freesat in france

[morvanman]

Decided to splashout and replace my ageing SkyBox (Amstrad -10 years and still going strong) with a Humax FoxSat -HDR and switch to FreeSat channels as opposed to the raft of Free to Air channels on SKY.
The instruction claim that if you have a working SKY rig-- just uplug your SkyBox and plug in the Humax and follow the instructions - well. it doesn't work!
Cuurently have no second cable running from the dish to allow the second channel record facility so put a loop cable in the box as per instructions - still the same problem.
The box fires up and takes me through the steps until it comes to the signal search and then always say "no signal detected" !!!
Put the SkyBox back in and .....no problems - perfect
What am I not doing wrong ? Seemed to good to be true and it is !

 

[Lazarus]

Remove the loop cable and see if it works with just one Tuner connected (LNB1) - You'll have to tell the Receiver to expect only one feed in the Settings.

I have some little noises going off in the back of my mind relating to this issue and will get back to you if I can recall what the issue was, although in your particular case it could be something as simple as a poor connection (most likely with the Loop cable) or an incorrect Setting.

Clearly it would be best if you were to get the LNB upgraded, though, and provide the two separate Feeds. That's the only way to get full functionality.

 

[Topper]

I suspect the twin tuner unit needs an OTA update
It does seem a bit of catch 22 here, you need to update the software but you cannot without a signal, it is a known problem

http://www.satellites.co.uk/satellite/freesat/153697-humax-excellent-signal-but-error-message.html

 

[Lazarus]

It does seem a bit of catch 22 here, you need to update the software but you cannot without a signal, it is a known problem

http://www.satellites.co.uk/satellite/freesat/153697-humax-excellent-signal-but-error-message.html

Ah, yes - that was it! You've saved me a lot of memory trawling Topper. Thanks

 

[Lazarus]

............ FreeSat channels as opposed to the raft of Free to Air channels on SKY.

In general, they are the exact same Channels anyway - just a different EPG. Same Satellites, same frequencies, same everything - just pulled together in a different way. There are exceptions such as Five, which has an FTA duplicate tacked on to a BBC Transponder on Astra 2D specifically for Freesat (although it can be seen by a generic Box and even on a Sky Box via "Add Channels", in addition to the Encrypted FTV version that Sky have on their EPG).

 

[morvanman]

Message for TIVU
Thanks for the reply - have tried using just one cable - same result "no signal received"
How do I tell my box anything ? So far, it doesnt talk to me ! What really gets me is the SkyBox is happy with the signal, so why not the Humax?
Im a true tecnophobe and should know from bitter experience that any "easy to install", "no technical expertise needed", and " just plug and play" claims are as credible as a chocolate teapot !
Should I just shove it back in the box and get my £280 back and settle for nonHD Sky ?- at least that works. Should have left well enough alone!

 

[Lazarus]

Message for TIVU
Thanks for the reply - have tried using just one cable - same result "no signal received"
How do I tell my box anything ? So far, it doesnt talk to me ! What really gets me is the SkyBox is happy with the signal, so why not the Humax?
Im a true tecnophobe and should know from bitter experience that any "easy to install", "no technical expertise needed", and " just plug and play" claims are as credible as a chocolate teapot !
Should I just shove it back in the box and get my £280 back and settle for nonHD Sky ?- at least that works. Should have left well enough alone!

Well it really should be Plug & Play, so I suppose it is possible you've got a duff Box. That said, both the PVR and non-PVR versions of the Foxsat are pretty bomb-proof by all accounts.

Whether you get a refund or go instead for a replacement is not something I can advise you on, really.

However, it might pay you to call the Humax Tech Support line as they are generally (not always!) very helpful.

 

[morvanman]

Took your advice and rang the Humax technical helpline.
Got fed up waiting as the ££££s ticked away as I was on wait after hearing several " press #1 " etc.
So, another blind alley after getting completely useless advice from the Comet technical helpline "you need to get an installation engineer in to check your Sky installation"
Saw the problem posted after mine from the guy in Paris - virtually the same issues.
BEWARE ALL YOU PROSPECTIVE FREESAT USERS IN FRANCE - YOU WILL HAVE PROBLEMS SO KEEP YOUR EUROS IN YOUR POCKET
Unless, of course, anyone knows differently ?????

 

[Lazarus]

Oh dear! Sorry to hear about the unproductive and costly call. Not sure where we go from here, sadly.

 

[itisix]

How old is your installation?

Can you upload some pictures of the dish, LNB and other accessories there might be?

Is the cable direct from the LNB to the receiver?

 

[Topper]

Is the cable direct from the LNB to the receiver?

Since the o/p was using a sky box then logic dictates it must be a direct cable from lnb to stb since a sky box does not have provision for diseqc control

 

[itisix]

Just covering the bases

 

[Lazarus]

Since the o/p was using a sky box then logic dictates it must be a direct cable from lnb to stb since a sky box does not have provision for diseqc control

Er, sorry, but it's a Humax Foxsat that is giving the trouble. Bought to replace a Sky Box, but not exactly successfully thus far!

It's still a direct connection from LNB to Tx, though.

 

[Topper]

Since the o/p was using a sky box then logic dictates it must be a direct cable from lnb to stb since a sky box does not have provision for diseqc control

Er, sorry, but it's a Humax Foxsat that is giving the trouble. Bought to replace a Sky Box, but not exactly successfully thus far!

It's still a direct connection from LNB to Tx, though.

Exactly as I said

 

[morvanman]

The cable is direct from the LNB to the Skybox - no joins, junctions or other interruptions to the cable.
I would like to hear from anyone else in Europe who has experienced similar difficulties with getting FreeSat on a fully functioning Sky rig. I have now given up and sent the Humax box back to Comet, hoping for a refund. Got absolutely NO help whatsoever from the Humax technical helpline (paying £££s to listen to messages) and still waiting one week later for Humax to respond to e-mails and many reminders. They obviously don't care what happens after you have parted with your cash. BUYERS BEWARE - HUMAX HAVE NO CONCEPT OF AFTER SALES SERVICE> Thanks to all at this Website for their suggestions

 

[morvanman]

Hurray - can now draw a line under this tedious saga
Humax box returned to Comet who poked around inside and found that.......the tuner card had never been connected during manufacture!
New box offered and accepted and we are now in business.
Thanks to all who contributed to this thread and Humax customer service still sucks
I'LL BE BACK!

 

[Topper]

Glad you got satisfaction in the end, unfortunately yet another case of the extremely poor customer services offered to UK citizens

 

[Lazarus]

Hurray - can now draw a line under this tedious saga
Humax box returned to Comet who poked around inside and found that.......the tuner card had never been connected during manufacture!
New box offered and accepted and we are now in business.
Thanks to all who contributed to this thread and Humax customer service still sucks
I'LL BE BACK!

Good grief!

Just goes to show that Batch Sampling and Quality control at Humax aren't what they should be.

I'm so pleased you got a result in the end.