PACE/Sky tried e'ything except pulling out hair

daveinavon · 31-07-2009

I got the "No satelite signal" on the SKY Pace DV3 digibox after it had been off for a while. To cut a long story short, I've changed the digibox, the down-cable, the LNB and checked the satelite alignment with a meter. But.. I get VERY erratic results working /not working without any visible reason.

At best I get Signal Strength and Quality both at about 70% but video and audio come and go. It does seem like a bad joint or loose connection but I've changed erverything I can think of and the signal comes and goes even though I've not moved, or touched anything. The dish is firmly fixed.

can anyone help please.

**satelliteman** · 31-07-2009

Hi,

Might be a line of sight issue. Are you surrounded by tress by any chance.

daveinavon · 31-07-2009

No trees, just open farmland, But there are (low tension) power lines about 500 metres away, But they are not new and the system worked OK for years?

**freddy** · 31-07-2009

Have you another box to eliminate cable/dish problems?
You could try jiggling the cable where it enters the box (in case the tuner has dry joint or similar)

daveinavon · 31-07-2009

Yes, I've tried two boxes and changed the cable to the dish but I still get erratic results. Sometimes I get good signal, somtimes I get No Signal

***Tivù*** · 31-07-2009

Is the firmware in your Boxes up to date?

Boxes with out of date firmware are prone to erotic (sorry, erratic) behaviour.

You say your boxes are DV3, but you'll find that is actually DVB (And is not a box model designator, but a "Standard" ie Digital Video Broadcasting) and appears on all Sky Boxes (amongst others).

Please look at Services >4 >5 and report the EPG Version.

It should be 3.7.6 if they are standard Boxes (Not Sky Plus).

If they aren't at that Version, then you'll need to attempt a Forced Update.

Unfortunately, Sky Boxes prefer to be left energised so they can receive firmware updates and maintain up to date EPG Data.

daveinavon · 31-07-2009

The two boxes have EPG Versions of 3.5.3 and 3.6.4.18 respectively.

But, I tried the force update on the first mentioned box and it showed the "Updating wait ... could take 10 minutes.." for 30 minutes.

Now I can't even get it to come out of standby!

So, I'll try the other box again.

Thanks for suggestions

***Tivù*** · 31-07-2009

A Forced Update shouldn't, of itself, lead to a box failure. "Stuck in Standby" is a whole different can of worms.

If it is either not being transmitted or is received corrupted (hence failing fail its parity check) it simply won't be applied.

Are you able to identify the Model (not DV3!!) for us?

Are they very old?

Do you have a local Car Boot sale?

**satelliteman** · 31-07-2009

It won't update if the signal is dropping out at source (dish), assuming the fault lies here of course.

daveinavon · 31-07-2009

I think both the last posts are correct. I assume that the "stuck in standby" is new fault and the reason for the non-update is that there was no signal incoming at that time.

The first box, which was supplied with the original Sky installation and is therefore many years old, is BSYB 2500S4 . This one has EPG =3.6.4.18.

The second box was bought on Ebay

a few months ago (so I don't know it's age or history), is BSYB 2500S3. This had EPG=3.5.3 before it failed with the stuck in standby.

Until this recent fault, both boxes exhibited the same, but unpredictable performance. The satelite finder meter showed a consistent peak output when the dish was moved (so I think the Dish/New LNB, New downcable and New connectors are OK).

The meter reading holds a fairly steady reading while the video and audio signals go from good to bad and back again(does this confirm that the fault is on the box side of the downcable?)

Thanks for your interest
Regards dave

**Topper** · 31-07-2009

There are dozens of satellites up there how do you know you are on the correct one now??

**satelliteman** · 31-07-2009

Odds are it's a dish problem or outside interference?

daveinavon · 31-07-2009

I know it's the correct satelite because when it's working I get all the right Sky channels

**Topper** · 31-07-2009

Originally Posted by daveinavon

Until this recent fault, both boxes exhibited the same, but unpredictable performance. The satelite finder meter showed a consistent peak output when the dish was moved (so I think the Dish/New LNB, New downcable and New connectors are OK).

Ok I misinterpreted your use of the words the dish was moved.

Being in open farmland do we assume you are on mains electricity from those cables? , as I have known large voltage fluctuations to take place when there is strong wind as the cables swing around a lot causing voltage surges.

daveinavon · 31-07-2009

No, we don't get our supply from those cables. We just look out over farmland.
We are on a 'normal' town underground supply and don't suffer from any noticable fluctations in supply.

Regards Dave

**Topper** · 01-08-2009

In that case I can only surmise you have two duff stb's. Can you not borrow a friend's for an hour just to check?

***Tivù*** · 01-08-2009

Originally Posted by Topper

In that case I can only surmise you have two duff stb's. Can you not borrow a friend's for an hour just to check?

Hence my earlier question about the availability of Car Boot sales

In addition to borrowing a friend's Box to check out the true effectiveness of your refurbished cable/LNB etc, perhaps you might try one or both of your sick Boxes on a known fully working system (same friend, perhaps?). At least then you'd have half a chance of succeeding with a Forced Update, which certainly won't succeed if it does turn out that your own Dish etc. is marginal.

***Tivù*** · 01-08-2009

Ultimately, if the boxes are truly dead, these 2500 series are prone to ZIF Tuner Module faults and also (like so many Sky Digiboxes) Power Supply problems caused by degraded Smoothing Capacitors.

They are fixable - at a cost which will almost certainly exceed the price of a pre-loved replacement or three

daveinavon · 01-08-2009

Ok, I know this is completely 'off the wall' but perhaps you clever guys out there may be able to make some sense of it

Going back to the 'working' box and simplifing the system to a basic setup of:- Dish->Downcable->Box->Scart-> TV and nothing else like Recorder etc.

Although it still showed "no satellite.." , the Guide Page showed up-to-date Day, Time and current programme details?? but still no video or audio.

Now for the strange bit (I had noticed this before but had dismissed it as a one-off).

If I go to Services and make a change to the Picture setup (change 16:9 to 4:3) and then go to guide I get full Video and Audio. If I go back to services and change it back to 16:9 I get "No satellite.." This is repeatable, I've done it several times.

With the system now working, I updated to EPG 3.7.6 successfully, but the same problems remain.

Correction, just checked and it's not the CHANGE of picture setup that does it, it's purely GOING to the picture setup page without changing anything that seems to toggle the "No satellite..."

Yours confused....Time to get down to the Boot Sale I think.

***Tivù*** · 01-08-2009

I think this still leaves either a dying Tuner Module or Degraded Power Supply. In either case, prior to total death, box behaviour can be unpredictable, inconsistent and erratic.

That said, some sick boxes have been known to spring back to life if left permanently powered up.

If you aren't a fan of palliative care, then the Car Boot it will be!

**Analoguesat** · 01-08-2009

You arent having trouble posting dave - because you are a new member, some of your posts are getting put into the moderation queue.

You just need to wait a few minutes until one of the staff approves the post.

daveinavon · 01-08-2009

Sorry I didn't know about the moderation delay

Thanks for all the contributions and help.

I think I'll take the advice and leave it powered-up and see what happens

purplemarina · 01-08-2009

i had a 2500 series, every time i went on holiday i unplugged it. on return it would always display no signal! usually after a few hours in stanby it would work again. last time it took 3 days so i retired it and got a cheap replacement.

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PACE/Sky tried e'ything except pulling out hair Sky digital support forum at Sats UK, Everything involved on the hardware and software side of reception of the channels from 28.2/28.5 East BskyB, special focus on fringe reception of Astra 2D for UK free to air channels