2 x 'RF Out 2' combined in to 1 TV Coaxial (RG6) Distribution

[PJD]

Hi Guys,


I have Sky+ HD installed downstairs on my main TV

I have an I/O link on the back of it (Labgear MRX 600 with Power supply)
This has an RF2 Out sent up to the loft with in to splitter and is distributed around the house so I can watch Sky everywhere and have Magic eyes,
the system works very well and the picture is crystal clear, and the channel changing works perfectly.

I have recently had a second Satellite receiver set up from my Sky dish on the same TV (through HDMI)
This does not have an RF out so have bought a Labgear MRX700 DigiLink Scart-to-RF-Converter with Power supply and Inferred control

I have programmed the 2 RF outs on different channels and combined the 2 RF outs with a 2-1 splitter and sent them both back upto the loft to be distributed around the house


I carried out a scan to pick up the new channel and this gave me a few issues, The picture quality was very poor on both channels and I cannot seem to change the channel on the sky box and the satellite box from different rooms.
Sky channel 21
and
Satellite channel 41

I have removed the Labgear MRX700 DigiLink Scart-to-RF-Converter from the set up and gone back to the old set up with just the Sky, I am still unable to change the channels from other rooms, how ever the picture quality is crystal clear again
Also the red light on the magic eye's is not lit up any more

I was wondering if any of the tech guys could shed any light on my issue or maybe offer me a solution.

I have checked the obvious things like removing all the connections and re-fitting them also switching everything off for a few minutes and switching back on.
The only thing I have not checked is if the O/I link still has 12v coming out of it.

Could combining the 2 powered RF Out's together have back feed something and caused me an issue?

Please be gentle as I am on novice

Thanks in advance for your help Phil

[digicon]

Is the second satellite receiver another Sky box or just a standard satellite receiver with no RF2 compatibility, if so then you need to introduce/combine both signals before it enters the i/o link.

I would also check your freeview coverage for your area as the RF channels you are using could be causing problems

[PJD]

Thanks for your reply.

The second Satellite Receiver is a Openbox V8S with no 'RF Out'

The RF Out from the O/I link was combined with the RF Out from the Openbox...
...Are you saying I need to put the Openbox RF Out with the Freeview IN on the I/O link (Combine the 2)

Thanks Phil

[digicon]

yes you will need to combine your Freeview (Aerial) feed with the RF output from the V8s before it goes into the I/O link on the official sky box then the feed from the RF2 on the I/O link out will have your V8s RF stream your official Skybox RF stream and the Freeview stream all sent to your distribution system in the loft

[PJD]

Your a Diamond for that information

I will do this and let you know how I get on, Thanks again

[PJD]

Just wondering if there would be a splitter/combiner that you would recommend to join the Freeview & Openbox Coaxial's with?

[ramjet]

no need , all you do is connect the freeview aerial to the scart to rf converter on its rf input, then use its rf output to go to the rf input of the sly box, then send rf2 output from the sly box to the distribution loftbox, then its cables to the various tv,s including to the magic eye and looped into the back of the tv

either the loftbox or the rf2 output from the sly box will power the eye , depending on if the loftbox has a dc path (magic eye compatible) for the sly box power to passthrough, or alternatively if the loftbox provides its own power to magic eyes instead

so its

freeview aerial into the scart to rf converter
rf converter to sly box rf input
sly box rf2 output to loftbox
loftbox to magic eye
magic eye into the tv

so its a daisy chain system , but choose 2 "white noise" non-freeview channels for the sly box and the scart converter, so no clashes

you can test if the magic eye works by plugging it into rf2 output on the sly box to start with
it should power up, and if you shield the IR detector on the sly box front fascia, the magic eye should light up and operate the sly box when using the remote control

[PJD]

Thanks for the usefull break down there, I will try it when i get home from work


The I/O link has its own power supply
The distributer in the loft has a seperate power supply for the Masthead
Also the RF Modulater has its own power supply and 2 Infered sensors

Should the Inferred sensors still operate the Openbox wiring it up this way?

Also 1 last question, do you think I may have dammaged anything having it connected the way I did seeing they all have there own power supply?
I'm wondering if I could have put too much voltage down it or something?

