New member in the Czech Republic (Ostrava) with Sky

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Hello all,

I am a new member here and relatively new to Satellite dish and received setting up. I moved to Czech (Ostrava, in the far East of the country) about two years ago and set up my own system using a locally bought dish (90cm generic) and a quality cable and LNB. the receiver is the standard Sky Digibox by Thompson from the UK which I brough with me along with my card. With some luck, I pointed the dish towards the Sky and actually found the satellite first time (subsequent realignments caused by the severe wind storms we have had occasionally have proven this was pure luck, as it took me longer to find the satellites recently!)

After getting everything up and running, it became clear to me that a few channels were missing (BBC 1&2, ITV and a few besides) and after a quick look across the internet, it became clear to me that this was due to dish size and the footprint of the Satellite which intentionally blocks usage abroad.

Fine, I thought and left it at that, happy enough with the install. Over the last few months I have noticed a dwindling of channels, with Channel Four disappearing altogether in the last month or two.

After more research on the internet I couldn't find the precise answers and it became clear that there is some conflicting information from websites. I realise this is much to do with things changing as much as perhaps people making errors, but I would like to pose the following questions (just so long as no one has fallen asleep yet!)

1) If money is no object, is there a better dish I can use which would increase the reception of various channels without going too large? My wife has put her foot down and insisted that there is no way we will use a 2.4 metre dish, which has been much mentioned on websites as the size necessary to use here for receiving BBC. I could go to 1.2 metre, perhaps 1.5 at a push, but there is a boundary issue with a neighbour and also the previously mentioned wind problem (people regularly lose their roof here) and it is wall mounted. I really don't care how much it costs, if there is a Rolls Royce medium sized dish which can receive better reception than a standard one (by better reception I mean also more channels). We also have big snow and rain clouds here and I have noticed that whilst in the UK this might not matter with a more focused beam, when we have big weather the signal can be spolied, so maybe this could be improved with a bigger dish also.

2) Are there other things I might consider doing, like changing the box, or reprogramming it (if this can be done) as I am not linked to the telephone any more, perhaps I am not receiving updates? Maybe channels have moved but I don't know about this?

3) Are there some 'cheats' that might get round this? Are there for example other Satellites that I could receive better and get these channels?

I would like to keep the Skybox if possible, as I have it hidden away, my television remote control controls it via the TV. Other boxes may not work.

Thanking you in advance,

Paul.
 

Channel Hopper

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Welcome aboard Paul

You will have to be rather nice to the missus over Christmas, as I know somebody in Brno, with a 2m dish, and they experience some BBC broadcasts, but only until mid afternoon.
You may have to get a 2.4m dish (and a good one at that).
 

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'There is a very fine line between hobby and mental illness' : I will remember that for a long time :-)

I was kind of hoping there might be a way to get round this. Anyone know why channel 4 dropped out?

I really can't fit a 2.4 in between us and the neighbour, also the wind would wrench it off, along with much of the roof I fear!

Paul.
 

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Why dont you use the extra chanels function described on the "Cant get 2D? Heres where to find the main psb channels"thread at the top of the page,that way youll get channel 4 ,4+ and ITV with out changing your dish!
 

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eagle said:
Why dont you use the extra chanels function described on the "Cant get 2D? Heres where to find the main psb channels"thread at the top of the page,that way youll get channel 4 ,4+ and ITV with out changing your dish!

Hi Eagle and thanks for your comment. I have tried the BBC option, in fact until recently I hadn't tried BBC News 24, as I knew it didn't work before, so perhaps this in one that turned on during the switch around. The problem is, try as I might, I can't tune in the Sky Digibox, at least I don't know how to. I ask it to learn new channels, but it just comes up with a few music channels I am not interested in.

Thanks, Paul.
 

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OK, spent a little time on this and using the excellent advice on this website managed to find Channel 4 (pixellated and not watchable, unless you like every 4th word of Eddy Izzard!) and ITV1 comes in crystal clear, which I have never had before. My understanding is that these are cheats by getting signals from the stronger satellites rather than getting 2D to work. I imagine, from the comments made here that 1&2 and other 2D channels will be impossible, but perhaps I can improve Channel 4 by better alignment and better LNB, or more sensitive receiver perhaps?
 

