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New build owners



Plugged a TV in at my apartment to check reception from the communal antenna and got dick all out of it. Same when I connected a freesat box up to the satellite socket in the wall. I remember someone mentioning some sort of box/amplified may be required on new properties to get the TV working. Any Ideas? I've not had a chance to get in the loft yet to investigate will be attempting to asap.
 
I use a signal booster (if that's what you mean?) and it helped a great deal with my Freeview signal. I went from virtually no channels, with some unstable channels, to pretty much everything, just by adding the booster.

Don't set fire to my shed if it doesn't work though! ;)
 

Coby.

ClioSport Club Member
  XC60-R.......V40-R
I just purchased a Wolsey Amplifier which is Plug and Play and now have Crystal Clear Freeview,

Its 2 Channel and only cost £16.99
 
  421 Cammed 172
I had no problems with my antenna when i moved into my new build, if its apartments/flats ask your neighbours if they're getting a good signal from the antenna.

You can call the contractors back in to inspect the problem if it's bought from a housing developer ie George Wimpey, Persimmon etc
 
  Ph1 172 + Combo van
When i moved into my house it had all the cables run in the walls and up to the loft and they were all just bunndled up there but were not plugged into anything. We had to buy and aerial aswell as a signal amplifier and wire it all up myself. tvs have been fine since with a good picture. that was 5 years ago.

Maybe some builders are just lazy and expect you to do it yourself. Its a big house too and needed a 15 way amplifier which i think was quite expensive so maybe that is why they left it for us to do.
 
TBH I'd sooner sort it myself. Builders are a waste of space and I dont want them dragging s**t in on my carpet (you should see the state they've made of some of the communal ones) I'm getting 0 signal not just poor reception and as I say it's from both the coax antenna socket and satellite socket.


EDIT

yeah Alex something along those lines seems more likely although there is definately a communal antenna, I'm assuming it's either a connection issue or one of these boxes I saw mentioned in a thread on here. I would presume its some form of amp/signal booster.
 
  SLK250 CDI
When i moved into my house it had all the cables run in the walls and up to the loft and they were all just bunndled up there but were not plugged into anything. We had to buy and aerial aswell as a signal amplifier and wire it all up myself. tvs have been fine since with a good picture. that was 5 years ago.

Maybe some builders are just lazy and expect you to do it yourself. Its a big house too and needed a 15 way amplifier which i think was quite expensive so maybe that is why they left it for us to do.

+1 I don't think you usually get an aerial in a new build anyway - it's one of those 'options' that you can pay for when they're building.
 
  f**ked ph1 172
As above when me and the fiance moved into ours, we plugged mine into the wall, got little out of it, so we bought a new one, then nothing, so i got up in the(very cramped) loft to find nothing plugged into the aerial, so ay 10pm up there with a pair of scissors and a knife connecting it up!
 
  tiTTy & SV650
Mines Bellway and there's a fantastic signal to the aerial socket in my living room, not tested the one in my bedroom. Crystal clear freeview with no intereference.

There's also a communal sky dish wired in to the flat too which is cool but its only a single cable so can't get sky plus (which requires 2 cables).
 
Mine has two feeds for the dish by the looks of it. Not had a chance to get up there in the loft, still waiting for them to sort me out with a loft hatch key. It seems odd that it wouldnt be connected to be honest. Obviously I'm one of only a couple of top floor apartments, the rest of them wont have lofts or access to the loft space to connect their antenna feed to the communal antenna. Hopefully I'll have a poke about in the next few days and find out what the issue is.
 
If its a flat, it will have a communal aerial and sky dish. They do this to stop everyone having aerials and sky dishes on the side of the flats making the lovely new build look w**k.

If its a newbuild house it will have jack s**t connected to those cables.
 
If its a flat, it will have a communal aerial and sky dish. They do this to stop everyone having aerials and sky dishes on the side of the flats making the lovely new build look w**k.

If its a newbuild house it will have jack s**t connected to those cables.

I think people are missing the fact that it's an apartment rather than a house tbh with some of the comments. As you say communal dish and antenna to stop everyone in the building slapping one on it.
 

Lee

  BMW M2C
My newbuild house has aerial sockets in most rooms, and an aerial in the loft space, and i get a damn good picture from it, without a booster.

Mine is odd, as the 26" LCD in my bedroom requires a booster, yet the 42" plasma in the lounge is fine, yet that's a longer cable run from the aerial in the loft. Must depend on the tuner in the set to a degree.

Come to think of it, the one in the bedroom only needed a booster some time after I connected the one in the lounge, I'd not bothered for ages as I have Sky HD, so I reckon that's weakened the signal a little
 
  Bumder With A Buffer
Get in the loft and have a look at whats up there and il help you further :)

Most New builds now don't seem to have aerials in them (up to a few years ago I was an installer)

Mine for example I had to get an aerial although the leads were up in the loft just not connected.

If it goes in the loft you will need a "Masthead Amplifier" and not a normal signal booster as these are s**t. Fairly in-expensive.. you can get a four way one with a PSU unit for £20 quid from wickes... il find out a link for you
 
  Bumder With A Buffer
Found what I was on about... from screwfix sorry not Wickes (although if you could get these cheaper maybe just look around)

For a Masthead amplifier get one of these..

