| Hi Folks! It's a rainy Saturday morning as I finish off this review. I hope it helps to brighten your day! What do you think of my audio clips around the web site? There's a welcome message on the home page, two more audio clips linked from the FAQ index page and a very brief one just above and to the right of this text. See my Ebay auctions: Cooling fans Extra LNB bracket Universal LNB
Breakup on certain channels on motorised dish. Equipment made by: GB SAT/Strong Model number: 2CI O/4155 My observations: I see the channel I want, but it freezes periodically for a second or so and then rectifies itself. I hear a "click" type noise as it freezes when using the GB SAT receiver. The fault history: My dish is really exposed and since some particularly bad winds it hasn't been the same. I have had the installation engineer out to look and he says it is aligned correctly etc and could find no faults. The engineer said it could not be the LNB, but I am unsure. If not, what else could it be? I have used another FTA receiver box I have made by Strong (4155) and instead of freezing it shows a multicoloured pattern on certain shots, but no freeze. Other channels are ok, but the channel I watch most has this interference. It is unwatchable now. I want to call the engineer back, but I don't know what I should be focusing on. Thank you for any help you can give me. Best wishes Michael This sort of problem is really difficult to diagnose without being there. This is what I would look for: 1. Cable faults. Any kink or water in the cable can block certain channels without affecting others. I wouldn't even bother looking. I would simply run a new length of cable along the ground as a temporary replacement. 2. Distorted dish. If it's not a perfect parabola, it can pick up signals from other satellites and reflect them into the LNB, interfering with channels on the same frequency. 3. Faulty LNB. Maybe water ingress, bad connection or old age. Again, the only way to test it is by replacement. 4. Local interference - read my Technical section. http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/interf.htm 5. Static discharge from the dish. I covered this somewhere on my sites! Drop a thin grounding wire from the dish metalwork to any suitable ground point. A copper rod bashed into soil will do. Note that this gets rid of STATIC ELECTRICITY; it does nothing for lightning! Number 1 is my favourite because this could easily affect different receivers in different ways, due to slight differences in the tuner input impedance and VSWR. Let me know how you get on. SKY+ phone connection Through my own stupidity I signed up for the extra digi box (we have sky+) without realising I need to connect both boxes to the phone line. Is the connection only needed for authorising the card (so long as we don't order any PPV shows) or can they (SKY) check at any time. They told me I will have to pay full whack for both boxes if they are not both connected and they will not authorise our new card until the second box is connected. Obviously trying to avoid the "wires all over the house" problem. Sorry for such a dumb ass question !! Karl You have presumably signed a contract agreeing to keep both boxes connected to the same phone line in return for a huge discount. This is so that you have the opportunity to "impulse buy" PPV movies and other items and so the Sky computer can tell both boxes to "phone home" each month to ensure that you haven't loaned (lent?) one to a friend. You'll be paying the cheap "mirror subscription" for the second card. In theory, the boxes need to be connected to the phone line only while Sky is checking. Unfortunately, you have no way of knowing when this will be (but it's usually at night). My suggestion is to plug them in every night. If you receive the warning letter from Sky, you can either pay the difference or plug them in permanently. Our Wireless phone extension might be the answer, but it's not cheap. (top)
Sky Plus and cooling fans I have seen the cabinet cooling fans (pair) that you sell, along with the power supply and should be placing an order when my cabinet arrives. I see that it includes instructions for wiring which is great. I am going to install them in the back cover of a TV cabinet that has glass doors at the front (to protect my gear from ankle biters!) - my Sky+ is my main concern as I don't want to cook it. However I would like some advice on whether I should mount the fans to suck warm air out and let fresh air come in around the gaps in the front doors, or alternatively to bring fresh air in via the fans but my gut reaction is that this will just circulate warm air? I would also like some advice on having these fans running permanently - I never turn off my Sky+ and other equipment so is there a decent lifespan on the fans on a 24/7 basis? Thank for your assistance Steve The fans are very cheap and we've had a few fail within the 12 month guarantee. We simply replace these without question. I use them myself and if they get dusty or distorted they can squeak. But I've had a couple running for about 5 years now without any problems. If you connect a resistor (supplied) it will slow the fans and increase the life, while making them quieter. Of course if you want really good reliability you can pay upwards of £20 each for fans with proper ball bearings. My preference is to suck warm air out. But if you want to improvise some sort of dust filter, you'll have to suck cold air in. I haven't found dust to be a big problem but that's probably because it doesn't get disturbed much in our house! I've found that the cleanest houses have the filthiest Digiboxes, presumably because the vacuum cleaner is tossing up the dust on a daily basis. The SKY+ box has its own internal fan which, I think, is thermostatically controlled. We stock spare fans for this.
