The SatCure Blog # 112   IN THIS ISSUE: News FM Transmitter review New Products Gold Plating Need a Christmas present? Questions Happy Customers   Free eBooks! Dec 20, 2007   http://www.satcure.co.uk See Newsletter Archive

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News LAST ORDERS, PLEASE! We will be posting our last orders at 3pm Friday 21st and our Sales department will reopen on January 2nd. (Technical help will be available throughout the holiday period). Anything ordered on the Friday should be delivered on Monday 24th but we are relying on a heavily overloaded Royal Mail and carrier services. Some miracles happen at Christmas but please don't be upset if your order fails to arrive on time. We'll simply do our best and the warehouse elves are currently getting a darn good thrashing. SatCure Sales office is officially closed on Monday 24th but Nicola has promised to monitor email enquiries until noon - after which Sales enquiries will definitely not be answered. (Technical will answer enquiries but obviously we do not have access to shipping information. If you need a consignment number, email Sales before 10am Monday). Goodbye, Rupert! Rupert Murdoch is stepping down as Chairman of BSkyB and as a director of the satellite broadcaster, it has been confirmed. Mr Murdoch's son, James, Chief Executive Officer since November 2003, is replacing him as Non-Executive Chairman. More... http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30400-1296059,00.html Disgruntled employee tries to shut down California: http://tinyurl.com/2ooogj (Read the comments - most amusing!)   FM Transmitter review Back in the days when my hobby consisted of messing about with electronic components and a soldering iron, I made an FM transmitter "bug" that could transmit sound from a tiny electret microphone to a battery-powered radio half a mile away. I actually tested it on Southport beach when the tide was out. Some thirty years later, you can buy a ready-made FM transmitter from most supermarkets (I got this one from Aldi) for around £8 and they are (apparently) legal to use in the UK. The example is branded with the "Tevion" name and (no surprises) is manufactured in China. It measures just 70 x 23 x 23mm and has a curly-cord with a 3.5mm stereo jack plug that fits an iPod and most other equipment. It comes with a 1.5 volt AA battery cell, a car cigar plug connection lead which, presumably, can be used instead of the battery, and a black felt carrying bag. The User Instruction "booklet" is so tiny that I had to use a magnifying glass to read it! It's written in "almost" English, with phrases like "if there are too many interferences..." FM Transmitter In Use Set your FM radio to a frequency which is free from interference. With two computers running in my office, this wasn't easy, but I found a spot at 87.7 MHz which was relatively quiet. Holding the "Power" button on the "Tevion" for a little over a second turns it on and the blue LCD lights up and displays the selected frequency. This can be changed with the up/down buttons. It can also be stored as a "program" by pressing the Power button, I believe, although I managed to do this by accident and couldn't be bothered to get my magnifying glass to read the instructions again! Note: The display goes dark after a few seconds and you must press any button to light it again. You could easily be fooled into thinking the transmitter is off! To turn it off, press a button to light the display then press and hold the "Power" button until the display goes dark. Set the Tevion to the same frequency as the FM radio and connect it to your audio source. You should now hear the audio from the radio. According to the miniscule instructions, the FM transmitter has a range of "1 - 2 meters" (sic). When you read this it becomes obvious that its main use is going to be in your car! In practice, I was still able to hear the audio at a range of 5 metres in my house, albeit with quite a few whistles and pops because my house is full of computers and TV sets! When I placed the iPod and Tevion on my kitchen window sill, I was able to hear the audio at a range of 12 metres down the garden. Beyond that, reception was "patchy" and very dependent on the orientation of the radio and its aerial. Although the range isn't brilliant, I'm sure there are situations where it could be adequate (I just can't think of any!) Unfortunately, the sound quality was poor. There was a constant background hiss and the sound was "tinny", regardless of what earphones or loudspeakers I used. The volume was very low and couldn't be increased without a massive increase in background hiss. Not one to be beaten easily, I dismantled the transmitter and poked around to see if I could locate a suitable point to connect an aerial. