Aerial Ampliphier in loft

[Ian King]

Similar problem to earlier posting today.

Have wired in a fused spur for an aerial amplifier of the fused lighting switch in the loft.

As this light switch serves as the on/off for the loft light (and will now need to remain on to feed the amp) I need to insert another light switch between this switch ( which to be honest is not in a very suitable position) and the single bulb, so that I can turn off the light.

My very simple question is how do I wire in an in-line switch. Have checked other light switches in the house and they of course have only two wires, live and neutral, but here I will have two lives and neutrals. Both lives to L1 or L2 and neutral to common?

Have searched high and low on the web for an answer to the straighforward question.

 

[ricicle]

Both lives to L1 or L2 and neutral to common?

BANG

Sorry, childish I know

 

[breezer]

a switch does not have live and neutral, look in the sticky or wiki

 

[ricicle]

Where did you pick the neutral up from? Is the amp working with the switch on.If it is then you must have found the neutral so all you need to do is pick up the live from the feed (permanantly live) side of the switch

 

[MasterAbacus]

Dont wire up an Ariel Amplifier to your lighting curcuit...!!!! ITs not made or designed for the job!!!

 

[securespark]

Have wired in a fused spur for an aerial amplifier of the fused lighting switch in the loft.

As this light switch serves as the on/off for the loft light (and will now need to remain on to feed the amp) I need to insert another light switch between this switch ( which to be honest is not in a very suitable position) and the single bulb, so that I can turn off the light.

My very simple question is how do I wire in an in-line switch. Have checked other light switches in the house and they of course have only two wires, live and neutral, but here I will have two lives and neutrals. Both lives to L1 or L2 and neutral to common?

Have searched high and low on the web for an answer to the straighforward question.

Huh??

Is the fused spur for the loft light taken off the power circuit or lighting circuit?

If the lighting, there is no need to fit a fused spur for the amp., unless the instructions advise this.

If it's off the power, you can either wire the amp & the loft light from this circuit, or you can transfer them to the lighting circuit.

To correctly connect to the power, if it's a spur, connect a 13A fused spur to the end of the cable that comes into the loft. Then feed two further spurs from the outgoing terminals of this spur, one to feed the amp & another for the loft light.

See here: //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=78328

Dont wire up an Ariel Amplifier to your lighting curcuit...!!!! ITs not made or designed for the job!!!

Why not? They're only a few watts & the difference between that & an extractor fan is...?

 

[Ian King]

Seems that everyone has a different opinion!

Just to clarify, the switch for the aerial amp will be wired as a spur of the the light switch for the loft. The amp only draws only a small amount of power.

From the existing light switch which will now need to be left switched on (it is actually a control switch with a red indicator light - installed by the house builders) or the amp won't get any power? I want to install a second in-line light switch between it and the lamp. I will do this by inserting the switch half way up the wire, which is an exposed cable running up a roof support.

My simple question was how I wired in the secondary light switch, as once I cut the wire, I will have a neutral and lives wires going into and out of the switch, unlike a conventional simple light switch that has just a single neutral and live wire.

Some has referred me to Sticky, which has wiring diagrams for a 2 and 3 way light switch but not the situation I have. I am sure to someone who knows, it's a piece of cake.

 

[Lectrician]

Your last post is just a repeat of your first.

It is indeed very easy to do, but we are all wondering why you have done it this way.

Thanks for telling us the booster only takes milli-amps - we had no idea

The current LOFT switch - is it fed from the lighting circuit or socket circuit? What size cable feeds it currently?

What size cable have you used from there to your new FCU?

Does the current loft switch have a fuse in it, or is it just a plain switch?

You have been told that switches NEVER have a neutral connected to them - unless the switch is a double pole type like your FCU's. Connecting a neutral to a switch would cause a short circuit and loud bang.

If you are dead set about doing things your way, then get another FCU and fit this inline with the cable you wish to break - you cant get L + N in/out wrong can you?

In short - think what you are asking. You want to break a cable and insert the switch. In lighting circuits neutrals are not switched. The lives are. Think about it.

 

[bernardgreen]

In short - think what you are asking. You want to break a cable and insert the switch. In lighting circuits neutrals are not switched. The lives are. Think about it.

He did think, and then asked the question

The neutral goes past the switch and is not connected to anything in the switch. ( but if the cable has to be cut then the two ends of the neutral will need to be joined in a piece of terminal strip )

Like wise for the earth conductor which should be sleeved with green/yellow sleeving. There may be a terminal for the earth in the switch or the box the switch is fitted to. If not use a second bit of terminal block

The live must be cut and one end goes to COM on the switch and the other to L1 on the switch,

 

[Ian King]

Bernard, thanks for your response. It was the answer I was after in the first place.

It was a simple question that I had, I know that, and like a lot a people I am happy to tackle straitforward electrical jobs, as long as I am clear what I need to do.

Replies such as, 'It will go Bang' don't really help

 

[ricicle]

Replies such as, 'It will go Bang' don't really help

They do if it stops you connecting it up and it DOES go bang!