All posts by jb38
Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Tim: Yes, because as well as changing its operating channel Sandy's SDN increased power from 20Kw up to 170Kw.
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tellypathetic: Thanks for the clarification, and I am inclined to suspect that your No1 suggestion could well be the reason for your good fortune "if" the original subscriber hasn't bothered to check his/her bank statements recently and is purely relying on the fact that they cancelled the contract.
However that said, the baffling aspect about all this is that the access code to enable the recorder to operate is programmed onto the Sky card and likewise has always to be kept inserted or the recorder will not respond to any commands, this just in the same way as if viewing Pick TV (epg:152) and the card is removed when after a few seconds a message will come on stating "please enter your viewing card", and so if you do not have a card inserted then although I have never personally witnessed nor ever heard of this type of situation applying, and its highly unlikely that it would, but it makes one wonder if a glitch has occurred in the access code processing side of the box whereby the memory has locked giving permanent access, and so just in case this happened I would refrain from ever being tempted to use the software update reset facility as it would be tempting fate.
Anyway whatever the reason, I will agree that it would be most inadvisable to initiate any changes that would draw attention to the situation.
PS: Can you view Pick TV without the card?
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rita; You should carry out a "factory reset" or "default setting" on the box before retuning, although it would have been of assistance to know what model of Humax you are referring to as well as your own location, pref: post code or one from nearby, as the signal levels expected in your area could then be assessed.
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MJ: As you are located at only about 5 miles away from the transmitter you have always to beware of the fact that your TV could be receiving a signal that on the verges of being excessively high and that the ITV mux could actually have peaked over it, so try a test by taking the aerial out and using a short piece of wire (about 12") pushed into the inner part of the aerial socket and then carry out another re-tune on the TV giving an update on results, as if it works OK then you will have to insert an attenuator in line with the aerial socket.
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nigel: Thanks for the update / info regarding tests carry out, and in particular the result of your wire aerial test somewhat proving that a good signal does exist at your location but one that most likely requires some experimenting with the aerial position to achieve a satisfactory balance over the six muxes, as if that test had been carried out using a length of coax connected to a DM log you would most likely have discovered that moving the log to the left or right as well as at various vertical heights (not necessarily meaning higher) could well have resulted in the other muxes being picked up.
With regards to the test you made on the aerial by removing some of the elements, this should really have been carried out using the TV's signal checking facility as any differences seen in signal level when this sort of thing is done in a non line-of-site location would be so marginal that your Labgear tester would not really show it, as proven when you replaced them one by one and no difference was noticed, not of course that there would have been that much of a difference if viewed on the TV either, as its only in line-of-site (or very near) conditions that this is noticed, and only "if" the aerial has been aligned bang on the signal source in the first place.
Regarding your present aerial which as was aforementioned is not really suitable for use in situations such as yours even with some elements removed, and although I did previously mention that a Log 40 would suffice, however going by the result of your wire aerial test I now feel that even the shorter DM log would be more than adequate in your circumstances as well as being easier to move around within a loft environment, and so even although the Log 40 is still OK for the job I would be inclined to use the DM log, that also being shown in the link previously sent.
A little tip though, for successful results when anyone is trying an aerial in different positions and not in possession of a professional meter, then they really require some other form of instant feedback on any actions taken, and this to be perfectly frank is where your Labgear tester is not really good enough for that purpose, because in most cases the best "quality" signal is not achieved when accompanied by a maximum signal strength reading, and indeed can be quite the reverse! this being where your Labgear can be misleading! and so if at all possible you should try to borrow a small portable TV to use in the loft with the aerial connected directly into it and leaving the TV sitting on its signal checking screen, as this would enable you to peak the reception quality irrespective of signal strength as well testing the reception across all the muxes after every movement of the aerial position.
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Stephen P: It all boils down to techniques of the trade and experience gained over many years of dealing with RF equipment whether it be for TX or RX purposes and likewise knowing where theory and practice part company, something which it very frequently does and why RF engineering is classed as a "black art", as the whole idea of the test was to slightly increase the beam width acceptance angle of the aerial irrespective of any upset to the dubious gain figures claimed for it, which in real life situations bear very little semblance to the figures published and especially so in a non line-of-site situation.
Slight widening of an aerials beam width by removing a number of the directors (or lenses) that focus the signal towards the active element can in some circumstances help even out the large differences in signal strength that an aerial of that type is prone to being responsible for when used in situations where a signal can deviate from straight line reception, this caused by the signal being reflected from objects such as trees etc, drifting signal strengths being a very common symptom of this situation applying, although reception across a large expanse of water can also be responsible for this type of problem and likewise cannot completely be discounted.
This technique can be used in any aerial except a log, as in that type of aerial all elements are active and with that being why logs have such an even response across all bands, i.e: its a series of dipoles that can all resonate at various points across the total range dependant on what frequency they might be receiving.
If you care to have a look at a range of aerials of the same type but which come in different lengths / gain ratings you will no doubt see that the longer the aerial the sharper its beam width is, as that's the penalty that has to be paid when using a higher gain type of aerial and why they should not be used in situations such as Nigel's.
Or to put it another way, the best wide angle aerial you can get is a simple dipole set top aerial, especially if its orientated vertically.
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tellypathetic: Well if you cannot receive Pick TV then that could suggest that its purely the access code circuitry that enables the recording side of the box to operate that has locked up, making that box somewhat unique as I know of no other instances of this having happened in the many years that I have been involved with Sky boxes.
Freesat would be a really good option, and especially so when you have a dish feed ready to be used, and of course unlike the situation when dealing with Freeview, good reception of Freesat is guaranteed.
By the way, Aljazerra on Freesat is on EPG 203 and with NHK world HD on EPG 209, as I view both of these myself as well as Russia today on EPG 206, matter of fact all of the news channels are on the EPG 200 ranges.
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claire khan: Its not actually Freeview as such that she watches if her cable comes from a Sky dish albeit she is calling it that, as its most likely "free to view" from a Sky box she is viewing as you do not require to have a subscription for that, and so if you have a dish feed in your house all you would require to do is pick up an ordinary second hand Sky box and you do not even require it to have a viewing card inserted into the slot, as it works without it.
You could actually watch Sky in your bedroom if a coax was run from the Sky boxes RF1/2 output socket to your bedroom, but further details about how to set that up would be given at a later date depending on what you decide upon.
By the way if it is a dish feed that you have then the plug on the end of the cable should have a hexagonal part that turns on it and NOT a normal coax push in plug.
If you had mentioned your location (pref: post code or one from nearby) I could have assessed the level of signal you are liable to receive on Freeview, just in case you are within range of a transmitter whereby you could use a set top aerial.
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Saturday 19 May 2012 8:03PM
tellypathetic: Considering the fact that the recording / playback side of a Sky+ box cannot be used unless a subscription of a £10.00 per month access change is in force, Sky having disabled this facility shortly after cancellation of the contract, then I am rather intrigued by your request for info as to whether or not the situation would still be existing if you changed the box to an HD version.
Maybe you could clarify on this.