BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

is anyone else having problems with BBC1 after 8pm, my dish was realligned a couple of months ago but is now worse, I used to get it until around 10pm, I was told to have the frequency at 12.129 and polarisation at H, but this does not hold, so can anyone advise please, can we get BBC1 on 'other channels', what is the correct frequency number and polarisation we should be using, any hints or tips please?

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

Phyllis, you do not say where you are or what size dish you've got?

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

hi Gardner, 2.4 metre dish and in Calpe.

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

Okay Phyllis, thought you might be in my neck of the woods so I'll leave it to the expert who is nearer you and no doubt will be along later to explain.

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

cheers Gardner

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

changing the defauklt frequency on a sky box does nothing about increasing channel reception times.
changing the default transponder only helps boot the sky box up, by asking it to download the channel list from a different frequency when the main one is not available,

on 12129 V there is only 1 channel - s4c... no bbcs on that frequency.
there is also no frequency of 12129 h.

all bbc chanels are already on the sky channel list up in the 950's i think, so there is no need to add them to "other cahnnels". it will be a question of going through the 20 or so bbc regions and seeing which is best for your reception. sometimes, a sky hd box will help, as the bbc hd channels are on the "strongest" bbc frequency

if you are having problems, then it may well be your dish has moved again, there were strong winds a week or so ago.

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

thank you so much for your reply, I think I might have to have my dish realligned by someone else, when it was realligned, and the man went, that night it went off earlier than before, but he had gone by then, especially if everyone else receives BBC1 later than me, thanks again, guy,

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

hello, I just had to realign my dish & crop a few tree branches obscuring the view. It has been windy & any slight move knocks off a few hours worth of viewing.

Make sure too the bolts are tight that secure it & that all connections are secure with tape.

I think I read on here that if you look towards sun at 11am that's where the satellite is so make sure there aren't any stay branches in the line of sight.

Good luck

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

Obviously the guy who moved your dish has made it worse, if he refuses to come back & resolve the problem then threaten to denounce him. If more people took this course of action there would be less rogue traders around.

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

Or you could try this website http://www.dishpointer.com

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

We had a similar problem with BBC1 & ITV1. Had a new LNB fitted (the original was about 6 years old) and this produced about another 1.5 hours of viewing time. Since then we've had an HD box and don't lose BBC, ITV etc.

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

Interesting. I too have recently lost access to ALL BBC channels from early in the evening, and I thought I'd read about a recent transponder change so assumed it was related to that so I'd just have to accept it. I have a Sky HD box and ceratinly used to get most BBC channnels most of the time. I now no longer get BBC News 24 (501) from even late morning, and my original BBC1 Scotland on the box (101) used to be great all the time but is now even breaking up in the morning. Now at night I cannot get a signal on ANY of the BBC channels.

HOWEVER, I'm getting my feed from my neighbour's 2.4m dish here in Orba (Alicante region), and he recently had a new perimeter wall built about 2m high and not far opposite the dish which is on a slope lower down in his garden. I would have immediately thought the new wall was affecting the signal, but as I said I thought (perhaps wrongly) that I'd read about a transponder change affecting several channels so put my detioration of the BBC channels down to that. I did monitor my signal strength (via the Sky box settings) before and after he built the wall and it didn't seem to be affected at all, so I assumed it must indeed be a transponder change or something else outwith our control.

So, can you confirm that I should indeed be able to still get some BBC 1 , BBC2 and BBC HD channels in the evenings with my SKY HD box here in Alicante region, and that if I cannot it is indeed likely to be down to the dish no longer receiving a strong enough signal?

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

BBC News, Parliament and Alba moved frequencies a few months ago. This change now means that BBC News is on one of the weakest bbc frequencies. its reception will be very similar to bbc2 england.

in orba on a 2.4m dish i would expect this bbc news channel to be available until 5pm at least

which, may suggest that here is an issue with your sytem, especially if you are unable to receive other bbc channels later in the day

apart from these 3 channels changing frequencies, the last major bbc frequency / transponder change was in oct 2010.

as said many times before, reception depends on a number of things, dish type, dish alignment, dish position (objects in line of sight) lnb alignment, lnb type, cable type, cabling, joints, concrete base failure, insects inside lnb, wrong lnb used, bent /warped dishes, etc so saying what the problem is without seeing the system is guesswork. do the others connected to the dish also have the same problems - this may eliminate things like dish alignemtn,and point more to problems witht the lnb port or cabling.

but on a good, well installed, well aligned 2.4m dish in orba, you should be able to receive bbc1hd, bbchd 24/7 - assuming you do not have a thomson skyhd box - well know for problems.

