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NewsTrees This is the time of year when trees become a real problem. Many people are reporting "loss of signal" and spending lots of money for an installer to come and tell them that there are leaves in the signal path! Tree branches and leaves will scatter the signal - especially when wet. The only answer is to remove the (small area of) offending leaves or relocate your aerial/dish. Sales of OLED panels set to increase rapidly Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology is increasingly seeming to become viable for displays. Though it is still relatively expensive, various consumer electronics firms have now committed to developing television screens with the electroluminescent technology. Sony led the way, introducing an 11-inch screen to market, and LG and Samsung have announced plans of their own. Using OLEDs allows makers to produce thinner panels which do not need backlighting and so achieve higher levels of contrast and use less energy than LCD panels, which can still be produced at a better cost at the largest sizes. Meanwhile sales of OLED panels, which can be used on PDAs, media players and mobile phones as well as televisions and monitors, are set to soar. LG launches into OLED fray LG Electronics has announced that it will have volume production of a 32-inch OLED TV in 2011. The largest OLED screen available on the market was Sony's 11-inch television. This 11-inch EL TV sells for just under $2,000 (£1,000). But Sony has already unveiled a super slim (0.3mm thick) 22-inch organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel - and now Samsung is set to follow. While OLED technology has many benefits over traditional displays, manufacturers have been slow to develop it into large screens because of the costs involved. Until Sony released the relatively expensive 11-inch screen, OLED had been seen mainly on a much smaller scale, on PDAs, media players and mobile phones. But Samsung claims it will produce OLED panels for larger television screens as well as for monitors and notebook computers, according to Digitimes. And Samsung's vice president of mobile display marketing stated that, in 2009, the firm will be able to produce three million OLED panels, rising to six million by the end of 2010. OLED panels are increasingly attractive to those who can afford them. OLED Screens have much crisper images, with Sony's display achieving a one million-to-one contrast ratio. BBC News 24 ProblemsLast month we reported that several BBC programmes, including BBC News 24, Parliament and BBC radio programmes had been switched to a different transponder (Eurobird 28.5'E) on a different transmission frequency. Several people reported problems with reception. I suggested that it was caused by interference from the Badr transponder on an adjacent satellite. Well, it seems I was right. See http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=23429116&postcount=164 Remember, you read it here first! |
| • | Daewoo DS608P |
| • | LabgearDTT100 |
| • | Triax DVB2000T |
Combined set-top box and video recorder:
• Daewoo SV900 • Bush IDVCR01
More info:
http://www.freeview.co.uk/help/getting-freeview/q24
Satellite Internet
A German Satellite-Internet company whose trading name included the word "Sky" and "DSL" has been obliged by Sky's legal team to rename itself and to cease trading in the UK. Accordingly, we have removed all the adverts from our site at the company's request. (We don't know why they requested it because they are still trading in Europe but they were most insistent!) According to their email, existing customers will, allegedly, continue to get support from that company which is now called "Home Internet UK Ltd."
Thomson Sky HD
Sky started to roll out new HD firmware this week ( May 7 ) which resolves a couple of problems including automatic 16:9/4:3 aspect ratio switching on the RF outputs. However, some reports suggest it screws up the Auto-standby function. In the installer menu, in LNB Setup, there is now 'LNB Type - Standard' (which can't be changed to anything else.) Fast forward on recordings seems more stable.
OS Version - 1.32A0E
EPG Version - 5.10.j HD
We have had a few rebuilt PSUs returned as "faulty" (but they weren't).
Discussions about this and updates in our forum:
http://notonyourtelly.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1390
The average waiting time for customers is around 5 days. Demand is high but we are just about keeping up with it! We recommend that you order yours well before the typical 15 month failure time so that you have uninterrupted viewing.
If you want it fixed NOW, we have plenty of kits in stock (50) so order the kit and find someone who can solder.
Soldering is actually not difficult and many customers, who had never previously wielded an iron, have written in with stories of success. Soldering instructions here:-
http://www.SatCure.co.uk/tech/solder.htm
IN ADDITION we are currently giving kit buying customers a download link to get our "A Beginner's Guide to Receiver Repair" (worth £2.95) completely FREE!
http://www.SatCure.co.uk/book.htm#begrep
We also sell a low-cost soldering iron, solder, solder "sucker", pliers and other tools:-
http://www.SatCure.co.uk/accs/page6.htm#iron
And, once you can solder, you might like to read our FREE "Beginners Guide to Electronics", which includes some simple projects:-
http://www.SatCure.co.uk/book.htm#begin
More electronics projects here:
http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/kits.htm
Many people are asking "how can Sky/Thomson get away with supplying a badly designed product?"
