Having problems in Germany

[furball man]

Hello all.

Firstly I'd like to say what a great site.

Right then, I have had Sky for several years over here with no real problems (the odd heavy storm has affected the quality of signal but thats about it.)

3 or so days ago I noticed that my signal quality and strengh had become weaker,losing some of the sensitive channels(Film 4 has always been a bit weak) this has now escilated to losing all but Channel 4,C5,Sky 3 and a few duff channels I never watch,listen too. I,at 1st,thought the weather had moved the dish a bit,checked it but all seems well, I then fiddled around with the cable which helped but not for long.Since then I have bought a new cable but nothing doing,sometimes the signal is pretty much full then dropping down to nowt constantly wavering about'O'-red??? I know the dish isnt moving in wind as its right outside my window.

Any ideas? Could the dish of had its day? Its a 80cm dish (I think,one of those mesh oval ones you see all over the U.K.)

Thanks in advance

 

[p]

are all the channels on the same pol, ie horizontal or vertical, if so i'd go with your lnbs on its way out?

Tho if its a mix , i'd still go for an lnb swap;)

 

[furball man]

I'm sorry P, I have no idea what your talking about?

Channels in the same pol?Inb

Sorry to come across as a fool,I just know how to set the thing up, last time I had it up and running in about 2 mins without sat finder. I'm beginning to wonder if the dish is for some unknown reason lacking in size as the signal strengh is so fragile at the moment.My girlfriend is also having problems with normal German tv..it keeps saying "No Signal" too??I read somewhere that the Suns activity can affect the signal but surely this would then be a problem for lots of people.

It's all very strange and a tad frustrating :-crying

 

[colinp]

It may be a combination of things.I had the same probs a couple of months ago with sky hd.You will need to check your cable is intact ie-not kinked,no water ingress and connections are fine.Also check your lnb for cracks or damage.As you say your dish is ok the fault may lie with your box.Try the box on someone elses dish and cable and see how it performs.If you get channels fine it is the dish/lnb/cable.Hope this helps.

 

[furball man]

Thanks Colin, I'll try this.

As I say the quality of the signal changes so regularly its bizzare which does lead me to think its either the Lnb(just looked up what that is),connections or the cable itself.

If it is the lnb can I just replace that with any old one?Does it need to be a specific type?

Oh and good luck tonight in the U.e.f.a cup

 

[colinp]

Cheers mate.Yes it would have to be what is called a "universal" lnb.Try any satellite dealer or e-bay.Personally I would try the box in someone elses house who you know has a good strong signal .That would be the easiest option.Let me know how you get on.Regards.

 

[rolfw]

Several factors could cause signal loss, some as mentioned above, but also dish alignment, or perhaps an obstruction in the signal path. You say that you are losing German TV as well, is this coming from the same dish with an offset LNB?

Is it a single cable run from dish to receiver?

Could you take a couple of photos so that we can see the installation?

 

[furball man]

No the German tv is a seperate set up.

There are no obstructions that I can see.

Sadly I can't check my box with anyone else as I'm the only person I know in this area with Sky tv and it would mean asking people to move their dish to the correct sat.

I am beginning to think the lnb is buggered, there is no way the signal could be so irracttic,for example today it's a lovely sunny calm day and it's jumping around like a jack in a box!! The strength is consistant its just the quality.

I will get a new lnb tomorrow (todays a holiday over her) and see what happens.Thank a lot for the help so far, I'll keep you posted.

Edit... I've just measured my dish, its length is 55cm by 40cm high. Is it possible that I've just been lucky all these years and really just need a bigger dish?

 

[Robbo]

Edit... I've just measured my dish, its length is 55cm by 40cm high. Is it possible that I've just been lucky all these years and really just need a bigger dish?

You have a Zone 1 Sky minidish by the sounds of it, which does also have a special LNB ( the feedhorn is anyway).

Even in the UK the zone1 dishes are just about OK for down south, further North they use the Zone2 dishes (a bit bigger)

Not sure of your location in Germany, but I think that you have been lucky getting a signal on it. I think you would be better off just changing the dish for a larger one that you can buy locally.

An 70-80cm or thereabouts maybe?

Robbo

 

[furball man]

Thanks Robbo.

