How to connect the dish to the TV correctly

Rules for connecting the antenna to the TV

Cable television is developing and expanding its influence in all regions of Russia, but also the use of an ordinary antenna is still in demand. Also in demand and satellite dish antennas. Nevertheless, all these devices for quality viewing of television programs must be properly connected, and the connection of the TV to the antenna remains a relevant issue. Most designs are given to a single standard, but some models require an individual approach, and here you need to know exactly how to connect the antenna to the TV.

To date, there are four most popular types of receiving structures:

• Satellite dish. The most efficient and wide-band design, and the connection of the TV to the antenna requires a receiver. Satellite dish can use both cable and wireless connection without cable. Unquestionable advantage. a huge number of TV channels, digital image quality.
• Traditional indoor model with a humorous name “rabbit ears. Used in close proximity to the signal source. The design is a telescopic tube length of 30 cm to 1.5 m. It is preferable because it is adapted to receive DMV channels. The signal is of low quality, so connect this antenna to the receiver in the case of proximity to a TV center or repeater.
• Multielement beam design. Acts as a narrow beam, used to receive and isolate a single signal. Beam type antenna is not less popular than the satellite design. This demand is due to the geography of our country. many regions have a relief terrain in which it is difficult to receive TV signal with other constructions. The peculiarity of such a device, its advantage and disadvantage at the same time is that you can configure the reception of a particular wave, cutting off the reception of reflected and weak signals. That is, the signal will be clear, but not multichannel. Nevertheless, this connection of the TV to the beam construction is still in demand.
• Massive Antenna. Such models with an amplifier are used in areas remote from the repeater to receive all possible TV signals. The solid model is the same beam design, only larger in size. Such a device is effectively used in regions remote from the broadcast, or in areas with natural obstacles to quality reception of TV signals. For example, power lines, mountains, gorges, high-rise skyscrapers, etc.д. The disadvantage of using a massive model in urban areas is one. if you want to connect a TV set to such a construction, the signal can be interfered by urban industrial interference.

Necessary equipment for connection

Before installing the indoor antenna first of all determine the location and distance to the nearest repeater, the presence of possible interference in the form of buildings, features of the area. The condition almost does not apply to the upper floors of high-rise buildings. Residents of the first three floors might need a signal booster.

Some indoor antennas are initially equipped with a built-in amplifier. Also buy the device separately. The principle of operation is based on amplifying the received signal. But the receiving device picks up both direct signal and reflected from various obstacles. So, in a cluster of high-rise buildings, the result will be rather negative. the quality of reception will be markedly reduced.

New models are equipped with a built-in DVB-T2 receiver, which provides reception of free Russian TV channels. Previous generations of TVs will need a receiver that provides support for the television standard used in Set Top Boxes are widely available. from very simple models in the low price segment, to complex, multifunctional devices.

The cost is influenced by the presence of additional functions. Internet connection, alternative control, HD support, CI encoding slot. These features are required for modern televisions. With previous generations of TV receiver does not need a functional tuner. The only condition is to support DVB-T, DVB-T2 and DVB-C standards.

How to connect the cable to the antenna

Many users of satellite television face the problem of connecting the antenna cable to the power supply. We have tried to solve this problem and here are a few tips on how to do it.

In order to connect the antenna cable to the power supply, you need to connect the cable and the power supply plug of the active antenna.

First we cut the cable. To do that we need to step back from its end one and a half centimeters and remove the insulation with a knife all around. Try not to damage the cable braid under the insulation in any way. These are the different wires and shield foil.

Remove the piece of the cut off outer insulator and slide the screen hairs and the foil back.

Step back from the displaced edge of the braid by half a centimeter and cut off the inner insulator layer all around. After that we remove it.

Take the cable and put it under the clamp of the plug of the power supply. All steps are performed very carefully, making sure that the central core is inserted into the clamp, and the metal braid and shield in contact with the tinned pad.

Clamp the screws and secure the contacts of the power supply cable.

TAKE NOTE! Make sure that the braid and the main core, which is in the center, are not shorted.

If this happens, the indicator light will not turn on, or if it does, it will be very dim.

Also, make sure that the metal braid is in contact with the tinned area of the plug. Otherwise, the supply voltage will not reach the television cable.

