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If you find this information useful and want to thank me, why not buy one of my low-cost "eBooks" that you can download direct to your computer? My books can be read on-screen or printed out on paper. They are full of colour photos and illustrations. http://www.The-Cool-Book-Shop.co.uk | |||||
NewsThanks to all of you who write nice things to me and also to those who take the trouble to send me information, feedback, and remote control codes. (I've finally caught up with the updates on these!) Monthly whinge My cold cleared up but my psoriasis is getting worse. One of the bad effects of this disease (apart from looking like a leper) is psoriatic arthritis, which affects finger and toe joints. In my case it affects my elbows, too, so I'm not feeling too happy right now. Ouch! I have no faith in doctors; I see them as being in the pay of the drug companies. Each time I used to visit my doctor (now retired) he would suggest a new wonder drug that would cure my ailments. The side effects were always worse than the cure. In fact there was no cure - only side effects. He would also have some test to perform, requiring a blood sample, finger-up-the-bum or (the last time) a camera inserted in the most sensitive place (which I refused). None of the tests ever proved positive and he always looked disappointed when giving me the results. I don't have prostate cancer, brain tumour, bowel cancer, breast cancer or anything else. Just psoriasis. Anyway, since he retired, I haven't been back to the medical centre. Instead I went to a doctor of Chinese medicine who was recommended to me. I'm am now sloshing with various herbal teas that taste disgusting and cost more than petrol. Unfortunately, after a fortnight of imbibing this stuff, my symptoms are no different, but he's persuaded me to keep drinking it. (I've found it's more palatable when mixed with cocoa powder.) Time will tell but I think he saw me coming. Apologies to any doctors who may be reading this. Think of me next time the Glaxo-Kline rep. visits you. Olympics What did you think of the Olympics? I watched the opening ceremony on Freeview and, for the first time ever, I was wishing I had a High Definition TV. Oh, well. By 2012 I might be able to afford one. I have to admit that it's not high on my list of priorities right now! Channel 4 CH4 went "Free To Air" last month and this month has moved to Astra 2D in order to limit reception outside the UK. Pace Misoperation with Multiswitch Following a small number of installations that reported difficulties with later versions of Pace brand Sky set top boxes, Vision have determined that these receivers have some significant differences when compared to older Pace models or set top boxes from other manufacturers. "However, it is our belief that these STBs are compliant with the BSkyB specifications, but on very rare occasions, can cause satellite switches to provide a band of signals that were not as required for correct channel delivery. This typically shows up as a "no satellite signal" message on screen. We are pleased to confirm that all generations of Vision® V5 switches fully meet the BSkyB specifications and every switch is factory 100% tested in our European factories. As a responsible manufacturer, Vision Products are pleased to announce that they are the first manufacturer to provide a proper, permanent solution. Within 2 weeks of identifying the problem with Sky, Vision have developed an additional range of V5 switches with Pace tolerant switching (PTS) that are able to correctly deliver the appropriate band of signals from every version of every brand of BSkyB set top box on the market, including the recent Pace models. There is no need to replace existing switches that have been installed, as there are more than 1 million V5 points providing trouble-free operation in the UK. " Sky release Pace TDS850NB Sky+HD Digibox http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=874313 and the Samsung one has also been released. Somewhat Alarmed
SPS1 LNB SwitchThe Global SPS1 switch is no more and our attempts to get the "Sadoun" switch to work in its place have been unsuccessful. We managed to buy up the very last SPS1 (black) stock in the UK and these are available in our on-line "shop" today (but probably not for long so don't delay if you need one. By the time you email us to ask about prices and refunds, the black ones will be gone). If you bought an "SPS1" in the guise of a silver 5v/12v LNB switch and it doesn't work with your Sky+ Digibox, please return it for a refund, including postage and VAT, on receipt. Thomson Sky HDWe continue to receive lots of orders for power supplies and capacitors kits for this Digibox. However, due to various reasons (holidays, customer reluctance to return their faulty unit and Thomson's reluctance to sell us any PSUs) we have had increasing delays between orders and shipping. My advice, as always, is to buy the capacitor kit if you want your PSU fixed quickly. There is certain to be someone locally who can do the job for you - it's just a matter of finding him. Consequently, we are asking everyone who reads this to let me have details of anyone who is able and willing to carry out the soldering work. We will then publish contact details so that people can get their Digiboxes repaired quickly. The list of local PSU repairers is here: We understand that Thomson are currently closing their UK operation and re-locating to eastern Europe. Currently, this is making it impossible for us to get spare parts from them and I'm not optimistic about future supplies. STOCK SITUATION Friday, August 29, 2008 Unfortunately, I have to tell you that things are not looking good. We expect to have just 18 SkyHD PSUs to despatch on Tuesday. The sole reason for this is that some customers (about 50) have not returned their faulty PSUs to us. We are running out of exchange units and may shortly have to withdraw the exchange PSU altogether. As a result, we have decided to increase the deposit to £25 as an encouragement.