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful but maybe some electronics guru out there might like to have a go. If a short wire aerial could be attached, I'm sure the range could be doubled - probably illegally but, hey, this is all for "educational purposes, right? In theory, you could connect the FM transmitter (via a suitable adapter) to the Scart socket of your Freeview or satellite TV receiver. In practice, the range is so poor that you'd be lucky to pick up the signal in a bedroom immediately above. Conclusion Might be useful if you want to use your MP3 player in a car. Otherwise, the range is too limited and the audio quality too poor for serious listening. If some well-meaning friend got you one for Christmas, I guess you could connect a microphone and use it as a "bug" in the adjacent room. I did learn one useful fact from this: the "credit card FM radio" that I got free from SAGA provides only mono audio. What a rip-off!   I saw your FM transmitter review. I bought this in the US http://www.ccrane.com/radios/fm-transmitters/fm-transmitter.aspx This is a great device. There is a smnall pot inside that allows you to increase the range up to 100m (yes 100 meters). I can sit in my local pub and listen to my music streaming from my PC on a regular FM radio. A very inexpenive "wireless" music system for my house ! Anywhere you have a radio you can pick up mp3 music or internet podcasts. Mike I also bought one - expensive but stable and good quality. One problem, though, device appears to be setup for US 75us pre emphasis so reception on UK receivers is noticeably treble boosted. That might explain the "tinny" sound on mine! Build inside is all user unfriendly non-tweakable microscopic surface mount and distributor doesn't want to know Possibly other transmitters now available in the UK are similarly configured for US operation - worth bearing in mind Merry Christmas yours Terry B New Products While we are on the subject of audio, our latest offering is a "stereo listening device". This looks like an MP3 player and fits in your shirt pocket (or hangs by the neck-cord which is supplied). My Mum is a bit mutton-Jeff and has recently been supplied with a pair of NHS "digital" (!) hearing aids, after waiting only two years, so she was able to compare these with our "listening device". She could discern no obvious difference in sound quality. Indeed, she was able to maintain a conversation with five of us speaking very quietly in a quiet room. As with all hearing aids, the real problems arise when you have a lot of backround noise. Our device fared neither better nor worse than the "digital" hearing aids (at ten times the price or a two year wait on the NHS). Indeed, the only disadvantage she could find was that the listening device amplifies "handling noise" so you can't hold it in your hand while in use. It must be placed on a flat surface or kept in a breast pocket of a shirt or jacket which doesn't rustle. Our device is supplied without earphones because the choice of 'phones is a very personal one. My preference is for the Sony "Fontopia Plus in-ear headphones" from Argos, MDR-ED21LP (see photo). Mum loved these but some people might prefer other makes or even headphones for comfort. Although we can't offer this equipment as a prescription hearing aid, it can provide a useful substitute if you are waiting to be supplied with a hearing aid. It can also provide relief from wearing a prescription hearing aid if you find it uncomfortable. It has a volume control, left-right balance control (in case one ear is more deaf than the other) and a treble-boost switch. Of course it can also be useful for listening to faint sounds in the middle of the woods. Hark! I think I hear the sound of a mating couple! See http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/kits.htm Gold Plating We occasionally get asked for gold-plated connectors. One optimist even asked for a gold-plated "F" connector. I still wonder how he proposed to gold-plate the centre core of the cable to which he was going to fit it! In my work as a Design Engineer and, later, as a Reliability Test Engineer, I carried out many tests on connectors and discovered that most gold-plating is rubbish. Quite often it is no more than a "cosmetic flash" of around 0.5 microns average thickness, with "perforations" in it. My tests indicated that any such "perforations" would inevitably allow corrosion to begin. And, once started, it would quickly spread sideways to the coated areas. Indeed, the only gold-plating which survived my tests consisted of a 5 micron gold plating on an 8 