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Nope, no cheats.

(You could try moving )
 

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Very funny ;-) I was just cruising forums and wondering if an extra high gain LNB, 1.5 metre Gibertini dish and more sensitive receiver would solve my problems. Clearly it won't make that much difference.
 

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Both 'cheat' :D channels are on a North beam footprint (TTon4 & ITV); an easy catch for a 90cm in your location I'd say. With a correctly set up dish & LNb the above channels shouldn't give you any problems.
 

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@Loaded

have a look here to get an idea about Astra2 reception in your area

---->_http://web2.dxsatcs.66.sk/php66/index.php?str=49

best regards
 

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pipino said:
have a look here to get an idea about Astra2 reception in your area

---->_http://web2.dxsatcs.66.sk/php66/index.php?str=49

best regards


Very good info :)
 

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Hi Paul, I know from my relative in Cyprus that they have the same problem and in order to receive good Astra 2A signal, you'd have to : - Use a 4.5m prime focus dish OR - Use a 2.4m Offset-fed dish. MINIMUM I reckon the situation in the Czech republic is pretty much the same as it appears from the satellite footprint. Usually, British channels announce the reception parameters on their official websites and, to my knowledge, these are the only applicable parameters to receive these channels. From my experience, there is no way out of this and all you can do is buying high-quality stuff to increase the chance of good reception. So try the following things: - Good LNB, albeit it can be pricey ;-) , like Invacom (there are many other good makes in the market, however). - Good dish from a good manufacturer or a good make (have no idea what this can be) - Good coaxial cable (something double stranded or with an Aluminium shield, etc). - Good receiver that sports a good RF box. By doing these things you will have optimised everything that falls in the signal path till it reaches the decoding stage. Apart from that there is no workaround, I'm afraid. Best of luck in your efforts to receive all of Astra signals and don't forget to write about your experience. Cheers,
 

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Sorry Guys but the internet connection on my side is terrible and it messed the neat reply. Hopefully you can gather up the info you need
 

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Hello Paul.
From my experience you would have to be really lucky or have a really big dish.We have a holiday home near Ceske Budejovice and we are spending christmas here so what we did, we bought cheaper box from england and had it patched, also we bought a 1m dish,motor1.2 diseg, sorry the box is technomate 5400 CI usb super , install it our selfs and we receiving signals down here around 95% and no sign of BBC, so only thing you can do is to insert a sky Free card into the technomate which is compatible and it will allow you to view Itv, channel four, five etc and also you get bbc news 24 and some red buttom channels which they are hidden unde stream. I hope this helps .
Good luck.
Vaclav
 

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Holy thread resurrection Batman :-)

I started this thread a few years ago and have been enjoying most of the channels ever since, however, I just upgraded my Sky account to include some more channels and the upgrade hasn't worked. Is it possible that the upgrade didn't work because I am out of range, or could there be another reason? I wanted Sky Movies. Is it possible that the upgrade signal wasn't received?

All the best,

Paul.
 

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Nornally updates come in within a few minutes. However at busy times it can take 24 hours or more for the signal to go through the queue. Get onto Sky again and get them to resend the activation signal..
 

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Thank you, I called them, that worked :-) Now the box is asking for a PIN number and they assure me it is the last 4 digits, however, they don't work :-( I have no recollection of ever having a PIN number or changing it, so perhaps I have another problem. This box is 10 years old, so I can't remember ever using a PIN number with it.

Paul.
 

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The pin number is the last 4 digits of the first card to have been activated in it. However if you have a mysky account you can reset the pin online.

Its worth having an account - they are free - as you can do useful things with them like remote record if you are away and find theres a not to miss prog on.
 

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I reset the PIN as suggested and it worked, all channels coming in nicely here in Ostrava :-) Thank you again!

Paul.
 

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No problem Paul - glad to have been of assistance :)
 
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