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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
HAPPY NEW YEAR (almost) - I thought I'd better catch you while you are still sober. SatCure is still officially closed until January 5th. But, as far as I know, Nicola and Sophie are actually sneaking in to the office every other day to make up and dispatch orders. I can't check because they've left the answerphone on. So I apologise for the uncertainty. If you place an order it will get through and it will get posted eventually. Of course, *I* am still working. No holiday for me! Freeview has launched an online TV guide on its website, allowing people to plan ahead for a fortnight in their viewing and receive email reminders about their favourite shows:- Good news (for us)! The value of the pound has dropped so low that we are now receiving a lot more orders from Europe and Ireland. It's an ill wind ... as they say. Old fashioned DAB to stay - UK Thinks different http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/29/grant_goddard_drwg_analysis/ Is it possible for you to change the spelling -- on your web page from ---- winge ---- to --- whinge ?? My dictionary [WordWeb ] does not recognise winge -- but insists it is correct only to use whinge . I am aware that Martin is a bit of a stickler when it comes to correcting the spelling of other folks errors --- ariel / arial etc. --- and I am certain that he will really appreciate this whinge about this little error . By the way WordWeb is a really great free dictionary with a huge Vocabulary -- well worth installing and recommending -- best of luck René Well, that's me told! I do so much whingeing that I really ought to know how to spell the word. Each month I type "whinge" then think "that doesn't look right" and 'correct' it. In my defence, I type the newsletter in an ancient page creator which doesn't support the Mac spell checker that runs automatically in all other software applications. But, as my Japanese mentor used to say: "Martin-san, an excuse is still an excuse. Onegaishimasu!"* * (Pronounced "on-a-guy-she-mass") - A lovely Japanese word which means "stop messing about and just get on with it!" Anyway, I have corrected all the offending pages - but you may need to "reload" them to see the changes. Pet Hates Each day, if it's not raining heavily, I go for a two mile walk. Well, I need the exercise. I listen to "Harry Potter" audiobooks on my iPod. (I'm not ashamed to admit it and, anyway, I've finished my "Famous Five" stories by Enid Blighton.) A dog-owning neighbour stopped me one day and said: "I don't understand how you can walk all that way without a dog. I'd find it really embarrassing to walk by myself!" On my way back I noticed him taking out a polythene bag and bending down to pick up a steaming turd that his labrador had just dumped. Urgh! On a more serious note, I also hate people who steal. We have actually found people selling our eBooks on eBay. They don't last long, of course. Our loyal customers tell us straight away and we email our complaint to eBay under their "VERO" scheme. The thief then goes away. And have you noticed how many people steal ideas? You find a winning product to sell on eBay and, within a month, someone else is selling the same thing at below cost price. They don't last long, of course, but long enough to kill your sales. Then there's the ones who actually copy your product ideas and sell cheaper versions. For example, Michael Dranfield ("Digifix") and I spent several weeks developing a capacitor kit to repair and upgrade the Thomson HD power supply unit. We consulted customers and chose capacitors that we have used successfully for several years. (You'll have read the story on our Forum.) We know the capacitors last at least three years in similar equipment so we can safely give a three year guarantee without disappointing anyone. And along comes "Joe" who can buy cheaper capacitors from China (so can we - but we don't). On paper, these capacitors have a higher rating than ours. But nobody has tested them in reality. You know what's coming next, don't you? He sells his kits so cheaply that our orders quickly dwindle to zero. In a year's time, all the PSUs fitted with the cheaper capacitors start to fail. But we've given up trying to sell our kit and "Joe" conveniently can't be found. So the poor customer ends up with a dead Digibox that can't be repaired. All I can say is that our kits use the best parts we can find. We don't skimp on quality. Beware imitations. Read Michael's comments:- http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=29751407&postcount=23 Whenever Google finds the word "SatCure" on a web site, it sends me an email. This month it directed me to I have not made the link "clickable" because I have no wish to link to such a crap web site! The text looks as if it has been "borrowed" from a foreign web site and translated (badly)! Would you like an 8 GB memory stick for free? OK, I'm asking for submissions to the newsletter. You