Sky Cabling

[Turvey]

I'm sure there was a thread/posts about dodgy installations a while ago but I can't seem to find it. Here's a close up of the SKY cable on the roof outside our hotel window. Note the cable clip through the roof slate!!!  

[jmurray01]

Poor show!

That said, as long as the owner is happy with it and it isn't a listed building, then that is legal.

[Russ]

Hardly 'dodgy installation', Sky can't go into your loft to fit cables due to insurance purposes. You 'may'. Though find a helpful Sky fitter who will do it, but doubtful you will. Our cable is taped along the roan pipe when we upgraded to Sky Q.

[Jonro2009]

My old sky setup meant that the dish was at the front of the house and the box was in a room at the back. The fitter wasn't allowed to go in the loft so was going to throw the cable over the roof to get it from front to back. Luckily, he agreed to feed the cable into the loft and let me get it and pass it out the other side.


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[stef123]

Sky only care about taking your money, not how the cabling looks lol. 

[jmurray01]

5 hours ago, stef123 said:

Sky only care about taking your money, not how the cabling looks lol. 

That's a terrible thing to say, I'm sure Sky care very much about the quality of their work... 

Yeah, like hell they do!

[stef123]

Just now, jmurray01 said:

That's a terrible thing to say, I'm sure Sky care very much about the quality of their work... 

Yeah, like hell they do!

I'd be happy to fall out with them any day of the week if they think they do a high level of work lol 

[jmurray01]

Just now, stef123 said:

I'd be happy to fall out with them any day of the week if they think they do a high level of work lol 

Well, our last Sky engineer left his Stanley screwdriver behind so I forgave the shoddy work...

[stef123]

3 minutes ago, jmurray01 said:

Well, our last Sky engineer left his Stanley screwdriver behind so I forgave the shoddy work...

Those muppets shouldn't be allowed a Stanley 

[Micro]

On 11/04/2017 at 3:32 PM, jmurray01 said:

Well, our last Sky engineer left his Stanley screwdriver behind so I forgave the shoddy work...

One of the sky installers we had previously left his satellite signal box behind.

3 hours later he returned for it after arriving at his next job and realised he hadn't got it.

[Stoney871]

I proffed a cable staple gun off a Virgin fitter once, it fell off the rear bumper of his van when he went around a corner having left it lying there by accident.

[Lenny]

Ive got the sky dish mounted on the side of the chimney I've done a post in my living room thread showing how to get the most out of the television for free link: 

I'm currently with eir "pronounced air" they operate in exactly the same way as Virgin media in the uk; where everything comes through the phone line,  

Im approaching the end of the contract now and I'll be going back to sky for a cheaper 6 months of an 18 month contract as a new customer with a free 32" LG tv 😁😐 but I'm very dissapointed to see that if i was to choose the new skyQ it requires a "hybrid lnb" to be fitted on the dish link: http://www.freetv.ie/sky-q-hybrid-lnb/ 

My current lnb is an octo type meaning it has 8 outputs,

and the most outputs you can have on the hybrid lnb at present is 6.

this means one of the satellite box's upstairs can't be connected because there's no terminals left for it, why can't there be a hybrid lnb with 8 ports.

[stef123]

1 minute ago, Lenny said:

Ive got the sky dish mounted on the side of the chimney I've done a post in my living room thread showing how to get the most out of the television for free link: 

I'm currently with eir "pronounced air" they operate in exactly the same way as Virgin media in the uk; where everything comes through the phone line,  

Im approaching the end of the contract now and I'll be going back to sky for a cheap contract with free tv but I'm very dissapointed to see that if i was to choose the new skyQ it requires a "hybrid lnb" to be fitted on the dish, 

My current lnb is an octo type meaning it has 8 outputs, and the most outputs you can have on the hybrid lnb at present is 6.

this means one of the satellite box's upstairs can't be connected because there's no terminals left for it, why can't there be a hybrid lnb with 8 ports.

Because the the heck needs 8 TVs in one house  

[Lenny]

3 minutes ago, stef123 said:

Because who the heck needs 8 TVs in one house  

Two feeds to four box's mate 

Three bedrooms and one living room allowing pause and record at each box.

Seems a bit mad but only cost a bit of cable at the time 😅

[stef123]

7 minutes ago, Lenny said:

Two feeds to four box's mate 

Three bedrooms and one living room allowing pause and record at each box.

Seems a bit mad but only cost a bit of cable at the time 😅

ah ok lol, I'll let you off then. 

[Lenny]

On Monday, April 17, 2017 at 1:14 PM, stef123 said:

ah ok lol, I'll let you off then. 

its worth informing: The new SkyQ multi room works using WiFi no cables required unless you want to use a CAT5 CAT6 or CAT7 Version of RJ45 Network cable instead of WiFi 

The second box for multi room can pause and stream recordings from the main box aswell as independent viewing.👍

so I suppose the skyQ is moving towards less cables from the dish aswell because only the main box requires a double sattelite feed and apparently the 2TB main SkyQ box can record up to 3 channels while viewing or viewing & recording a 4th channel now I think we can both agree that that's unnecessary 😁 fur sure, be like a spider with an eye on everything.