micron nickel plating - a quality of plating which is seldom found in electronic connectors. Of course, unless both mating contact surfaces are plated like this, corrosion is inevitable. If you put dissimilar metals together you simply make the corrosion occur faster. But corrosion occurs only in the presence of moisture and oxygen. Moisture is prevalent outside, of course, but it also occurs indoors from cooking and from human breathing. You'll often see it as condensation on windows. Any room with condensation is a breeding ground for corrosion in electronic equipment. It's made more likely if you let the equipment cool down (condensation forms on cold metal parts) then warm it up (chemical processes double in speed with every ten degree C rise in temperature). In this respect, leaving equipment powered up is a good idea! One relatively cheap and easy way to minimise or prevent corrosion is to coat the contact surfaces with something that excludes moisture and air. For this purpose, we recommend silicone grease. It is highly water repellent and can withstand temperatures far higher than your equipment will ever reach. In addition, it is non-conductive, so it won't cause a short-circuit. Now, you may think "if it's non-conductive, surely it will cause a really bad connection?" Luckily, that's not true, as explained here: http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/silicone2.htm As you push the connections together, any surplus grease is pushed out, so the amount you need is miniscule. Therefore, it can be extremely cost effective. You can use it on TV plugs, phono (RCA) plugs, jack plugs, DIN plugs, Scart plugs and telephone plugs. (Be sure to coat all contact areas, including the outer metal "ground" sections.) It stopped my G2 iPod from producing an annoying crackling sound. A child's watercolour paint brush is useful for getting right inside plugs and sockets. And silicone grease has many more uses. You can see some of them here: http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/silicone.htm Hi Martin, Reading your mention of silicone grease took me back to a radio programme I heard on the old BBC Radio London when Johnnie Longdon was the engineer there and used to broadcast a technical session once a month. One broadcast dealt with rigging aerials and one of the BBC riggers recommended the plentiful use of silicone grease in all aerial connection boxes and connectors. I have followed the advice ever since especially during my time as a licensed radio amateur when I found a complete absence of corrosion in connections given the treatment and taken down after many years exposure to the elements. I find it especially useful these days when applied to F connectors under their boot. Kind regards, Jack Need a Christmas Present? A bit late for Christmas but here are some suggestions for New Year gifts: I came across Paul Harvey in 1994 because he's a fellow Mac user. He and his wife ran "Autumn Designs" then joined Paul's brother, Steve, to form "This Way Up" http://www.thiswayup.co.uk but I want to point you to his wife's (Karen) own business which is called "Jewels 4 Jeans": http://www.jewels4jeans.co.uk My friend, Alex Hoyle, specialised in supplying remote control handsets and kitchenware to hotels but, last year, he branched out into supplying coffee grounds by mail-order. http://www.coffeebypost.co.uk Nick Lipson was my boss when I was a manager for a Japanese company back in 1989. When Nick's wife died from cancer he took over her business, supplying the best fruit coulis in the world. (What is coulis? It's a fruit puree which tastes delightful with yoghourt, ice-cream and other "pudding" dishes.) Nick supplies up-market delicatessan shops all over the UK but is happy to supply you by mail-order if there's no local stockist. Warning: this stuff is addictive! http://www.bestoftaste.co.uk   (top) Questions - a selection from this month's emails I have just moved into a new build house where both the bedrooms upstairs have a single coax wall plate. These are linked to another plate in the main living room where my Sky Box is. My Magic Eye is actually a Samson Teardrop, when I try to connect either of the TV's upstairs via the wall plate and RF2 I get the Sky picture but cannot change the channel via the teardrop/infra remote. The teardrop, second remote and cables that link the all plate to the teardrop all work as i've performed a test with a single piece of coax, everything worked fine, it's only when I go through the wall plates it doesn't work! I've had a look at the wall plates and they are the unscreened variety, like the one here with the two yellow arrows http://www.satcure.com/tech/wallplates.htm