communial set up

[geoff lee]

hi we have just had a 2.4 dish installed, well sort of, they have used a quad invacom the first run of cables is about 50 mt to a golden interstar (german) splitter and amp, then 4 cables two h and two v into a cascade, which is about 5 mt away this is then cabled out to the houses on that street. another 4 cables about 30mt to the next cascade for the 2nd street, and then the same for the 3rd street, they have not used continuous runs of cable, they have also put about 3 in line amps in to try and up the signal, result is virtually no one getting bbc 2 channel 5 ect apart from one house close to the first splitter which goes direct to the house and not through a cascade. not sure what cable was used but it is copper and has 75 stamped in it , we are close to torrevieca costa blanca so i no 2d is week, by using this amount of in line amps per house i would have thought this would make it worse, would one in line amp on each of the cables be better close to the lnb or do we need a complete new start . thanks , any help would be appreciated

 

[rolfw]

All satellite cable has 75 Ohm stamped on it from the cheapest to the best, so may be good or crap cable, need more info. Were these professional installers?

 

[geoff lee]

hi .they were supposed to be , i was not dealing with it but looking at there work, the way cables have been cut 2 yards from a cascade box to make it easy for them to feed the cable through and the amount of in line amps just done seem right to me, another company has had a look, he put hes meter on and said there was a 25% drop in signal on the first run of cable, he tryed tweaking the dish, lnb ect, did get the signal up slightly, the cable did have a copper centre core, i am back out next week i will have a better look at cable, i thought of trying a in line amp closer to the dish where there is a signal to actaully amplyfie the problem seems on the costas is getting a real professional , thanks for reply

 

[rolfw]

On a large system as you describe, the installer really needs to use the absolute best in quality and lower loss cable than for a domestic installation.

I would use WF165/CT165 as a minimum (thicker core and lower loss) and copper braid and foil, not the cheaper aluminium screen, probably WF233, then a high quality IF amp after 50m which should with the correct taps and outward cable quality, provide a healthy signal to all outlets.

 

[Channel Hopper]

I think this may be more to do with the distribution boxes (Interstar) than the cable.

Are the units individually powered from the mains supply or are they relying on the receivers to do the job of lighting them up ?

One of us proffessionnalls can of course make an appearance if the flight is comfy and the mod cons are laid on;).

 

[satelliteman]

Yes an indication of whether it's a receiver powered or line powered cascade system required. It may also be the case that the system has not been commissioned up correctly leading to incorrect signal levels throughout the trunk. Be interesting to see some pictures if you could post them up on your next visit

 

[Channel Hopper]

Yes an indication of whether it's a receiver powered or line powered cascade system required. It may also be the case that the system has not been commissioned up correctly leading to incorrect signal levels throughout the trunk.

Make that two seats then

 

[satelliteman]

Don't forget the cold beer also, lol

 

[geoff lee]

thanks for all the replys, i wiil have a word with the community president to see if he dont mind paying for a couple of seats. the first splitter has a amp on the side and is mains powered the 3 cascade units at the end of each street or powered by the recievers, i will try and take some photos next week thanks