Looking on the map of size of dish,quality of reception it looks like I have been luky, I'm based near Essen (kind of inbetween Dortmund and Düsseldorf) I will look into getting a new dish although I think this problem is the LNB as now sadly everything has dissappeared & I can't get any type of signal!?!

Is it easy to get a LNB for the mini dish? Am I better off just starting from scratch with a whole new dish?As mentioned I'l pop into town tomorrow and see what I can get.

Again thanks to everyone for their help so far. Its funny how,when living abroad how much you can miss "Home Tv"

 

[rolfw]

Have you checked the dish alignment? Also if you have a satellite receiver for German TV, you can use that to check the dish.

 

[furball man]

The alignment seems fine, I just took out the cable at the back of the LNB to see if there was anything wrong with it,put it back and hey presto....nada !!

The German tv is cable so I can't check it, I'll try a new LNB tomo then if nothing I'll get another dish, just hope it isnt anything to do with the digibox itself.

 

[p]

I'm sorry P, I have no idea what your talking about?

Channels in the same pol?Inb

basically try another LNB,

was on about the channels your having issues with at the end of there frequency are they all the same, as in a H or V

 

[Robbo]

The alignment seems fine, I just took out the cable at the back of the LNB to see if there was anything wrong with it,put it back and hey presto....nada !!

The German tv is cable so I can't check it, I'll try a new LNB tomo then if nothing I'll get another dish, just hope it isnt anything to do with the digibox itself.

I doubt very much if it would be possible to obtain a minidish LNB locally. There are plenty available on ebay though. A normal 40mm neck universal LNB can be used on the minidish, but it is not ideal and you will have to figure out a way of attaching it to the minidish. When I did this last, I hacked open the case of an old minidish LNB and used it to make a holder, then gaffa taped the LNB to it.

 

[T_G]

Well, you should really try to check the alignment of the dish. mark the position with a pen and then move it a mm left or right and see what this does. Considering that you can buy 1 m dishes for less than 50 Euros new, it does not make sense to keep hold of the minisdish.

 

[furball man]

Hi all,

Well i've bought a new dish (60 cm with LNB and german Reciever to boot!) all for 60€, still having no joy getting Sky or even a signal!!

I've remembered that I do know someone who also has Sky in this area so tomorrow morning I'm going to take my Sky Reciever to him to check it out on his set up, he did mention that he's also been having problems with English & German tv.

Just for y'alls information the dish is a 60 cm "Smart" as is the LNB "Titanium" Edition TSX (0.2dB, Frequency 10.7-12.75) I hope this is correct and will surfice.

Thanks again for everyones input

p.s. is it possible that the reciever is knackered even though I still get the menu ?

 

[Robbo]

Hi all,

p.s. is it possible that the reciever is knackered even though I still get the menu ?

Yes, if the tuner circuit is bu99ered, the rest could still function. Anyway you'll find out when you try it on an already setup 28E dish.

 

[furball man]

Well I've checked my reciever and it's fine

The problem is....It's Summertime and the bleedin tree in front of my house has leaves on it affecting my signal..as bizzare as it sounds it would make sense as (the signal quality fluctuating so much)

I've not had too much time to have a ganders today but probably will tomorrow, it may mean I have to either move my dish wall fixing,cut down the tree or wait for the Greenhouse effect to destroy all trees!!! I'll prob do the 1st.

So I'm a tad happier know my set up is ok (& Spurs winning today..sorry Rolfw) but I will probs change the minidish to the 60cm one for extra assurance.

Right I'm off for a well earned glass o' red !!!

Will let cha know how it goes

Cheers Chaps

Furbie

 

[dxsat]

This kind of thing affect loads of people at this time of year, trees that didn't cause a problem for years eventually grow up into the signal path. When the leaves open at the onset of warmer weather in May the signal is badly affected by the foliage. Green leaves are a very effective signal blocker. It's quite common for this to be intermittent as the wind rocks the top of the tree slightly.
Reception often improves in autumn when the tree sheds its leaves.

 

[furball man]

Okey pokey,

Finally had the time to have a fiddle.Moved the dish position to the other side of the house and.......BINGO!!!!! Got a good strength signal straight away

From moving the position(drilling holes etc),setting up the dish to watching tv took about 5 mins!!

The 45cm minidish is still reading a high quality and strength signal too.

A big whole hearted thank you to all who gave me advice :-worship

My lesson learned.....when putting up a dish in the winter,think about what hazzards the other season may bring!!