Disregarding firmware "bugs" which seem to be inevitable in modern complex equipment (even my Apple Mac has software bugs), I don't believe the power supply was "badly designed". More likely, someone in the buying department was tied to a price and was forced to order the cheapest parts available. You might think this is inexcusable but I've seen it happen with most computer and TV manufacturers. You, the customer, want Sky to provide the programmes and equipment as cheaply as possible, so the pressure to minimise cost begins with you!
Remember that the "12 month warranty" is in addition to your statutory rights. Some people say that European legislation means you should expect electronic equipment to last for up to six years. That being the case, if we assume a Sky-HD Digibox is worth £300 when new and fails after 1 year then you have the right to expect a replacement for 1/6 less than the original price (£250) or a repair for 1/6 (£50). In fact Sky will replace it for only £65 so I see that as pretty fair, taking into account the fact that you've had a year's worth of usage and it includes delivery. (Most companies have a "return to base" policy whereas Sky actually pay an installer to deliver and connect the replacement.)
I realise these are contentious points but I'm trying to look at the situation logically and from a moral standpoint. If you had a car for a year and it developed a fault, you wouldn't get a free replacement car, would you?
Modern digital receiving equipment is basically a PC with a tuner. The manufacturers are aware that you want it to be cheap, small, aesthetically-pleasing and quiet. None of these requirements work in favour of reliability. For example, you want to squeeze it into a tiny compartment in a warm room but you don't want excessive fan noise. In the end, you get what you pay for.
A German friend pointed out to me a major difference between English shoppers and German shoppers:-
"Ze Eenglish valk into ze shop und say 'Show me ze cheapest television'. Ve Chermans valk into ze shop und say 'Show me ze most reliable television'."
Now you know why my kitchen appliances are all made by Bosch/Siemens!
If you have any comments, please DON'T email me. Put your comments in the discussion forum where everyone can read and contribute.
Smart Products and DDU
Dear Martin
Just some quick feedback about my TRIAX DDU.
The DDU has a couple of interesting features:-
Firstly the 9V signal on the DDU TV outputs is generated by the DDU itself. Turning off the 9V signal on the RF2 output has no effect on the measured 9V voltage on the DDU TV outputs.
Secondly and ingeniously, the power supply for the DDU satellite downlink amplifiers seems to come from the SKY digibox, or at least that's my assumption (?). My DDU is wired into the loft lighting circuit (probably wrong I know). I tried to power down the DDU by turning off the lighting circuit. This had NO effect on satellite signal levels or on the picture quality on my main TV. To check this I rewired the satellite cables so that they bypassed the DDU completely and this caused the signal levels to drop (I checked). Connecting back to the powered down DDU caused signals to be elevated again. So I guess the power is coming from the SKY digibox itself.
This is NOT true of the DDU TV distribution amplifiers. Turning DDU power off, causes all distributed TV signals to be lost.
This feature is kind of useful because, if your lighting circuit fails, you don't lose signal to the SKY box.
Firstly I have got it working perfectly now. I'm very pleased with both the signal gain on the UHF downlink which has improved terrestrial quality immensely, and also I'm very pleased with the signal gain on the two LNB downlinks. This has improved reliability of my digibox. I get good signal strength on both LNBs even when it's very cloudy, and my digibox hasn't locked up once since installation.
I get excellent quality on the three TVs fed from the uplink. Better than before. I had to jiggle my sky and dvd player UHF output channel numbers to get good picture quality, because the preset Sky channel (68) looked awful. It took some trial and error, BECAUSE the improved gain on the UHF downlink caused interference problems due to weak channel spaces now being filled with a stronger UHF signal.
Now for some feedback which I hope you will find useful.
I tried the following combos:
1. SmartEye + SmartBlaster
2. SLXLink + OmniLink
3. Global TVLink + TVLink Plus.
My results:
1. SmartEye products don't work
2. SLXLink excellent, Omnilink poor
3. Global TVLink very good, TVLink Plus excellent
Hence I am now using SLXLinks combined with the TVLink Plus. Works best of all combos.
