All posts by jb38
Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Gerry: Many thanks for the update and pleased to hear that all seems to be OK now, and so you can maybe settle down to a worry free Christmas, well at least where technical issues are concerned anyway!
Should though any further problems crop up at any time then please do not hesitate in requesting assistance, because as a lifetime of being an RF and associated equipment engineer I don't mind in the least, as my job has always been my hobby.
Kind Regards / JB
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Dave: Sky's ability to cancel off a non subscribers access to the recording / playback side of the box is done via the card, and so you must either have timed things (albeit accidentally) whereby your box was not operational when the OA (over air) cancellation signal was sent by Sky, or through some fluke Sky omitted to send it, because this action is done by human hand (typing) and not automation.
Just out of interest, was your ability to view package channels cancelled? although cancelling these and killing access to recording / playback is not necessarily always done at the same time.
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Gary: If you have a signal strength "and" quality of around 75% or so then there is no reason for your box not finding and retaining the channels, that is unless the power supply to the tuner is defective and with this being something that is a known problem in quite a number of boxes, albeit that in many cases these mostly being ones that are allowed to run on the warm side by not having sufficient ventilation, because unlike Dave with a indication of 40% quality which for a Sky signal is not really good enough, whereas you on the other hand are well inside of the signal drop out safety margin.
In cases like yours its best to seek out someone with a similar set up to yourself and see if they will allow you to tune in your Sky box on their system, or alternatively have them try their box on your dish, because by being able to do this cuts out endless tests having to be made.
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Dave C: Although not quite clear about what you are intending to do, but if you are referring to swapping the two Sky boxes over so that the one with access to the "free to view" HD channels can be coupled into your intended new purchase then yes, the only point being, that if one of boxes is just a standard model then it will only have one single coax feed and so a second one will require to be run from the dish, or alternatively just diverted from its present position should its cable length allow, although this can be extended by using "F" connector couplings onto a length of sat grade coax.
Should you be meaning other than this then please clarify.
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albert.treece: The connections used between the three devices are dependant on the TV's input facilities and especially the number of HDMI inputs it offers, and so maybe you could give an update regarding this aspect.
It would also be of assistance if you could provide the model number of the TV in question.
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Anne: Yes, as it isn't on anything other than satellite, Freesat channel 606, or Sky free to view channel 627.
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Mike: Although the content of my previous reply still applies, but if you haven't as yet managed to try your box out on another persons dish or alternatively their box on yours, I would really be interested in the result if you could find time to carry out this simple test associated with the LNB settings, and being, carry out the test procedure as before for checking the LNB values, then on No 4 down where it normally indicates "22Khz command ON", purely for a test I would like you to switch this off then save the setting.
Once this is done I would like you to check if the channels previously received such as CNN 506 / Primetime 498 or Sky news has vanished, because if they have (which they should) then disconnect the box from the mains and wait about 30 secs or so before powering it back up again and allowing it to search for listings followed by checking if the low channels have returned, although if they have it will only be the low channels that's received and nothing in the high band.
My only reason for requesting this test is to take the "auto" aspect out of the tone controlled band switching system, because without the tone the LNB reverts to being permanently on Low and where the missing channels are located, although if it still doesn't receive them it could still be the LNB or box at fault albeit that it points more to the LNB.
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Viv Gunton: In addition to that already said by KMJ,Derby and Dave Lindsay, as far as your type of query is concerned its essential that anyone offering assistance has knowledge of a persons location, yours at no time having been mentioned, this info being required purely for the purpose of assessing the signal levels expected wherever a person might be located within the stations coverage area, and with the assessment being made with reference to a useful technical facility called DUK's reception predictor, but one that can only be accessed via a post code or at least one from somewhere nearby, such as a shop, post office etc.
The other point to note being, that its also useful to know the model number of the receiver (TV or box) that a person is using, as some equipment is known to perform much better than others when operating under iffy reception conditions and where lower level atmospheric changes play a part in reception, something which unfortunately exists in many areas albeit that this fact only showed up when the much more critical digital service commenced, as prior to that when reception was via analogue the only indication of an unsatisfactory signal level was by variable (and intermittent) levels of grainy pictures being seen, or maybe even occasional spells of ghosting being noticed to the right hand side of the image.
Just thought that I would point these facts out as its not always understood why certain questions are asked.
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Naomi: The fact of you having said that you live in Helston is not really sufficient for an assessment to be made of the signal expected at your location, the reason being that the Helston relay is very low powered and transmits in a pattern similar to clock hands indicating 4 o'clock, and of course you could be anywhere in or out of this zone.
A post code or one from nearby (i.e: a shop) is required to enable access to the reception predictor, but please note that the aerial your husband is experimenting with should be positioned vertically (elements up and down) to suit the local transmitter.
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Wednesday 19 December 2012 6:40PM
Mike: Two factors exist that make it difficult for anyone to advise on this problem are, (1) that you have not indicated your location, this in the form of a post code or one from nearby, i.e: a shop etc, and (2) you will have to provide the model of the Hitachi TV in question to enable its technical spec to be checked on.