Goodmans FreeSat SD - useless remote control

H

HPsauce

Member
My Satellite Setup
Freesat dish installed with Quad LNB Nov 2010.
Have Humax HD box and HD PVR connected.
PVR is internet-connected for iPlayer. HD Box is iPlayer-ready.
Several PC's running XP, Vista and 7x64. PC expert.
Fast broadband (20mbps).
My Location
South Bucks
Hello all,
My very elderly in-laws (90+) have had FreeSat installed a few days ago very cheaply as part of the "Digital Switch" scheme.
They said it didn't work so I just said, that's fine I'll sort it out when we visit at Xmas. assuming they didn't understand.
Well the reality was that they DID understand but the remote control only works when within 2 or 3 feet of the box! (TV remote is fine, as are the DVD and VCR).

It's a cheap Goodmans SD box - GFSAT101SD - and actually works reasonably well, reception-wise.
I've made sure all "protective film" is removed and tried 3 brand new sets of fresh AAA batteries (including some expensive Duracell ones) but it's still exactly the same, only works reliably when you are very close to the box. 2 foot OK, 4 feet flaky, 6 feet useless!
One odd thing is that sometimes it works when you're a bit further away, but only for 1 single button-push. Almost like it's exhausted from the effort!

Any thoughts before I chase the installers:
Is this a common problem?
Am I missing something?
Is it more likely the remote or the box?
(Obviously a remote can be posted, a new box will need someone to set it up)
 
It may be that the LED inside is misapplied but as it's a new setup you shouldn't have to mess around. As soon as they are open get back to the installers.
 
If you have a digital camera point the lens at the led in the rc & press a button - you should see a series of white pulses on the viewfinder. This will at least give you an idea if the rc is working right.

Also does the house have enery saving bulbs in the problematic room? If they have and they are electrically "noisy" they have been known to interfere with rc commands. If there are enery saving bulbs turn all the lights off and see if there is any improvement.
 
Thanks for the comments.
No energy-saving bulbs in that room - they're both very old and hate them (slow starting, funny colours) so I keep them well-supplied with "traditional" ones.
The RC does work, but only when within 3 feet or so of the receiver box. I have tried pointing the RC in various directions angled away from directly at the receiver and also from different directions (above, below, both sides etc.) to see if either transmitter or receiver are misaligned but nothing obvious showed up.
They're 100 miles from us so I can't exactly pop round to try things. I just like to try and understand what problems are in order to get them fixed properly.
I'll chase the installers tomorrow - bank holiday today. Big company with an 0800 number so hopefully they'll sort it out quickly.
 
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