My justification:
1. Smartey products don't work
==============================
I can tell you that the SmartEye was easily the most unreliable product of the three tested.
The SmartEye itself is cheap and falls apart in your hands. Of the 5 units I bought, several were faulty (LED didn't light up, didn't operate digibox etc). It is also incompatible with the TRIAX DDU. There is no doubt about this, SmartEye can not send a signal back through the TRIAX.
Confirmed as follows:
Digibox RF2 ---> TRIAX Wallplate ----- WF100 cable ------> SmartEye (WORKS)
Digibox RF2 ---> TRIAX Wallplate ----- WF100 cable ------> TRIAX DDU --> SmartEye (DOESN'T WORK)
(To perform the above test I disconnected the LNB2 lead from the Wallplate so the only signal going up the uplink was the UHF signal from the RF2 output).
The SmartEye signal does not pass back through the TRIAX DDU. The above tests worked fine with the both the SLX Link and Global TVLink.
2. SLXLink excellent, Omnilink poor
===================================
I use single creened cheap TV cable from the TRIAX DDU to each of my three TVs. I have one short run and two long runs. The SLXLink operates perfectly with both the short and long runs of cheap cable (!)
HOWEVER, the OmniLink introduces a lot of interference into all UHF channels. I tried replacing one of the long runs with WF100 but it made no difference. OmniLink produces lots of interference.
3. Global TVLink very good, TVLink Plus excellent
=================================================
The Global TVLink worked perfectly with the short run but didn't work quite so well with the two long runs. The SLXLink was better. It's still a quality unit however and works fine with WF100 cable.
The TVLink Plus is excellent. It does not introduce noise (like the OmniLink does) and is actually compatible with the SLXLinks too.
Summary
=======
I have settled for SLXLinks + TVLink Plus combo. This works with my short and long runs of cheap cables, and does not deteriorate picture quality. Also the SLXLink "eyes" can actually be placed slightly out of view and still work very well regardless of where I point my remote control. The Global TVLinks were good too, but not quite as sensitive as the SLXLinks.
So there you have it! I'm very pleased. Signal strength is excellent, picture is excellent on all TVs, and I figured out a combo of magic eye/blaster which works very well.
Thanks for the feedback you gave me very quickly each time I emailed you. I hope this is info useful to you. But in particular please note that IMO the SmartEye is not compatible with the TRIAX DDU. You might like to test this yourself, I'd be interested to hear if you get the same results as I did!
Kind regards
Joe C
Joe, thank you for your valuable feedback. For some time we have been suggesting that only the "TriaxLink" should be used with the Triax DDU-112 Loft Box, so it's good to know that some other "magic eye" products are suitable. As you can imagine, we seldom get the time to set up a complete system like this in order to carry out tests.
It's extremely rare for customers to help us like this and that is why we advertise a £10 payment for comprehensive installation reports. Please let me know whether you would like to receive this in the form of a cheque sent to your home address or in the form of a credit note or goods?
Last week we made the decision to cease offering the "Smart" products, for two reasons: the supplier had let us down so we'd had no stock for two weeks and no reply to our question "when?". And the reliability problems were obviously increasing on a product which had been perfectly OK for the first year. Your report confirms the validity of our decision to withdraw this product.
We try always to be honest about these things and to inform our customers exactly what is happening. Anyone reading this who bought a SmartEye and/or SmartBlaster from us, and is unhappy with it, should contact Sales for a refund or an exchange (SLxLink, or state preference). There is no specific alternative for the SmartBlaster but the Global tvLINK-Plus should work in many cases, provided the transmitting "eyes" can be positioned close to the equipment front panels.