[Jonro2009]

Two feeds to four box's mate 
Three bedrooms and one living room allowing pause and record at each box.
Seems a bit mad but only cost a bit of cable at the time [emoji28]

Did you do the extra cabling yourself and buy the extra boxes from another seller or do you have multi Room?


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[Jonro2009]

I proffed a cable staple gun off a Virgin fitter once, it fell off the rear bumper of his van when he went around a corner having left it lying there by accident.

And I'm sure you called Virgin to inform the fitter and arranged for him to collect it? [emoji6]


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[Stoney871]

[emoji41]

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[Lenny]

On Monday, April 17, 2017 at 9:21 PM, Jonro2009 said:

Did you do the extra cabling yourself and buy the extra boxes from another seller or do you have multi Room?

Sorry for delayed response on this subject; I've been busy at work all week, and i wanted to provide a thougher response as im quite proud of my home installation setup.

I purchased 50 metres of webro WF100 twin shotgun coaxial cable from ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50m-WF100-TWINSAT-WEBRO-COAX-CABLE-TWIN-SHOTGUN-DIGITAL-/360194816363?roken=cUgayN 

If purchasing a roll like this👇 I recommend using a broom handle and two chairs to take it off the coil because this method stops it twisting👌

The normal stuff sky installers use is WF65 or WF80; there good enough quality for short distances but there not as well shielded against 5G Wi-Fi signal compared to WF100 and the reception is generally better quality because the connection between the box and the dish is stronger.

Also I was upgrading the home entertainment network and I wanted to use the best of everything in terms of cables because I was putting them in the walls forever.

i also purchased an Octo LNB which is essentially the same as the standard skyHD LNB with the only difference being it has more ports to feed more satellite box's 

link: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Brand-New-MTI-Octo-LNB-8-Way-for-SKY-HD-FREESAT-SKYPLUS-UNIVERSAL-LMB-/361468620730?roken=cUgayN 

I may soon be changing that LNB to the newer SkyQ LNB which is specificly required for the newer skyQ box's but is also bakwards compatible with Sky+HD and all other FreeSat box's So if your purchasing in the future; i recommend this one link: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LATEST-2017-BRAND-NEW-SKY-HYBRID-LNB-6-WAY-FOR-SKY-Q-BOXES-AND-SKY-HD-FREESAT-/152520449478?roken=cUgayN 

The only downsides to fitting a SkyQ LNB rather than the older type are;

1. At present the most available ports on the skyQ compatible LNB is 6 meaning you can only supply three rooms with pause & record 

2. SkyQ LNB won't work with what are most commonly known as "dream box's" or "dodgy box's" terms used to describe the decoders which have been tweaked to provide all sky has to offer for free after the initial purchase. 

Anyway; With twin coaxial satelite feeds running from the dish to various rooms in the house you can fit a sky box in all rooms but an alternative and legal option is  to use somthing like a "Humax HDR1100s" link: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Humax-HB-1100S-HD-Freesat-HD-Freetime-Receiver-/302276284757?roken=cUgayN 

They are the closest to sky type of decoder on the market without any bills, they display all the free channels available on satelite aswell as allowing you to pause and record channels aswell as live television.

I've got the main sky+HD box in the living room, it is sending a coaxial cable up to a splitter in the attic where it's signal is shared to all televisions along with the terrestrial aerial;

This means the sky box in the living room can be viewed on all televisions at the same time watching the same channel, So to recap; The freesat box in the rooms upstairs provides all the freeview and the subscription  on sky box in livingroom is shared viewing on all Televisions.

I bought all the parts myself and done all the internal routing of the cables by myself at weekends, I put the cables out through the slit vent in the fascia board at the back of the house to be connected to the satellite dish on the chimney.

I then contacted a local TV aerial and satellite installer to come to the house, get up on the roof; take away the original sky cable from the front of the house; change the LNB to the octo I had purchased and connect the new cables. 

Only cost me €60 labour for that as I had done the rest of the installation myself😊 and provided the equipment, even made an a cuppa, but any installer can provide all items.

overall I've relocated the telephone socket from the hall to the livingroom cabinet; ive fitted three CAT7 network cables from the internet router to each bedroom aswell as a twin sattelite feed and a terrestrial aerial feed, 

The main Sky subscription in the living room viewing is shared throughout the home. all cables are run inside the walls and attic space, feeding from the floor in livingroom up the partition in the kitchen in to the airing cupboard and up in to the attic.

Took me a few weeks to route but was well worth the effort for years to come and i saved alot by doing most of it myself, I'm now free to change between the Sattelite or Telephone line entertainment provider's without the need for any additional installations.

[Gizza11]

12 hours ago, Lenny said:

Sorry for delayed response on this subject; I've been busy at work all week, and i wanted to provide a thougher response as im quite proud of my home installation setup.