can write about anything relevant to Freeview or Satellite TV, as short or lengthy as you like. If it's a review of equipment that you use or installed then a photo or two might enhance it. Your submission must be original and not published elsewhere. It must be your own work - I don't want problems with copyright! And it must be about something that SatCure sells - even if you didn't actually buy it from us! Alternatively, it can be about something that we don't sell and are never likely to sell. If you are not sure that an article will be relevant or acceptable, please email me first. I'll publish suitable submissions in the next newsletter then ask for people to vote for the one they like most. The submission with the most votes will receive an 8GB USB "flash drive" memory stick. (A genuine one - not one of those Hong Kong rip-offs from eBay!) The new Humax FOXSAT-HDR PVR for BBC has had limited availability in Argos and John Lewis. We managed to obtain a few in time to deliver for Christmas. Apologies to those who had to wait! Need an Ethernet cable? Ours aren't the cheapest but we easily beat the likes of Dixons! See http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/page21.htm - a selection from this month's emails Equipment made by: Global Model number on label or rear panel: LoftBox What I want to know (plus any other relevant information): Just lost all analogue signals around house. Satellite signals on the down link appear to be OK. External PSU on LoftBox is producing 12V, but power light on LoftBox is flashing about once per 2 seconds. Is this normal behaviour and I should look to a wiring problem, is it the loftbox or is it likely that the PSU is faulty? LoftBox feels totally cold. Checked the obvious - e.g. cable connections. Thanks Nick J. Hi, Nick. Please disconnect all cables from the Loft Box (except power) and see if the power light continues to flash. If it doesn't then reconnect cables one by one to determine the culprit. Martin, Just a quick note to say thanks for the pointer re flashing power light on LoftBox - it was the downlead from the VHF aerial. Replaced the cable and all OK now. Great service! Happy New Year Nick Excellent, well done, Nick. Never come across it previously but the symptom will be added to our "knowledge base"! I currently use sky and sky plus with the global combiner purchased through sat cure. Both boxes are located in the same cupboard and the combined signal sent to the loft box also bought from sat cure. My question is This weekend I will be upgrading my sky box to sky HD, will I need a different combiner or magic eyes (TV link) to be able to change channels from televisions. Sunil. -- Hi, Sunil. The SkyHD Digibox responds to the Sky+ remote so, if you want to connect SkyHD and Sky+ to a combiner, you must use the new SPC4 version: http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/page3.htm#suplus Thanks Ken Hi, Ken. We select our 'F' plugs to fit our high quality cables. Unfortunately, we don't stock PF100. If it's a solid (foam) dielectric then our WF1FPLUG may be suitable. http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/page7.htm#fconn If it's an air-spaced dielectric then the H109FPLUG may be better. They live in detached houses with aprox 3m gap from each and the dish faces my neighbour's bedroom wall. I cannot hear the noise as it is too low for me but other people can. The question is in your opinion can an LNB make such a noise that it can be heard through a brick wall? If you could help it would be very much appreciated. Kind regards Andy Hi, Andy. No, an LNB does not contain anything that can make a noise. It is, in any case, fed with a DC voltage. Whatever your neighbour is hearing, it's not coming from the LNB. There's probably a simple explanation for the sound that your friend can hear. It's likely to be something electrical that's vibrating at the mains frequency of 50 Hz. Anything lower than that would usually be caused by a fan - perhaps a ventilation or air-conditioning system. I've also known rain gutters and drainpipes to make a low-frequency buzzing sound in wind. Frankly, if your friend can hear the sound in her house then the source is likely to be inside her house or an adjoining one. Your friend could ask the council to investigate. All councils have a noise investigation team. Thanks & Merry Christmas Andy I don't think so, Andy. What focussing system does the Wistron LNB use? Bear in mind that you must look at the metal casting and not the outer plastic shell. See http://www.satcure.net/tech/lnb.htm#SX1019 I'm sorry if this is not a direct question about Satcure, but it relates to your 'electronics magazines for disposal', as advertised in the December 17 Review. You state that you are scanning your copies and 35mm slides etc. My question is what storage media have you chosen, and how do you intend to safely archive the data? I have a similar project involving archived audio tapes (reel to reel) and am trying to collect as much information on a reasonably