Sky cable is ungrounded and making a whirring / clicking / humming nosie

[Rhiannon27]

The cable that runs from my sky aerial over my house, past my bedroom window and into the downstairs box seems to be ungrounded and is making an electrical whirring / clicking / humming sound every few seconds. 

[Mark39 · Accepted solution]

You mean the cable passes from the dish (there's no aerial) over the roof to where it enters your home? If so, it's most likely the noise you hear is mechanical because the cable isn't fixed and is moving about. It's not possible for the cable to generate electrical noise.

[Rhiannon27]

Thanks. Another question - if you turn off the sky box, does the satellite dish still send data to the box or does the sky box power the satellite aerial? 

[Mark39]

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@Rhiannon27 wrote:

Thanks. Another question - if you turn off the sky box, does the satellite dish still send data to the box or does the sky box power the satellite aerial? 

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The box provides power to the dish via the cables.

[nigea99]

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@Mark39 wrote:

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@Rhiannon27 wrote:

Thanks. Another question - if you turn off the sky box, does the satellite dish still send data to the box or does the sky box power the satellite aerial? 

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The box provides power to the dish via the cables.

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BTW @Rhiannon27 when the box does supply power it is around 13V-18V DC at <1 Amp

[101sar]

• Hi. I'm believe I may be having the same problem. I am hearing an electrical humming/vibrating around the sky Q box/cables. Like some kind of interference. It hums on and off very loudly, through out the day and night. The box is properly venterlated. I have had a Sky enginner out twice who could hear the humming. Changed the Sky Q box & changed the lnb and cabling but the noise is still there. Shutting off the power to sky box sometimes stops the noise but most of the time it doesn't. I have rf sheilded all wires with rf tape, this has made no difference. I have turned all electric off to the property and drained the water system, spoken to neighbours. The noise does sound like it is the Sky Q box or cables. Can you get interference? Can your coxial cable plugged into the lnb cause noise/interference even if the sky box is off at the mains? I believe the lnb gets its power from the Sky Q box. Could my neighbours dab radio/wifi cause interference with my sky equiptment? Any help would be great. 

[Annie+UK]

If this was a thing you would  think we would have had more that 2 reports over the many year the forum has been running

[101sar]

There is online presence about this issue on the Sky website. I have emailed twice but without a response to date. I am only reporting what I can hear unfortunately. It's actually keeping me awake at night as the noise is so loud. If you put the mains cable touching the coaxial cable the humming becomes louder. 😞

[Mark39]

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@101sar wrote:

There is online presence about this issue on the Sky website

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I remember that particular issue which I'm sure was resolved. It was to do with interference from Sky equipment breaking through to amateur radio reception. I don't think there's any connection with what you're experiencing.

[Annie+UK]

My reply is related to the Sky+ system as that is the forum we are in. I have no dealings with Sky Q

You should look for a thread or start your own in the Sky Q forum as people there are better suited to help out with that system sissues

[TimmyBGood]

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@101sar wrote:

There is online presence about this issue on the Sky website. 

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That's specific to the built-in Powerline data networking which was part of Sky Q on its release in early 2016.  This was never officially switched on but remained a user-accessible option for about a couple of years before its removal from firmware: Sky never admitted why this was, but one suspicion is they somehow had missed the required specification.  Subsequent Q hardware releases such as the 1TB UHD/HDR model which has been the default since late 2019 don't contain any Powerline technology.

[Rhiannon27]

The issue and noise is definitely coming from the sky cables - this is a video of the noise (10 seconds and 17 seconds). Seems it is significantly worse after wind and rain. I know it's definitely the sky cables as we've had everything else moved and shielded. 

[TimmyBGood]

@Rhiannon27 

As you are posting in the Sky+ forum, it's important to know that Sky no longer dispatches installers for any issues with Sky+/Sky+ HD unless there's an existing Sky Protect policy in place: this is as part of the end-of-life of that platform.

To get the LNB and cables investigated or replaced, you'd have to employ (and pay) an independent satellite dish installer.

[Mark39]

@Rhiannon27 I saw the clip before it was moderated, and heard a quite faint click at the points you mentioned. The dish is the only part of your setup you haven't had replaced, and as it's an inert object the only possibility I can foresee is that it's mechanical.