More common problems solved

Water in the TV aerial lead

A common problem we attend to is where the TV reception has deteriorated and the picture quality is affected.

Quite often the cause of this is not apparent to the customer; everything looks to be in order, the aerial is still attached to the chimney and facing in the right direction.  On closer inspection it becomes evident that the coaxial cable has been water damaged.

What to look for.

If the aerial is cabled externally (rather than built in to the internal wall) it is often possible to unplug the aerial and see either water or corrosion on the aerial plug.

How does water get into the cable?

1. The inner insulation of some coaxial cables is hollow 'air-spaced' polythene.  When water enters the cable the air spacing acts like a hose.
2. This happens because the connection cover on the aerial is damaged or blown off.
3. The cable has been flapping about on the roof tiles and the outer insulation has been 'rubbed out' exposing the inner cable.
4. The lid of an amplifier or splitter box has fallen off or become open.
5. A cable joint has failed.

Aerial Repair or renew?

If the aerial and fittings are in good condition and the connection box on the aerial is intact, then it may be sufficient to rewire the existing aerial.  If water has entered the aerial connection, we advise fitting a new aerial, for the same reason it may be necessary to replace the amplifier or splitter box.

Sky TV - If you don't have Sky, but are thinking about having it installed, click here - this will tell you all about our latest Sky Offers. Some of which are really not to be missed.

Anyway, back on topic - here are some of the most common issues with Sky and some quick fixes to help you.


Sky STB says no satellite signal being received.

Firstly look to see the dish moved or appears damaged, if so this is the problem.

Trees that come into leaf, can impair reception, if the dish pointing at the trees, it may require re-siting.

In other instances either the LNB has a problem or the STB LNB power supply is faulty. The STB can be repaired for this fault, but the faulty LNB cannot and needs replacing.

Sky TV link to a second room is not working.

The Sky TV link is connected from the back of the STB on the 2nd RF outlet - check that it is it connected to that outlet?

If correctly connected and was working OK before, then 1 of 2 things may have happened - either the TV link is faulty or the power supply from the STB is turned off.

First check if the power for the link is turned on. To do this press services, then 4, then zero-one-select, you are then in the installer setup menu.

One of the sub menus is RF outlets - go to it and the entry reading "2nd RF outlet supply" should be on, if it says off; turn it on and save new settings.

Press the Sky button. If the light on the back of the TV link in the other room is on then the link is now active and should work OK.

The picture has gone funny or the sound keeps going

This is often caused by a loose or faulty Scart lead, check that the Scart leads are firmly in place first before calling out an engineer.  

Have you recently relocated the TV and STB?  This is a common cause of loose Scart leads.

Remote Control won't adjust volume or other TV functions

Has it always been like that or did it work before but does not now? If it worked before then the handset has lost its code - perhaps because you did not replace the batteries within 10 minutes of the old ones running out.

Sky TV STB says no satellite signal being received.

Firstly look to see the dish moved or appears damaged, if so this is the problem.

Trees that come into leaf, can impair reception, if the dish pointing at the trees, it may require re-siting.

In other instances either the LNB has a problem or the STB LNB power supply is faulty. The STB can be repaired for this fault, but the faulty LNB cannot and needs replacing. 

If you already have either Sky TV, Freeview or Freesat things can occasionally go wrong (usually it's during your favourite programme!) so over the next few days we'll be blogging some basic tips and tricks to help you to solve the problem.

Set Top Box has stopped working / crashed / locked.

Like computers a Set Top Box (STB) has processors and chips, these do occasionally crash due to static electricity etc.

When this happens unplug the STB from the mains for approx 1 minute and remove its viewing card (if applicable).

Plug the STB back in and leave for another minute or so, insert the viewing card (if applicable) then press the Sky key or ON button on Freeview and Freesat boxes.
It will then re-boot itself.  In most instances this should solve the problem.

If the STB continues to crash etc. or the picture is not right, there may be a more severe problem which may require a visit from us to rectify the problem for you - try the above first though as it generally sorts most things out.
 

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Kind Regards
ActionAerials.co.uk

So, what happens if you have tv aerial work carried out and something goes wrong?

You call the company who carried out the work to come and rectify it - Right?

And, what if they can't, or worse, what it they won't? Where does that leave you?

Are they a member of a recognised trade body?

i.e. CAI Confederation of Aerial Industries or IDSC.

We are full installer members of the CAI.

Our membership is level CAI+ (CAI PLUS) which means not only do we carry out all our work to the highest standards, you always have complete peace of mind that even if (in the
unlikely event)we are unable to resolve any issue, you have somewhere to go for help and advice.

We are also associate members of RETRA.