safe method of ensuring the data doesn't 'evaporate' within a few Years! To date I've had firm advice not to rely on CDR, but what else? Ray Hi, Ray. I'm archiving several copies on external Hard Drives and on DVD discs. Nothing can be relied upon so the more copies you make, the better. I'm hoping that technological advances will provide a better answer eventually. Do I need to get a masthead amplifier or an amplified splitter box - I need the signal to go to 3 (possibly 4 soon) tvs in the house (one to a media centre pc). I have a seperate sky set up (which is completely fine and I don't have any plans to add this into the setup around the house as it's a basic package so no need for remote senders etc). I'd really like to make sure I have cabled the f plugs properly (I have watched your coaxial video) and get the best possible picture. I am sure I am not getting it right somewhere. Really appreciate the wealth of info on your site and I will read the eBook in detail if I purchase a product which it comes with (such as a loft box etc). Thanks in advance for your help. ALso, thanks for now showing me the correct spelling for aerial - I always get it wrong! Brian. Hi, Brian. The Wolfbane predictor indicates that you should get perfect reception from Black Hill transmitter if you use a log-periodic aerial positioned above the roof:- http://www.wolfbane.com/cgi-bin/tvd.exe?DX=L&HT=10&OS=eh47 Your problem may be a weak signal caused by the roof and by the splitter, or you may have too strong a signal! As you don't mention the signal indication, I can't guess. I recommend that you connect a Freeview TV direct to the aerial with the shortest possible run of cable and see what you get. If the signal is really strong (more than 70%) then a splitter may suffice. If it isn't strong, you'll need a low-noise masthead amplifier with 4 outputs. And, if that doesn't work, I'd suggest mounting a log-periodic aerial outdoors and doing the job properly. See http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/best_aerial.htm and http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/amps.htm#masthead Ian W. Hi, Ian. One dish should be fine. See http://www.satcure.com/tech/page10.htm I want to be able to receive and control Sky+ and Freesat simultaneously. In case you are wondering, this is to enable guests (grandchildren etc.) to watch their programmes on one system whilst leaving the other available for grown-ups! Is it simply a matter of connecting a Humax PVR to the spare LNB ports on the existing Sky+ dish - or am I missing something? Regards, David T. Yes, but see http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/page10.htm By the way, if you want to get good Freeview recption from Stockland Hill transmitter, you need a high-gain "Group A" aerial. If your Televes aerial was a so-called "wideband" type, that would explain your problem. I have 1 TV aerial (Unix 52 Group A), with a spliiter to 3 downleads to TVs. The Freeview signal is rather weak (pre switch-over), so I'd like to put in masthead amplification and also add the possibility of FM outputs. My question is what combination of masthead amplifier and combiner/splitter you think would be best? I was thinking of the Vision V20-2127 followed by a V24-140, and UHF/VHF splitters at the outputs. Would that be a reasonable setup? If so, would you be able to supply these items, and at what price, please? Many thanks for any help, Richard P. Hi, Richard. Since there's a hill between your house and the transmitter, aerial height is critical. You need the aerial at a minimum of 10 metres and preferably 15 to 20m. See http://www.wolfbane.com/cgi-bin/tvd.exe?DX=L&HT=10&OS=HA6 Click on the yellow "OS grid ref." link to see the terrain map. As you know, an amplifier will amplify what's there. A weak, noisy signal will become a stronger, very noisy signal. That won't necessarily help. However, we supply low-noise variable-gain masthead amps with 4 outputs if you want to risk it:- http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/page11c.htm#wolsey I suggest you read all the relevant notes in our technical section: "51. Freeview Terrestrial problem ?" (Loft aerials) Robert H. Hi, Robert. Threaded F barrels use a single, standard thread size. All you have to ensure is that you use the correct F plugs to match the respective cables. Best Wishes, Martin Regarding Customer receipt (Keep-me): SAT 031673 Martin good morning. Just a quick note to say that I think you are possibly the most efficient internet supplier I have ever dealt with. Think you should look at your postage costs though as it cost you far more in postage than you charged me. I think I did click on the icon that said I would wait for one shipment; if not, my apologies. Your cable is exactly as it says and much better quality than that used by the installer that put in my dish originally. I am seeing a better signal than before. Think the site is great, full of useful information and tips. Best wishes for Christmas and 2009 to you and all your