Sky remote not working I have discovered that another reason for digibox not responding to an ordinary remote is if the remote has been configured for sky+ using select+blue then 2. The normal 999 reset does not switch the remote back from sky+ to normal digibox. You have to use the select+blue then 0 method also described on your code pages. It took me a while to find this out so you might like to include it on your info page at: http://www.your-book.co.uk/remote.htm Thanks for very useful site. Alistair Farquharson Thanks, Alistair. I've included your note on our Digibox remote page. (top)
Idiot of the Week Ripped off I have ordered your guide to digital sat tv. I am unable to open the downloaded file, all the help pages come up with the message, page unavailable. I regret ever being involved with this scam. This is the first and last time I will ever order a book like this! If I had ordered a book from amazon, at least I would have received it! Tolly pissed off customer r.b. It seems that not a week goes by without somebody sending a message like this about a problem. Actually, the guy probably isn't an idiot but he's not doing himself any favours. He hasn't given the Order number, the eBook title, his address or the date on which he paid. In addition, the email address that he gave was either not working or false because my carefully crafted reply simply bounced back. This message resulted in my wasting over an hour of my time in typing a reply, testing ALL of our web sites (he didn't say which "help pages" he was referring to or on which site). Also I tested the shopping cart, made sure the files were downloading and could be opened with Acrobat Reader. I couldn't find any fault. So, whatever the problem was, it was either a temporary server fault (in which case try .net or .com instead of .co.uk), a "pipeline fault" at his end or a user problem. r.b., if you are reading this, we did NOT charge your credit card. I can assure you that we don't have any "scam" agenda and we never knowingly "rip" people off. Anyone new to Internet purchasing should go to one of our web sites and read the FAQ pages carefully. (top)
Your Postal Address While I'm in the mood for ranting, I was prompted to write the following by the recent "revelation" that Royal Mail loses or misdelivers millions of letters each year. I wonder how many of you don't know the correct method to type an address? I'm constantly amazed by the number of people who type in lower case, without checking the spelling and without using the SHIFT key. Even more amazing is the fact that some people clearly have it programmed like this in their "Autofill" menu. john mervin
53 alborne avenue
moss side
manhcester
m196gh Below is how Royal Mail want you to type it: John Mervin
53 Alborne Avenue
Moss Side
MANCHESTER
M19 6GH Commas are optional. They don't add anything to the information but, in the 20th century, many people were taught to put a comma at the end of each line - so please yourself. But note the important differences. Names and place names are capitalized. The postcode is fully capitalized with the space where it belongs. The main postal town/city is fully capitalized. The object of the exercise is to make it as easy as possible for postal workers to spot the destination. This doesn't guarantee delivery - but it helps! Notes: If you type it all in lower case, as in the first example, then our Shopping Cart will attempt to correct it. Sometimes this screws it up so it's better if you get it right to start with. Don't rely on our girls to guess what it's supposed to be. They just copy whatever you type! When you address an envelope, you should begin to print the address HALF WAY DOWN the front of the envelope. This method ensures that the stamp cancellation mark (franking) does not obscure the top line of the address. [Yes, despite my impeccable English, (grin) I do use Americanized words like "capitalized" and "catalog" where the meaning is clear. A few people have expressed surprise at this. Well, I speak several languages and sometimes there are quicker/better ways to type a word than the English way.] (top)
The way forward for FTV to go FTA? The following is a post which David Sullivan made in the digitalspy forums (reproduced here with permission). In autumn, ITV's encryption contract with Sky is due to expire and the question then is, will ITV go in the clear? Indeed why don't all the terrestrials follow the BBC's lead and go clear? Well, there are a number of reasons for them to stay encrypted, not least because of the issue of regional advertising. ITV1 in particular, and Channel 4 and Five to a lesser extent, is heavily regionalised in its advertising content. The BBC isn't troubled to the same extent by regionalisation, although it's still irritating for viewers outside London to be stuck with London local news if they don't have a viewing card. But for the commercial stations where advertising revenue is their very lifeblood, it's a different matter. Local advertisers in the regions aren't going to pay for TV adverts if a large proportion of their potential audience don't have viewing cards and can only receive Carlton. So unless the backroom boys can come up with an alternative to the current viewing card option, ITV et al will be left with only 2 options - stay as they are or fund their own Solus card scheme. One thing was obvious when the BBC went clear last year - its technicians had been working away for quite some time at the problem. Contrary to a number of posts on this forum, it hadn't "not thought things through". On the contrary, the BBC knew in great detail what it wanted and how to achieve it. I'm sure ITV will similarly have been investigating its own options in great detail in the last few months, and therefore our discussions are perhaps futile. Nevertheless, it would be interesting for people to air their views. Would it be possible for example for ITV/C4/Five to discuss with Sky the creation of a menu that would allow non-subscribers to choose their own region? This