robby

Last night we saw a puddle under the video (yes 1 of them old fashioned things).
I pulled the outside aerial lead out of the back and found the water to be comming in from there (happened at a previous house so guessed where it was comming in).
Now the outside aerial (fitted previously) seems to be a maze of cables having at least 3 or 4 outputs to various rooms but i can't find a splitter/ junction box in the loft, etc?
The wires areall over the outside of the house and 1 even goes under a tile into the loft then back out further along under another tile?

We now need to get some1 up to sort things out but i was wondering whether to have all the old cables ripped out and start from fresh?

I think the area is good enough for a loft aerial which will last longer and we could have a junction box in there but i was wondering if we should ask for a digital aerial or just a normal 1 (with digital comming in a couple of years).

we need just 2 aerial points now -
1 into the main room - we also have NThell but still need an aerial
1 into bedroom - i have freeview but still need aerial

does any1 have an opinion or recommend a setup?

Cheers

Leslie

Looks like the aerial installation allowed water to get into the coax at the aerial end and it ran down the inside of it into your room. This will mean that the coax will now be effectively ruined and should be replaced.

As a Radio Ham I can tell you from bitter experience that rain will always get into an aerial system unless the installer does the job properly. The best form of waterproofing is Vaseline which hardens off after a while and does not get washed off by the rain. It can be used liberably all over the connections which will not weaken the signal connections or short them out since it does not conduct like silicon grease. It is used by professional aerial riggers.

Les

speedking

You have to get a digital aerial, you surely wouldn't dream of replacing a new aerial in a couple of years. Cost difference = £0.

Just because you only need a couple of connections doesn't mean others will as well. I would suggest that any outlets are recabled at the same time for future flexibility / selling feature.

Modern shielded satellite cable is better than traditional unshielded TV coax. Full replacement should be worthwhile in terms of picture quality.

Personally I would go for an external aerial as they last decades anyway. Your fitter should be able to tell what signal strength is in the loft compared to on the roof.

HTH

OllyK

Most pro ariel guys now seem to use a self bonding silcone tape. You can pick up from from B&Q for a couple of quid and it works an absolute treat!

robby

Thanks for the replies - we've got some1 calling around tommorow to fit a new aerial (not sure if external or loft yet) - quoted £85 fitted

Leslie

Yes that self bonding stuff has been around for some time and a lot of "hams" use it too. The only annoyance is if you need to disconnect the aerial for some reason when it is really difficult to get off the connectors.

Les

OllyK

Nah - stanley knife perpendicular to the wrapping and it peels of a treat. It's great as a temporary fix for a small leak in plumbing as well.

Leslie

Good tip

Les