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BBC free to air satellite channels - generic free satellite equipment retune

If you have a satellite reciever that is not branded by Sky or Freesat, then you will need to retune due to satellite transponders changes to introduce BBC HD.

If you have a satellite reciever that is not branded by Sky or
published on UK Free TV

On Monday 18 October 2010 the BBC rearranged the services is carries free-to-air on the Astra 2D satellite.

If you have Sky, fSfS or Freesat, your box will have already detected the changes.

However, if you use another type of satellite receiver, please retune to continue to use the BBC channels you need.

BBC - Satellite frequencies of BBC channels has full technical details.



Help with Free satellite?
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In this section
Show me the 55 TV channels have moved to the new Astra 2G satellite 1
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New satellite footprints page4
BBC satellite changes: radio, BBC ONE HD, Red button reduction 12-15 October 2015
Changes to BBC HD transmissions on Astra satellites on 20 September 20126

Comments
Friday, 3 May 2013
M
mdt
7:39 PM
Bolton

@ray which programmes are you refering to? you should get all the fta services from 28.2/5e if you have a s*y mini-dish and its correctly aligned. if you are using a ross dish/reciever kit maybe the dish is pointing at 13east,19.2e or 23.5e which have german/italian/dutch ect ect on them. post more info and we will advise you

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mdt's 7 posts GB flag
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Saturday, 17 August 2013
J
jeff
6:43 PM
Newport

why can't I receive BBC 1 and BBC 2 Wales on my labgear dish and receiver

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GB flag
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J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

8:13 PM

jeff: You should carry out another retune on your box and check if BBC1 & 2 Wales have been restored, the programmes in question being broadcast from the Astra 1N satellite on 10.788Ghz (V) - 22K - 5/6.

HD versions of both (Astra 2F) being on 11.023Ghz (H) - 23K - 2/3 DVB-S2.

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jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Friday, 7 March 2014
A
Andy McArthur
4:09 PM
Perth

I have a GFSAT200HD FREESAT Receiver and am having difficulty with all the HD channels - picture freezing and sound out of sync. Checked dish alignment etc and this is good with a signal strength of 90% and quality of just less about 85%. The dish is an old one with the LNB adjustment done by the plastic enclosure.

I would appreciate any ideas as to what is causing this on HD.

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Andy McArthur's 3 posts GB flag
Andy's: mapA's Freeview map terrainA's terrain plot wavesA's frequency data A's Freeview Detailed Coverage
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

9:16 PM

Andy McArthur: You should try disconnecting the box from the mains supply for about 1 minute or so before powering it up again and checking to see if this had made any difference, if not then the next thing to try is a "First time installation" to wipe out everything stored in the tuner, this achieved by pressing Menu / option 2 / then select "First time installation" followed by pressing OK.

By the way, this procedure requires you to enter your post code in order to receive the correct news services for your area.

The other point being, that "First time installation" on most devices does not normally affect anything stored in your hard drive, however if by any remote chance it was going to on your particular box a warning to this effect will always pop up on the screen.

As far as the dish is concerned, the quality indication on a perfectly aligned dish should really be leading the strength and with what you have reported suggesting that yours is a fraction out of alignment, however in order to check the LNB's skew setting select EPG 206 (RT / HD) which is transmitted on vertical polarity and check the S & Q indications, next select EPG 212 (BBCNews HD) which is a horizontally transmitted programme and check if there are any "significant" differences seen in the S &Q indications between those two programmes, which there shouldn't be! although they are very seldom ever the same!

Further info dependant on outcome of test.



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jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Sunday, 9 March 2014
A
Andy McArthur
5:43 PM
Perth

Hi jb38 ,

Thanks for your reply, I have done the box disconnection and First Time installation several times and it has made no difference to the HD picture quality.

I have carried out the checks you described with results as below:

EPG 206:
Signal Strength 80% to 90% fluctuating every two seconds
Signal Quality 70% to 90% fluctuating every two seconds
Picture very poor just a still image most of the time

EPG 212
Signal Strength 90% stable
Signal Quality 88% stable
Picture is good most of the time but occasionally freezes

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Andy McArthur's 3 posts GB flag
Andy's: mapA's Freeview map terrainA's terrain plot wavesA's frequency data A's Freeview Detailed Coverage
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

8:49 PM

Andy McArthur: Those readings are not terribly far off what would be expected from both of the channels mentioned, however, although slight variations in the strength and quality (and especially quality) of the signal received are not exactly uncommon the frequency that the fluctuations seem to be occurring on your box is of concern as it could indicate the possibility of water having entered the "F" connector on the LNB or even a defective LNB.

As far as water contamination in the connector is concerned, if you can gain access to the dish you should loosen the "F" connectors gland nut and unscrew it from the block followed by unscrewing the body of the connector from the coax to enable it to be checked out, drying with a tissue if required then smearing the inside of the connector with some Vaseline (should really be silicon grease) before screwing it back onto the coax.

That said, before forging ahead with the procedure mentioned it would be the best policy by far if you could manage to try your box out on someone else's dish, the reason for suggesting being that this problem could also be caused by a defect in the boxes tuner especially as it only seems to affecting HD reception albeit that this mode is more critical than SD, but testing your box out on another dish would instantly reveal the source of your problem.

I should of course also add, that those type of boxes do not have the best of reputations where reliability is concerned and this is another factor that has always to be taken into consideration.

By the way, everything said is on the assumption that your dish does have an unobstructed view of the Sky free from such as tree foliage etc?

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jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

9:21 PM

Andy McArthur: In addition to that already said, should access to the dish be possible leave the box on EPG 206 and get someone to press lightly on the right hand edge of the dish whilst noting the effect this has on the strength / quality being indicated, should it be of an adverse nature then the same test should be carried out again but on the left hand edge of the dish, once again noting the changes.

Needless to say, if one side does give an improvement to the S & Q then the left / right swivel lock bolts on the dish should be loosened just enough to allow the dish to be nudged in that direction.

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jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Tuesday, 11 March 2014
A
Andy McArthur
9:08 PM
Perth

Hi Again JB 38,

Thanks for all the advice, I already checked out the F connector at the LNB and this was dry, so resealed it with waterproof insulating tape at this time. I have got a new receiver box and this has cured the problem and all HD channels are now working and signal quality up to 100%.

Once again thanks for all your help.

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Andy McArthur's 3 posts GB flag
Andy's: mapA's Freeview map terrainA's terrain plot wavesA's frequency data A's Freeview Detailed Coverage
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

11:14 PM

Andy McArthur: Pleased to see that the problem has now been resolved by replacing the box as I did have my suspicions about it as mentioned in my 8.49pm reply on the 9th, although being a "never say die" type of engineer felt obliged to mention everything that could possibly be the reason for your problem.

By the way, did you replace your box with another of the same type?, or possibly another brand altogether?

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jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
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