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Which plugs Wire my house X-Ray Remote 304114 wall plate FAQs BLOG Contact Us		Although this text refers specifically to "Sky", much of it applies to ALL satellite TV reception faults.   My Sky Digibox says 'No Signal' or 'Technical fault'! or anything like Error Code 29 no satellite signal. Intermittent or permanent "pixellation", "blocking/blockyness" (coloured squares on picture) or "no signal". Please read ALL of this page then carry out tests (by substitution or realignment) to eliminate each possibility. You can't simply guess the cause. You must locate the cause by a process of elimination. No Sky Signal? No Freesat signal? Poor signal? Connections The most common cause of signal problems is the connection to the LNB. Don't even bother to look further until you have remade the connections with silicone grease. Obstruction Is it worse in rain? Check for leaves in the signal path. If there's a tree in the way see below. Check for other obstructions that might be blocking the signal, such as new scaffolding, a crane, a tall structure or even a bird! Dish With any "no satellite signal" fault be sure to inspect the dish. Make sure it's still there and isn't loose. If it IS loose, tighten all bolts (replace if necessary) and realign with a signal meter. It needs to be aligned to an accuracy of better than one degree so, if you've had strong winds, don't ignore the possibility that it might have moved a fraction, or suffered distortion. Make sure the LNB isn't loose at the end of the arm. Check its connections as described further down this page. Digital Receiver Signal indications do vary on Digibox inputs. To check that everything is OK, disconnect mains power and swap the two LNB input cables at the rear of the Digibox. Power up the Digibox. If the signal indications remain the same as before, the cables and LNB are not causing the difference in reading. Connections If there's a wall plate, check the connections and ensure that it's a fully-screened plate. <-- NOT LIKE THIS ONE!   Unscrew LNB cables at the dish and check for any signs of corrosion. The copper wire should be bright and shiny. Apply silicone grease to copper wires and screw plug back on LNB. See photos, below. In my experience, LNB failure is extremely rare - it is almost always a connection problem. Check the screw-on 'F' connection(s) at the rear of the satellite TV receiver. If you can see any, replace the entire cable length and the LNB. If you can't see any, cut the end off the cable and refit 'F' plug. Swap Connections If the Digibox has two LNB cable connections, try unscrewing them and swapping them. (This should be done only while the mains power is switched off at the wall socket.) If that makes a significant difference, then the culprit could be the relevant cable, connection or a faulty LNB on the dish arm. Cables Check the full length of cable, too, for any obvious faults. (Why should I do this if most channels are OK? Click HERE.) Make sure the cable core is copper-wire and not copper-coated steel wire (check with a magnet). Modern "RG6" is mostly steel-cored and is generally NOT suitable for an LNB connection. Some cable (e.g. cheap stuff often sold as "RG6") has a steel wire core. This core wire looks like copper because it has a thin copper cladding. However, a magnet will detect whether it's actually steel. The problem with steel is that it has a much higher resistance than copper and will lose voltage on a long run. If this happens, you may experience loss of "horizontally polarised" channels (look it up). A similar effect can occur when the connection to the LNB is degraded by corrosion - usually because silicone grease wasn't used to protect it. Cheap RG6 type Insects Sometimes ants/spiders build a nest inside the LNB feed horn. To check, you will have to remove the plastic cover. (Older LNBs simply had a plastic cap and it was easy to see whether that was still sealed.) If you have to go to the trouble of removing the LNB, you might as well have a new one handy and ready to go on. Interference If the fault affects only a few channels, check for a source of local interference, such as a DECT wireless telephone or "Snooper" radar detector in a car parked very close by. It could also be an LNB cable fault (kinked or water inside) or tree branches in the signal path or (less likely) a faulty LNB. Again, a corroded connection or faulty cable is a more likely source of problems. HDMI leads are a common source of interference. They are not screened so be sure to route them away from other cables and equipment. Never "bundle" them with other cables! To test, disconnect the HDMI lead and use a Scart lead temporarily. (Never connect or disconnect leads while equipment is powered and ensure that your body isn't charged with static electricity.) In rare cases you may even be suffering the effects of ground-based radar. In this case the answer is to position the dish so that it can't "see" the radar signal. Sometimes it works best at ground level. Receiver Fault Assuming that the "no signal" fault is still present, we need to investigate further. Firstly, if it's a Grundig or Thomson Sky Digibox, look no further than the ubiquitous Power Supply capacitor fault. (Also affects some other models, including Amstrad. See our repair kits page to determine whether your model is listed.) Reboot With any possible Digibox fault, the first thing to try is a "reboot". To do this, you simply switch off power to the Digibox at the wall socket. In the case of a model which has recording capability, first switch it to standby (if possible) and wait for the Hard Drive to stop spinning. Allow a minute for this before switching off the power at the socket. Unplug DO NOT touch the small mains power plug in the power socket at the rear of the Digibox while the cable is still live. This will cause arcing inside the small socket and may blow the internal fuse or even cause serious damage to the internal circuits. You now have the choice of a straightforward "reboot", which means simply