To All Residents at Knightsbridge Mansions

Re: Cable TV at Knightsbridge

Recently, the Trustees of Knightsbridge have been dealing with a crisis concerning the TV cable system.  For a number of years, they have attempted to control the access to the satellite dishes and the cable boxes so that cables could be properly installed.  However, within the past year, they have found that some residents had illegally connected to other resident’s dishes, that cabling had been improperly installed, and that the reception was poor for quite a few of the residents.  This became exacerbated by so many residents wanting to watch the World Cup games. 

To make matters worse, the Trustees now have to deal with a major source of the problem--that there have been several security breaches. The cable boxes on each floor had been locked and access was only to be available with the approval of the Managing Agent or the Trustees.  Unfortunately, it has been reported that a security guard allegedly has ignored this rule and allowed residents and their cable people access.  This has caused untold problems and now a great deal of expense as well, which will have to be borne by those residents who choose to have cable TV.

On June 24 2010, Point Repairs, which has been working at Knightsbridge to install cabling for over a decade, was called in by the Trustees to review the faulty wiring and the complaints of poor signals for watching the World Cup games.  The poor wiring can be seen in the photo below of the Fifth Floor, which not only was unsightly but dangerous!

Point Repairs investigated the satellite system at Knightsbridge and found the following problems:

• Mismatched multi-switches causing loss of signal strength.
• Cabling from lower floors going to the top floor, which was unnecessary.
• The need to combine the cables to make a “root” cable and to remove unnecessary cables.
• The system had been tampered with by many installers, many of whom did not know what they were doing, had illegally tapped into other resident’s systems or were not aware of the lay out of the building’s cabling system, creating loss of signal strength and making it nearly impossible to detect how to maximize performance and proper installation.

(To see the type of mess Point Repairs was working with, see below)

Point Repairs has worked on and off for the past two weeks to accomplish the following:

• Stabilising the multi-switches
• Fitting of 12 way switches on the Fifth Floor and Third Floor
• Fitting of 6 way switches on the Second Floor
• Installing a secure, tamper-proof box
• Re-routing cables of excessive length, i.e. cables from 1^st Floor the 5^th Floor and various combinations in between.
• Numbering cables
• Finding that some satellite cables were not terminated
• Securing loose cables
• Removing bad splitters of poor quality
• Adding spare outlets so that the Fifth Floor now has four “legs” (connections) open, the Third Floor has five legs now open, and the Second Floor has two legs left open.

Because of the work that has now been done with the proper methodology, the entire system now:

• has better signal strength
• has a greater life-span
• can be increased by 6, 8 or 12 multi-systems.  In this way if we run out of legs, we can add 6, 8 or 12 systems to an existing leg without loss of strength.
• and most importantly, is capable of handling High Definition systems, one of which has already been added.

The building cannot allow residents to set up their own satellite dishes for the following reasons:

• security on the roof area, possibly allowing access to units. One of the major sources of theft and violence within a residential setting is unknown personnel.
• damage to the waterproofing on the roof
• making void the warrantee of the roof
• creating an unsightly and chaotic system because of multiple installers.
• Lack of control of cable people will only recreate the problems as noted above.

The cost of rewiring, restoring, installation and connection to the junction box will have to be at the expense of those residents in the building who choose to have cable TV.  Obviously, those owners who do not elect to have cable TV should not have to have their levies pay for owners who do.

As of July 1 2010, the cost of such cable connection includes a call-out charge, labour, maintenance fee and materials. For example the cost of connecting one unit on the second floor for just the wire cabling alone was R480.00. 

Point Repairs will charge Knightsbridge Mansions residents a flat R1200.00 to get the standard connecting wires to the boundary of their unit, i.e. the front or back door or window area. This charge also includes a maintenance fee of R250.00 for ongoing maintenance of the system. (PVR and Dual System connections will be a flat R2000.00 because of the additional labour and materials.)  The entire connection fee will have to be paid prior to the work being done.  Because of the multiple problems noted above, the Managing Agent and Trustees will only use one source to create this connection, which at the present time is Point Repairs.

The cost of connecting to the inside of the unit will be additional and will vary based on numbers of TV’s, type of systems, and the amount of cabling required.  The Managing Agent and Trustees recommend Point Repairs to do this work, but a resident can use an installer of their choice to connect the cables inside of their units.

To cover the cost of the extensive repairs and ongoing maintenance, all cable TV users will be charged a once-off fee of R250.00.  This will automatically by added to your levy statement to avoid disconnection.

We trust that you understand that the Trustees, the Managing Agent and Point Repairs have spent many hours to create a system that is fair to everyone: those who do not elect cable, those who have been connected for years and residents who now want to be connected to cable TV.  Thank you for your patience as we endeavor to upgrade systems to add increased value to your investment.