Advice on Multiswitches

[stevefranks]

Hi everyone,

I am building 3 flats (renovation) and I live in a house next to these flats. I have wired my house for Sky+ (2 feeds to each TV location) and all cables terminate in the roof, ready to take a multiswitch.

I would like to install a communal dish with Quattro LNB and Triax TV Aerial. The feeds will go into a splitter (Triax 5 to 10 splitter?) and into two seperate multiswitches (one in my roof and the other in the flats communal hall cupboard). My house is all wired up WITHOUT diplexing wall plates. Can the feeds from a multiswitch (like a Triax) go into a normal wall plate?

For the flats I want to keep it simple. They are 1 bedroom and I was thinking that I would put a single sky feed + aerial (diplex plate) in the bedroom and a Sky+ ability in the sitting rooms (Kitchen and sitting rooms are combined). Should I be putting two feeds in both rooms?

What I would like to find is a simple double gang plate that can do 1 aerial, two satellites and 1 telephone, the aerial and satellites coming from the multiswitch. How would I do this? 2 feeds from multiswitch to wallplate (1 doing diplexed aerial and sat, 1 doing just 2nd sat?). Does anyone know of a suitable wall plate? I can then put one of these in each room and it doesnt take up much room. I would hapilly put 2 feeds in for sky+ but I need to keep the wallplates compact.

All the plates I have seen mention "satellite return", which I dont understand!!

Any views much appreciated!!

 

[Robbo]

Hi,

Triax do a modular wall plates, where you can insert the modules that you need. Looks like they do a few combinations, inc telephone, diplexed,triplexed,single F etc etc.

The diplexer is only needed if you actually want the TV output, if you just need the sat part, just an f-connector will do.

Pretty sure you don't need the TV return, its for sending the RF2 out of a Sky box to other rooms I believe.

 

[rolfw]

Triax do this all in one outlet.

It allows for a return to the bedroom, enabling the watching of the Sky box and changing channels, as well as carrying the terrestrial feed. You can always facilitate this by running the extra cable to the distribution cupboard, then if required, connecting to the bedroom feed.

May be worth running two cables to the bedroom, but whether most people in a one bedroom flat would have two twin tuner boxes is questionable.

In the last block of one bedroom flats I cabled, I sent two cables to the living room, then one cable from the living room to the bedroom. Using the dgibox 2nd RF ouput to the return sent everything to the bedroom, if no satellite was installed, there is a triax connector, which sends the terrestrial feed to both the TV and the return.

 

[satelliteman]

An image of this connector would be good Rolf

 

[stevefranks]

Thanks guys for the advice.

Rolfw, with the triax all in one plates, can you put one feed from multiswitch to do UHF & Satellite (Diplexed) and use another multiswitch output to the return for Sky+ ?

Also do you rate Triax? I can actually install Sky feeds to two ther flats that are done and rented, meaning I need 13 ways. Is there a switch that can do this many?

 

[stevefranks]

Sorry meant to ask as well. What would you say maximum distance from LNB to the splitter & multiswitches (cable length)?

 

[Robbo]

meaning I need 13 ways. Is there a switch that can do this many?

Triax,Delta,Global, plus others do 5x16 plus more outputs if needed. Costs are around the £100 mark.

 

[stevefranks]

Sorry my mind is working overtime.... Ive just remembered that I have another cable run in my house for non-sky satellite (Hotbird etc).

If I put a dual lnb bracket on the communal dish, I can connect to the second lnb for this feed.

Which is better between Astra 19.2 (or 28 - whichever is not Sky Digital) and Hotbird for someone that is not so interested in foreign language stuff?

 

[Robbo]

Both Hotbird(13E) and Astra1 (19E) are mostly foreign stuff FTA. I would hazard that Hotbird is a better option for subbed cards (mature content +sport), 19E is mostly German.

Also your dish will need to be big enough to add a second feed (80cm), and wold need focussing not on 28E, because it is the strongest.

Also if you intend using a multiswitch, you will need a 9x? instead.

 

[rolfw]

Not much free to air English language on either of those satellites.

You can add the Hotbird one on an offset Bracket quite easily.

Have added a picture of the adapter above.

Triax kit is fine, you can run two triplexed feeds to the outlet plate, one with give the sat, UHF and VHF, the other one will simply be for satellite.

 

[stevefranks]

I have decided to now get a 4 way lnb holder for the dish, using one for the Sky install for flats etc, and the remaining three for FTV for myself!

What would you choose as the three sats (Hotbird etc)? I would like to mess about with Cams etc. My main interests would be English language films (by changing language on foreign channels?) Discovery channels/National Geographic etc and any FTV hi def stuff..

I am going to get an outdoor 4 way Diseqc switch for the three LNBS (Sky would run straight to multiswitches)

I was thinking about one of the flats that has been finished for a while (few years). The electrician put a cheap aerial outside and fed it to an outlet plate. From here he daisy chained to another outlet plate (not good I dont think). If I wanted to reuse this and change to Sky enabled (I think that the cable is screened etc) could I use some kind of triplexed plate as the master plate taking a feed from the multiswitch, with a slave plate operating from a return feed (maybe with a cable like the one Rolf suggested)?

Hopefully these plates could be single gang as that is what is existing, and I wouldnt want a phone socket as these would not be live (people would call me and moan that telephone is not working etc!). Telephone seems to standard in the double gang stuff.

Thanks!

 

[rolfw]

I've included below picture of a single gang plate, can be used for a single triplexed feed and return, or second satellite feed.

May be worth looking for something like the "Visiosat Big Bisat" dish, ideal for four or five satellites. You should be able to receive 19, 16, 13, 9E and perhaps take a feed from the multiswitch to provide 28.2E as well .

16 East can only be received if you use the bullet type LNBs.

 

[stevefranks]

Could you bring in 2 feeds for Sky+ to a single plate, and also connect cable from return to other room as triplexed single feed, so that return does not need cable from 2nd RF connected?

Thanks!

 

[rolfw]

You've totally confused me there, not sure what you mean.

 

[stevefranks]

Sorry Rolf...

What I mean is, in this particulat flat it has terrestrial aerial going to one aerial point, and daisy chained to another.

If I remove the terrestrial aerial and face plates, leaving just the wiring, could I bring in two feeds from the multiswitch for Sky + to the old first pattress (where the aerial used to come in) and fit a triplexing plate with a return. From here I could reuse existing wiring, which is a single feed to the other side of the room. What I am confused about is whether I can daisy chain from the 2nd socket of the triplex plate to this plate (ie connect cable behind socket) or must you use a return from Sky box?

Hope this makes sense!