If you follow all the steps correctly, you will see all the channels on the TV screen immediately after scanning and making settings. If you disconnect the power supply from the mains, the channels will either disappear from the TV screen or the quality of their images will deteriorate.

For your information. The TV cable is used to connect the antenna to the receiver or TV. It is very important to choose the right antenna cable with the optimal wave impedance. This will help ensure maximum transmission of electricity.

There are several factors to consider when selecting a cable. Symmetrical lines are susceptible to contamination and very often lose the signal. Coaxial ones are affected by the weather and have a short service life.

In most cases, unbalanced antenna cables with a thick copper main conductor are used. They are equipped with a plastic dielectric. The braid is made of copper wire. The upper layer is made of polyethylene or polyvinylchloride. The second factor is the diameter.

Give preference to the thickest cable, as a thin cable will lose a certain amount of energy. Weak signal will affect the quality of the image.

How to connect the antenna cable

The television has long been a part of modern people’s lives. Designs television receivers are constantly evolving and improving.

However, on its own, the TV is far from always able to receive a stable and high-quality signal on its own. As a rule, this problem is solved by means of a powerful antenna placed outside, with a special signal booster.

However, the question immediately arises how to connect the antenna cable to ensure proper signal reception.

What you need to connect the TV cable

Before you connect the antenna cable, it is necessary to prepare all the necessary materials in advance

• First of all, this is the antenna cable itself. The best type is a copper one, which is shielded with aluminium foil. Its cross section must have a diameter of 6.5 mm. It is possible to use and a steel wire, on which there is a copper plating.
• Special F-connectors in quantity of two pieces. There can be more of them if you connect two or more TV sets.
• For the direct connection you will need F-connectors.
• To secure the cable to the wall, you’ll need clamps or cable duct.

How to connect a television cable

After acquiring all necessary parts and components, you can begin connecting the antenna.

• At first it is necessary to stretch a cable from a place of connection to the TV to a panel of connection of the aerial. In this case, you need to leave its stock of about a meter. To avoid sagging, antenna wire is fastened with clamps or laid in a channel. If possible, the wire can be hidden under the plastic baseboards.
• From both ends of the cable, using a sharp knife, remove the outer insulating material, 1 centimeter each.
• The shielding foil is pulled back on the cable, freeing the central core for free access. After that, the copper core should be cleaned from the insulation for about 50 mm. On the stripped ends of the cable, where the shielding foil is bent, screw the F-nuts
• The first end of the cable is fixed in the antenna cabinet, and the second end is connected with an F-plug to the TV or a separator.
• Before you connect the antenna cable finally, you must make sure that all components are properly fastened.

When all operations are completed, the plug is simply plugged into the socket, and, then, the TV channels are tuned.

Connecting the TV to the antenna cable with the plug (extension of the cable for TV)

Today our TV sets are not much like those of the last century, which could only display what they were capable of, but which received only analog signals. And today? It can be said to be a whole set of features and abilities.

Work with analog and digital signals, the ability to play video and audio signals from universal inputs, the ability to play video from the Internet and even in some cases to play games and work with applications from the same.

Instructions for connecting your antenna to your TV

Each television has a special antenna input on the back. It can be labeled “ANT.”. This is where the coaxial cable with the F-plug is inserted.

The RF antenna input is a connector that is often referred to as a coaxial or cable gland. RF antenna input technology is very old and outdated, even compared to other connections such as composite, component or HDMI. It cannot transmit in HD, is very sensitive to interference from radio waves and other electronic devices, but is still popular.

The RF coaxial connector cannot be confused with another connector as it has a recognizable shape: a threaded cylinder with a hole in the middle. This type of connector is standard on most modern televisions.

There is another antenna connector standard. IEC. It resembles a smooth cylinder with a smaller cylinder inside, but you can only find this connection on older CRT televisions.

• Turn off and unplug your TV. Press the power button on your TV, then pull the plug out of the electrical outlet. This will prevent accidental damage to your TV or antenna.
• Locate the antenna port on the back of your TV and plug the antenna securely into it. Screw the cable clockwise to the port if the coaxial cable port includes a screw.
• Connect the other end of the coaxial cable to the TV signal source. If necessary, screw it in clockwise.
• Plug in the TV and turn it on. Now you can receive broadcasts from local stations by performing an initial channel scan.

