All posts by jb38
Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
alan steer: Not if you are thinking along the lines of using it for reception of any signals other than from a Satellite, that said though some have been known to use a single wire connection to the end of the cable to receive normal (AM/FM/SW) radio broadcasts, as it would then just perform in exactly the same way as would a length of ordinary cable pushed into an aerial socket.
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Dave: No! as Sky effectively retains control of the recording side of any box that is / was dedicated to their service as they can remotely activate, likewise de-activate, the recorder.
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Danny W: Just to further clarify, to test the inputs on both your boxes go into the boxes signal strength check screen where both No1 & No2 input strength bars are shown, then on the boxes dish input No2 try each of the two connections from the dish in turn, if one indicates OK but the other doesn't then that particular port on the LNB is defective (or connection to) so mark the lead to identify it.
If however both leads from the dish indicate OK (which they should) on No2 input but show no signal on the signal check screen when connected to No1 input, then its the box at fault.
Its just on re-reading your posting I am not quite sure if the storm referred to was of an electrical nature (lightning) or just blustery, but should the former be applicable then high static rain can occasionally cause damage to LNB's and also some types of mast head amplifiers used on analogue or Freeview systems.
What makes me a bit suspicious that some other factor might possibly be applying is that Sky boxes tuner inputs aren't damaged that easily.
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AD: As you have posted your query under Crystal Palaces heading if indeed you are in that area then reception from CP can be very variable for many, even when not terribly far away from the station.
Indoor (same room) aerials are not really recommended for Freeview reception because of the signal being so vulnerable to signal fluctuations due to movement within the room, or even through a wall, but the fact that you receive anything at all suggests that you are not located in too bad an area and which only a post code could verify, but come next April 18th when the transmitters involved increase their power from 20Kw to 200Kw you will most likely find that this will rectify your present problems, albeit that what I said about same room aerials still applies.
Once you have a full compliment of channels do not be tempted to immediately re-scan if they drop out at any point, as all you do is scrub them from the memory which requires frequent scans to recover them, as they weren't lost in the first place but just under the reception threshold for your TV or box and will return when the signal strength rises.
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Christiane Hennecke: Well the reception predictor indicates that you should able to have good reception from both the local Luton transmitter as well as Sandy Heath (Anglia), so its a case of where you are receiving from as well as the direction your aerial is pointing.
Have a look at the aerial, and if the elements are seen to be vertical (running from top to bottom) then its the Luton transmitter, as for Sandy they require to be positioned horizontally.
Although your neighbours say that reception has always been bad in the area and something which cannot be totally discounted, but this might be referring to before Sandy went over to high power operation.
Another way to determine where you are receiving from is by selecting BBC1 and checking the signal strength in your TV's signal check screen, noting the channel number seen associated with the reading, if you see Ch50 its Luton whereas if Sandy it should be Ch27. You can also make this check on ITV being Ch59 from Luton and with Ch24 being seen if from Sandy.
I do have suspicions about what you report regarding your TV, but try these tests anyway.
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Davy: Have you tried pressing "services" then "0 - 0 -1 - select" in quick succession, best done without looking at the screen then you should see the hidden menu.
If though you have the latest Black coloured Amstrad Sky+ HD box model DRX595, then unfortunately these do not have RF modulators built into them and so an external one has to be used.
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paul: Not mentioning your location is an impediment as far as being able to check on the transmitter you are receiving from or the signal strength expected from it, but "if" your Humax is a 9200 model then its RF modulators output which is pre-set to Ch36 could be sitting on the same channel as BBC1, needless to say this requiring to be set on another channel.
Of course this is something that usually only shows up if the aerial is fed into the Humax then from its RF out to the TV.
If you come back with the info mentioned further advice can then be given.
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Trev: provided the Sky HD box isn't an Amstrad DRX595 then you can run a co-ax lead from its RF1 output to the aerial socket of the TV in the kitchen, then you set the kitchen TV on "analogue" if its a dual standard analogue / Freeview TV, followed by carrying out on auto-tune on it to pick up the Sky boxes RF output.
Should the picture be distorted in any way or spoil any Freeview you might already be viewing on it give an update and info can be given on how to alter the Sky boxes RF output, as the channel its sitting on will be the cause of the problem.
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Chris: Manual scanning is frequently more successful in capturing a channel that's passed by on an auto tune, and particularly so if the channel concerned isnt of a very high signal strength, basically as the tuner can hover for longer time on the channel rather than being pulled off it by the scanning circuitry.
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Saturday 7 January 2012 7:58AM
T Ninpont: Sounds a bit suss! maybe you could indicate the companies name printed on the leaflet and whether or not they are only contactable via a phone, or if an actual address is printed what it is.