Hardwiring in TV Aerial

[MB]

I want to hide away the cables to my LCD TV, and hard wire in the electrics and aerial.

Will I compromise the signal quality if I just strip off the end of the aerial lead to the TV, and link this into the back of the TV aerial socket with the primary feed from the loft? Or do I need to get a connector kit?

I was surprised when I looked at the back of the existing socket to find some capacitors - which I haven't seen on bog standard sockets in the local DIY shop.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

[dcbwhaley]

Could be lightening protection.

One reason for having a wall socket is so that you can easily unplug the lead in case of thunderstorm or if leaving it unattended for a protracted period. Don't know how many people actually bother to do that. Don't have a TV aerial anymore, myself.

Dave

[Owain]

You need to use proper aerial connectors.

Are you by any chance in a block of flats? The capacitors will be to provide safety isolation between your socket and everyone elses' sockets in the unfortunate event someone's (your?) telly shoves mains up the wire into the communal system.

If you are, then you should retain isolated faceplates.

Owain

[James Salisbury]

Are you in a flat???

The caps are probably there to protect you should mains appear on the coax.

[MB]

Thanks for the responses.

No - I am not in a flat - so I assume they are there to protect the equipment then?

Sorry if I appear dim, but the aerial connectors you refer to - this will presumably leave the face plate redundant - as I will disconnect the feed from the loft from the back of the face plate?

Am I better off just taking the aerial feed from the loft, attaching the appropriate plug and redirecting it to the back of the TV - without using the normal fly lead?

Thanks

[<me9]

Yes. you don't get the losses in the connector, or interruptions in the screening. The average flylead is C**p.

[Frank Erskine]

I once encountered a co-ax fly lead, supplied by Redif^^^^^ a well-known relay company, which had actually been wired correctly at one end, and _reversed_ at the other (Yes, in a B-L plug) so that the inner and outer were crossed over. Measuring the signal on the end it seemed ok at first, but the signal into the tv was totally c**p.

Some tv distribution systems (for example in large blocks of flats) carry dc along the co-ax to power intermediate amplifiers, so capacitors are fitted in the outlet plate to obviate shorting this dc feed.

[Dave Liquorice]

Very true. When linking the new TV, DVD Recorder, Video, DSAT boxes using various M-F Belling Lee cables supplied with bits of kit over the years I got interference. Shuffling the cables about altered it and swapping out some improved it. It's still not 100% but we rarely watch analogue these days. A might issue a tuit for some decent plugs/sockets and make up my own from CT100.