Duff LNB, box or just stupid? You decide!

Gusset

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Hi. New to this site and completely new to forums.... Hope I'm using the correct protocol etc.

Cut to the chase. I have an old Sky analogue system which still receives the usual German channels etc very well. I bought a second hand Amstrad DRX400 with a view to repositioning the dish to 28.2 as Freeview breaks up a lot in my area.

After reading up a bit, I reckoned when I plugged the box in, I should have been able to receive some digital channels broadcasting from 19.2. I manually tuned in various channels (CNN, Travel, Al Jazeera etc) to make sure box was working before moving dish. When I try to view any of these stored channels, I always get "No satellite signal is being received"

When I was tuning in, both the signal strength & signal quailty were very high (more than 70%). The LNB was replaced a good many years ago, but I'm sure the installer said it would also be suitable for the digital changeover.

Did he lie and it's not suitable, is it likely to be broken, does it sound like the box, could it be something to do with the EPG looking for 28.2 that I read about somewhere, or am I just being stupid?

I freak out a bit with heights, so I don't know what the LNB says on it yet. Was hoping to keep trips up the big scary ladder to the very minimum, preferrably once, to reposition the dish. Surely if the LNB was not suitable, it wouldn't be getting the signal & quality readings or even channel names for that matter? Nothing shows up at all when I do an auto-scan, only in manual mode.

Maybe it's a specific problem with the DRX400? Dunno.
Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your time.
 

rolfw

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Welcome to the forum. :)

So you added the channels like Travel Channel via the Add Channels menu, then tried to watch them by clicking on Other Channels in the services menu?

If you tried to watch them through the normal EPG, they won't show up as that is solely for the Astra 28.2 spot.

You wouldn't be able to find them under add channels if the LNB wasn't of the correct type.
 

Gusset

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OK. So because I can actually find channels, it would appear the LNB would be working and suitable for digital.

When I have stored the channels I want to add, it says "channel line-up complete, press select to continue" which takes me back to the search page. How, then, do I view the channels without going to the new list in 'other channels'? I don't understand....

In 'other channels', I now have listings for 15 - 20 such as TV7, Canal Algerie, Cine FX and TV Canaria, which I presume ARE digital stations coming from 19.2.

Selecting any of these to view just brings up "no satellite signal is being received" again. I just don't get it. Does this make sense to anyone?

Cheers.
 

rolfw

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Sorry, don't quite understand what you are saying about viewing the channels, they can only be viewed via the other channels menu. Digiboxes are not very good at viewing channels from other satellites and sometimes forget settings, or lose them altogether, try switching it off at the mains and then going into other channels and selecting one of them.

Try finding channels for 11.597 Vertical on this page. http://www.lyngsat.com/astra19.html
 

Gusset

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Thanks RolfW, tried as you suggested.....made no difference. Channels found and stored from that frequency:

TRT International
DWTV
DW01
DW03
DW04
Sky News
BBC World
CNBC Europe
TV5 Monde Europe

Again, when I go to services, other channels and I'm presented with my list of stored channels (now about 30), selecting any of them still brings up 'no signal is being received'. All the channels are still stored, so it's not like I'm having to scan every time I switch on the box.

I was sold the box as being in perfect working order, so I'm going to take it over to a mate's to connect to his Sky dish, just to eliminate that. I'll let you know how I get on....
 

rolfw

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OK, certainly sounds like it may be a box fault. :)
 

Gusset

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Well, after testing the box on 2 friends Sky dishes, it's still coming back as 'no signal', so it's clearly the box. It's currently winging, sorry, crawling (Royal Mail) it's way back to it's original owner.

Thanks for your advice, it was most appreciated.

Got another second hand box on its way, hopefully working this time!

Again, thanks a lot.
 

Gusset

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S/H Amstrad DRX400
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Update:

Second box works fine, old Sky analogue dish repositioned. All singing, all dancing and working (for the moment, fingers crossed) Freesat for about £40.

Thanks again for your help.

Gus.
 

rolfw

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Technomate 5402 HD M2 Ci, DM7000s, Transparent 80cm Dish, Moteck SG2100 DiseqC motor, lots of legacy gear. Meters: Satlook Digital NIT, Promax HD Ranger+ spectrum analyser.
My Location
Berkshire
Well done, glad you got it sorted. :)
 
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