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All posts by jb38

Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.

J
Connecting it all up | Installing
Sunday 10 February 2013 5:44PM

Pam: Are you feeding the aerial to the TV through the DVD recorders aerial in / out socket? also try connecting the DVD recorder into the TV's AV2 input and then when you want to play back anything previously recorded select AV2 input on the TV's input select button.

What model of LG recorder you are using?

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J
Connecting it all up | Installing
Sunday 10 February 2013 7:35PM

Pam: Just to add to that said, if you are viewing something on the TV and then switch on the DVD recorder does the TV automatically switch over to the recorder? and yet when the latter is switched off again it doesnt revert back to the TV? if this is whats happening then the next time it does it pull out one end of the scart connection between both devices, because if this enables the TV to return to normal viewing then that particular DVD recorder is not compatible with the normal method used to couple devices of that sort together.

By the way if your TV does not have an AV2 input then the only way I can see out of this problem is to snip pin 8 on the rear (internal) of the scart plug as thats the switching pin, then when you want to use the recorder select AV1 on the TV's input select.

Maybe you could also mention the model of the Panasonic in question as well as the LG recorder.


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J
Diagnostics - old version
Sunday 10 February 2013 9:11PM

john Townley: A Sky box (any type) does not require a card to be installed to receive a signal and so use the undermentioned procedure to check if any traces of a signal is being indicated, as a "no signal" warning just means that the box has not picked up a signal of a sufficiently high enough level to resolve a picture.

Signal checking on 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 pressing 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.

Should any signal be indicated then it 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 merest fraction either way in its horizontal (right to left) plane.

If though nothing is being indicated, then the dish could be a bit too far out of alignment for the aforementioned to apply, further advice dependant on findings.

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sue Lucas-Stone: Although your dish might have been moved slightly out of alignment by being blown by the wind etc, you should disconnect the box from the mains supply then wait 30 seconds or so before powering it up again, then once it responds to the remote control allow it to go though the usual searching for listings procedure.

What type of box is it? standard or Sky+ HD?

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lin: As this type of question is one involving reception then its not really possible for anyone to advise without having knowledge of your location, this in the form of a post code or one from nearby, as this will then enable access to the reception predictor which also gives details of the transmitters used to cover your area.

It would also be of assistance to know the model number of the TV being used.

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Jay: Irrespective of what it might say on the Sky website, if anyone is having problems with Sky (or Freesat) reception then a quick check outside of their from door will soon verify if the problems they are experiencing is connected with the snow, although it does have to be admitted that even if the dish is observed to be snow free, reception can still be blocked if its suspected that heavily laden rain / snow clouds are not far from being overhead, as either will kill reception.

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jean kimpton: If you can see any snow on either your dish or the front of the LNB that faces into it, then if its mounted within reach of a long "soft" brush try and "gently" sweep it off, the emphasis being on gently as the last thing you want to do is move anything out of alignment.

However, whether or not its possible for you to carry out that mentioned you should carry out a proper signal test via your boxes menu choosing the undermentioned procedure to suit whatever type of box you are using.

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.


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Lesley: You should carry out a "factory reset" on your TV or box, this also being called "default setting" or "first time installation" dependant on the brand of device, as even if there was a fault on your communal aerial system its nearly impossible not to be able to view the ITV channel, the Poplar relay being located at only a few hundred yards away from you and with Crystal Palace being at just under 7 miles.

It would though be prudent to check with a neighbour to find out if they are having any problems with reception.

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Roy Mercer: Its never advisable to retune any TV or box unless for purposes of carrying out a pre-announced channel change, as all a retune does if carried out during a spell of iffy reception is to wipe out anything that's already stored in the tuners memory, as indeed has happened in your case. If you carry out a second retune and find the results are still not satisfactory then your best bet is to manually tune in each of Oxfords six muxes after having cleared the tuners memory, this done by either carrying out a "factory reset" or "default setting", or if offered, selecting "first time installation" but NOT allowing an auto-tune to start should your set do that, as many do. Enter the following mux channel numbers one at a time followed by pressing search or scan, then saving the results before entering the next mux channel number and so on. Manual tuning will frequently pick up an iffy channel that a auto-tune has missed, as there is always an element of pull during an auto-tune that does not happen during a single mux tune. Oxfords channels being / BBC 53 - ITV 60 - HD 57 - SDN 62 - ArqA 59 - ArqB 55, note this latter mux is indicated as providing variable reception for your area, Oxford being 28 miles away.

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Caroline: If anyone's Sky reception has failed during a spell of wintery weather and yet no traces of snow can be seen on the dish, then the problem is invariably caused by the density of the clouds overhead, as although they may well look to be the same as before but in reality they arent! because so long as a dish has an unobstructed view of the S/SE skyline then nothing can block satellite reception except dense rain or snow clouds.

This of course is excluding dish or box related problems.

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