Should I just buy a couple of screened ones, e.g. 2 x GLO27 or do I need an amplifier? Many Thanks Pete Hi, Pete. Whilst a SkyLink compatible amplified splitter will allow the remote signal to pass backwards through it to a Sky Digibox, and passes power to a "magic eye", unfortunately it can't confer the same ability on an unsuitable wall plate. So the answer is to use a DC-pass wall plate that passes power to the "magic eye". My location is: France (South - Perpignan Equipment made by: Pace Sky Model number on label or rear panel: DS430N I am trying to install a Pace DS430N to receive English channels. I don't have a card. Signal strength and quality are good; EPG is working (I have downloaded software update). But it won't access any channels (I get the "there is a technical fault with this channel" message). I have tried turning the power off completely and leaving it for a bit, but it makes no difference. Any ideas? Thanks for your time. Edward Assuming that the Digibox is connected to a working dish and LNB, aligned on the correct satellite, then your receiver may be faulty. See http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/ "2. Sky Digital problem ?"   Response from Steve Edwards: Hi Martin, If Edward is receiving EPG data and a NetID of 0002 (Services/4/6), then his dish must be relatively properly aligned. His problem is probably the Default Transponder frequency. With no card he'll only receive BBC, ITV and other FTA channels. Edward, can you view Sky News on ch501? This is a South Beam transponder, whereas BBC & ITV are North(DKB)transponders. This shouldn't be a big problem with a 1m dish in France, but any smaller than that and initial reception could be inhibited. I am in Palma de Mallorca where even a 1.25m will struggle to receive BBC's & ITV's transponders at times. Most professionals are now installing a minimum of 1.7m aluminium dishes, but even that will not receive during heavy rainfall! 2m &endash; 2.5m is the requirement for faultless reception. My forte is marine stabilised pedestals &endash; SeaTel, KVH, R&R &endash; whose deep-dish (not a pizza!) and carbon-fibre dish technologies are collecting the required level of signal from smaller-diameter dishes; thus a SeaTel 36" (the Americans are still struggling with metric!) deep-dish is now outperforming the older 40". Herewith is a document that I've produced for yachts. So, Edward, carry out these instructions to change your Default Transponder. The Pace digibox won't always remember the settings once power is removed, so print the document for future reference until you have the keystrokes memorised. Sky digi-box search frequency reset instructions for Mediterranean cruising. Please follow these key-presses using your Sky remote control: Press SERVICES, 401, SELECT (Installer Setup) NB: Installer Set up is a hidden menu; do not monitor these first key-presses on the screen, as after the '4' the '01' will not show up. If you don't get to Installer Set up, BACK UP out & start again Press 2 (Default Transponder) Key-in frequency 12188 Arrow down once & change V to H (using right or left arrow) Arrow down to SAVE NEW SETTINGS & press SELECT (this reverts to Installer Setup) Press 5 (Manual Tuning) Arrow up once and SELECT on FIND CHANNELS Follow screen prompts. System should eventually display a Network ID of 0002 Repeatedly press SELECT until screen displays CHANNEL LINE-UP COMPLETE, then BACKUP to SEARCHING FOR LISTINGS banner. First channel to eventually view should be 998 Sky Welcome. Key-in 501 to confirm reception of Sky News. Regards, Martin, and thanks for an interesting and informative newsletter, Steve E Palma de Mallorca Could you tell me if I can run a cable direct from a dish to a Multiple decombiner plate by Triax as the second LNB or does the both cables have to come from the multiswitch. ryan You could run a cable but I don't see what you would achieve by it, since you are not combining the LNB signal with any other signal - therefore there's nothing to decombine. I recommend you read our notes: http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/combiners.htm http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/lofthelp.htm Having just bought a recon. digibox from you; I want to know if I need to have my existing Sky card "aligned" with the box, or is it just a question of put it in and play? Richard If you have a Sky subscription including "Premium" channels you will have to phone Sky and ask the operator to activate the card in your replacement Digibox. They will require the information from your information screen. Best Wishes, Martin I have a sailing boat. I would like to pick up Radio 4 and TV channels via satellite. My