tvLink help

[Aimsbury]

Hi There,

Many apologies in advance. I am very aware that what I am about to ask might be very very silly!

I've just bought a One for All tvLink so that I can watch sky downstairs in the kitchen as well as upstairs in the lounge which is where our current Sky + box is set up.

I've managed to do all the 4-0-1 'change the RF setting' business but (here comes the silly question)...

I've got the aerial cable coming from the RF2 output into the wall aerial socket (in the lounge). Then downstairs in the kitchen I have the aerial coming from the wall socket into the tvLink aerial box, and then into the telly.

Do I need a direct link between the Sky + RF2 output and the tvLink?

In the loft, I have one cable coming from the main tv aerial into a splitter, and 4 cables feeding down to the various wall sockets, so technically the lounge and kitchen wall sockets are linked, but the signal may only be able to go one way (from the original aerial to the wall sockets).

I hope this makes sense! I've got the ladder ready if I need to go up in the loft.

Again, apologies if this is a silly question with an obvious answer!

Many thanks in advance

[Woodster]

You need to go in your loft and/or run a cable. A TV link will not work through a splitter, apart from that, you don't appear to have enough cables!! You need 2 cables, 1 to take the normal TV aerial signal down to your sky box, and 1 to take it, plus the sky from RF-2, back up to your loft. You will also need to fit a IR passing distribution amplifier and connect the RF-2 to the input. Connect all the other leads to the amp, making sure all connectors a correctly fitted and not shorting. All wall sockets should be non-isolated to allow the 9vdc to pass.

OR.... Just run a direct cable from RF-2 to the kitchen.

OR..... You could fit a grouped combiner on the Aerial input to the splitter and plug the cable from the RF-2 into that. Easy way to do it depending on what TV transmitter you are using.

[Smithy99]

Ok I think I follow

You need to run a cable from the RF2 out to the input of the splitter in the loft (where the aerial goes now) and then run the aerial down to the aerial in on the Sky receiver.

ie, Aerial (main feed) into satellite receiver first (AERIAL IN), RF1 to TV, RF2 up to loft into amplifier input. Then the amplifier outputs will all carry your satndard aerial signals and also the Sky pictures, tune any TV's that are connected to get the Sky pictures.

The only thing I cannot be sure of is whether the Sky link will work, it depends on the amplifier allowing DC pass thtough and also the wall plates allowing it, some do and some don't.

[Aimsbury]

Thanks Woodster.

The sky box has cables running from the dish and in through the a drilled hole in the wall of the lounge (as installed by the sky man) so there are two brown cables in the back of the Sky + box. This doesn't go anywhere near the loft and the main TV aerial.

The two wall sockets are directly above each other so I can probably take the sockets off and run a cable between the two - likely to be the most simplest!

Thanks again

[Woodster]

Make sure the faceplates have no electronic parts on them. Look under the curcit board and look for blue or brown diodes. If you see any, get a new faceplte. If you just have a metal plate instead of a curcit board, you should be fine.

[Aimsbury]

And there's me thinking it would be easy!

Thanks Smithy - I think a direct link from the lounge to the kitchen will be the quickest option

Thanks Woodster too - I'll be popping to Maplins tomorrow!

[Smithy99]

No problem, although if you do it properly, all the TV's would be able to get Sky, bedrooms etc.

The direct route is the easiest but if I were you I wouldn't bother with the faceplates, remove the internals and just run the coax through the hole directly into the TV, that way you can be sure that the TVeye will work.

[Woodster]

Fair comment!!

[Aimsbury]

Smithy - would I need to do the RF1 to TV as the signal is via scart?

[Smithy99]

No, no need if you use scart.