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/51891...tion/Labgear-Screened-Masthead-Amp-4-Way-10dB

You then need a PSU to power it and this is here...

http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;j...ton.x=9&searchbutton.y=11&searchbutton=submit

Im guessing you wont have an Aerial either and would recommend a High Gain Digital one that can go in your loft...

This would do the trick...

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/41700...-Fixings/Labgear-TV-Aerial-Digital-32-Element

The only thing that would cause you issues is your "Line Of Sight" from your loft to the TV mast. I dont know where you live but there is a possibility you could be pointing towards a RELAY mast. Easiest thing to do is look at other people's TV mast and see if how they are pointing.

Check the photo below and if they are the top one your on a main mast.. if the bottom one then a realy one. (I doubt you would be on a relay but you have to be sure)

TVAerialVerticallorHorizontalMounting.gif


Its not hard to put an aerial up yourself... the only thing thats hard is getting good signal and making sure you do things properly.

People think you just buy an aerial and wire it up and "jobs a good un" but there's other things to take into account.

I did mine here myself and we point through are next door neighbours roof slightly which impedes our signal sometimes.. I need to get up there and sort it but just cant be arsed TBH!!
 
  VaVa
I have the same trouble. I'm the left had side of a semi detached and my aerial is in the loft pointing towards next door, towards the mast at Sutton Coldfield.

Would one of those amps be good enough? Although I'd have to put a socket up there to power the thing!
 
  Bumder With A Buffer
I have the same trouble. I'm the left had side of a semi detached and my aerial is in the loft pointing towards next door, towards the mast at Sutton Coldfield.

Would one of those amps be good enough? Although I'd have to put a socket up there to power the thing!

No you can power the PSU unit from down behind your TV... You then use the Socket behind say your TV to power the unit and get signal.. Then the other socket from the PSU unit goes to your TV/Freeview or whatever.
 
  421 Cammed 172
I think people are missing the fact that it's an apartment rather than a house tbh with some of the comments. As you say communal dish and antenna to stop everyone in the building slapping one on it.

I didnt miss this fact, which is why i suggested you ask your neighbours if they have signal, it may just be your wiring in your apartment, or a lose connection.

The builders wont have to enter your property if it's a communal antenna fault. Id ask them to check that before you fork out for a signal booster.
 
It wasn't a comment pointed at you chap. I'm not actually living in it yet so I've not had a chance to collar anyone in the other apartments but when I'm over fitting more stuff in the next few days if I see anyone I'll definately be asking them if theirs works.
 
  421 Cammed 172
It wasn't a comment pointed at you chap. I'm not actually living in it yet so I've not had a chance to collar anyone in the other apartments but when I'm over fitting more stuff in the next few days if I see anyone I'll definately be asking them if theirs works.

I know mate, wasnt being snappy at you. Just thought i'd re-post incase u missed it first time.

It sounds like you may have a bad connection somewhere. If you're getting no signal at all id let the development company know as it may need to be re-wired which you won't want if you're living there.

I have a storage heater where the wiring had been buggered somewhere along the line and i didnt try to use it until id been in over a year, got all solid wood flooring etc in and they wanted to rip the wall out to re-wire. I told them not to bother in the end.

Moral of the story, run in all your storage heaters etc as they'll need running in due to the smell they make first few times of use anyway. Atleast with contractors still there any issues can be rectified.
 
  Hyundai i40
get on to the builders...mine was a newbuild and all set up...it will prob be something simple that might take u 3 hrs to sort and them 15 mins, u shouldnt have to go doing s**t like that if its an apartment

go on get em back to sort it hun
 

Ali

  V6, Trackhawk, GTS
The hassle i had with mine...Creating the feedback loop to my room and getting a signal booster! Pain in the titties!
 
I think people are missing the fact that it's an apartment rather than a house tbh with some of the comments. As you say communal dish and antenna to stop everyone in the building slapping one on it.

The neighbours will love it if you get Sky + as you'll be pinching 2 feeds for it (i.e. one of your neighbours feeds)
 
  421 Cammed 172
They raised the communal dish idea in our block, and we just ended up with 3 dishes on the side.

AFAIK The communal dishes are larger than standard dishes with more LNB ports. Our block has 6 apartments and a communal dish could've been arranged for 6 Sky+ set ups
 
  172, Westfield
I had same problem in my new build apartment - Hassle the developers and they will get it sorted - had no terrestrial tv until they put in a signal amplifier!

If yours anything like mine there is a feed from the lounge which links through to main bedroom - so once you get sky working can hook the RF out into this and should be able to see sky in bedroom with minimal hassle.
 
  Mk2 Clio dci
Have you got 2 aerial sockets? Because with my sisters flat, we had to get a 3 way aerial lead adapter, loop the two aerial sockets together and then plug the other one into the TV.
 
I didn't word that one very well, I know the "pole" one is for the satellite there are two of them too. The two for the antenna are both female as such but the pin in the centre of the hole is solid(male) on one and hollow(female) on the other. If that makes more sense.
 


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