Was Eurobird down last night

glen_jai

Hi all,
I am new to this forum, so I apologise now for any niave questions/comments.

Can anyone tell me if they were getting a signal last night on Eurobird (FreeSat)? I got absolutely nothing, and am quite frustrated because I missed "Flash Forward" last night...

I have a Fortec Star box, and use a conventional sky dish.

Many thanks,
Glen

Tivù

Freesat's specific link to Eurobird is the 7 day EPG.

The Channels are spread across Astra 2 and eurobird.

So I'm not sure your question can be answered without further detail: What exactly were you having problems with?

What Fortec Star box are you using? They don't produce a Freesat Box, but do produce Generic FTA Receivers. The Passion and Innovation Models do support the Freesat EPG, however.

glen_jai

Hello,
Thank you for your reply.

I am using a generic Fortec Star Sigma receiver, and pointing it at Eurobird. I can pick up all the freeSat Channels no problem with that, and have been doing so for over a year now.

But last night, none of the channels were getting a signal. This has only happened on rare occasions. So I just wanted to know if the satellite was down, or whether there could be a problem with my setup.

Thanks,
Glen

Tivù

Yes, but that's what I'm getting at - only a proportion of the FTA Channels for the UK are on Eurobird. Quite a lot are on Astra2.

So which Channels exactly were you not getting?

When you say "none of the Channels", do you really mean that? None, at all? If so, that is definitely a problem at your end .............

........... It isn't at all likely that all four/five Satellites would exhibit some sort of problem simultaneously, so I'm trying to focus in on whether this might be confined to a single Transponder (If the issue is "up there") or whether it is confined to a particular combination of Polarisation (H or V) and Band (Low or High) which might help diagnose the cause if the issue is at your end.

glen_jai

Hi,
Yes, none of the channels have a signal. I have only tuned my reciever to pick up Eurobird, and it seemed to find all the free sat channels on there.

But I just checked about 10 minutes ago, and I still get nothing.
These were all working until last night.

Tivù

If you are aligned to and scanning Eurobird, then you are also getting Astra as they are co-located: That is the point I am making ............

For example, BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five are on Astra, not Eurobird and I feel sure these are part of your "Freesat" viewing.

Please see _http://www.flysat.com/28east.php which will clarify matters.

Anyway, I am now 100% positive your end has a fault.

Loss of all Channels can, however, be caused by several things, including:

1. Loose Dish which shifts out of alignment

2. Poor F connections, either at the Receiver end or at the LNB (or both!)

3. Faulty Receiver

I suggest you examine the Dish for security first and then refit the F connections at both ends of the cable.

Also, do you have any joins in the cable eg Wall Faceplates, cable extenders ?

glen_jai

Yes, it is still not working, so I dread that the problem is almost certainly at my end.

I think I need to re-align the dish, but don't know how.
Is it worth me calling an cable guy out to check this? Or is it something I can simply do myself?

Thanks again,
Glen

Tivù

Well not only should it not be difficult to check that the connectors are properly fitted to both ends of the cable, but it should also be easy to ensure they are screwed into the Receiver and on to the LNB.

Bearing in mind you are getting nothing at all, the possibility of Dish misalignment is probably the least likely scenario as you normally get only a small movement which causes some Channels to pixellate.

But have a look at it anyway - If it seems secure, then the cabling and connections remain the likely culprit.

glen_jai

Thank you Tivu for your sound advice.. I will keep you updated with my findings.

Cheers,
Glen

glen_jai

Right, so I have eliminated the receiver, as I bought another one.
So the other main culprit would be the lnb.

I have a conventional sky dish, which I have hooked up to my fortec satellite receiver to receive Astra/Eurobird channels. What lnb would I need to see the same channels? I went maplin yesterday, and the guy there told me that a sky lnb would not be suitable for receiving freesat channels, but I'm pretty sure that that I am using a sky lnb at the moment.

Cheers,
Glen

PaulR

Maplins.

You pay peanuts, you get monkeys...

As you rightly thought there's absolutely nothing different about an LNB for $ly and an LNB for Freesat.

The only thing you have to be careful about is to make sure that if you have one of $ly's minidishes that you get the right LNB as they are not quite the same as those for conventional dishes. They are currently available in single output, four output (Quad) and eight ouput (Octo) so go for whichever has enough outputs for you.

PaulR As I get older I find myself thinking about the hereafter - I go into a room and then wonder what I'm here after.

glen_jai

Turns out that my dish was out of alignment. I was quite surprised actually, as it's been sitting there for years even before I decided to try and hook it up to a receiver for EuroBird channels.

But it was just a minor adjustment, and everything is back.

Thank you all for your help and useful advice.

Glen

Tivù

Good result

Armchair diagnosis is all very well, but you can't beat being "on location" !