http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/page3.htm#tvlink-plus
Magic Eye Review
Hi Martin
Thanks for the TriaxLink. The TriaxLink turns out to be one of the best magic eyes I have "tested" so far. I have tested each magic eye with each blaster, both directly connected and connected via the DDU. Here are my test results (marks out of 5):
Test Results
============
1. Magic Eye connected via 75 ohm COAX to DDU and then from DDU via WF100 cable to SKY box
SmartBlaster SLX OmniLink Global TVLinkPlus Direct to RF2 SLXLink 0 5 5 4 TriaxLink 0 5 5 4 GlobalLink 0 3 3* 2 SmartEye 0 0 0 0 Antiference 0 4 4 4 Antiference Plasma 0 6 6 5 Visionlink 0 6 6 5
2. Magic Eye connected to Sky box directly via 20m WF100 cable
SmartBlaster SLX OmniLink Global TVLinkPlus Direct to RF2 SLXLink 4* 5 0 4 TriaxLink 4* 5 5 4 GlobalLink 0 3 3 4 SmartEye 3 3 3 3 Antiference 4 4 4 5 Antiference Plasma 5 5 5 5 Visionlink 5 5 5 5
* Works best when pointing the remote control at an angle (ie bouncing the beam off the ceiling) or operating from a distance.
Notes
=====
1. The Antiference "Plasma Compatible" and VisionLink are the best magic eyes. The SLXLink, TriaxLink and Antiference "Standard" are very competent magic eyes. The GlobalLink was indifferent. The SmartEye is poor.
2. The SLXLink is not compatible with the TVLinkPlus when connected directly.
3. The GlobalLink is not compatible with the SmartBlaster, or at least I couldn't get it to work.
4. The SmartEye is not compatible with the DDU.
5. The SmartBlaster is not compatible with the DDU.
6. The SLXLink and TriaxLink are both compatible with the Smartblaster, when connected directly, but curiously only work if the remote control is not pointed directly at them. The remote control must be angled so as to bounce the beam off the ceiling or operated from a distance. When "bounced" they both work well.
7. The OmniLink introduces mild to moderate TV interference, which is a shame, because otherwise it works well.
What I think
============
The VisionLink and Antiference "Plasma Compatible" are both "miniature" magic eyes. They are also, both, the best magic eyes tested. These eyes have no compatibility issues. They are highly sensitive and can be placed slightly out of view and still offer good performance. They do not have issues when pointing the remote control directly at them as some eyes do.
The TriaxLink and SLXLink are good, sensitive eyes which work well in almost all situations. However, the TriaxLink has a weakness. Unlike the SLXLink, its lens is forward-pointing. The SLXLink lens is forward/upward pointing which means it actually operates better (than the TriaxLink) when placed slightly out of view. So the lens design of the SLXLink actually makes it work better than the TriaxLink in many situations.
The Antiference "Standard" is a very good eye, with no compatibility issues though it is not quite as sensitive as the SLXLink and TriaxLink. Note that sensitivity varies within manufacturing tolerences, so perhaps the unit I tested was a "poor" one. Antiference do manufacture their excellent "Plasma Compatible" eye, so I have a lot of confidence in this manufacturer.
My GlobalLink has developed a loose-connection fault, making it malfunction, but even before this it was significantly less sensitive than the TriaxLink, but significantly better than the SmartEye. I have come to realise that magic eyes are delicate, and over-handling, or holding by the leads, will easily damage the delicate soldered joints, causing them to malfunction. It might be worth mentioning this to your customers?
The SmartEye, when I could get it to actually work, performed worst in terms of sensitivity. I would expect the SmartEye to be perfectly compatible with the SmartBlaster, but the VisionLink and Antiference products performed BETTER with the SmartBlaster than the SmartEye, having no compatibilty issues and excellent sensitivity.
I have all SLXLinks in my home and am very happy with them, but if you want to buy a "miniature" eye, the VisionLink and Antiference are both excellent products.
Hope all of this helps
Joe
See a range of "magic eye" remote extenders.
Problems with your Magic Eye? Click HERE
New Products
This month we are still giving away a free eBook with PSU repair kits We are offering the ARCON dish with single- or twin-output LNB. This dish is larger than the "Multimo" but still packs away easily in a motorhome or caravan. (The Multimo is back in stock). 
Questions
- a selection from this month's emails
Dear Sir
I plan to extend my satellite cable to various points in my living room, the living room is about 20 meters long, my sky + box and TV is located on one side of the room, however my better half wants to rearrange the furniture to the other side including the TV.
Now I plan to place a double wall socket with 8 threaded F-type connectors and branch these off to various parts of the Living room, cabling under the floor boards to wall sockets that have 2 threaded F-type Female-to Female, basically a manual pass through downlink distributor to the sky+ box.
Now the existing cable that I have is CB63R , so, can I use the WF100 shotgun cable as the extension cable so that I can reduce the signal loss if not what cable is compatible with the CB63R.
