All posts by jb38
Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
aldbeagle: Regarding the latter, if your neighbour is using a separate dish from yourself then the answer is none whatsoever!
Carry out a proper signal check using the undermentioned procedure as you might still have a signal but its just sitting at level thats too low to resolve a picture.
If using a Standard or Sky+ box.
(1): Press: "Services" - 4 - 6 and this will take you onto the signal checking screen.
If using a Sky+ HD box. (latest menu system)
(1): Press "Services" and you will see the main menu with "Options" being highlighted.
(2): Press the right arrow once to change from Options to "Settings" and press on once highlighted.
(3): Finally, scroll to the right to select and press on "Signal", the grey bars now displayed will show you the strength / quality of the signal.
Any signal levels indicated has to around the 55% (or equivalent of) minimum level to resolve a picture, if though nothing is being indicated then water could have entered the "F" connector.
Further advice dependant on findings.
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martyh: Well I look at this potential problem in various ways, and putting aside my sense of outrage that something has actually been sanctioned that is already known (or suspected) beforehand as having the potential to affect a mode of reception (Freeview) that by its very nature is already vulnerable to being interfered with by a number of things, including of course nature. (inversion effect etc)
That said, I feel that this issue is being somewhat over hyped to a certain extent by a number of well placed non-technical types (in the practical sense) but with the means to be extremely vocal, and this is causing many people to panic quite unnecessarily about this issue, although I do admittedly feel that anyone within a couple of hundred yards or so from one of these masts could well experience problems "if" the Freeview signal they receive is sitting at a lower than ideal level for reception, this automatically making the receivers tuner more vulnerable to interference from any RF sources nearby.
The whole thing is really a wait and see game, because when dealing with RF signals other than microwaves its quite impossible for anyone to accurately predict exactly what will happen as so many variables exist with peoples installations, coupled to the fact that its notoriously difficult to predict exactly what level of interference (if any) that viewers will suffer from if they reside anywhere near to a mast, as RF predictions, whether for reception or expected levels of interference, are up to a point educated guesswork unless on site tests are carried out.
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Steve: Carry out a proper signal check using the undermentioned procedure, because if the signal is coming and going then although your problem is most likely being caused by the weather this effect will also be made worse if your dish is somewhat less than perfectly aligned.
If using a Standard or Sky+ box:
(1) Press: "Services" - 4 - 6 and this will take you onto the signal checking screen.
If using a Sky+ HD box. (latest menu system)
(1): Press "Services" and you will see the main menu with "Options" being highlighted.
(2): Press the right arrow once to change from Options to "Settings" and press on once highlighted.
(3): Finally, scroll to the right to select and press on "Signal", the grey bars now displayed will show you the strength / quality of the signal.
Any signal level indicated has to around the 55% (or equivalent of) minimum level to resolve a picture and especially where the quality is concerned, because if the quality is observed to be under that of the signal strength then that generally indicates that the dish requires slight re-aligning, this usually (although not always!) being rectified by it being moved the very merest fraction either way in its horizontal (right to left) plane.
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martyh: On reading over my reply I feel that I should clarify part of a statement made, insomuch when I referred to non-technical types with the means to be extremely vocal, I was mainly meaning media types who consider themselves to be an authority on technical matters.
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aldbeagle: Although there are other checks you can make, but if you are on friendly terms with your neighbours it would save a great deal of time if they would allow you to try out your box on their dish, because if it worked then you would know for certain that your problem is connected to the dish or its LNB.
If though that's not possible then carry out the following LNB checks.
LNB checking - reset on a Sky HD box
1:- Press services on your Sky remote control and you will see the main menu with "Options" highlighted.
2:- Highlight the "Settings" menu using the right arrow button and press select.
3:- Press "0 - 1 - Select" to access the Installer setup menu (this menu is not listed on the Settings menu options).
4:- Press Select to see the Setup menu displayed with Hi and Lo band frequencies indicated.
The correct LNB values should read:
LNB Type: Standard
1:- Low Band LO Frequency: 9.75
2:- High Band LO Frequency:10.60
3:- LNB Power Supply: ON
4:- 22 KHz Command: ON
5:- Single feed mode normally off.
Press the red button to reset them to default values even although they may
already be indicating them.
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Ian Ireland: You should carry out a signal strength / quality check on mux Ch42 (ITV3) (this called "signal condition" on most Panasonics) noting whats indicated and then do likewise on mux Ch45 (Pick TV etc) then comparing the two readings, and although you have not mentioned any time factor being involved I was wondering if the problem has just started recently? or has ITV3 always been inferior, because if it has then moving the aerial a fraction to the left or right sometimes clears that type of deficiency even although you are relatively close to the Craigkelly transmitter.
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welshie: Although the results of the test you carried out are inclined to indicate that the LNB port used for the Sky box is faulty, I would be interested to know the result of the signal test (on both inputs) if you swapped the two Freesat input feeds over with the other two feeds that indicate problems on the Sky box, i.e: one with error 29 and the other pixelating, as this is the only positive way of knowing if the LNB is faulty or not.
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Rick Burgoyne: As far as viewing "free to view" HD channels on a Sky HD box is concerned, it depends on whether or not a basic Sky viewing card is being used and which you apparently have.
Of course, and as you may already be aware of, you will not be able to use the boxes recording or playback facilities.
Channel options listed below.
Free to view "without" a Sky card being used. (none inserted into slot)
BBC1 HD - BBC HD - NHK World HD
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Free to view "with" a Sky viewing card.
BBC1 HD - BBC HD - ITV1 HD (England and Wales only) Ch4 HD - Ch5 HD - NHK
World HD.
The other point being, that to be able to view HD your TV will require to have an HDMI input socket, as otherwise HD images will be displayed as SD if only using a scart connection between the box and the TV.
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Slittle: Your latter two postings have been made under a different heading to that used for your originals and thats likely why they appeared to vanish.
"If" the cable used from the dish to your box is a twin type commonly known as "shotgun" cable, then this type of cable requires special "F" connectors dedicated to that type of cable by having a narrower internal diameter, the problem is that the internal diameter of these plugs can vary from between 4 to 4.8mm and so they have to be perfectly matched to the type of shotgun cable used for the installation, yours obviously not being hence the engineer using tape.
If you felt inclined you could unscrew the connector from the cable and snip an inch or so off the cable, then take that sample to any TV shop that might be located near you and purchase a couple of "F" connectors thats a perfect screw fit onto the sample of cable, then once home again carefully prepare the end of the cable using your sample as a guide and then screw on the connectors, making sure beforehand that ALL strands of braiding are pulled back over the the outer cover of the cable.
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Monday 11 February 2013 3:43PM
Philro: Yes! as Sky disables access to the recording / playback side of the box at roughly the same time as the viewers ability to view channels dedicated to a Sky package, as this side of a Sky+ box by default cannot be used by anyone for recording purposes unless Sky downloads an access code into the card, this likewise being scrubbed when the contact is cancelled.