All posts by jb38
Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Larry : On this particular recorder, auto tuning starts as soon as the box is powered up from the mains supply, and so if the aerial leads have been connected as described in my previous reply? ( important that they are) switch off the power supply to the box and wait for 30 seconds or so before switching it back on again, be aware though that on this model auto tuning can take up to 5 minutes.
That said, do you have the manual for this model? and have you set it up as far as the clock and PIN number is concerned? only reason for asking being that it would enable me to refer to instructions on page numbers thereby avoiding lengthy explanations having to be necessary, as the menu system on the EZ48 doesn't really come into the category of being straightforward.
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E.Hatfield: Neither Drama nor Alibi are broadcast on Freesat, although both are available on Sky satellite, Drama being on Sky 166 and with Alibi on Sky 132, the problem being that both are encrypted whereby they can only be viewed as part of a subscription package.
Drama on the other hand is available on Freview (20), the problem for you being that its transmitted on the COM4 multiplex which is only available from main stations and not secondary Freeview light transmitters such as Skipton or Skipton Town, the latter indicated as being just over 0.5 miles from your location and as such the station that serves your area.
You can easily check this by carrying out a signal check on BBC1, because the Mux channel number is usually indicated along with the strength / quality of the signal, Skipton being C39 whereas Skipton Town is C24.
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stuart: Every satellite device device being used on a dish system requires its own individual connection into the LNB on the end of the dish arm, as satellite devices communicate with the LNB for band switching as well as polarity changing, likewise would clash with each other if they shared a connection.
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stuart / MikeB: Just to clarify on a point concerning the LNB. Although I did of course mention that each device requires it own connection into the LNB, if though the LNB fitted on the dish is of the older single output port type then this can be changed for a four output quad block, quad LNB kits being available via e-bay sources for as low as around £10.00 or so, all that's then required being a coax run from each of the output ports to the wherever each of the satellite devices are being used.
A point to note though, modern twin tuner Freesat recorders require two feeds, this being for the obvious reason of one being required for each tuner.
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clwyd: You cannot use a Sky+ boxes recording or playback facilities unless the user of the box has a subscription in force, and there is no way of overriding this.
I feel that you are being mislead by the fact of being able to view channels, it should be appreciated anyone with a Sky box "is" able to view normal channels irrespective of whether or not they have a card, because the only purpose that the card serves when no subscription is in force is to enable viewing of the news channels appropriate to their location, otherwise the box defaults to London.
By the way, although not being fully aware of exactly what has been discussed with Sky, but they can provide an update card purely to enable a viewer to use the recording / playback side of the box, the info I have which is somewhat dated, pricing the card at £10.25 per month, most who have enquired about it deciding to decline the offer in favour of purchasing a twin tuner Freesat recorder, Freesat and Sky+ being 100% compatible with each other as far as dish connections are concerned.
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Neil Bell: You are of course quite correct on this point, insomuch that Stuart hasn't actually mentioned anything about his set up apart from having a dish as well as two TV's and a DVD player / recorder, and so rather than having automatically assumed that Freesat capable devices were being referred to, should really have requested info on the TV's and DVD recorder in question prior to bringing up the subject of the dish, as I do admit to having a suspicion that said by yourself possibly applies.
Still, all will be clear when / if Stuart replies.
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Doug: What model of Sky box are you using?, the label indicating this info on either the rear or underside of the box.
As far as the problem alleged as being down to a weather related issue, this can only happen on a perfectly aligned dish during an extremely heavy thundery type rainstorm, or alternatively if not raining, when really dense rain clouds are passing over head.
A secondary reason linked to the above can be due to water having crept into the "F" connector on the dishes LNB, the result of sometimes only showing up once the weather has cleared up and the connector has been slightly warmed up by the sun.
Although not quite so commonly experienced, but another thing that can cause problems to satellite reception is if the dish is being partially obstructed by nearby vegetation, such as leaves on a branch of a tree etc.
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MikeP: Yes, multiswitch distribution systems certainly offer the ultimate in flexibility, although as you will obviously appreciate what you are referring to is a cut down (not so large) version of a professional system as used for the distribution of satellite & terrestrial signals in premises ranging from guest houses to flats located in large apartment blocks, likewise costly to install over that of a quad (or octo) block, that is including the running of the coax feeds to the various locations that the satellite devices are being used in.
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Brian: To my knowledge the answer is NO, as although when the TiVo box was initially launched it was reported that this could be done via the USB port, this later being denied, the purpose of USB port mentioned as being for a keyboard.
The only way of transferring programmes from the TiVo box is via the scart or HDMI cable onto a DVD recorder of the hard drive variety, the snag being that it can only be done in real time.
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Tuesday 11 November 2014 11:25PM
MikeB: There is of course another factor that has to be taken into account when referring to Michaels location, insomuch that the signal being received from the Sandy transmitter suffers from a rather sizeable line-of-sight obstruction starting from approximately 2 miles down to 1 mile prior to the Great Eversden area, a somewhat lesser one existing at around 0.5 miles, signals received via an element of diffraction being far more vulnerable to reacting in an adverse way to any slight changes in levels, such as caused by atmospheric reasons or even minor changes that might be made at the transmitter.
The L.O.S obstruction referred to as seen by opening the link.
Terrain between ( m a.g.l.) and (antenna m a.g.l.) - Optimising UK DTT Freeview and Radio aerial location