Freeview ProblemsMany people are reporting that performing a channel re-scan has resulted in, for example, all the channel numbers from multiplexes 1 and 2 disappearing. They now all appear as channel 000 and all in the 800s in the EPG. The technical explanation is that the "Network Information Table" (NIT) transmitted parameters have been changed and several Freeview receivers are not designed to cope with the new format - even though this format is part of the DVB-T specification. The transmission change is being "rolled out" across the country so, by the time you read this, most of the UK will be affected. We do know that many models are affected and are awaiting a firmware update. Here's a few which have been reported to us:-
Suggested fix for Sagem models: "Unplug the Unit and let it sit for a few Hours - when you turn it back on go to BBC1 and then search for new Channels. It will do this only once and things will be back to normal." (Thanks to Brian C. for this.) *Panasonic: Check what software versions you have. For the TU-CT20 you should have: DCB_A_1.19 For the TU-CT30 you should have: CT30 0.44 or CT30 0.46 (this second update was released around April 2007 and I think it fixed a few MHEG bugs. (Thanks to "Digidol" for this info.) Some models may be fixed by completely deleting all channels and then rescanning. Obviously, if your receiver is within guarantee, take it back to the shop and ask for a replacement or refund. (Don't accept an identical replacement without making sure it doesn't have the same problem!) In addition, the following receivers will be totally screwed if you run a channel update. There is and will be NO fix, so you can recycle these.:-
If your model has a problem but isn't listed here, please TELL US (in the forum) so we can update the list there. New ProductsWF100 TWIN We are now offering this (white or black) in cut lengths up to 20m. Last month I mentioned that very few customers had ordered an LED torch. Well that was a big mistake. Within minutes we'd sold out! This 45 LED one seems especially popular. We should have more stock in a few days. (The initial reliability problems have been fixed.) These are flying out of the door! They give a better signal than the standard "minidish" which, I'm told, gives more reliable reception for Sky+HD. If you've bought one and installed it, please let us have your feedback. The Vision V10-040 log-periodic aerial with 40 elements is reckoned to be suitable for use in 85% of locations in the UK, for analogue and (especially) Freeview. We've sold truck-loads and I'm asking for feedback - good or bad. Don't forget that we offer a £ tenner for an installation report (with photos) that we can publish here. If you email me, I'll tell you how you can upload your images to me. Questions- a selection from this month's emails Dear Sir/Madam, I would like to find out if it is possible to watch Greek Nova TV in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and how much that would cost. Best Regards Takis Yes and no. Please read this page:- http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/greek.htm For other languages see this page:- http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/channels.htm I wish to extend my sky + cable externally, but do not really wish to deal with the LNB. I notice that you supply extension kits that use 'f barrells' to connect the F plugs. The cable is a twin type. Can you advise me on what items I need to order? anthony Hi, Anthony. Since you haven't told me what cable you have already, I can't be specific, so please choose the most suitable from this page:- http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/page8.htm#extend Please note that the thin WF65 "shotgun" cable has a high attenuation factor so we don't recommend it for long runs unless you fit a larger dish. However, we are now offering WF100 (white or black) in cut lengths up to 20m. Having fitted the replacement Thomson SkyHD PSU, I have mild, but frustrating interference when viewing HD pictures. Live or material from Hard-disc demonstrates same interference, SD pictures are displayed correctly. The interference appears as jagged horizontal (or near horizontal) lines, 10 of these on a 42" Panel. Is it possible that this relates to the replacement PSU being the cause of the interference or being down on one of the rails, assuming that HD mode draws more power or activates other areas of the STB? Regards, Richard. Hi, Richard. We are shipping 30 - 40 PSUs per week and yours is the first report of such a problem so I doubt that the PSU is faulty. However, I will ask Sales to send you another PSU as soon as one is available. When you've fitted and tested it, please return the suspect PSU with a note of explanation. (I'm assuming that you followed our fitting instructions exactly and that you have not changed any cables or moved the Digibox closer to the screen. Plasma screens, in particular, are notorious for throwing out high levels of interference - worse during the first 15 minutes of warm-up.) Model number on label or rear panel: GDS3000 Dear Sir, I have recently aquired a Grundig GDS3000 