The extension length per cable will be no greater than 10meters, the current length of the CBR63R from dish to sky+ box is about 30meters, this will be cut by 10 meters and then 10 meters will be added via the extension cables.
Many thanks for any reply.
Kenneth M
Hi, Kenneth.
I assume you are referring to the method described here:-
http://www.satcure.com/tech/extender_plate.htm
CB63R appears to be a miniature twin "shotgun" cable similar to our WF65 cable. We recommend a maximum combined length of 20 metres for WF65 because of its high attenuation factor. You already have 30 metres, which (if you have a standard Sky minidish) could result in loss of signal during heavy rain. Introducing a discontinuity with a socket could make it worse. In addition, this cable is easily kinked, which could exacerbate any problems.
The good news is that you can certainly use WF100 as that will minimise losses. If you do have problems, try replacing the full length of cable from the dish with WF100 and/or replace the dish with the next larger size.
Best Wishes,
Martin
I have purchased a mobile home with a simple cassette player radio fitted powered by a 12v plug in adaptor.
I want to simply replace this stereo with one which plays DVD's when linked to a TV.
The wiring is not an issue but what adaptor to buy.
The existing one must be 10 years old and I assume I would need an adaptor with a high amp output?
I have not a clue. I am assuming I just cut the end of a adaptor...and put the + / to a choc bloc. But I want to do this to the correct adaptor before wasting my money.
Many thanks for any help.
Mark B
Hi, Mark. Unfortunately I don't quite follow what you are asking. However, it might help if I tell you that all electronic equipment is required to have a rating label which will tell you its power requirement. This is expressed as Volts, Amps or as volts multiplied by Amps (VA or Watts). The power supply must have the same voltage rating and the same (or higher) Amps or VA rating. It must also be of the required type (either AC, DC or Regulated DC).
So, for example, equipment rated at 12vDC 24 Watts will require a regulated DC power supply that provides 12 volts and is rated at 24 Watts (or higher), or 24VA (or higher) or 24/12 = 2 Amps (or higher). The polarity of the supply connection is important. The convention is normally that the centre connection is positive; however, I have come across a few pieces of equipment which require the reverse. Getting it wrong can damage the equipment so measure, and/or look for +/- markings.
I hope this answers your question or helps you to answer it.
Best Wishes,
Martin
We live in a flat but have our own aerial on Crystal palace. It is a Blake DMX 10, group 'A'.
At present the builder has merely twisted together the eight coax leads which go to the sockets around the flat and hooked them to the TV aerial lead. This could possibly explain why we don't get good reception in this area, which is not far from Crystal palace.
I want to sort this once and for all.
I don't have access to the aerial because it is in an awkward position on the building. It is about fifteen feet from the distribution cupboard.
How about a masthead amplifier on the incoming lead and an eight way distribution amplifier?
What part numbers would you reccommend??
Thanks.
Tony S
Hi, Tony. Please read this page:-
http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/amps.htm#booster
Provided that the fifteen feet is the proper double-screened cable required for digital transmissions then you will probably get away with a distribution amplifier.
Easy to test. Simply connect your receiver to the end of the 15' cable. If it works OK (without picture break-up each time you turn a kettle on) then a distribution amp should be fine. Calculate the required gain using the information on that page.
Ideally, you should get the builder back to do the installation properly. I expect you'd have something to say if the plumber had used garden hose and failed to install the water tank, so why should the electrician get away with it?
By the way, the Blake aerial is best suited for distant reception. Most of our customers within 50 miles of Crystal Palace are reporting excellent results with a log-periodic aerial, as it has better immunity to unwanted signals.
http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/best_aerial.htm
Best Wishes,
Martin
Communal system in Spain
Do any of your ebooks cover Communal systems, Quattro LNBs, switches, amps, disribution etc.
I have an apartment in southern Spain and the people that run the community are going to investigate such systems. However before being ripped off and told that the only way to receive UK progs is to subscribe to an installer?s own programming package I want to understand the technology and what can / can?t be done with ?simple? aerial distribution and apartment owners using their own receivers.
My (basic) understanding is that to receive SKY (or FREESAT) a single antenna with Quattro LNB and an associated 4 input master switch is required and some form of cascaded switches and amps network to the 100+ apartments that can pass-up the H/L H/V switching.