If your receiver supports DVB-S2 standard, you can connect satellite dish to LNB socket even without receiver. To receive a signal from the selected connector in the TV menu, it will be enough to specify the correct signal source “Antenna” or “Satellite TV” and tune the available TV channels.

If you find yourself in a situation where there are no tools or a special connector at hand, but you want to watch TV, then you can make this temporary connection of the antenna to the TV:

• Remove the upper insulation from the cable at a distance of about 5 cm;
• Wrap the screen braid in the opposite direction;
• Remove the insulating material from the center conductor and bend the center conductor itself into a loop shape;
• Now, using improvised means, you need to insert the loop into the center contact of the socket, and the shielding braid into the side of the connector. Make sure that the central core is not in contact with the screen wires.
• To prevent the design from falling apart, it can be secured to the TV jack with matches or toothpicks.

But if you need to connect not one TV, but several TVs to one antenna, then you need a special device. a TV signal splitter, also called “crab”, splitter or divider. It has one antenna input (IN) and several outputs (OUT) for TV sets.

Try to buy a splitter where the number of outputs corresponds to the number of TVs in the house. It is not recommended to leave free outputs, so they have to be jammed (load them with a resistor of 75 Ohm).

The antenna cable connection is made according to the standard scheme, but be aware that the operation of television sets through the splitter reduces the quality of the video signal, and it does not matter whether all TVs or only one TV set are working at the moment. Connecting 2 TVs creates 30% signal loss, 3 creates 60% signal loss, 4 creates 90% signal loss.

In fairness it should be noted that in cable broadcasting signal level is always powerful, so its level is enough for all your receivers in the house. And if the image will not satisfy you, consider installing an amplifier.

Connection through the loop-through antenna outlet

To connect the antenna to the TV via feed-through sockets, you need to buy several feed-through sockets and one end socket. The end socket is a wall-mounted unit, into which only one antenna cable can be connected. On the outside of such socket there is a round connector for connecting the antenna to the TV set with a special cable.The antenna-through socket outlet also has a connection for connecting the antenna to the next socket.

That is, inside the socket is a television signal divider in two. One is used to connect the nearest television receiver, and the other goes to the next pass-through outlet, where it splits into two again. And so on, by the total number of television outlets minus one.

Many antenna outlets look very beautiful in the interior of the apartment, very decent cost, but they have unregulated technical characteristics. For example, in the catalog of outlets, even from well-known manufacturers, such as Legrand, you can get confused by the variety of shapes, colors, methods of mounting to the wall, but the technical characteristics of the TV antenna connection are not found. From the practice of repairing and connecting the antenna, we can say the following:

Level of a television signal at use of feed-through sockets in different points of an apartment varies, and varies in a strong degree even at connection of ideal sockets. The maximum signal level will be where the input antenna cable connects. Its value will be less than half of the incoming. The minimum television signal will be in the socket to which the antenna is connected last. With two pass-through receptacles the signal will be less than a quarter of the incoming signal, with three. Less than one-eighth, and so on.

How to connect the antenna to the TV using an antenna socket: the cable is clamped in the socket with either a screw connection or a spring connection when the antenna is connected. F-connectors, which have the lowest losses and the best shielding properties, are used extremely rarely in the design of antenna sockets. In addition, the spring connection will become loose over time and interfere with the normal operation of the TV connected to the antenna. If the socket has to be replaced, the consumer is faced with the need to buy exactly the same model from the same manufacturer, which can be problematic after a period of time.

Why does the circuit breaker kick out when you connect the antenna to the TV?

