Grundig Digi Box for FTA

[waverider]

I have just recently installed a motorised system and wondered if my old existing Grundig Sky digi box can be set up for free to air as I no longer subscribe to Sky (fed up with too many repeats!), if so can it be used as a seperate system so the wife doesn't get confused with boxes and buttons?. I look forward to hear from anyone with sound advise on how to do this....i.e dish position etc.

 

[PoloMint]

Sky boxes don’t particularly like being on motorised systems, mainly because they don’t like being away from 28.2E for long, and they are not DiSEqC compatible. However they can be used on a motorized system provided you use a different box to position the dish and go back to 28.2 for a night every now and then.

A couple other problems with them is they take ages to find listings (when at 28.2, they won't find anything by themselves anywhere else) and apart from having very limited symbol rates will loose all the added channels spontaneously every now and then. But the last two things shouldn’t be a problem if you have another receiver anyway.

If you want a completely separate system for FTV on your Sky box you should probably get just that, a completely separate system with its own dish. If you don’t still have your Sky dish you can pick one up cheaply. You will also need a FTV card (to get ITV, Ch4/5 and a couple the encrypted yet free channels), provided you still have your old Sky card you should be able to order a replacement FTV card free from http://www.free2view.tv/ otherwise you will have to pay just over £20. If you only cancelled Sky very recently and have a ‘new’ card (one with a picture of a yellow house and dark blue background) you shouldn’t need to order a new FTV card.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[waverider]

Thanks for the info Polomint...so what you are saying is that as long as the two systems are operated seperately from each other things should be O'K....will I have to move the sky dish to a different position though?...it's still pointing to where the Sky installers originally installed it!.....look forward to more info from you...many thanks.......Waverider.

 

[PoloMint]

Yes the two systems should work fine separately.

If it’s still where the Sky installers installed it then its set up already, 28.2E - where the Sky installers will have set it, has the biggest selection of channels that can easily be received on a Sky digibox (and the only place for BBC and other uk channels FTV)

 

[waverider]

Thanks again Polomint....it's just that the supplier of my new system advised me I could run fta through it via the digibox.....but my wife does get confused somewhat with all the buttons!!!....she has only just got the hang of the sky box after all these years.....and I just want to keep things simple for her!!!....thanks again..