digibox. On attaching a power supply, the box doesn't light up, but makes a (fairly quiet) clicking sound which seems to eminate from the back right of the box. I have browsed your site, and it appears that PSU faults are relatively common (inevitable?) with these units and can be fixed with the RELKIT33a, although there is a note that an extra part that may be required. As mentioned above, I am no expert but can follow instructions. Would the RELKIT33a be the best solution for me? Regards, Mike Hi, Mike. Probably. If it's "ticking" that suggests that only the capacitors are faulty. There is a possibility that the modem board could have failed but that's rare. Equipment made by: Grundig Sky I have installed your Zone 2 dish with the quad LNB and am using Grundig's Std definition FREESAT digibox. All seems to work pretty well but have a small concern about a very slight ghosting on the picture. This raises a couple of questions which I hope you can help me with.. i) LNB polarisation: DISHPOINTER.COM says I need a -13.3deg polaristion. The LNB supplied has 5 markings on its side labelled 1-5 and it was set at position 3. I have left it on this position. Should I perhaps twist it one notch to comply with -13.3 deg polarisation? At your RH1 postcode location, position 3 is correct, provided your dish is mounted correctly. However, you can "finely adjust" it for maximum Signal Quality indication if you wish. See "SKEW" towards the bottom of this page:- http://satcure.net/tech/satmeter.htm#skew ii) Dish position. I have mounted the dish near an inset corner at the back of the house - meaning that there is about 5 ft of tiled walling on left side of dish about 2-3 ft away from it. The dish alignment has to be roughly parallel with this side wall. Could it be that this side wall is reflecting signal into the dish causing the ghosting? There could be signal reflection but it could not cause "ghosting". The only analogue signal which could possibly suffer ghosting is between the Digibox and the TV set. I think what you are seeing is Video Breakthrough - assuming the TV is connected via Scart: http://satcure.net/tech/scarts2.htm#vb For more information about installing Freesat and Sky systems, read our eBook:- http://www.satcure.co.uk/installing_sky_digital.htm Best Wishes, Martin You recommend the Vision C12554 amplifier. I guess if I mount it on the aerial mast, that would require two cables down from the roof? One for each of the two TVs. Could I mount the amplifier in the loft, or would it be too far away from the aerial? That should be OK, as the sketch shows. http://satcure.net/tech/amps.htm#masthead The other question is, as the C12554 has four outputs and I would be using only two of them, do I need to fit 75ohm dummy loads to the unused outputs? No, probably not. Best Wishes, Martin Equipment made by: Pace Sky I currently feed Sky to 3 TV's via a T140 splitter / amplifier and respective TVLink eyes purchased from you. I use the power from the RF2 output for the T140. It is all working fine. I would like to add a satellite receiver to the chain and control it with TVLink Plus. The question is: do I need to get the TVLink Plus with its own power supply or would it still be OK to power it from the RF2 outlet alongside the T140 and the three eyes? Mike V. Hi, Mike. The RF2 power output from some Sky Digiboxes is more limited than others but, even if you'd divulged the model number, I couldn't have said specifically if yours will be OK. (But the BSKYB3100 model is questionable.) The answer is to try it and order the PSU if required - or order the PSU and return it for a refund if not required. It's a sensible question and I'm sorry that I can't answer it better. Tut mir wirklich sehr leidt! Hi, Prob old news, but here is a link for freeview Lite. IE:- the limited channel line up from the small relay stations see http://www.ukfree.tv/fullstory.php?storyid=1107051024 :o) Brian Happy CustomersFeedback on region 2 dishes I have recently bought 2 of these each with a quad LNB. I have installed both on a cranked RAVEN C11058 pole; also supplied by SatCure. These were purchased for the BBC / ITV freesat service and are now running 8 receivers (a combination of TV's and video recorders) BBC HD is an excellent picture via a HUMAX HD box supplying A SONY 40" LCD TV via an HDMI cable) all other receivers are standard Bush freesat boxes. Signal strength is excellent with all boxes diplaying full; 100% on both signal strength and quality. Set up was via the satfinder meter also supplied by SatCure. Incidentally, I opted for two quad-output LNBs, as opposed to an Octo, to give me redundancy in case of a failure. I am exceptionally pleased with the results. Dishes are mounted one above the other and a modified shelly clamp (17035) was used to mount one dish lower on the mast, just below one of the brackets securing the mast to the wall, to ensure that excess weight did not destabilise the mast with excess weight. Regards, Vincent, in Welshpool, Powys. (Vincent received our £10 cheque for this contribution.) Feedback - Zone 2 Mini dish You asked for some feedback : I first downloaded and read