[ramjet]

if the rf mod has IR senders (not sensores) then yes the powered and working magic eye will receive inputs from either remote control and the rf mod will transmit these using the senders so have those positioned in front of the IR sensor on the openbox

note , these have to be IR SENDERS , not sensors , the magic eye is an IR sensor to recive IR signals and send them over the coax , where they will go into the sly box RF2 plus will keep going to the rf mod as well , so both boxes can be controlled remotely

yes you could have damaged something if they all add 12v power , hence why I aid test the magic eye on the sly box, make sure it lights up , make sure it works (no it cannot have put too much voltage down the system, but they could have clashed and one could be dead)

if it works, try it from the tv end, making sure its powered and operates the sly box once more

if it fails to light up at the tv , then maybe there is no power to it from the loftbox ? so you need to narrow down what works, where , and why , then what fails , where , and why

ie:- standard fault finding

[PJD]

Thanks for your time and detailed explaination, I will spend some time on it and go through it methoically, hopefully I will get it sorted

And yes they are senders not sensors on the Scart to RF converter

On my Sky box Channel 21 is best for viewing up stairs, Which channel do you think would be best for the Scart to RF converter?

[ramjet]

impossible to say as each area has its own freeview digital channels for the transponders , in my area there used to be about 6 channels but since an@logue ceased and HD came in there seems to be more like 10

suggest you google your transmitter and see what channels they use , then look to stay well away from them , plus away from ch21 as well, perhaps looking between 25 and 30 ? I am suprised that you have not checked already

[digicon]

Good Information on here but i think your better off explaining a couple of things so as not to have more complications.

1. what make is the RF modulator on the V8s as you say it has 2 infared senders which i assume are for you to be able to control the receiver from any other point in your house

2. you mention a Masthead in the loft there is a difference a masthead is generally an Aerial amplifier with a separate power supply that just does Freeview distribution, A loft distribution amplifier has its own built in power supply and can distribute Freeview,FM/DAB,CCTV etc...

The reason i ask is because if your i/o link was a triax and the RF modulator was a triax tri-link you could lose the Powered loft distribution amp with a triax digital link which would have been powered by the triax tri-link. This way the Triax products can distribute RF and have both devices V8s and Sky HD controllable in any room via the RF2 Magic Eye.

If you have different models some can work with one another but some can also cause issues, Power fluctuations because all 3 devices are powered which can cause RF interference as well as swamp Freeview signals and cause problems there.

Generally if you have a powered loft distribution amplifier then there is no need to power the i/o link as without power they are good for at least 1 powered RF2 extension, as your sending it into the loft distribution which is powered this gives its own power to all remaining magic eye points.

Just hope this has not caused too much more confusion :-)

[PJD]

Good evening Gents, just want to say thanks again for your detailed help, I found it very useful.

I did not look into the broadcast channels yet, I have found 2 that seem steady for now, will look at the channels and see what I can find out though.

The I/O link is - Labgear MRX 600 with Power supply

RF Modulater is - Labgear MRX700 DigiLink Scart-to-RF-Converter with power supply

The freeview Aerial on the roof is powered from a device down in 1 of the bedrooms, this was added as they didn't have an 8 way distribution block that was powered.
The 'distribution block' as I'm calling it is just an 8 way splitter in a sealed box, no fancy parts on it for CCTV, Freesat or anything, I have my CCTV run over Cat5e & separate feeds for FreeSat

I also have a Rack mount to distribute Cat5e around the house.

Sky+ HD Box 500GB

OpenBox V8S

I tested the I/O link last night, I had 0v coming from the RF2 Out (It should have 12v, so I must have blown it!)
The RF1 Out has 9v (Which is correct) so for now till I get a replacement sent out I have continued to set it up from the RF1 Out

I done the Daisy chain as Ramjet suggested

Freeview >to> RF Modulater 'RF In'
RF Modulater 'RF2 Out' >to> 'RF In' on I/O Link
'RF1 Out' on I/O Link >to> Feed in loft on 8 way splitter
Then the splitter feeds all the rooms in the house

I also disconnected all the Magic eyes in the house apart from 1 so I don't get too much voltage drop out, this enabled the magic eye to work again.

Anyway upon doing all this, The picture on the TV has come along brilliantly, It's not crystal clear like it was before I added the second box, but I'm hoping once the replacement I/O link is fitted and I'v had a look at which channels are best to broadcast over it should be good

Is there a particular site you use to check the transmitter?

Thanks again guys this was very useful help and I appreciate it.

[ramjet]

try here _http://www.aerialsandtv.com/nationwidetransmitters.html

click on your region and check the rf channels on the right

and _https://ukfree.tv/

[PJD]

Thanks for that Ramjet,

My Local Transmitter is Sutton Coldfield, Would I be right in thinking 33, 35, 39, 40, 42. 43, 45, 46 are channels to stay away from?

http://www.aerialsandtv.com/suttoncoldfieldtx.html