xirles

Just back in Spain after six months away. Sky digibox was OK yesterday but now power turning off after a couple of minutes. Checked cables etc and all seem OK. Box several years old.....is it just kaput and if so, any advice on where to buy new one. Only need free view as no sky subscription. Any advice gratefully received!

The Guy

YOu will not get Freeview in Spain.
You will need either a Freesat, Sky or "generic", receiver.
Advantages of a Freesat or Sky over a generic receiver are automatic channel updates and 7/8 day programme guide.
Check the cable - if it looks cracked, water could ingress causing a short, which is why box may be shutting down. Also I have noticed a lot of older Sk digiboxes (especially Grundigs) have started to fail. Could also be as simply as checking the fuse (if you still have the English plug on).

snikpoh

... or could it be the autostandby setting on SKY boxes?

xirles

Thanks for the replies. Unplugged box, left for about half an hour, plugged back in and standby light came on. Was able to watch TV for around two hours and then.....lights off again!! Back to square one, no idea what to try next.

The Guy

Self repair or get a new box.Take the top off, and see if any capacitors have popped, and replace them.Or locate a new power supply for your make and model of box, and pop that in.Like I said before, some makes of Sky digibox are prone to going pop after a while.... (tricky without knowing what make and model sky box you have!)

xirles

Thanks for the advice. Have bought a new freesat box today and all is now working perfectly again!

EMR

Slightly off topic but the Algarve Daily News site is carrying a report about an illegal card sharing network being shut down.Those companies offering expats Sky cards etc may well be hearing a knock at the door at some time in the future.