UKTVFilter: Help fix my freeview!
March 28, 2012 1:51 PM Subscribe
UK TV filter: Please Help me fix my TV antenna signal. I've recently moved into a new shared flat & am trying to get our TV to work. In the bedrooms there are regular tv aerial sockets on the wall, but there is no signal to any of them. In the lounge, there looks is a panel with three satellite plugs (picture link) which has an old Sky box connected. We would like to use freeview, but it looks like there is no antenna plug in the lounge, and no signal in the bedroom sockets. The sky box does however seem to get a satellite signal from its plug on the wall, but none of the others will give a freeview signal (or are the wrong kind of socket).
An added piece of the puzzle is that at in the storage cupboard at the front of the house there is a wall panel with SAT, TV, FM-DAB socket. It has patch cables running from that into a hole in the wall. When I connected the aerial cable to the TV socket in that cupboard (with a 10m lead) we got perfect reception. Where do those patch cables go?!
Did the Sky installation remove/break the antenna connection? Do I have to bite the bullet and get a professional in to diagnose/fix it? :(
An added piece of the puzzle is that at in the storage cupboard at the front of the house there is a wall panel with SAT, TV, FM-DAB socket. It has patch cables running from that into a hole in the wall. When I connected the aerial cable to the TV socket in that cupboard (with a 10m lead) we got perfect reception. Where do those patch cables go?!
Did the Sky installation remove/break the antenna connection? Do I have to bite the bullet and get a professional in to diagnose/fix it? :(
If you have a live connection to a satellite dish, you might want to consider buying a freesat box, which should get you TV channels through satellite without paying a Sky subscription.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 2:17 PM on March 28, 2012
posted by TheophileEscargot at 2:17 PM on March 28, 2012
Response by poster: @kateviolet Possibly so, but there is no sign of it or any other wiring anywhere, and who would move out and take that but leave a skybox? Very strange.
@theophileescargot That works ok for the lounge room, but we also want to figure out why the patching through to the rest of the house doesn't work either.
posted by snarkle at 2:22 PM on March 28, 2012
@theophileescargot That works ok for the lounge room, but we also want to figure out why the patching through to the rest of the house doesn't work either.
posted by snarkle at 2:22 PM on March 28, 2012
I'm not seeing a standard UK-style RF connector in that pic, and the pair-of-F-connectors one is... odd. If the pair is for Sky+ (which uses two) then I'm inferring that the solo one is for the local cable company.
In this scenario the one marked 'FM' is the only plug that has the right connector at the wall. Since FM aerials are usually spliced to TV ones on buildings anyway, try plugging a TV into that. But do it before next week if you don't have a Freeview box to hand - they're turning off analogue TV in London on April 4.
posted by genghis at 7:22 PM on March 28, 2012
In this scenario the one marked 'FM' is the only plug that has the right connector at the wall. Since FM aerials are usually spliced to TV ones on buildings anyway, try plugging a TV into that. But do it before next week if you don't have a Freeview box to hand - they're turning off analogue TV in London on April 4.
posted by genghis at 7:22 PM on March 28, 2012
Bah, missed the more inside part. Can we see a pic of that cupboard thing with the cables that lead away? That sounds like it's the most important bit of the problem.
(Just in case this helps, though, it does rather sound like the sockets are getting signal from the panel in the storage cupboard; if the cupboard end includes any cables with an RF plug on them - rather than an F-type - connect it to the 'TV' one and see which wall socket it ends up at by trial and error.)
For the avoidance of doubt the F-type plug/socket is the one with a pin down the middle that screws together. It's not used for non-satellite, non-cable TV. Or at least, it isn't in Britain.
posted by genghis at 7:45 PM on March 28, 2012
(Just in case this helps, though, it does rather sound like the sockets are getting signal from the panel in the storage cupboard; if the cupboard end includes any cables with an RF plug on them - rather than an F-type - connect it to the 'TV' one and see which wall socket it ends up at by trial and error.)
For the avoidance of doubt the F-type plug/socket is the one with a pin down the middle that screws together. It's not used for non-satellite, non-cable TV. Or at least, it isn't in Britain.
posted by genghis at 7:45 PM on March 28, 2012
Response by poster: Thanks @Genghis. I'll try to post a pic of the cupboard tonight. However essentially it's a wall plate that's properly wired in, but then plugged into that are a number of wires which just disappear into the wall. Signal makes it to that connector, but I'm not sure where it goes from that patch lead.
There are a number of regular RF sockets around the house, in the bedrooms mostly but the lounge just has that array of F-type sockets. Only the singular plug works with the old Sky box. Is there likely to be a regular signal connected to either of the dual F-plugs? I could find a F-type to RF converter somewhere I'd assume... unless this is a big no-no.....
posted by snarkle at 6:52 AM on March 29, 2012
There are a number of regular RF sockets around the house, in the bedrooms mostly but the lounge just has that array of F-type sockets. Only the singular plug works with the old Sky box. Is there likely to be a regular signal connected to either of the dual F-plugs? I could find a F-type to RF converter somewhere I'd assume... unless this is a big no-no.....
posted by snarkle at 6:52 AM on March 29, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by KateViolet at 2:02 PM on March 28, 2012