Replacement for a Global "Loftbox" - 8x o/p distribution amp?

jeallen01

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I think (although I have more checks to do) that my Global Loftbox has died after 8 yrs because the DTT aerial i/p appears to have failed (not that we use DTT very much!), and it seems that Gobal-Invacom stopped making them without bringing in a direct replacement with lots of i/ps as well as all the 8 o/p's.

So it looks like I have a choice of buying:
- a "used" one of the same make/model from ebay etc.
- a similar but new unit from another brand which offers pretty much the same range of i/p's & o/p's as the Loftbox.

Therefore does anyone have any recommendations / suggestions / avoid (such as SLx, having had 2 of those fail before I bought the Loftbox)?

FWIW:
- i/p's needed: DTT, DAB, FM (and an analogue CCTV i/p could be useful), Up-link & Downlink for (non-wireless) Skybox ;
- i/p's not really needed - Sat LNB i/p's & o/p'' as the 2x i/p to the Skybox are cabled separately, and the specialist Sat Rx o/p signals are not distributed around the house.
- o/p's needed = 8x TV
- price range - about £40-£70

The nearest "equivalent" I found fairly quickly was the Labgear LDU 608G (such as here), but I guess there are similar units out there (and much preferably in the UK, given we are now "post-BREXIT"!).

Thanks in advance.
 
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Look up ProCeption amplifiers, I'm sure there is a direct replacement (I may have one in the shed)

Ah, here

By PROception Product code: 69363
 

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Yes, same code.

Y u no risson ?
 

jeallen01

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Yes, same code.

Y u no risson ?
Searching Toolstation for that code didn't appear to work (only found a 4x o/p device) - sometime later, however, I found my way back to the 8-way version as previously mentioned.

BTW, and most certainly not discounting the ProCeption unit ATM (especially as my local Toolstation does appear to have one in stock) does anyone have any other suggestions??

OTOH, I also later came across the TRIAX "Domestic Distribution Unit DDU 6+2+1 333112" - so has anyone any experience with / observations on that?

PS: love the "language" :D
 
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jeallen01

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Morning all

Been taking another look at this subject and it seems to be a toss-up between the Proception Starbox 10 (local Toolstation branches have them for C&C at £74) as recommended by CH & the TRIAX 333112 DDU, which appears to be quite a bit more expensive and therefore I'll probably get the Proception.

However, both appear to be quite old designs without LTE filtering. Therefore, as it seems appropriate to try to "future-proof" the system for a few extra quid, is it worth fitting a separate LTE filter in the feed from the aerial, and if so then which ones could be recommended?

Edited!: just found out that the newer Proception PROSTR10S (datasheet attached) already has both TETRA and LTE filtering, and CPC have got them for just 34p more than the older ones at Toolstation - so that'll be what I'll be getting.
 

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Caveat - I didn't recommend, just mentioned its existence. :-mamster
 

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I rarely make my mind up about anything on the basis of a single reference or recommendation.

Thus I had a good search this morning on Proception, TRIAX and other similar boxes, and - although I don't remember hearing of it before - Proception does seem to be a pretty well "established" brand and widely available through various TV & Sat and other trade outlets, which is generally a good indication of some reasonable degree of performance & reliability.

The PROSTR10S from CPC should be here within a few days, and then I see what it's actually like.
 

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I rarely make my mind up about anything on the basis of a single reference or recommendation.

Thus I had a good search this morning on Proception, TRIAX and other similar boxes, and - although I don't remember hearing of it before - Proception does seem to be a pretty well "established" brand and widely available through various TV & Sat and other trade outlets, which is generally a good indication of some reasonable degree of performance & reliability.

The PROSTR10S from CPC should be here within a few days, and then I see what it's actually like.
You could have borrowed the one I have here.

It would be useful to find out why your original has 'passed to the other side' if the Proception does what it says on the tin.
 

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You could have borrowed the one I have here.

It would be useful to find out why your original has 'passed to the other side' if the Proception does what it says on the tin.
Thanks for offer but I need this problem sorted ASAP and with as little hassle as possible and, with a bit of luck the Proception from CPC will be here on Tuesday because there are a host of other things "going on" ATM - and few of them are "good".

For example, 10 days ago or so, I ordered a used HP Z230 workstation (iCore 7, 16GB RAM, SSD +HDD etc., etc.) from a place up North for what seemed to a good price (& a years RTB warrantee). It arrived very quickly but I didn't get a chance to try to install it until this afternoon - only to find that the DVI & network cables couldn't be connected because the m/b is misaligned in the chassis and the sockets don't lign up with the apertures in the chassis, as, somehow, it's set too low! Have already complained about that, stripped out the cards & stuff that I had already installed and now need to get it back to the supplier for a replacement!

Then there are other time-consuming and sometimes expensive family issues that still need a lot more effort to (try to!) sort out - so I need a simple and quick solution to the house TV distribution problem. BTW: if you want to take a look at the Loftbox (assuming that replacement with the Proception one fixes that problem) then you are welcome to drop by and pick it up sometime in the future.
 

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BTW: if you want to take a look at the Loftbox (assuming that replacement with the Proception one fixes that problem) then you are welcome to drop by and pick it up sometime in the future.
Ah, was hoping you could take the back off (with whatever hammer works), and take pictures.
 

jeallen01

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Ah, was hoping you could take the back off (with whatever hammer works), and take pictures.
OK, might do in a few days if I have the time (and inclination!).
 

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Update: the Proception box arrived as hoped and is now installed and working well.

My impressions:
- "Proception" appears to be a sub-brand of Blake (the antennas & accessories group) as that's what's printed on the box, and what you find when you look around the Proception website, and that should be a good indication that this is part of a decent range of equipment
- It is a substantial piece of kit, which is larger & heavier than the LoftBox
- Has better and more comprehensive instructions than the LoftBox
- There were no real issues in installing it, although it took quite a time to make sure each cable went on the correct connector - mainly due to old, poor and faded "labels" on the cables and the old box - but I've now "dymo" labelled all the cables more clearly for the future.

All that also forced me to sort out, tidy up and label the ratsnest of sat cables in the attic - which took a lot more time than actually replacing the box - and the 8-way cable tracer kit (mine's branded "Tenma", but that seems to vary according when and from where they are bought!) that I got as an Xmas present came in very useful during that process as I had forgotten where some of the spare ones went!
TENMA 72-9957 Coax Tester .jpg
PS: you could actually "build" your own kit with a DMM, and a series of home-made cable terminators as all the latter appear to be (apart from the different coloured caps) is something like a standard 50 Ohm terminator but with varying resistors inside (I measured mine in case I lose one - and the values are shown on the image above!)
 
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