Do you cover this aspect anywhere?
Given that Spain is a fringe area could such a distribution system be acheived without significant cable / switching loss - assuming that the head-end antenna was a reasonable size to start with?
Regards,
Keith
Hi, Keith. The answer is "no, probably not". Any form of switch has high insertion losses at GHz frequencies. So does cable. Where there is adequate signal, this usually doesn't matter. However, in a fringe reception area where even the choice of LNB and receiver is critical, the introduction of a switching system will undoubtedly lose channels.
So, if you are anywhere near Alicante, with a 2 metre dish or larger, you don't have a hope. If you are well north or south and use a dish size less than 2 metres then you can probably compensate by using a larger dish size. However, any form of amplification to compensate for long cable runs will add noise to the signal and results can't be predicted.
The answer to your first question is "yes, our 'Installing Sky Digital TV' eBook contains a small amount of information about communal systems but I suspect you already know more than that.
I don't wish to put you off trying but I recommend you experiment at minimum cost before committing yourself to 100+ connections!
The best LNB is the Invacom quad-output. We haven't tested the Quattro version in Spain.
The receiver should be a Pace BSKYB2600. Yes, there are alternatives but we can't guarantee results.
Our "Vision" C12231 16-output multiswitches will work from a quad-output LNB.
http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/page1b.htm#multiswitches
Equipment made by: Thomson
Model number on label or rear panel: DHD4000
Hi,
Just wanted to relate my story. My Thomson DHD4000 Freeview PVR started to exhibit classic switch mode PSU problems. After powering the kit down at the mains to move it, the power-up didn't happen immediately, the hard disc spun up and down repeatedly gradually gaining more and more speed until after 20 minutes or so it all came good.
I read on digitalspy that the DHD4000 uses the Samsung V2 PSU used in the Grundig GDS3000 and comparing your photos showed the PSU was indeed the same.
Long story short having fitted all the components the DHD4000 is now back to normal, powers up immediately from the mains as it did before. The only snag is the 1500uF caps supplied are taller than the original ones which means they do touch the lid, although you can bend the PSU mounting lugs down a bit to make more room. Had I realised this before soldering them in I might have used the long leads to put them at an angle but having snipped them off ... well you know.
Thanks again for your great service and allowing me to continue to use the DHD4000 which would have otherwise gone in the bin eventually, probably sooner rather than later.
Many thanks,
David P
Dear Martin,
I have been using your site since I discovered it in 2004 and have been overwhelmed and extremely satisfied with all the technical advice and training you have to offer. Since, I have also used your recommended suppliers who are all very well respected people and are really down to earth and not looking to making a thick, quick profit, including Mr Lee Harling with whom I have done business.
I also finished your Sky Installers course last year and feel more confident and better prepared to carry out my hobby. I do not charge anybody for installation. I just get great satisfaction in helping people - I mean it. I am a full time Army Officer who thoroughly enjoys the subject and since I accomplished the course with you I have installed two fully fledged systems in both my homes in (xxxx) and fixed other systems which originally left a lot to be desired in connectivity, quality of workmanship and the use of cheap hardware, cabling etc. I have sorted these out using hardware I have bought from you.
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you profusely for your professionalism, impartial advice and for the service you offer. I am constantly surfing the web for these products in order to educate myself further and I personally think that you have the best site ever, compiling the best put together information any would-be customer could ever wish for.
Whilst doing my course with you I learnt tremendously and would be honoured to meet you personally. Should you be in the vicinity of (xxxx) in the near future please call me and I will be honoured to arrange for a tour of (xxxx) at no expense to you or any of your family. I thank you and look forward to a reply.
May you have a brilliant long weekend. Thanks very much
Yours Aye
Danny
Dear Martin,
I'm self employed and work from home in Crewe doing electrical wiring and repairing electronic equipment - mostly TV sets. I use a large garden shed as my workshop and a 12 foot pole supports my minidish and TV aerial. Until recently I was using a Unix 52 aerial to give me a signal for testing TVs and Freeview receivers. Because we are surrounded by tall buildings the signal is terrible and analogue pictures were full of "ghosts" caused by the reflections. I added a masthead amplifier but that didn't help and I was convinced that the aerial system was as good as I could achieve.