your ebook on Installing Sky and Freesat (SAT027991), then I ordered (SAT028353) Disky2 Quad, cable, fittings and meter and installed it all last week. I installed Freesat (NOT Sky, I refuse to contribute to the Murdoch empire) using a Humax Foxsat-HD box. Everything went pretty much as stated on the various tins - it was simple and straightforward. Both the signal strength and quality bars on the Foxsat seem to be permanently wrapped around the 100% mark, and the quality and stability of reception is a refreshing change in this terrestrial fringe area! Many thanks for all the info. Rick P From David L. Regarding Customer receipt (Keep-me): SAT028979 Brilliant service - thank you. Ordered the Sky HD capacitor upgrade kit after hours on Thursday, with standard delivery, and received it on Saturday morning. Fitting the replacement capacitors (this morning) was straightforward, the most difficult part being refitting the plastic outer case - oh, and inserting the viewing card the right way up! Two of the capacitors were 'blown' so I'm hoping the replacements will result in a reduction in the number of failed recordings and spontaneous re-boots I've experienced in recent months. Thanks again, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend you to other prospective customers. Regarding Customer receipt (Keep-me): SAT029144 Hi, I had to provide feedback for the EXCELLENT long lost Customer Service that I used to once enjoy from companies (many many years ago). Marks out of ten:-
I could not believe how easy it was to install LoftBox (TRIAX 333112) I am now enjoying SKY and crystal clear TV all over my house. Tip. I also purchased 100m of the WC100 coax. Well worth it and noticed a massive difference in picture quality. I could not get the Remote Extender to work (no green power light). Replaced the Coax and hey presto - all working. Many Thanks SatCure. I will be spreading the news about www.satcure.co.uk Please pass on my thanks to your whole team, the PSU kit for my Sky HD set has fixed my problem !!!. For some time I was getting some channels breaking up with others viewable at times, I have spent a lot of time changing the dish, re-laying cable and trying new LNBs (well it did look like a signal strength problem !!). I have spent a lot of money as well, it wasn't until I'd exhausted this that I went looking for a Box problem and that's when I stumbled upon your good selves. I did the soldering yesterday and immediately all my channels work. I must admit I'm very disappointed with Sky who made no effort to tell me about a known fault with their equipment, as you guys have undoubtedly had much correspondence with other members of the public I just wondered if you knew what Sky say about this. Anyway, thanks again. Gordon. I imagine that Sky, like any other big company, will do the minimum necessary to fulfil their contract to you. But can you see my tears? In truth, I've discussed power supply failures with Amstrad and Pace, in the past, and offered advice. Amstrad's senior technical expert denied there was a problem. Pace appear to have listened. I have no contact with Thomson or BskyB. However, I have read that BskyB is extremely worried about PSU failure and is insisting that manufacturers improve their designs (or choice of components). But, of course, it's all price-driven. Customers demand the cheapest possible products and that's what they get. Regarding Customer receipt (Keep-me): SAT028647 Great service, Next day delivery to Fraserburgh Scotland at a excellent price (I have been quoted £26.50 before for two screws with 28 day delivery). Your website is one of the best around, the amount of free advice you give is first rate. I will certainly buy from you again. Many thanks to you all, Dave Just to say thanks! Dear Sir, First let me say, I've purchased bits and pieces from you in the past and I have been very please with the quality of the purchase and in particular the service, not to mention the knowledge that the products are procured by you in a legal manner - unlike much of the cheap satellite equipment you can buy on eBay. I've found your website very helpful on many occasions and I'd like to compliment you on your monthly newsletters/reviews. Your writing style and good humour is both educational and entertaining. No doubt you will see this as adequate reason to ask me to buy something from your website - fair point. As for the reason why people are not buying your LED torches, here's a few possible reasons: 1) They already bought one 2) They don't need one 3) There isn't much 'dark' where they live. Perhaps you have more than your fair share of 'dark' and so find the device more useful Of course there are many other potential reasons why your holiday home in Crete will not be procured on the profits of LED torches alone. To rectify this problem, I would ask you to consider selling OLED Torches with built in dual FreeView tuners, the ability to record HD programs and project them unto a suitable surface to produce a 14 feet wide screen image - then I'm interested. That said, i'm sure your LED torch is good as well. Thanks for the website good