outlet on the DDU.

Yep, that's what the 'official' DDU wallplate does internally.

Peter Rhea

Peter Rhea wrote: »

Yep, that's what the 'official' DDU wallplate does internally.

Thanks, I thought it must. I decided not to buy the "proper" wall plate which is part number 304115, partly because I'd spent enough on this and also because the existing one I have has a nice finish (it's part of the Scolmore Deco Click range) and we have those throughout the house.