Sky box other channels
Submitted by Terence on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 20:43
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
MartinA sky box comes with pre-progammed channels (on Sky's EPG), based on the UK region of your Sky card. However there are other channels that you can add, but these need manual progamming.Sky reception is based on 3 inportant factors, what works in the UK may not in southern EuropeDish size (bigger the better) where you live 1.4 m minimum, bigger the betterLNB quality/ low noice (Invercom)Sky Box type manufacturer (Pace 2600 is best)There is a number of channels you can add now to get extra viewing by adding them manually and then viewing them by selecting SERVICES on your remote, choose OTHER CHANNELS, highlight the channel you want to watch and then press SELECT.The following web site has a full listing of channels 95 % are already programmed into the SKY set box, but some are not and it is these we need to enter manually.To get unlisted channel 4 / 5 and some ITV regions/ sky 3you need to follow the add channels proceedure below and enter the folowing frequency info and see what channels you can find.12402 Vhas the ITV regions on 2B north beam, 12480V has channel 4 again on 2B north beam. Channel 5 is on 12422H which is a 2A south beam.Channel 4 to free to air, channel 5 and ITV regions need a activated sky card12480 V 12441 V12422 H 12402 V 12226 Htp 38tp 40tp 37 tp 36 tp 27DVBDVBDVB DVB DVBSR 27500SR 27500 SR 27500SR 27500SR 27500 FEC 2/3FEC 2/3FEC 2/3FEC 2/3FEC 2/3 Add ChannelsAdd TV and Radio channels not listed on Sky's EPG, like other ITV1 regions, or tests.After typing in the correct frequency, polarisation (Vertical or Horizontal, Symbol Rate (SR) and Forward Error Correction (FEC), press Find Channels. Press the YELLOW key to store and Select when finished storing channels.There is normally no reason to add channels through this option, as almost all, including BBC regions are listed on Sky's EPG.To add unlisted channels, highlight the desired channel(s), then press the YELLOW button and a white tick will appear next to the channel.Pressing the YELLOW button once again, will remove the tick.When all the channel you would like to save have a tick next to them, press SELECT.To view these channel, press SERVICES on your remote, choose OTHER CHANNELS, highlight and then press SELECTOther ChannelsPress 6 for Other Channels This is where you choose the channels added under Add Channels. You can store channels not present on Sky's EPG, like the other ITV1 regions, or test channel. Just highlight the desired channel (in yellow) and then press Select. There is no reason to add other BBC regions here, as they are all listed on the EPG.Channels viewed through 'Other Channels', will only show Now and Next listing.To return to normal EPG viewing, press the SERVICES key, then BACK UP on your remote.Regards: Terence
Dish size is everything
Submitted by Terence on Sat, 10/17/2009 - 04:03
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
MartinFuther to above post,the web site below shows the Astra footpinys 2A/B &D. You will see that the the foot of Italy is bad on Astra north beam footprint.The manual transponder for tuning in the system to download the Sky EPG is the sky news one (12207V) If you can view sky news with a small dish there is hope for you, if you upgrade your dish?.I asked a Skyinstaller in Spain what you have to do to watch all FtoA channels and he said in orderNo 1, Buy the biggest dish that your property can support and cash you can afford, the price gets very silly after about 1.9 to 2.4 mNo 2, A good LNB and satellite box can compensate for some dish sizeisses if the dish is border line, but if the dish is too small the best LNB and Box will never get you the channels.No3, If you deside to upgrade the LNB, then buy the Invacom unit, I have tried several makes but always go back to them as they give the best result on a weak signal, but only last for 2 to 3 years in bright sunlight.N0 4, There are only a handfull of Sky boxes that work well in southern Europe, all a old models and are no longer made, but you can pick them up on EBay. The best is Pace 2600Good luck with your system, I live north of Rome and a 1.4m dish is borderline there and you are 300 km futher southTerence
Dish size in Southern Puglia
Submitted by vicarym on Sun, 10/18/2009 - 08:31
In reply to Dish size is everything by Terence
Thanks Terence for your reply.I had already tried to add the channels manually but was not successful due to the weak signal. However you confirmed that ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 are on the 2A and 2B beams.I was hoping that someone who lived in Southern Puglia would be able to tell me if a 1.2 or 1.4 metre dish would be big enough to pick the signal up from 12402, 12480 and 12422 TP's for the above channels.My Sky box is a Grundig and I'll look into the Invercom LNB's.Thanks againMartin
Good grief!