reason for wanting satellite is that I am frequently in poor reception areas for normal TV & radio eg western Ireland, Outer Hebrides etc. I like the look of the SL65-12. However, boats have a habit of moving when on an anchor (our normal over-nighting method) so I would guess that standard satellite aerials would be inadequate. Can you suggest a solution? Thanks Derek Hi, Derek. Unfortunately, we don't offer dish stabilising systems. They are mainly used on luxury yachts and cruise ships. Prices start  around £20,000 I believe. Martin, You had a letter about satellite TV on a boat. It's not cheap about (£2,000) but the TracVision satellite dish  http://www.conrad-anderson.co.uk/mobilesatellitetelevision/tracvisionR5-sat-dome.htm is extremely impressive in action. I saw it mounted on a car roof receiving Sky while the car drove in figure of 8 patterns around the car park. It was built for boats but is sometimes seen on luxury coaches. It has a built in receiver which knows about 4 transponders on the target satellite and continuously adjusts the dish for best bit error ratio. You can thus attach a sky box or anything else you fancy. Hope this is of use to your sailor. If he can afford a sea going boat £2k might be an acceptable price ! All the best and I enjoy the newsletter, Mark Hawkins Mark Happy Customers Its really just a thank you plus a comment. I have used your site many times to refer to for help with setting up Sky and Sky Plus. The link to the site about controlling your amplifier/receiver with the sky (or Plus) remote has saved my sanity. I had 2 Sky plus _commander_ remotes that would operate TV's but not Sky Plus box. I tried the reset 999 then the 0 reset and finally the 2 reset, none of which worked, i.e. Sky Plus Box no response. So I tried tv Select blue button then 1 then select. It's sorted both out which now work perfectly. I'm sure its not news to you, but it was to me.:~)) Thanks again for a great site. Happy Christmas. Nick Hi Martin. Just a line to thank you for your help, and the very prompt and perfect delivery of my order. I thought you would like to know that we have got it all up and running with no hiccups whatsoever. I am very grateful to you, and to the forum who recommended you, and if I need any more of anything I will certainly use you. If I'd known about you when I embarked on this I wouldn't have gone anywhere else. It is re-assuring to know that the person selling you something knows something about it when it all goes pear shaped. Husband is now happily esconced with the new remote and his sport, and I'm off to feed the animals. Note my success story! Also note that I've upped my expertise. I can read a circuit (it's been a long time) and I can solder and I feel more confident now. I might even buy another soldering iron as the TV plug came off the old co-ax (and that was a fitted plug too) when we pulled it back through. Anita   (top)   Latest SatCure eBooks (The introductory offer prices have now ended.) All eBooks have been moved to a more reliable secure server which requires a username and password. If you can't access it, please contact us (wherever you bought it - SatCure or The Cool Book Shop) with your proof of purchase and ask for the new download information, stating exactly which eBook(s) you purchased and the EBK number(s).  http://www.The-Cool-Book-Shop.co.uk (top)

The SatCure Forum Meet other Satellite TV enthusiasts and put your questions or points of view here Need to buy wholesale stock to sell on eBay or on your web site? Thinking of starting your own business? Click on banner above. All kinds of video tapes transferred to DVD, UK's lowest prices and top quality. Experienced engineer and a personal service. Most tapes just £10 for 2:30 hours or less in quantity. "Installing a Sky Minidish" tutorial on DVD. Click HERE for more information. Information about satellite broadband.   Expat Forum I can't recommend this forum for Expats too highly. It's run and moderated by Kay who puts in a lot of hours to make sure everything runs smoothly. If you are outside the UK or thinking of emigrating then you need to look in here!   Don't fancy DIY? Get an Installation Quote: http://www.ukapsi.com/contents.htm Selling on eBay?  LOOKING FOR WHOLESALERS? Check out FREE wholesale search engines: US Wholesale Search Engine TheWholesaleTrader UK Wholesale Search Engine Wholesale118   REMOTES Looking for a TV or VCR remote control? Look no further. Same Day Remote   Sky+ Remotes only £18.80 inclusive from SatCure! Your advert could be here! Contact us for details. http://www.tnt-audio.com is an audio enthusiasts' website, run purely for the fun of it. No money involved at all! Take a look.