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

Hey John, just realised it was you, and you in fact cabled my box for me from my neighbour's dish in 2010. (It's a Pace box I have by the way) and you changed the LNB too so I know everything was alligned correctly and working OK. I think it must be the new wall that's messed things up for me. I'll need to discuss this with my neighbour and see if we can come to an arrangement, which may mean me giving you a call soon to reposition the dish!

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

If your dish was obstructed by the wall then you would lose a lot more than just BBC your channels.

The problem is as always with the Sky box. They are not designed for use in fringe reception areas like Spain, but in the UK where the satellite signal is very strong.

A free to air satellite receiver designed to pick up any signal so is far stronger than the Sky box. Just by throwing the Sky box in the bin where it belongs & buying a new receiver for about €30 all your channels will be crystal clear & won't break up in the evening!

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

ITV2,3 and 4 are about the only other channels that are on similar frequencies to the bbc channels that are unable to be received using other channels / regional variations, so loss of "a lot more" channels would not be that severe.

but, as mentioned on another thread (and which you dismissed and still touted a FTA box)if the op is using a sky card then a fta box will not be much good and pointless as it will not be able to use the sky card and they would not be able to access channels that the card accesses.

and some sd fta boxes do not perform as good as a sky 2600 box, or a sky hd box, hd especailly, as the bbc hd channels are on a much stronger reception frequency compared to the sd bbc channels, so this owuld be point less in getting a sd fta box. i have tried a few FTE FTA boxes previously and they have perform just about the same as a good 2600 box., seen some horrible silvercrest FTA receivers that perform worse than the worst sky box! so in the many cases i have seen these "cheap" FTA boxes do not perform as good as you think.

and i have found that even a fergusson HD ariva and "the black box card sharing" iberosat hd box did not perform the same reception for bbc hd channels as a sky hd box.

but then it also depends against which sky box you are comparing reception to - some sky boxes are much better than others - the pace 440 and 445 are terrible for "big dish" systems, yet the 2600 is great. sky thomson hd boxes fail rapidly due to poor components, other sky hd boxes have been fine. the same goes for some of the freesat boxes, some are much better than others.

so it will depends WHICH FTA receiver you get, but so far I have not found a good decent "cheap" SD FTA receiver that performs better than a sky 2600 or Sky HD box. Perhaps this is OK for your dish where you are, where reception is a lot different but other areas have different reception characteristics and so boxes perform differently. but in many cases just getting a cheap FTA receiver, as you suggest, may not mean all channels will come in crystal clear as opposed to no signal using a sky box, receivers are not the only thing in the reception "chain".

edit: just thinking, one of the sd receivers that i have seen perform the same or better than a pace 2600 is the manhatten plaza range, and a techomate, but these were not FTA boxes

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

Guy, the blokes neighbour has built a wall & he's wondering if it's blocking his satellite signal. How many times have you known a dish to receive the signal through a brick wall??????????? :confused:

Why use 10 words when you can use 10,000 eh? I don't read most of your posts for one simple reason. You've never heard the expression "keep it simple stupid" have you m8?

So let's keep it simple, Sky box's are very poor quality, they are designed for use in the UK where the satellite signal is very strong. They do not work well in fringe reception areas FACT. Anybody having trouble with tv breaking up at night or missing channels does not need to pay labour charges, what they need is a DECENT free to air satellite receiver, which are widely available in both the UK and Spain for just €30.

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

The wall is built "some distance" away from the dish. a wall built close enogh to the dish will reduce the signal of the weakest channels - especailly those on astra 2d like bbc and itv2,3,4. however, a 2m wall was built 2m in front of a 2.4m dish, some channels, especially those "south beams" would still be able to be received, as the 2.4m dish, with its elevation, would still "look over" the wall. so not many channels would be lost, just the weaker astra 2d ones.

and as uk satellite signals come from 5 satellites, each with their own reception characteristics, those channel on the "weaker" satellites signals will be more affected by obstructions in the dish line of sight than others.

some people appreciate more information. especailly when correcting people (hows your Sky News on freesat coming along;))

not all sky boxes are poor performers - some are good (2600, Sky HD), some are not (440, 450, panasonic).FACT.
not all fta receivers are as good as a sky box. FACT.

silvercrest receicvers are very poor in comparison to a sky box. as are most illusion boxes. sky hd box vs ferguson ariva- sky box wins on reception easily. i could go on listing various fta receivers....(but that would use my 10000 word limit:-))
I have tested many fta receivers, and in many cases not all are as good as some sky boxes - but, true, it depends which sky box you test them against.

as channel reception is based on a number of things (dish alignment, dish size, lnb, lnb skew, cabling, dish warping, line of sight and a dozen other factors), in many cases, simply getting a new receiver is not the solution.

so, keeping it simple, which 30€ fta box do you recommend they get? i will get one and test it against everything i have for a performance comparison. cant say fairer than that?

and, again, keeping it simple, if the user has a sky card, why recommend a FTA receiver over a sky box, when the fta box will not be able to use a sky card?

