# Forum Home Renovation Television, Computers & Phones  Aerial ports dont work in the house - please help

## dabba

Hi, 
Recently moved house and none of the aerial sockets work in the house.
There is an aerial installed on the roof and there are multiple aerial sockets throughout the house.
The previous owner advised that they needed an amplifier for the aerial to watch tv...? (see photo attached). 
Is this amplifier still required now we use digital signals?
Im fairly confident that all coaxial cables have been terminated correctly as they have been in the house a while). 
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks

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## jimfish

Yep you probably need a mast head amplifier,which will still be attached to your antenna. Unfortunately when people pack up to move they generally take the power supply with them. You should be able to buy a new one from an electronics store

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## Bros

I see the power supply is attached but where does the two outlets go? One has a plug in it the other?

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## Uncle Bob

> I see the power supply is attached but where does the two outlets go? One has a plug in it the other?

  Good spotting Bros  :Wink:   
Yeah, the lead to the antenna and mast head amp is missing.

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## Bros

Yes Uncle Bob I have just gone through the process of upgrading my TV system and now with new cable and fittings and antenna (a later version of the old one) I now don't need an amplifier.

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## Ozcar

> Good spotting Bros   
> Yeah, the lead to the antenna and mast head amp is missing.

  Gee. how do you know the mast head amp is missing? Not connected I will believe, but missing? 
I suppose it is possible, but if they really took the amp, wouldn't they take the power supply as well? (I'm assuming the plug pack is still on the end of the cable going off to the left, and that it is plugged in and turned on. 
One thing to watch out for, in the event the amp is really there*, is that if there are multiple antenna outlets, the splitter may only pass the power up to the amp from one outlet, so maybe the power supply/injector should be tried at each outlet. 
* I am reminded of the supposed list of maintenance complaints submitted by US Air Force pilots and the replies from the maintenance crews, which included: 
"  Problem:  "Number three engine missing."
   Solution: "Engine found on right wing after brief search." 
Here, hopefully it will be "amp located on mast after a brief search."

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## Bros

What  shown in the pic is only part of the story and is the injector and the socket marked amplifier is not plugged into anything. This does two things it sends power to the amplifier which could be on the mast on in the ceiling and secondly brings amplified signal back to the TV.

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## Uncle Bob

> Gee. how do you know the mast head amp is missing? Not connected I will believe, but missing?

  I'm psychic  :Smilie:  
Maybe I should've said the cable that leads to the antenna and masthead amp is missing. Reading back, I can see how it was a little confusing  :Smilie:

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## Bedford

> Yeah, the* lead to* the antenna and mast head amp is missing.

   

> Gee. how do you know the mast head amp is missing? Not connected I will believe, but missing?

   :Rolleyes:  
Uncle Bob only said the* lead* is missing because it is obviously not connected, which is all that could be seen from the picture provided.

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## Tools

Shouldn't need a lead, just plug straight in to the wall socket.  
Tools

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## Bedford

I reckon Tools is on the money. 
A closer look at the pic shows the Belling Lee type connector that would plug into the wall plate to send volts up and signal down. 
That's assuming there* is* an amplifier somewhere inline.

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## Bros

> the Belling Lee type connector that would plug into the wall plate to send volts up and signal down.

  The're actually called a PAL connector but now superseded by F connector for digital TV but the PAL one's are still around but not as good as the F connector.

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## dabba

Thanks for all your comments guys. 
A quick update...
I connected the power pack/connector (see original photo) to the tv and aerial socket in the main bedroom upstairs. 
'to amplifier' connected to the aerial socket in the wall
'to television' connected to the 'aerial in' port on the digital set top box
'14v dc' to GPO
(hdmi from set top box to tv) 
All the above seemed to work and i picked up variouis channels. 
Q - to watch tv in other rooms will i need a similar power pack/setup for each aerial outlet? (and obviously a digital set top box) 
Dabba

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## Bros

To be sure you need to go into the ceiling and find the splitter. Splitters usually have one leg that bypasses the power supply to the antenna. To complicate things there are some splitters that bypass on all legs but I've been told these aren't the best to use.
You need to plug the connector into the leg that is on the bypass on the out side of the splitter then you will have TV to all outlets with the one power supply. The in connection on the splitter goes to the masthead amplifier.

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## dabba

> To be sure you need to go into the ceiling and find the splitter. Splitters usually have one leg that bypasses the power supply to the antenna. To complicate things there are some splitters that bypass on all legs but I've been told these aren't the best to use.
> You need to plug the connector into the leg that is on the bypass on the out side of the splitter then you will have TV to all outlets with the one power supply. The in connection on the splitter goes to the masthead amplifier.

  Thanks, ill give it a crack later. 
Let you know...

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## John2b

> All the above seemed to work and i picked up variouis channels. 
> Q - to watch tv in other rooms will i need a similar power pack/setup for each aerial outlet? (and obviously a digital set top box) Dabba

  In general, no. The object in your photograph is a power injector. The amplifier will be sitting up near the antenna. Once it has power courtesy of the injector being plugged in, all of the sockets in the house should become live.

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## Tools

> Q - to watch tv in other rooms will i need a similar power pack/setup for each aerial outlet? (and obviously a digital set top box)

  I have the same amplifier and it only needs the one supply. 
Tools

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## FrodoOne

> The're actually called a PAL connector but now superseded by F connector for digital TV but the PAL one's are still around but not as good as the F connector.

  They actually are a Belling Lee 75 Ohm or IEC 169-2 connector (but, since the introduction of the F connector, they are now often called a PAL connector.)  Apart from the fact that Belling Lee is more of a "mouthful" than PAL, there is no reason whatsoever (as far as I can see) for using PAL as a name, since they work on NTSC and SECAM system 75 Ohm connections just as well - or as badly.
As far as I can recall, these were never called PAL connectors until the F connector became available.  Prior to that, after 300 ohm ribbon cable and connectors were phased out in favor of coaxial cable, they were simply referred to as TV connectors by most users.  
From TV aerial plug - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Belling-Lee connector or IEC 169-2 connector, known colloquially as TV aerial plug, TV antenna connector or simply an antenna plug, is the traditional RF connector for European TV sets and FM / DAB-radio receivers that connects them to a terrestrial VHF/UHF roof antenna, antenna amplifier, or CATV network via a coaxial cable. It is the oldest coaxial connector still commonly used in consumer devices.
Invented at Belling & Lee Ltd in Enfield, United Kingdom around 1922 at the time of the first BBC broadcasts, it was originally only intended for medium frequency broadcasts, where accurate impedance matching of an antenna connector is not a concern.
Unlike the coaxial F connector used today for the same purpose in North America, the IEC 61169-2 connector is not matched to the 75-ohm characteristic impedance of the antenna cable used, having an impedance closer to 50 ohms. This lack of impedance matching causes signal reflections in the cable, leading to noticeable signal distortion on VHF and UHF frequencies. 
The IEC-169-2 connector is recognised as a source of signal distortion and has become a particular concern with digital signal reception, specifically UHF HDTV.
DAB (digital radio) and other reception modes are not as severely affected by the impedance matching issue, so only HDTV and satellite reception systems are encouraged to use the F connector.
In spite of being somewhat unsuitable for modern analogue VHF and UHF TV frequencies, due to industrial inertia, the Belling Lee connector is still used today as a TV signal reception connector.  
(Because the F connector is so much better at matching 75 Ohms, it is strange that the majority of TV receivers still have built in Belling Lee connectors and the writer of the above has referred to it as industrial inertia.)

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