sir, it's much appreciated. Kind regards Stephen (I include these because I want you to see that we are honest but not perfect.) From Gary Regarding Customer receipt (Keep-me): SAT028374 I have read all your notes VERY carefully and almost all point to the customer being in the wrong. I placed my order, as you can see from the customer receipt no. and you responded with an email detailing full address information. Despite this the package was sent to my old address. I think it might be useful to stop blaming the customers for everything and have a 'button' above whereby your business can take some responsibilty. Thankfully the package was delivered to my new address (as I had entered it) by our local postal service. Other than that I am more than happy with the service but I do find the sarcasm towards (your) customers a little rude. Hi, Gary. I'll check with Sales but what probably happened is that your old address was still on the computer system from your previous order of 5 July 2003 and it was picked up by mistake. That has happened only once previously, to my knowledge, and it was when a customer had moved a few doors down the street. The postcode was identical (we work on postcode and the person's name, which is usually a unique combination) and, in the rush to get the order out, nobody realised that the house number didn't match the one on the order. Human error is difficult to eradicate in such a situation. I'm really not sure what to do about it. We have to keep names and addresses on the computer for warranty purposes and they remain there until/unless the customer asks for them to be removed. Generally this is a good thing because it speeds up order processing and helps us to spot errors when people mistype their email address or whatever. In this case it obviously worked against us. If you'd care to be more specific about "the sarcasm" I'll try to put it right. I'm generally brilliant at imparting technical information in writing but not so brilliant in explaining more mundane matters politely. If you are referring to a specific automatic reply, please copy me the offending sentence(s). The replies really are intended to help in the most common circumstances and most customer "problems" do result from the fact that the customer failed to read the information provided. However, I don't deny that we do make mistakes and that some customers, like yourself, do read everything carefully! Best Wishes, Martin On 27 Aug 2008, at 7:58, jagcat98@xxxxx.com wrote: I was interested in purchasing the supermount 1224EL which was found on this page... http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/1224.htm Then scratched my head over "this [section] is for Satcure customers ONLY" - ummm if I could purchase one I would then be a customer would I not? Hello, jagcat98. The technical information section is indeed intended for the benefit of our customers. As it states, we do ask people to buy something if they use our information. But it's up to the individual's conscience. If we go out of business then the information pages will go too. The adapter plate can be ordered from our "Motorised dish bits" on-line shop page. To reach it you have to click on the "Shop" tab, then "Satellite TV index" then "Motorised dish bits". Our site is a bit large at 300+ pages but we've tried to make the navigation as logical as possible. Quickly I closed your site and found one on HM-Sat located in Germany at what one can only describe as a song compared to trasure island prices. Ordered on Monday delivered Wednesday morning. Now I wonder why your company can't do that? We've been in business on the Internet for 13 years. We used to offer "next day delivery but, unfortunately, carrier companies let us down too often to guarantee that so we now offer "2 wkg day" delivery (which usually means next working day - but we aren't making any rash promises!) You'll find this explained in our FAQ section. It can often be cheaper to buy from Europe because of the exchange rate, although shipping can make some things effectively dearer and slower and sometimes there's a language problem. You might also have problems getting technical help or exchanges if things go wrong. It really depends on the company and I advise anyone planning to do this to go on personal recommendation from someone who has placed several orders with the same company. There is also the question of "buying British" but, again, it's up to the individual's conscience. I hope this answers your questions. I confess that I had to "bite my tongue" with this one! I'm still not certain what he was complaining about. Could he not find the item in our shop? (Our search facility usually works really well.) Or was he simply gloating because he'd stolen our information then ordered the part from elsewhere? Hmm. Latest SatCure eBooks None (OK, I really ought to get around to writing another!)
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The SatCure Satellite Review is written for the customers and subscribers of the following websites:
http://www.satcure.com
http://www.satcure.co.uk
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