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

Are you seriously saying that a new generic, 'non-Sky' receiver will be able to receive ALL the channels (all your channels you say above)?
Advice like this is somewhat misleading as of course a receiver as described can receive FTA channels but it is of little help if reception of the other FTV & encrypted channels is desired also.
The advice to throw the Sky box in the bin and replace it with a FTA receiver may help with some channels such as BBC1 but what about others which suddenly cannot be received?

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

So, I'm game to buy a FTA box for £30 when I go to UK and compare it to my pace 2600. I like to have a spare box. Which FTA boxes would you recommend?

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

Yes, I am sure that most of us do appreciate your frequent, detailed and well informed answers to our UKTV questions particularly when they are based on many years of professional experience.

Every member is entitled to voice his opinions on the subject in a polite and respectful way but personally I prefer to listen to those who have the experience of the subject.

Keep up the good work Guy:thumbsup:

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

The freesat brand or a free to air receiver that I recommend? Very good thank you, but then all FTA boxes pick up Sky news because that's what it is........... free to air ;)

If you're speaking to engineers Guy then you need details, if you're speaking to Joe Bloggs all that happens is he gets baffled with techno mumbo jumbo. You really should try to explain things in plain English, but then if you're trying to sell services the more complicated it sounds the better..........

Anna58, none of the latest gen FTA boxes I have tested have been bad, I'm a lover of the FTE MAX S93. Easy to operate, super fast tuning & great reception qualities. Get yourself one of these & you'll notice a dramatic improvement in reception during evenings & bad weather. Sky installers will obviously never tell you this for business reasons.

Years of professional experience eh Fred? A recent poster lost BBC channels remember, luckily I posted before she paid call out fees & the channels returned WITHOUT interferance & here we have a poster who is worried about a wall being built in front of his dish affecting his signal. I know there is a recession on & people have to make money but this is a help forum not an advertising medium & I'm not going to stand by when he gets bum advice.

I'm a businessman Fred with fingers in many pots so lets just say from MY years of experience within the satellite industry I'm telling him NOT to pay for expensive & unnecessary call out fees but to purchase a decent satellite receiver such as the FTE Max S93. Let's see then shall we??????????

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

Sorry I forgot this bit, what channels do you need a card for???????? You need a card in a sky box to receive FTA channels but if you have a 'proper' FTA receiver then you don't need the card do you???????

Sorry but I thought you claimed to have tested several FTA boxes :confused: If this is true then how come you don't know which channels they pick up????? Years of experience eh :thumbdown:

p.s. Before you ask, obviously I don't receive the FTA HD channels on an FTE Max. I have a multisat system, (1.3m dish aligned to 28.2 & a 1m dish aligned 26 east) connected with a DiSEqC switch to get those through my Humax 1020. I did try a multi lnb system but when I measured the signal with my FS1 I found that a dedicated dish gave me an extra 4db which as you know makes all the difference during the rain. I'll move the 1m dish this week now that the MBC package is HD on 7w, at least I'll get the JSC sport EPG then as well...............

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

I am not technical but until I got a sky box I could not pick up certain channels eg ITV 1.
This may be due to my location and dish size but that is the fact of the matter.

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

I need to get all of the Sky Sports channels, all of the BBC and ITV channels (including the HD ones), the FX channels including HD, Sky Atlantic HD..... etc. Are you really saying I could get ALL of the same channels that currently I get on my Sky HD box with a Sky HD subscription, on a 30€ FTA box? (My current box is a PACE HD model TDS850NB, by the way, and has been very good until this recent problem since the wall was built).

licinius - having read your comments, I have to say you do come across as if you have an "agenda". TheGuy is totally correct that the wall has been built several metres from my neighbour's dish and it does indeed just seem to be the weaker BBC and ITV channels that I'm now losing later in the day - so it looks like moving the dish back down the slope of his garden a bit (which there's plenty space to do) will allow the whole of the dish to better pick up these weaker channels. I also find his extended posts extremely helpful, and very easy to understand as a layman, so do not understand you aggressively negative comments. I am in no doubt whose advice I'd trust and it's not yours licinius! You need to get over yourself mate! ;)

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

That's what I thought. What totally bizarre advice :lol:

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

My apologies....... I thought we were discussing free to air channels!

