All posts by jb38
Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Thomas: Weather related problems are always associated with either the alignment of the dish or alternatively the connections to the LNB on the end of the dish arm.
The first thing to do is to carry out a signal strength test on any station that you might be viewing, because the strength / quality indications seen should both be sitting about the same levels as each other and with the level being the minimum of 50% or so, if though any of the two are under this then the dish is slightly out of alignment.
However should this test indicate that all seems to be in order, then your problem is most likely being caused by water having gained access to the "F" plug connector on the end of the coax thats goes into the dishes LNB, this requiring to be unscrewed from the LNB and then further unscrewed from the coax for purposes of drying out, then re taping with self amalgamating tape once refitted onto the LNB.
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Rob G: Although a Sky box might work with a signal of around 50% or so its not really high enough to guarantee reliable reception, and this could well be the cause of your intermittent problem.
The lowest signal strength level that's acceptable is 60% although readings of around 75% is the average, and with the quality being either level pegging with the strength or preferable leading.
Its really the case of your dish requiring a minor trim and with this usually always being in the horizontal plane, and so a crude method or curing being to give the left or right hand side of the dish a slight nudge, this ideally being done if the TV can be viewed on its signal check screen whilst this is being carried out.
I will admit that Sky boxes, and especially if a few years old, can suffer from intermittent "no signal" problems caused by a faulty power unit, but what you have reported suggests that the dish is the cause of your problem.
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Gerry: The simple answer is no! as you are referring to two totally different systems, Freeview via a normal aerial and Sky via a dish.
Also, the Humax PVR recorder that you purchased in common with every other type of PVR (Freeview or Freesat) can only record from their own internal tuners and not from external devices, as although most PVR's have two scart sockets the second socket is purely for the purpose of either looping though some other external device e.g: DVD player in one socket and out the other, or alternatively recording from the Humax on to a DVD recorder or VCR, the main point being that its NOT for inwards recording.
Of course this is exactly the same as your Sky+ box, because as you will no doubt already know you cannot record from anything external on it either, as it only records from its own tuners.
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Robert: "No signal" can be caused by either a fault with the box or alternatively your dish having been knocked (or blown) slightly out of alignment, and going by what you have said you can add possible cable damage to this.
In the order of possible reasons I would put the cable as first, the dish alignment second and the box last, "if" it hasn't previously been playing up.
If you are using a standard Sky box press "services - 4 - 6" and check if any level of signal / quality is showing, because if it is then it has to be above 50% to produce a picture, should it be indicating less than this your dish requires slight realigning, however if no level whatsoever is seen then you should make a close examination the cable in the door area for signs of it having being crushed, which of course can short out the signal.
These are the things that you can easily check, because "no signal" can also be a symptom of the dish having moved too far out of alignment to give even the slightest of indications on the level bar, or of course a defect with the box, the only way of verifying which applies being to try the box on someone else's system or alternatively their box on yours.
Also meant to add, that a short circuit inside one of the "F" connector plugs could also be responsible, and these should be carefully unscrewed from the coax and a check made to ensure that a single strand of braiding has not got accidentally caught around the middle core when the plug was being screwed on to the coax.
Finally, another possible reason being connected to the weather we have been experiencing, that is the possibility of water having entered the "F" connector at the dish end, unscrewing same being the only way of finding out if this applies or not.
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Pettengell: You will need to clarify exactly what you are referring to, but if its connected to the instructions at the very top of this page then some non-subscription Sky boxes might not have a card inserted, as cards are not really required unless viewing a programme dedicated to a Sky package.
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George: An unpowered amplifier in an aerial system whether it be a mast head type or otherwise acts in a similar fashion to an attenuator being used where a signal is a bit "over the top" strength wise, insomuch that in most cases it will not kill the signal completely, and so in your case you might get away with just switching its power supply off.
The only problem that some people might find by doing this is, that in only moderately strong areas the signal could be reduced to just under the reception threshold level for the TV or box being used thereby giving the impression that no signal at all is there.
"If" switching the amp off does kill the signal and the mast head amp is difficult to access, then you could just leave the unit powered up and use one of these low cost (around £5.00 or so) 0 - 20db variable attenuators in line with the RF output from the amplifiers power unit / signal separator that would normally go to the TV or splitter unit, as using this method retains an element of gain control over the signal you receive, should of course that be necessary.
Please note though that an attenuator cannot be placed between the aerial and the power supply / signal separator unit that feeds it as this could short circuit the DC supply, this being why the attenuator has to be on the power units RF output side.
All said taking it that you haven't got one of these multi-outlet mast head amps?
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Lindsay: Is your TV a Freeview capable set? or are you using the Freeview box connected into the TV via a scart lead?
However on the assumption that the Freeview box is connected into the TV (which isn't a Freeview type) and that the booster you refer to is an aerial booster, then you would feed the boosters output into either a two or three way splitter and use coax jumper leads from each of the splitters outputs into the aerial sockets of each of the devices used, that taking care of the RF side of your query.
As far as watching one channel whilst recording another is concerned, then if the DVD recorder referred to is an Freeview capable HDD type? then no explanation is really necessary as the recorder would be operating on its own, but though its output would require to be coupled into the TV via a scart lead for playback purposes, or indeed for setting up what you want to record, and so maybe you could indicate what inputs your TV has? because as you have only provided the minimum of information this makes it difficult to advise as far as providing info thats appropriate to your particular set up.
Even as far as the splitter is concerned you may require to use a powered type dependant on your location, this also being unknown, a post code or one from nearby being suffice.
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Lindsay: OK thanks, I will look out for an update from you next week.
Just for your information, the main points I would like to know about are: (1) Is the TV capable of Freeview reception without the Freeview box? and if so does it have one or two scart sockets? and: (2) The model number of the the DVD HHD recorder involved, as this would enable its technical specifications / connections etc to be checked out, this particularly important if the TV in question only has one scart socket.
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George: Just in addition to my comment made earlier on this morning regarding the results expected if just switching off the power supply to an aerial amplifier, Dave Lindsay's latest posting is quite correct insomuch that you should only require the simplest of aerials for satisfactory reception from the 4Kw Whitehawk Hill transmitter located at just under two miles away, and indeed you might even be able to receive a signal of sorts with either a set top aerial or a short length of wire (about 3 / 4 feet) connected into the inner cup of the aerial socket on your TV.
But with reference to your 8.34pm posting made yesterday, it should be appreciated that in very high signal strength areas the indications that you see on a TV or boxes check screen have to be treated with suspicion, especially the quality, as exceptionally strong signals can cause an element of instability to occur in the tuner and this corrupts the measuring system used by the indicator bars, high signal strength accompanied by very low quality being a very commonly experienced and misleading symptom for many, this being made even more misleading if anyone has a variable attenuator in line, because if quality is being observed whilst the signal is slowly being "reduced" its usually the case that at a given point the quality will suddenly be seen to shoot up.
Anyway I just thought I would clarify on this point, because even although what I have said this morning still applies, it would really be best just to have your coax coming straight from the aerial into a mild powered (2 / 4db) distribution amplifier / splitter and with that being used to feed your various devices.
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Wednesday 21 November 2012 8:01PM
heather: Yes, just keep the procedures mentioned in mind, as although I don't wish to appear as a prophet of doom but I cant help but feel that the problem will return at some point in time, probably sooner.
I had also meant to add at the end of my reply, that although I did mention that this problem could be caused by either device, my instincts are inclined to suggest that its the TV rather than the box.