Submitted by elliven on Mon, 10/19/2009 - 14:36
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Seems to me that having your house looking like Goonhilly Down is too big a price to pay for a bit of British telly. Why not if broadband is available and you have a UK house use a slingbox or (whisper it quietly) use a proxy server, the better ones DO charge tho'.
In reply to Good grief! by elliven
Re dish size I think we would need a 3.5 metre plus to pick up Astra 2D and hence the BBC. If we can get ITV, CH4 and CH5 via a 120 cm picking the signal up from Astra 2A then that would be great.We use mobile broadband as ADSL hasn't arrived where we live but apart from that we don't have a landline.We use Skype video calls a lot of the time and Skype to phone UK landlines and mobiles.ThanksMartin
Astra South Beam
Submitted by Terence on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 09:38
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
MartinI believe that you should be able to get Sky news even on a small 85 cm dish as its on the south beam. Two things to try are listed below, if you have already tried this sorry?:-1. Your LNB when so far south in Europe needs to be twisted to the left (so the Co-Ax cable faces near 20 minutes to the hour) Try several positions between 25 minutes and 20 minutes to the hour. This angle is critical in receiving the signals.2 You will not get any program (just ano satellite signal receivedmessage) unless the Sat box downloads the Sky EPG first, you have to change the default transponder frequency from north beam default to a south beam. You change this by going into a hidden menu, Press Services, thenpress 04 then 01 then select button then 2. Change default transponder to those shown below and see if the EPG will download, it may take a few minutes.12207 VSR 27500FEC 2/3Regards Terence
North and South beam
Submitted by vicarym on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 14:41
In reply to Astra South Beam by Terence
Hi TerenceI'm receivingprograms (mostly encrypted) from various transponders onthe 2A North and south beam plus 2B North and South beam. When I set mySky box to the South beam it automatically defaults back to the North beam which I have read it will do if it can receive the North beam. My problem isI can't get a signal from the 12402, 12480 and 12422 transponders fot ITV, CH4 and CH5.I did try turning the LNB both ways and it seem to make things worse !!RegardsMartin
Bigger Dish
Submitted by Terence on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 21:11
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
MartinBigger dish is the way to go, I have access to a spare 1.2 M dish, BUT its in Alicante, Spain, so not a lot of good to you unless you fancy a long drive to pick it up. Sky people in Italy provide little support for large dish installations, only want to sell you a Sky Italy system. The sky Italy sytem will get you some english programs, but it does cost you a monthly fee, but as programs are on Eurobird you cam get the signal on 60 cm dish. The other way to go is NILESAT, again some english programs but should work on 85 cm dish.Terence
Bigger dish for Astra 2A and 2B
Submitted by vicarym on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 10:03
In reply to Bigger Dish by Terence
TerenceAs you said I need a bigger dish. However before I buy one could you confirm that you pick up ITV and Channel 4 on the 2B north beam and Channel 5 on the 2A south beam via the transponders you mentioned above-12402 etc etc. It's just that on the site it only mentions the above channels as being on Astra 2D along with all the other Freesat channels..Thanks for all your help. and infoMartin
Check the system first
Submitted by Terence on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 01:34
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