staff. Lets hope for a more peacefull and settled year than 2008. Until the next time. John. ps. Your replies arrive at my AOL address without problem. Perhaps it is just AOL in some countries? Thanks, John, You might be surprised to know that many people post messages in discussion forums in which they berate us for our "high delivery charges". Unfortunately, we handle only around 50 orders per day, whilst companies such as "Screwfix" probably handle 1000 per day. That gives them much better negotiating power to get a discount on carriage. However, they tend not to give such good personal service or to provide technical help when things don't work. And please don't mention AOL! The problem is that it's so unpredictable. Some days all messages get through and other days hardly any. It only takes one AOL user to mark our message as "spam". The problem is that AOL is mostly used by beginners so AOL policy is to protect these people from themselves. This means that, with standard settings, half their incoming mail gets trashed. For more information see: You'll notice that AOL makes it all our fault and the onus is on us to get our domains "whitelisted" week after week. I don't have time to do that so I take the easy option. You can order from us, using an AOL address, but we ask you to ensure that you are receiving our replies, first. Just a note to say thanks for your informative SatCure reviews. Best regards, Mick. Latest SatCure eBook updates Sky User Guide "Missing Manual" updated 25-12-2008. 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. 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? Looking for a TV or VCR remote control? Look no further. only £18.80 inclusive from SatCure! Your advert could be here! Contact us for details. Electronic kits and gadgets. Start a new hobby! Ideal Christmas Presents. News
http://www.freeview.co.uk/freeview/TV-Guide
Monthly Whinge
Yes, really. At least he had the grace to look embarrassed!
Spotted this month
http://www.eshop600.co.uk/blog/what-is-sky-satellite-television/Special Offer
New Products
At the time of writing, we still have two left! Sold out again!Questions
Keep-me : SAT007816
Hi Please Advise which of your threaded F plugs to order for PF100 Coax.
Hi, a friend passed me your link as you have helped him in the past. A neighbour and friend is adamant that her next door neighbour's Sky plus LNB makes a very low buzz during the night keeping her awake, she has asked the neighbour to switch their receiver off during the night which he has agreed to but will not switch it of at the mains as he has been told not to.
I have ordered a quad LNB from you to upgrade a Sky minidish. My order has just arrived and I was a little surprised by the LNB (a Wistron NeWeb Corp Universal Quad LNB model FF8). It does not seem to have the oval shaped scalar that your web site suggests that it should have in order to focus correctly on the oval dish (refer to the section headed "Sky "Minidish" upgrades" on page http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/page10.htm). Did I order the wrong LNB?
Hi Martin
I am looking to but some products to help me from your site - I have weak/poor signal coming up on the tvs on certain channels and occasionally struggle to get many channels. Installed a hi-gain Yagi style aerial outside (ensuring it is in the correct direction as I can see from all other aerials). I have run high quality screened satellite style cable on F connectors into the loft and then split the signal (small passive labgear splitter box) - I have removed all the wall plates and run the cables through the plate in each room directly to a coaxial plug into the tv (pointlessly now I realise into a signal booster at each tv set).
Hi. I am an existing Sky + subscriber with a Sky fitted dish. They have fitted one of their LNBs with 8 outputs. Thus I have 6 spare outputs. I am looking to buy a new HUMAX Foxsat PVR which will obviously need two cables feeding it. I am looking for additional cable to purchase from you. However before I do I hear that it may not be as simple as merely taking the Freesat feed from the same LND as feeds the Sky+ box as there may be a conflict. Is this true? Will I need a separate LNB if necessary on a separate dish?
Currently I receive terrestial TV from an infill transmitter and Sky+ from a standard Sky dish with 4 port LNB (although only 2 ports are used). In spite of a decent Televes antenna and RG6 cabling, the received terrestial signal is poor and I intend to ditch it in favour of the new Freesat service and appropriate Humax PVR.
Hi Satcure,
"56. Split aerial cable Will an amplifier help?"
"11. How to fit 'F' Connectors to coaxial cable"
"61. How to Fit an IEC TV plug to cable"
I assume that the threaded F barrels for WF100 cable are different to those for WF65 cable. Is there a special F barrel for connecting a short length of WF65 to a long length of WF100 ?
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Hi Martin,
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