All posts by jb38
Below are all of jb38's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Kenyon : I also meant to add, check the "F" connector on the LNB to make sure that its not internally contaminated with water etc, as this is liable to cause problems by intermittently shorting out the band switching tone, or the voltages associated with polarity switching, if indeed not the actual signal itself.
All that said, on the assumption that have already tried disconnecting the power from the box for about 30 seconds or so before powering it up again, this being purely for the purpose of reloading the channels into the boxes memory.
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Kenyon: OK thanks, although it has to be said that 50% is at the lower end of what is considered as being an acceptable signal strength level, as anything much lower is liable to be bordering near to the boxes threshold level for reception, this always resulting in odd glitches in the picture now and again.
That said, the fact of the quality being so much higher does indicate that all is OK with your alignment, and that the apparent lower than normal signal strength level is purely down to the boxes less than enthusiastic level measuring system, as this varies from brand to brand..
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Marianna: I fully appreciate your reluctance as far as making an enquiry with a neighbour is concerned, as many residents in an apartment block quite understandably like to retain their privacy, likewise do not particularly wish to have contact with anyone residing in close proximity to them, and indeed in many cases for very good reason!
Its just that when anyone linked into a communal aerial system is experiencing reception problems they are somewhat limited in what they can do by not having any control over the aerial system, that is with the exception of checking the jumper lead from the wall socket into their TV or box.
If though the jumper lead appears to be OK, then its likely that other residents in the block are also liable to be suffering from the same problem as yourself by being linked into the same system, not knowing whether they are or not being the only reason for enquiring elsewhere.
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JudithU: Irrespective of whether or not there were any interruptions to the TV signal in the Cheshire area during the period mentioned, the fact of you having said that you use Sky TV automatically invalidates what the retailer has told you, as Satellite reception whether it be Sky or Freesat, does not suffer from the type of problem mentioned.
That said is on the basis that you are referring to receiving Sky TV via a dish?
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Kenyon : Good news then!!, and as far as the 50% signal level is concerned, if you have previously been enjoying glitch free reception at that level, then there is no reason to suppose that you will not continue doing so, because I am quite sure that if a higher level was possible, you would have noticed this at some point during your alignment exercise.
Thanks for the update.
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bill marshall: Thats by far the best idea!. I am sure that once you start using the Freesat box you will wonder why you ever put up with the Tristar, especially its "free to air" menu system.
The other point being, that should you have managed to get the remote control working again it would only have been a matter of time before something else cropped up, and of course these boxes have virtually no back up to rely on, it being exceedingly difficult to find out any detailed technical information on them.
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James: If swapping the LNB inputs over on the box has apparently improved the situation, albeit only for a while, then although the problem could still be down to a fault in your boxes internal power supply, another reason could be that water has crept into the "F" connectors on the dish end of the cables, as this type of thing can result in erratic reception.
If you can access the LNB on the dish? unscrew (in turn) each of the two "F" connectors that come from the HD box, ignoring the one used by the Grundig box as you have said that's OK, further unscrewing the connector from the coax to enable proper checking, then on completion, screwing them back onto the coax again "after" having ensured that all strands of the coax braiding has been pulled back over the outer cover of the coax.
If after having carried out this procedure you find that the problem still remains with the No1 input still zero (or erratic) on the level bar, then your last option is to swap the coax connector on the LNB (that comes from the boxes LNB1) over to the spare port on said LNB, that is "if" your dish is fitted with a standard 4 output quad block, as its extremely unlikely that more than one port on the LNB would be faulty.
However, if by any remote chance this does not rectify the problem, then this unfortunately points back to the box being defective.
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James: Also meant to say, that if when you refer to "terrestrial" you are meaning anything "other than" the programmes received via your Sky box, then this does not really come into the equation, as terrestrial channels are received via a normal aerial and likewise are completely unconnected with signals received via a dish.
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James: Well at least you are now aware of all the possible reasons for your problem, likewise will know where / what to investigate.
But just a small point on the Sky box power supply problems referred to.
The reason why any box with a defective power supply works for a short while after having been disconnected from the mains, is simply because that disconnecting the box from the mains allows the cause of the problem to cool down, namely but not exclusively, the electrolytic capacitors located near to the main power supply heat sink.
The time factor involved before the box fails "after" having been powered up again, directly relating to the time it takes for the defective component(s) to warm up.
Thanks for your update!
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Sunday 19 October 2014 7:00PM
Kenyon : Go into your boxes signal check menu ("settings - 4 - 6") and note the levels being indicated, as on a standard Sky box the strength should be around 70% and with the quality being at least this figure and never under, if it is, then the dish requires slight alignment, this always usually being in the horizontal (left / right) plane, but though as you have repaired the old mounting then the usual left / right rule will no longer apply.
Please note, that the signal levels seen are not that of the channel you might happen to be viewing, but the default transponder and so applies to all.