MartinI believe that when going for a large dish in Italy it may prove difficult to find an agent as regular SKY installers only deal with the sky network on the Hot bird satellite, which works on a 60 cm dish.When I lived and worked in Milan, it took the owner of the property nearly a week to find someone who could supply and install a 1 m dish and set it up for the Astra satellite for me.That far north I could get all the free view channels even 2D ones.From memory I think I paid 450 euro to get this work done. seems to be a company dealing in UK sky TV in Italy seems to be good forum on the Sky TV subject have a read.For my system 100 km north of Rome, it took me weeks to find some one who could supply and install the ground pole and 1.4 m dish.I supplied the Pace 2600 box, Invacom LNB and cable as I had these spare and could fit them in my luggage.I also own a property in Spain near Alicante, this area of Spain in very poor on Astra reception because it falls been beams.Anyway with a 1.4 m dish, Pace 2600 and Invacom LNB I can get all the programs listed on Astra North and South beams.In Spain at present you can buy a SKY system fully installed for under 500 Euro as advert below shows.Note the list of programs that the installer is providing by this system.All these programs exist on the 2 A/B satellites.If you cannot get sky news on your current system, then you still have an issue with your system.This issue is dish alignment, SKY box performance or LNB performance, any or all of this effect the systems ability to receive the signals.Firstly the Grundig GDS GDS200, GDS300, GDS310, GDS2000, GDS3000, DSI4210, DSI4212Boxes have a problem with the power supplies that means that after just one year (depends on box powered up time) then the box can loose 50% of its signal gain.In UK, then this may not be apparent, but in Italy it is with weaker signal inputs then it’s the difference between watching something or nothing.(Many problems with the Grundig and Thomson Digiboxes are caused by the demise of the power supply. The symptoms usually include loss of some programmes and occasionally "lines on the picture", sound faults or other strange things. Of course software upgrades, faulty LNB, faulty coaxial cable and misaligned dish can cause similar problems so it's best to borrow a good Power Supply Unit and try it before jumping to conclusions. (They are all interchangeable - except for the GDS3000 type - for the purpose of testing). But the PSU is very failure prone so it's probably going to die eventually. A failing power supply can even prevent any of the SkyLink remote extenders from working! (E.g. TV-Link, Digilink, SLXlink etc)Before the big dish, try a second Sky box, you can buy them on EBay for less than 50 euro, the best are listed below· Pace 2600 · Pace Javelin Digibox · Pace DS430N and DS440N (new Digibox) · Panasonic TU-DSB20 and TU-DSB30Signal strength and signal quality are not the exact measurement of dish alignment and fine tuning of dish and LNB is needed by viewing a program.All the installers use sky new channel for this as its one of the best southern beam transponders.You do have to have the LNB at 20 minutes to the hour to get programs 24/ 7, it may not make any difference to the signal and quality levels but it does to receiving programs.Get a good LNB like Invacom TWH-031 0.3dB Twinor Quad.The twin output and quad versions work better than the single ones for some reason an expert will tell you about.The standard LNB fitted to the sky UK dish is a a poor unit for southern Europe.Regards TerenceFantastic Deal on a 1.4m Satellite System - 495€PACKAGE INCLUDES: 1.4m High Quality Offset satellite dish High Quality LNB Wall Mount 1 x Cable Run Refurbished Official SKY Receiver Delivery & Installation FULLY INSTALLED PRICE ONLY: 495.00€ This system will allow reception of over 150 FREE Channels including: FIVE, FIVER, FIVE USA, ITV1, CH4, SKY3, BBC Sports, Reality, Romanticas, Thriller, Horror, Paranormal, Movies 4 Men 1&2, True Movies 1&2, SKY News, BBC News, Euro News, CNN, Flaunt, Buzz, Chart Show, The Vault, Pop, Pop Girl, Tiny Pop, Fizz, BBC Radio 1,2,3,4 + lots more. One off purchase of a FSFS Card required at only 20GBP (direct from sky via your uk address) for access to: FIVE, FIVER, FIVE USA, ITV1, CH4, SKY3 ** If you want to upgrade to an Official SKY HD Receiver add 150€ to the above price this will upscale the