Users of system of collective using of the common house antenna sometimes face a problem: for some reason the automatic device (plug) knocks out and power disappears in the apartment when you connect the plug of the antenna to the TV. As a rule, the situation when the machine knocks out occurs when using a so-called RCD in a home electrical network. A ground fault circuit interrupter that trips the leakage current through the ground wire. This is not always due to an actual malfunction of the TV. Indeed, in the vast majority of our apartment buildings built before the 80s of last century, the grounding bus was not provided at all. As a result, the TV connected to the electrical outlet and the shielding wire of the home antenna sharing system are at different potential ground bus, which leads to the fact that the RCD registers it, knocks out the circuit breaker and the apartment is de-energized. What to do if the plug blows when you plug in the TV antenna? Some advise to use an electrical extension cord without grounding, or, if the TV power cord is bipolar, to turn its plug on 180 degrees. The solution to the problem Blows out the plugs (The circuit breaker) when connecting the antenna in the installation of the antenna ground isolator. Knowing about possible problem of connection of the TV set LG, the Korean firm complete their new TV sets which are delivered to Russia, by small plastic boxes with the antenna input and the antenna plug which are inserted into the antenna socket of TV set. The antenna isolator of the ground can be bought separately, it is inserted in a gap of the aerial cable approaching to the TV, and is completed with aerial F-connectors.

In what place to install

It all depends on several factors.

• If the received signal is quite strong you can put the antenna in almost any place you like.
• At an unstable signal it is necessary to install in the direction of the TV tower.
• Usually the higher it is installed, the better the received DETV signal

Usually indoor antennas are installed near the TV receiver, on the window sill, on the wall, sometimes even hang them on curtains. The place can be chosen any most important thing to achieve the highest quality reception.If the included cable is not enough, it can always be extended using a variety of couplings and connectors.

How to connect the TV antenna easily and simply

The best way to organize the domestic TV aerial is to use a splitter. Splitter is a metal box, which includes one input F-connector, and outputs several connectors. There can be several or many outputs: from 1 to 6. Depending on it it is possible to connect the aerial to several TV sets at once.

To connect the house antenna correctly and qualitatively, it is necessary to use the modern antenna cable, having double shielding.

Double shielding gets rid of a lot of electromagnetic interference. The central core of the cable may be all-copper, or it may be copper-plated. When selecting a cable, it is important to pay attention to the model of the specific TV.

Home TV antenna is best organized by using a splitter

How to connect an individual antenna:

For optimal connection of multiple devices you need to use the splitter. It will evenly distribute the signal. Such connection is convenient if you need repair. If the TV begins to show poorly, it is necessary to make a test of the signal network.

Tuning an antenna via a digital set-top box

With the digital set-top box, everything is the same as described above, the setting is better to be done in manual mode to see the signal level. The only difference is that the TV set plays the role of monitor connected to the set-top box via HDMI or RCA cable (tunnels). And that means that all the settings need to be made in the console, not in the TV. Just remember to set your TV to the correct VIDEO or HDMI mode (Depending on which connector you use)

On some Sony boxes, the order is HOME-Settings-SOURSE-SOURSE INPUT INPUT INPUT INPUT INPUT INPUT INPUT INPUT INPUT INPUT INPUT INPUT INPUT INPUT Some Sony boxes are set to HOME-Settings-SOURSE INPUT INPUT in the SYSTEM SETUP, or automatic mode.

All further configuration steps are made with the remote from the set-top box, through a manual or automatic search.

Do not forget that in this case the antenna is connected to the set-top box, not to the TV.

What you need to know when choosing a digital set top box read this article.

Well, I hope this article can help you connect digital broadcasting in your home.

P. S I’ve decided to add interesting cases related to antenna configuration below to this article as they become available. If you have any, write in the Комментарии и мнения владельцев and they will certainly get into the feed

• In my practice, very rarely, but there were cases when the antenna did not receive a signal at all, but it was necessary to move it literally a meter to the left or right, all went perfectly well, returning a meter back, again all disappeared.
• Today I have faced another mishap. I will describe in detail. The situation is this: An old TV stands on the floor, working fine through the set-top box, the indoor antenna is on the windowsill next to, the signal strength is about 70-80%. At the same time there is the following task.

Need to adjust the digital on a new LG LCD. I put it on the windowsill, next to the antenna which I connect to it? LG does not see the signal at all, not a bit. Maybe it doesn’t support DVB-T2, I thought! Checked the model, no it works fine. Something with the antenna? No, the old TV works through the set-top box. I’m confused!

Connecting to a new LG set-top box (What if!). There is signal through the set-top box, but below 10%. It’s a mystery why everything is fine with the old TV, but with the new, which even when in monitor mode through the set-top box is connected. the TV signal drops off completely.