Then I read about your Vision V10-040 log-periodic aerial and, although I was skeptical, decided to give it a go. The results are nothing short of amazing! Analogue pictures are now crystal clear and Freeview pictures no longer suffer intermittent pixelation.
Even more amazing - the best signal is obtained by pointing the aerial away from the transmitter to pick up a reflected signal from the tobacco factory!
I attach a couple of photos to show you my set up. Thanks!
Terry B.
The Vision log-periodic in place. The Unix 52 - relegated to the scrap pile! 
Regarding Customer receipt (Keep-me): SAT026300
Many thanks for your amazing PSU repair kit for Thomson HD.
I have never soldered a circuit board before and was only dimly aware of the function of capacitors.
After two hours this afternoon and one burnt finger later I am now enjoying a Sky HD receiver fully functional one more. ( It was showing no signal on everything prior to the repair)
It was daunting (I fully expected it to explode when I switched on) but well worth it.
I think it is appalling that Thomson manufacture such a crummy PSU. As we have sold a few of these HD units to clients I fully expect to be in touch again.
From Michael B
Feedback report about OK SatCure product - Ticket: TE91060
You may not recall but a while back I asked if the Global 'amp adder' could be used with a TRIAX loft box to extend the capacity... you said there was no reason why not but that the manufacturers would not confirm.
Well, it works :-)
I used one and added a T180 amp and it seems fine - although I only have one of the rooms hanging off of it until I do the final install after our extension is built... well started!
The picture quality is as good as the other sets hanging directly off of a TRIAX port and the TRIAX remote extender seems to work fine too.
Cheers
Terry P
I have bought a Skovby TV unit. It has an integrated remote link which means I can place sky box inside with door closed with a cable/transmitter placed in front of IR sensor. It states it is compatable with all 38Khz IR remote controls but. It works sometimes on my Amstrad DRX500 and not at all on AMSTRAD DRX100.
Gregor R.
Thanks for letting us know.
BTW if it doesn't have really good ventilation (open front and back or a fan) then you should not put electronic equipment inside.
Digital Installer Course Feedback
Re: Digital Installer Course feedback
From: Chris B.
Book: Useful and relevant
Course: Really good
Business: Already running one
Forum: Useful
Web site: No
Been doing this job for over 10 years now and to be honest forgot most things that you have covered.
Very worthwhile going over old ground again.
I would reccommend and have done so to others who think we know it all but forget most.
Cheers, Martin, really good.
From: Howard J.
Book: Fairly good
Course: Not worth the money
Business: Already running one
Forum:
Web site: Already got one
I have Found the course ok but nothing I havent already learnt by trawling the internet.
I found the weekend cowboys comment in one of your lessons a bit offensive as I set up my business partime while it grows a customer base. Mainly working at Weekends, Does that make me a cowboy ? As im sure many other people are going to be doing the same.
Also a comment about suck it and see when fitting an aerial. You go into far much detail when you talk about wolfbane. How can that possible tell you whats in the way at different locations, You have to make a decision when you get to the customers house and then suck it and see what transmiter brings in the most signal.
The Wolfbane site, and the associated "Megalith" terrain predictor, allow you to plan ahead. The course tells you how to make best use of the prediction information. The worst thing you can do is turn up at a customer's house and then start trying to figure out which direction the transmitter is and why you can't get a signal. By doing your research in advance, you are far less likely to waste time at the customer's house. The sites are not 100% accurate but, for most installations, they'll give you a flying start. (But I'm glad you think the course goes into "far too much detail". As usual, I have "over-delivered".)
The book which you refer to as "fairly good" was written by the foremost expert in the field and is used by the CAI as their own reference manual. Our course tells you how to buy it at half the Amazon price, so that has to be worth something.
There's nothing wrong with working at weekends. You seem to have turned my comment around, rather like someone who reads "all terrorists are Moslems" and decided that "all Moslems are terrorists" - which is patently not true!
Trawling the Internet is a tedious chore and one of the purposes of our course (what you are paying for) is that we've done that for you. If you have already spent a year trawling the Internet and gathering information, and have already bought all our eBooks (free with the course), then I fully understand why you found our course "not worth the money". However, in my opinion, your comments generally suggest that you haven't actually trawled enough.
Latest SatCure eBooks
The Sky User Guide "Missing Manual" has been updated with an additional page (5th April).
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