viewing quality on all channels + add CH4 HD, LUXE HD & ITV HD to your list of channels ** __________________FREESAT TV COSTA BLANCA: English Satellite TV Installers on the Costa Blanca for over 11 years.1. Invacom TWH-031 0.3dB Twin LNBA high performance universal LNB with an integrated feed-horn, and 2 independent outputs. Typically used with fixed dishes to supply 2 receivers, in areas where the signal strength is poor.Input Frequency: 10.7 - 12.75 GHzOutput Frequency: 950 - 2150 MHzNoise Figure: 0.3dB typicalGain: 50 - 60dBInterface: 40mm clampIdeal dish F/D: 0.6- Exact Feed Design- Superior Phase Noise- Excellent Isolation- Very Low Spurious Levels- Positive Gain Slope- Tested for Ultimate Reliability
One last request
Submitted by vicarym on Mon, 10/26/2009 - 14:46
In reply to Check the system first by Terence
Hi terenceFirst of all my apologies for the delay in acknowledging your post. I lost a couple of days as had no internet connection. Applied a few Microsoft updates and my mobile broadband wouldn't then reconnect !! Several restores later and internet key (dongle) not loading correctly I eventually got connected. Don't you just love Vista.I have had a look at the 2 web sites you mentioned. The storesatellite website suggests a 80 cm to 100 cm should be ok for the Astra Northern and Southern beam in South Puglia. I have an 80 cm dish.I can pick up most of the channels mentioned in the 1.4 metre system for 495 euros eg Romanticas, Thriller, Horror, Paranormal, Movies 4 Men 1&2, True Movies 1&2, SKY News, BBC News etc but not ITV1 or CH4.My digibox is the Grundig GDS2000 so may have the signal gain problem you mentioned.I think I'll get a price for a 1 metre and 1.2 metre dish and ask if there are any significant installation costs / problems for the 1.2 metre dish plus the Invacom TWH-031 0.3dB Twin LNB. I can hook the 2nd output to the Freesat decoder for channels on Hotbird assuming to motorise the dish won't cost an arm and leg.However one last request - can you confirm that you receive ITV1, Ch4 and CH5 on the Astra Northern / Southern beams. I appreciate the 495 euro offers says you can but as I mentioned earlier the site no longer lists them on these beams - just the Astra 2D beam.Thanks again for all your help and info.RegardsMartin
Sky encrypted (Videoguard)
Submitted by Terence on Tue, 10/27/2009 - 01:22
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
MartinI have not been in Italy since August, so don’t know if things have changed over the last 3 months, but I could watch ITV, sky 3 and channel 4 & 5 when last there, never checked if this was 24 /7 however. In Spain there was no problem in mid September as my wife was over then and reported watching the videoguard channels with a new white card. All the channels you want to watch are Sky encrypted (Videoguard)and sky have recently upgraded the sky cards from the old blue card with a yellow house to a new white card.Par chance, do you have the new card as this could be simple solution to your problem.Regards: TerenceThe site below is a great alignment tool for you dish based on your house location
Sky new card
Submitted by vicarym on Wed, 10/28/2009 - 14:54
In reply to Sky encrypted (Videoguard) by Terence
Hi TerenceYes I have the new card from Sky.I think I just need a larger dish and or better LNB and cable.I was able to align the dish quite easily. Luckily the elevation between Hotbird and Astra is only about 1 degree plus having done it once for both satellites I am now able to use2 poles on a house about 40 metres away as alignment tools !!Thanks for all your help.Regards, Martin
Channel 5/ Yes I have the new card from Sky.
Submitted by Terence on Thu, 10/29/2009 - 02:02
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
MartinI think the last on this subject, but was your new Sky card validated in your UK box with Sky people on the telephone before taking it to Italy. The lack of channel 5 (on the strong south Beam)indicateslack ofworkingsky card, has the cardbeen initialised by the sky people downloading to your box.Terence
In reply to Channel 5/ Yes I have the new card from Sky. by Terence
