Vision Plus socket query

[LordThornber]

Hello wise ones. On the new van, it comes fitted with an external vision plus tv socket.

 

Looking on their website shows they supply 3 types, ours has a single connection with coaxial copper wire emerging.

 

So I connected to it and it knocked out the free to air box.

 

Did our normal connection (through the window) and obviously by passing the vision plus and it works as normal.

 

What's going on here please?

 

I hope you have enough information here to help but feel free to ask/insult/etc for more :D

 

Martyn

[Robinhood]

Have you checked whether the external box is in fact, wired through, and if so, to what? It may go to a separate feed, or may, in fact, not be connected.

 

Unless I were using an external aerial, I wouldn't choose to wire it through the booster, as a "pitch feed" is already likely to be boosted, and the combination may provide "over gain".

 

I tend to use an external "pitch feed" direct to the TV (which is what you may have done to remedy the situation).

 

If it *is* fed through the booster, you might try either turning the booster off, or minimising the gain on it (depending on which type it is).

 

Edited to add:

 

If everything else looks OK, then another possibility is a "short" on the coax (with the braid touching the core at some point - most likely either end). Not unknown in installation, and easy to test with a multimeter.

[LordThornber]

Robin Hood, thanks for your response.

 

As for what or where or even whether the socket is actually wired, goodness knows. Definitely not my area of expertise.

 

Thinking logically, (ha!), it must be connected as its 'knocking out' the fta box.

 

I'm not using a pitch feed though, just a portable satellite system. So its, dish to external socket, external socket through the van's innards, emerging to a socket in the van. Then to the back of the fta box as usual. But as soon as I connect, off the fta box goes.

 

Anyway, I'll check the connections again.

 

Martyn

[capcloser]

I think the vision plus box is for freeview from an aerial not from a satellite dish which is for f.t.a or freesat

(lol)

[LordThornber]

It seems they supply 3 types according to the v plus website.

 

One is for an ordinary aerial, one is for satellite, and another is for both, I'm wondering if mine is for the ordinary aerial as connections seem ok.

 

I've emailed them too for advice.

 

Martyn

[Robinhood]

If it's a satellite FTA box you're using, then I would very much suspect some kind of "short", as the box has to send power to the LNB along the coax, and they are quite often protected against a short on that circuit.

 

However, if you aren't sure that the external connection is for terrestrial or satellite, then if it is set up for terrestrial, and fed in via the/a booster, this could also present itself to the FTA box as a "short", due to the vagaries of the booster circuit and feed.

 

If the external connection is a standard coax socket, then odds-on it's set up for terrestrial TV; if it is a screw-on F plug, then it is likely to be set up for satellite. (this is, however, only conventional and not 100% certain - there is increasing use of F-plugs for terrestrial equipment, as in theory they give a more positive connection).