TV Reception Problem

[PaulT]

We've been living the caravan (in France) for 18 moths whilst we convert a barn. During that time we've been receiving UK tv via a UK oval Sky dish, multiple LNB and Sky box. No problems, good picture, all the free chanels.

We've just got back from a holiday (without the 'van) and have a problem. Nothing has changed outside and the services screen shows signal strength and quality about half way across, locked,network id as 0002, transport stream as o7d4. The Sky welcome screen (999) is perfect.

However, I cannot get my normal BBC1 on 101 or ITV on 103. I can get other BBC1 chanels in the 900 range and can get BBC2, C4 and C5 on 102, 104 and 105. Dave is there as is BBC4. I have no ITV2,3 or 4 but have ITV1+1. It's the same across the board, some of the real time channels are available but not the +1's and vice versa.

Can anyone suggest a solution to my problem? I've tried moving the dish and the LNB offset but to no avail. I can't understand why some chanels are crystal clear but others are shown as "no satelite signal is being received"

 

[Grey13]

I have just bought a flat dish to use with my sky box in a similar setup to you here in the UK. I have only used it once but with exactly the same results. The dish supplier did not seem to have the answers but I have not tried it since. I will watch you progress with interest. My LNB is single, I have no problem changing to a dual if necessary but a sky bloke told me it should not affect reception apart from not being to record one channel when watching another.

 

[Gafferbill]

........I have experienced this many times.

A Sky box needs to communicate back to the satellite regularly or it will loose its settings.
This is what has likely happened in your case as you have likely had the box turned off whilst you have been away.
The solution is to leave the box turned on and it will eventually sort itself out.
If you are a Sky paying customer then they can apply a quicker fix for you.

 

[PaulT]

OK, thanks Gafferbill. The box wasn't turned off but I'll just wait and see what happens in the future

 

[Woodentop]

........I have experienced this many times.

A Sky box needs to communicate back to the satellite regularly or it will loose its settings.
This is what has likely happened in your case as you have likely had the box turned off whilst you have been away.
The solution is to leave the box turned on and it will eventually sort itself out.
If you are a Sky paying customer then they can apply a quicker fix for you.

Sorry Bill, the box does NOT communicate with the satellite, it only receives. But as you rightly say, if the box as been off it can loose channels. IME it is rarely BBC that goes, but 4 and 5 very commonly stop working. Leaving the unit on it will come back but can take up to 48 hours.
Sky can boot the box to make the channels come back by sending a message to it from the sat but they too will warn you it may take up to 48 hours, so its swings and roundabouts.

 

[Gafferbill]

......I stand corrected

I thought I was relaying what Sky had told me was the cause when I first encountered the problem.
I confused their ability to boot the box with what I thought was the boxes ability to communicate with the satellite.

I wondered how it had the ability to communicate with the satellite......all is now explained
........it can't!

 

[Woodentop]

......I stand corrected

I thought I was relaying what Sky had told me was the cause when I first encountered the problem.
I confused their ability to boot the box with what I thought was the boxes ability to communicate with the satellite.

I wondered how it had the ability to communicate with the satellite......all is now explained
........it can't!

As a rule of thumb. transmitting systems will have a bigger dish, usually 80cm or more often 1m, and the assembly on the end of the arm is much bigger often with a heatsink-finned box on the underside. Look on any building with a Post Office inside or any One-Stop shop (Tesco owned) and you will see what I mean. They also point in a different direction to a Sky/Freesat dish.

 

[bertieboy1]

Try a retune

 

[PaulT]

Hi,

As Woodentop and Gafferbill suggested, all stations have now come back. Very strange as the box wasn't turned off whilst we were away and we didn't have a powercut.

 

[Craigyoung]

Hi
when we were in Holland last year we had our TV with us , we haven't got a Sky dish or anything like that just the Freeview TV built-in , when we tried to tune in we got a few channels but obviously tuned in on the Holland region on the settings but when we came back with to a UK site and tried to put the TV on on a normal site we could not get any channels to work because we were still set up on the Holland region, you may have to go into your settings and check your regions and may have to put in to where you are again if that makes sense ?!? :blink:

 

[PaulT]

Hi
when we were in Holland last year we had our TV with us , we haven't got a Sky dish or anything like that just the Freeview TV built-in , when we tried to tune in we got a few channels but obviously tuned in on the Holland region on the settings but when we came back with to a UK site and tried to put the TV on on a normal site we could not get any channels to work because we were still set up on the Holland region, you may have to go into your settings and check your regions and may have to put in to where you are again if that makes sense ?!? :blink:

Ah, but the caravan, tv and box have always been in France. When we take the 'van back to the UK, we use Freeview and have no problems with tuning. But, anyway, all is now back to normal and the problems will remain one of lifes' mysteries!