switching the power back on, OR of downloading the latest firmware. To do this on a Sky Digibox, press and hold the "backup" button on the front panel and switch the power on at the wall socket. Continue to hold the "backup" button until the front panel LEDs light. Wait until the Digibox changes to standby (about 10 minutes) then reboot it again (without holding the button). DO NOT DO THIS IF THE SIGNAL IS SUDDENLY MISSING OR INTERMITTENT - it's only useful if the Digibox has not been used for some time and has missed an update. If the wall socket has no switch or is out of reach, use an extension power strip which incorporates a switch. If your Digibox is a Sky+HD model, try setting the menu for "single input" (see Installer Setup Menu, above) and connect each cable in turn to LNB input number 1. If one cable fails to give a signal, that cable is probably faulty - or the LNB is faulty. Try swapping the cable to a different output on the LNB if it is accessible. Card Before switching power back on, remove the card and inspect it. If it looks burnt do not replace it in the slot. Switch the power back on and wait for the Digibox to reboot. If it has a hard drive, this may take a couple of minutes. Check for the "no signal" fault. (You don't need the card for this.) If it appears to be OK, replace the card in the slot, sliding it firmly but carefully as far as it will go. Be sure to put it in the viewing card slot. (If the card looks as burnt as this one, contact Sky and ask for a replacement but NOTE: the moment you request a new card, they will disable your existing card and it may take several days before the replacement arrives!) Note: if somebody suggests that you "wipe the card", don't bother. This will do nothing. (Obviously if a Sky employee tells you to do this, just pretend that you have. No point in upsetting them.) Note: if somebody tells you to "reset the LNB", don't bother. Refer them to the explanation of why this is a waste of time. In any case, the procedure of "resetting the LNB" does nothing that you haven't already done by rebooting the Digibox. (Obviously if a Sky employee tells you to do this, just pretend to do it. No point in upsetting them.) Settings What you can do is to access the "secret" Installer Setup Menu and make sure that the settings are correct. Occasionally these can get corrupted by a power cut or by small fingers playing with a Sky remote! Press [services] 401 [select] or, if you have a Sky+HD Digibox, press [services] 001 [select] If you pressed this complete sequence on the remote control (pointing it at the Digibox) you should now see the Installer Setup Menu on your TV screen. Select the LNB setup menu and reset the parameters by pressing the yellow button then save the settings. (If you live outside the UK and have a very large dish, you may have a customised "default transponder frequency". Be sure to check this and re-enter it manually if necessary.) Press [backup] three times to return to the programme. If none of this leads to a conclusion, take your Digibox to the house of a friend, or to a satellite TV specialist, and test it on a known good dish system. If it fails to work there, it is faulty. If it works OK, the fault probably lies with your cable, connections, dish or LNB. If you are unable to check these by substitution (cable and LNB) and to check the dish alignment, then it's time to call in a professional. Did this help you? Please show your appreciation - buy an eBook My satellite TV receiver is fine - I've substituted another receiver and the poor signal fault remains - so what could be the cause? 1. An obstruction Maybe someone left a window open, blocking the signal to the dish? Leaves in the signal path will kill the signal. Remedy: remove the obstruction or move the dish. More... 2. Corroded connection A combination of moisture, oxygen and electricity will corrode copper very quickly. Unless you use silicone grease, you can expect corrosion. Moisture inside connector causes corrosion. Coat new parts with silicone grease, to protect the metal, before reassembly. If the 'F' plug can't be unscrewed, try to make a diagonal cut across the nut so it can expand. Most people will replace the LNB unnecessarily. Try cutting off the cable end and refit the 'F' plug. Coat copper wires and threads with silicone grease and reconnect. If it now works, your LNB is probably OK but you might need to replace the entire length of cable if water got inside. 3. Damaged cable Cable crushed, kinked or fractured inside. Cable run close to a central heating vent will soften inside and signal will be affected. Cable not secured properly to wall or tiles will scrape until a hole is made. Cable outdoors without protection will deteriorate. Coaxial cable must be perfectly coaxial (centre wire concentric with outer screen) otherwise signals will be reflected and lost. Water running down cable can cause permanent damage to your receiver! See Input 1, above. Remedy: replace cable; protect with paint or run inside conduit. 5. Dish Misaligned Dishes can move if they have not been installed correctly or if knocked by a football, window-cleaner, builder or strong winds. The LNB can also be dislodged or broken off by impact. Remedy: realign dish with signal meter; replace dish and/or LNB if damaged. 6. Interference Interference can come from a portable wireless telephone, an in-car radar detector or from external radar sources. Remedy: move sources of interference. If interference is from a distant source, reposition dish so that it is shielded from the interference. No signal at night? - CLICK No signal in sunshine? - CLICK Did this help you? Please show your appreciation - buy an eBook   Send this page address - CLICK HERE - to a friend ! © 2011 - 2015 SatCure Return to SatCure index page Send this page address - CLICK HERE - to a friend ! Copyright ©2011-2014 #SatCure Version 1.2 updated March, 2014 This file may be downloaded for private and personal use but NO part of it may be published in any form without the prior permission of the author.   poor satellite signal?