would remove at a stroke the need for a FTV card; on the other hand, it would be a mechanism aimed at Sky losing its encryption revenue and Sky might view any cooperation on its part as a case of turkeys voting for an early Christmas. The other barrier to going in the clear is that C4 and Five particularly rely heavily on American imports, and might be worried that their supplies will dry up. It's not enough to suggest that if all the current FTV broadcasters go clear together, they'll be able to present a united front to the Americans. For one thing, their encryption contracts with Sky end at different times and Sky would be quite entitled to insist on encryption remaining in place until the end of those contracts. Basically it seems to me that a Solus card scheme is the only way forward and it's equally clear that the broadcasters don't want to pay for one. It's also clear from the number of people trying for cards on eBay that when there was such a scheme, the Free2view scheme, the vast majority of newcomers to satellite knew nothing about it. For the Government to fund a scheme out of the TV Licence Fee would require legislation because as the law stands at present, the BBC is entitled to the whole of it. The whole situation is a shambles. Any views? Dave Sullivan http://www.SatelliteForCaravans.co.uk or
http://www.SatelliteForCaravans.info
Pace and Grundig switch off As reported previously, older Pace and Grundig models STILL have an issue with firmware versions 3.1a.5 through 3.2.11 which causes them to "drop to standby" several times during the day, often losing all settings. Curiously, they don't appear to do this at weekends. The unofficial word is that Sky will be releasing a fix "very soon". Please don't email me to ask "when will this be fixed?" As soon as I hear anything, I'll announce it in the discussion forum and in the newsletter. (top)
Happy Customers Janet, Thanks for your enquiry regarding my recent order. Despite a few issues with the couriers I have now received my order. One issue I would like to raise with you that may help with future orders: The order was despatched in two packages (a bracket and 3xmounting poles): Whilst the parcel was labelled correctly the poles had lost any labelling that may have been attached. I had to wait 20 minutes at the couriers depot whilst they searched for the poles. It was only that they were a distinctive item that they were found (i.e. not a parcel). Please ensure more secure labelling is applied in future. Thank you Richard (We checked back and Nicola had labelled the poles by putting the paperwork with delivery address inside "Documents Enclosed" windows, which are VERY sticky, then binding these to the poles with tape. Somehow City Link had managed to lose them! I confess that poles are very awkward to send and we DO have problems occasionally.)
In reply to your email about the service I received !!!!! It was first class, no complaints at all, it was very professional with emails keeping me informed of the progress of my order. I will be recommending you to anyone who has a satellite problem. Thanks again Owen
Janet, You're right. You've got it covered all ends up! I've never come across service as good as this before. If there's any more bits I need in this dept in future, rest assured I know where to go now. Thanks and kind regards. Steve
Janet, It was nice of you to write back to me and ask for any problems with the delivery or the contents. Thank you for that. I have received the delivery of my order last Saturday. All the contents was okay. One zener diode was missing or dropped out of the kit, but does not matter I found one locally and replaced it. Thank you for the prompt delivery. The service is good and I am pleased with it. I can recommend it to anyone. regards. Ismail
Hi Just a note of thanks for replacing the unit damaged in transit with no fuss. Exemplary service, I will not hesitate to recommend your services to friends and family and any body in the forums I frequent. Thanks again Regards Dave
Hi Janet, Thanks for your email. Yes, the item I ordered (replacement Panasonic RF2 Output Connector) arrived a day after you confirmed the order. I stuck it in the back of my digibox, and "Bingo", it's working again! We only use the digibox as a Freeview type box, as we also have NTL Digital rubbish!) but when the NTL contract finished I will go back to Sky as we can now have it in two rooms. Thanks for your concern! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend your firm to anyone who has satellite problems (except maybe NASA!!) Regards, Stephen
Hi, With reference to my order above, I am more than happy with delivery and quality of the items. I would have no hesitation in recommending your site. There was a delay because of delivery of the sat pole at your end, but what I found excellent was that you informed straight away. The delay was only 2 days anyway! Once again Thanks Phil
>I tried to place an order tonight but could not get through the whole
>process. It stalled at the payment page
>
>Peter Peter, I've tested it and it's working fine. :-) You may have experienced a temporary server problem (very rare) or you may have a problem with your local "pipeline" connection. Unfortunately your description "stalled at the payment page" really doesn't tell me anything so I can't help further. I need to know the error message, payment type and any other relevant details. Best Wishes, Martin >Hi
>
>Managed a successful order number
2766805. I use a satellite download
>connection which your SSL payment system
didn't like. I removed my Sat
>link and the order processed OK
>
>Thanks
>
>Peter Ah, that would explain it. Most secure servers are not keen on double connection systems.
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From Radio Bullet ( http://radio.mediabullet.co.uk ): From Sky Digi Online ( http://skydigital.mediabullet.co.uk ):
eBook Updates - Download catalogue updated April 24
- Freeview Bible updated May 1st
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