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

Apology accepted. Guess you're used to keeping it simple as you say:lol: Sorry - couldn't resist a wee dig!

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

Phew, just as well I didn't jump in and follow your own "bum advice" and throw out my SKYHD box and replace with your much loved 30€ box! Me thinks your own credibility is in tatters;)

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

As they say guitareth, the proof is in the pudding. The next time you walk around Carrefour/Worten or whatever you'll see these boxes & be intrigued........ For just €30 will you be tempted????????????? I hope so, then just send a thank you message by pm :thumbsup:

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

I agree guitareth, l'm not sure what licinius' problem is and what he's trying to achieve with the bashing. I've read the Guys advice on this and other forums and I've used his web site to solve a few of my sat tv issues. I know he's in the business of selling sat services but he's never tried to sell me anything and I've never seen him use any of the forums to troll for business. I don't begrudge him any business he might get but licinius seems to.

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

Well you're obviously missing the point Tim which is that free to air satellite receivers are better than Sky boxes for pulling in weak signals in Spain. If your tv breaks up at night or you lose channels................ ditch your sky box.

Now do you understand?

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

What point is that exactly? All I got was "ditch my sky box" which isn't going to happen without some compelling reason. How about showing your bona fide's with a little more information? What specifically worked for you? What receiver, what dish, what lnb and where are you? There's no magic going to fix the fact that we're living in the satellite penumbra and local conditions mean that everyone's results might vary.

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

'Sigh' you obviously haven't fully read above so I'll repeat it for you.

What works for me is a 1.3m dish with twin Black Premium lnb and an FTE Max S93 receiver, however I can't list what lnb's other customers had because they vary so widely. What I can tell you is that everybody on the costa that experienced channel break up either during the evening or during heavy rain has seen much improved results by using a FTA sat receiver instead of a Sky box, even though the guy says you can't receive these channels without a Sky card :confused:

Why don't you dig deep for €30 & try it yourself??????????

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

I think there must be two conflicting questions here.

i) Are the quality of Fta boxes better than Sky boxes?

ii) Can you pick up all the channels with a FTA box that you can pick up with Sky box and card?

Licinius, you do not appear to have answered question ii). A yes or no will do.

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

right now I am getting pixelation and general signal break up on at least 4 channels on FTA digital, without trying a satellite, which is going to be rather difficult at this house.

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

I have answered the question, yes a FTA box will pick up all FTA channels such as BBC1/2/3/4, ITV1/2/3/4, C4, C5, Sky news & everything else such as E4, More4 etc that is FTA on Sky. You do not need a sky card, that is just Rupert Murdoch ripping you off.

I realise that nobody wants to believe me because 'the guy' says FTA boxes don't pick up FTA channels ( :confused: ) Perhaps he sells sky boxes so it's not in his interests to share such information??????

Re Q1, if you have trouble with channels breaking up at night then try buying a FTA box before paying somebody to fit a new top dog lnb for you.

I've had enough repeating myself on this thread now so will leave you all to it!

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

Thank goodness for that! Now go and cuddle up to your beloved 30€ box :lol:

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

He might be saying words that don't sink in for whatever reason, but with all due respect, he's right.

Sky boxes are designed to be used exclusively in the UK, and aren't designed for "fringe" reception. They use cheaper, less sensitive tuners. Many of the off-the-shelf FTA boxes have much better, more sensitive tuners than a Sky box.

He's also right that virtually any FTA box can receive all the same "free" channels as a Sky box, but do not require a £20 "freesat" card.

I say this only because we previously used Sky boxes, but when we added 3 more TV's around the house, we bought €29 FTE MAX receivers which are 1/4 the size of a Sky box, have digital connection to the TV, and get better reception than the Sky box.

The main drawback is that the FTE boxes don't have an 8-day EPG. They only show current and next program details...

Re: BBC1 after 8pm on Sky
 

"He might be saying words that don't sink in..." ??!! For goodness sake, I've only been on here a short while and can see from this and other threads that he never stops going on about the 30€ box while slagging off all things Sky! I appreciate he may well be right that this box is ideal as a replacement FOR FREE TO AIR channels but problem is he seems to suggest this as the cure-all for ALL Sky related problems. However, apart from him sounding like a worn record, my real problem with licinius is his total lack of respect in many of his replies - particularly to TheGuy, who I (and it appears many others) have continually found to be very helpful in his responses.

I think "respect" is the key word here. It always seems sad to me that on any of these forums, where people are invariably just looking for help or advice, you always seem to get one or two people who have an agenda or whose responses are repeatedly rude or arrogant and just get up everyone else's noses!

OK, rant over :lol::lol::lol: