snikpoh

Any one else experiencing SKY problems or is it just down to 'atmospherics'?

I know they have high winds in UK at the moment but how can that affect the TV signal?

The Guy

There are no reception problems in Spain that I know of...

Apart from one one frequency - 12480 - a channel 4 owned one that carries irish c4, 4music and a few others, that I have seen pixelation for the last day or so at around 9pm. BUt this was OK last night.

Yes the weather in the UK can affect the upload signals to the satellite...but have not had any reports of that happening in the last few days.

Are your problems on ALL channels or a few?

Most problems are down to individual systems, rather than the signals as a whole.
Remember signals come from 4 satellites, each has their own reception characteristic, and the 100's of channels are spread over 100+ frequencies over those 4 satellites. And it would be highly unusual for all 4 satellites to fil at the same time - unless a huge asteroid hits all 4 of them at the same time..

However, if you are using 12129 as a default transponder frequency to help your sky box boot up, then recently, the lone channel on 12129, S4C, vacated that frequency. This mean there are no channels on 12129, and so no SKy EPG data on that frequency, so no data to hepl the sky boxes boot up. So use another frequency to hel the box boot up - 12207 is a nice one - the sky news frequency.

snikpoh

Thanks Jon,

we're getting pixelation on BBC1, ITV1, BBC News, Watch, etc. etc.

It started yesterday and has been happening for most of today.

It can't be water getting into the cables and I've checked the LNB for bugs etc..

TDT is fine (it all goes through a big splitter), so I guess it's down to alignment (although no heavy winds recently) or down to bad weather in UK.

I'll persevere but I may have to book a call.

Fred James

Maybe the LNB has given up.

robt23

Yes, this is exactly the problem I have . Have had this problem for months now. I have an old Amstrad Digibox DRX300 and I get no EPG and no signal on start.

So how can I input that Sky News frequency in place of the old one ? and where is that old frequency ? The only frequency in the DRX`s memory is 11788 v !

Very Confused.

robt23

I feel abit silly, I think I know how to do this .

I will try tomorrow .

The Guy

11778 is the frequency that carries the full 7 day sky guide.
Sky boxes use this frequency to download this information upon boot.
If this frquency is unavailable, then the boxes do not boot.
Luckily all other 100+ frequencies carry limited sky guide data which can be used to boot a sky box.

To change DT on SD boxes:
services, 401, select (nothing happens on screen on the 01 until you press select), 2, change freq, save settings, sky button date and time appear, information banner populates, and your channels will be there (even if it says no signal, as you may still not be able to receive channel 998)

To change DT on HD boxes:
services, 001, select, down, right, change freq, save settings, sky button date and time appear, information banner populates, and your channels will be there (even if it says no signal, as you may still not be able to receive channel 998).

Changing this frequency DOES NOT help improve reception of channels. It just helps the sky boxes get tthe information it need to function. Once you have channels it is perfectly normal for your manulally change frequency to revert back to 11778.

robt23

I just tried that method earlier this morning and again now. I changed the default transponder to 12207 but the EPG only goes upto 7.00 pm, nothing after that.

Another thing I noticed is the `info button ` doesn`t show any info on any program - just say`s `information unavailable` or something like that.

Seems odd because I get all channels. What I`m after is the 7 day EPG !

Maybe another transponder ,BBC News or something !

The Guy

The Sky Guide 7 day programme guide, with all data, is only on 1 frequency - 11778 (which i did say in the post above "11778 is the frequency that carries the full 7 day sky guide"!)
And I also said that all other frequencies carry limited information hence why you can only get up to 7pm ("Luckily all other 100+ frequencies carry limited sky guide data")
The Sky Guide 7 day programme guides data is NOT available on any other frequency.
If you cannot receive 11778 then that is why you have limited programme data and data only up until 6am, 12pm, 6pm, 12am
If you can receive 11778 then you will have all 7 day programme information.

If as you say, you get all channels, including sky channel 998 and Eurosport 2, then you should be able to receive 11778, as they are on the same beam. If you cannot get these channels then you cannot get 11778.

Reception of 11778 can be improved by dish alignment, better LNB, correct LNB skew, or larger dish. Also some sky boxes like 1778 better than others, so it could be your old box that does not like 11778 as much as other boxes.

robt23

It turns out that I can`t get channel 998 and a no satellite signal pops up !

Maybe a general reset may help, who knows . I just use the old Amstrad for the EPG , that`s all. I find my other receiver better.

I might call in someone to see if the dish is aligned or lnb out of whack !

Either way it`s no big deal . That 11788 freq gives me the same upto 7.00 pm EPG as this new 12207 one though.

The Guy

which will also mean you cannot receive 17788 and the 7 day EPG data that is on a very similar frequency on the same beam.

That will not help - if it cant recieve the 11778 signal now, then a reboot of the box will not change that.

Again, if you can receive 11778 then you will get the full 7 day EPG.

If you cannot receive 11778 then you only get the limited data that is available on all other frequencies - ie up to 6am, 12pm, 6pm and 12am.

A Sky box will load up some of this basic data and hold it in its menory cache. When you press Sky Guide, if its main datastream on 11778 is unavailable for the latest data, then it will use the basic data in its memory cache.

This data wil be updated using the data streams on ANY of the 100 plus frequencies used for UK Sky TV.

Changing the default only helps boot the sky box up, using the data on that frequency.
Once the EPG is loaded, then your manually input frequency is ignored.
the sky box will use whichever of the 100plus frequencies it needs to for the channel you are watching.
If you are watching Sky news, then the box uses freq 12207
if you are watching itv3 then the box uses 10906

if you are wathcing a channel and use the info banner at the bottom of the screen, then that banner will use the EPG data on the frequency for that channel that you are watching.

A dish check may or may not work. It could also be thay your digibox is one that does not like that frequency group. Receivers are not all the same. and all have different components that perform differently.

amideislas

We've also been having some strange choppiness in many of the usually perfectly received FTA channels.

Someone mentioned "Solar Flares" which apparently are very strong this summer. Is this possible or even a likely cause?