Thanks for this post Lenny I have a SKY HD box and like you  have used the coax output and the correct type ( as the magic eye won't work with any other) distribution amp (from Maplin's) with a magic eye on each TV  so that I can watch  the Sky programs in any room and still operate the box in any room. Only problem is with one box you have to watch the same program on all TV'S . Like you it took a little work to put in the amp and coax cable but was worth it in the end. Thing is I don't think the new Sky Q has the coax output socket on the back I think its all Wifi will have to look into this and how it will be cost effective for me.

[Stoney871]

Sky Q is indeed run on wifi.
The main box has 2 inputs and acts as the main media server.
You get a new dual channel router with the installation.
All the extra boxes only need a power supply and a good wifi signal, no other input wires needed (although you can use a wired network if preferred).

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[Jonro2009]

Thanks for this post Lenny I have a SKY HD box and like you  have used the coax output and the correct type ( as the magic eye won't work with any other) distribution amp (from Maplin's) with a magic eye on each TV  so that I can watch  the Sky programs in any room and still operate the box in any room. Only problem is with one box you have to watch the same program on all TV'S . Like you it took a little work to put in the amp and coax cable but was worth it in the end. Thing is I don't think the new Sky Q has the coax output socket on the back I think its all Wifi will have to look into this and how it will be cost effective for me.

 

What is the distribution amp? How does it work with the Magic eye?

 

Sorry @Lenny I haven't ignored your post, I want to take another couple of reads and get my head around it lol, it's not really an area of knowledge but I understand the principle. I'm going to re read and answer any of my first initial daft questions and then ask the sensible ones [emoji16]

 

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[Lenny]

On Sunday, April 23, 2017 at 6:55 PM, Jonro2009 said:

What is the distribution amp? How does it work with the Magic eye?

Sorry @Lenny I haven't ignored your post, I want to take another couple of reads and get my head around it lol, it's not really an area of knowledge but I understand the principle. I'm going to re read and answer any of my first initial daft questions and then ask the sensible ones

No problem;

First In order to get a coaxial output on the rear of your Sky+HD box you will need to use one of these: 

Link: http://www.freetv.ie/io-link.html 

 

 

Aswell as additional power supply to boost the signal feeding up to the attic space 

Link: http://www.freetv.ie/triax-io-link-power-supply/ 

SKY+HD i/O link Adaptor 

 

The distribution amplifier then is usually fitted in the attic link: http://www.freetv.ie/proception-8-way-tv-amplifier-with-bypass/?currency=GBP 

takes in a coaxial cable from the sky box aswell as a terestrial aerial feed from the roof if desired

it then puts that signal out to as much as 8 televisions with the ability to use the sky smarteye on each television to control the main sky box as if it was in that room.

The SKY+HD Box in the living room can then be controlled from any bedroom upstairs using a connected "smart eye" aswell as a Sky+HD remote in the room but all watching the same channel on the box.

Link to purchase Sky Smart eye: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Latest-New-Genuine-Global-Sky-Product-TV-Link-Sky-plus-HD-Magic-Eye-/331962367037?hash=item4d4a7fbc3d:g:YiYAAOSwf-VWXDpC 

 

 

So for example: 

Analogue Channel "0" on all televisions will display a mirror image from the box on any television throughout the house,

 

If you have an aerial socket in the living room that perhaps you dont use; you can use that to send a sky signal up to the attic then plug it in to the distribution amp in the attic.

[Lenny]

On Sunday, April 23, 2017 at 0:58 PM, Gizza11 said:

Thanks for this post Lenny I have a SKY HD box and like you have used the coax output and the correct type ( as the magic eye won't work with any other) distribution amp (from Maplin's) with a magic eye on each TV  so that I can watch  the Sky programs in any room and still operate the box in any room. Only problem is with one box you have to watch the same program on all TV'S . Like you it took a little work to put in the amp and coax cable but was worth it in the end. Thing is I don't think the new Sky Q has the coax output socket on the back I think its all Wifi will have to look into this and how it will be cost effective for me.

😟I went a bit mad last November and bought a brand new 2TB Sky+HD box from eBay along with three Sky smart eye's for the bedrooms.

 

 

I had planned on contacting sky only to obtain a viewing card on subscription; but there now offering a free LG 32" TV Model: 32LH510BTV with any skyQ subscription so I'm sort of on the fence 😣 #Dilemma but if I do go for a SkyQ I'll loose the mirror viewing capability and will have wasted money on the three smart eyes and 2TB box, if I could get the sky installer to come out and give me the skyQ kit and free tv without installing or touching anything; I would get the sky card on subscription and sell the Q kit on eBay keeping the free TV Win/Win 😀

 

On Sunday, April 23, 2017 at 4:40 PM, Stoney871 said:

Sky Q is indeed run on wifi.
The main box has 2 inputs and acts as the main media server.
You get a new dual channel router with the installation.
All the extra boxes only need a power supply and a good wifi signal, no other input wires needed (although you can use a wired network if preferred).

I personally prefer to use wired network connection in the home where possible as I'm concerned about wireless signals affecting my young family, there's no proof that WiFi is bad mmkay but I'm sceptical