No Power Anymore with my Pace Sky Digibox 2600.

[Stevey7]

I have a Pace Sky Digibox 2600.
Since yesterday I get No power supply anymore
The standby bottom usually lights up when powered but now there is even no light.
The cable and connections are not broken.
Is there any way to fix this ?

 

[Analoguesat]

Blimey its a miracle something that old survived so long. You may find its something as simple as blown capacitors in the power supply system. However seeing as its probably getting on for 15 years old its probably not worth repairing it.

If you are confident at basic electronics checks pop the case off & see if there are any bulging capacitors especially near the power socket. KEEP YOUR FINGERS CLEAR OF THE COMPONENTS! Even after being off for a while power supplies can hold enough voltage to give you a bad day.

 

[jeallen01]

Ix used 2600 currently on ebay UK but, as @Analoguesat said, it would better to get a much later SKY+ HD box (plenty of those on ebay!) BUT suggest you avoid any Sky Q boxes as they are "rental only" and are not supposed to be sold on (and they need a different LNB on the dish!).

 

[Channel Hopper]

Ix used 2600 currently on ebay UK but, as @Analoguesat said, it would better to get a much later SKY+ HD box (plenty of those on ebay!) BUT suggest you avoid any Sky Q boxes as they are "rental only" and are not supposed to be sold on (and they need a different LNB on the dish!).

According to profile, the o/p is in France. so perhaps sensitivity of the tuner might be relevant.

 

[jeallen01]

According to profile, the o/p is in France. so perhaps sensitivity of the tuner might be relevant.

Good opportunity for you to go over to fit and align a bigger and better dish!

 

[PaulR]

Depends on where in France. Down in the Vaucluse my 95cm dish only just cuts the mustard on the BBC HD channels (and not at all for the ITV HD channels. Up in the north a standard Sky Minidish would probably be enough.

 

[jeallen01]

So, down to @Stevey7 to give us a better idea of roughly where he lives!

 

[Stevey7]

I live in North of France.
Is there a possibilty to contact Pace (the maker of the receiver ?)
I don't find it back on the internet.

 

[william-1]

I live in North of France.
Is there a possibilty to contact Pace (the maker of the receiver ?)
I don't find it back on the internet.

That is because Pace went out of business a long while ago,
Lot's of good suggestions in this thread so it is up to you.

 

[jeallen01]

That is because Pace went out of business a long while ago,
Lot's of good suggestions in this thread so it is up to you.

@william-1 is quite correct on both points - If you still want to get the UK free-to-air broadcasts from SKY and other suppliers then you will have to update your SKY receiver as suggested above - or else get a "FreeSat" receiver from another source, and you will find a lot of info on that route elsewhere on this forum (but not from me as I never went that route!) .

NB: IIRC the Amstrad company bought PACE several decades ago, and then that part of the company was taken over by SKY itself, which from then-on sold the receivers under their own name but had them manufactured outside the UK - in several countries Europe and then mainly in China (the PRC).

Therefore there have been no UK manufactured PACE receivers in, possibly, several decades, and the independent UK repairers that did fix faulty early Pace/SKY boxes (and sometimes offered refurbished PSU modules, etc.) have also largely disappeared from the market (apart from a very few that still advertise on eBay UK, but I'd be wary about buying stuff from them !)

 

[jeallen01]

It seems that @Stevey7 has actually now got a SKY+HD box because he's reported in another thread that he is having audio problems with it. TBH, it's a pity that he didn't pop back to this thread to tell us!

Nevertheless, it seems that this thread can now be Closed by one of the Staff to avoid other people wasting more time by adding further replies in it!

 

[PaulR]

Indeed. Thread closed and any further comments can be added to Volume Output Sky+HD

 

[Stevey7]

Thank you PaulR,

I know I am the slow poster, reading the posts and understanding each difficult tech terms take me even slower.
I didn´t anticipate so fast moving.

I would like to explore the possibilities of this SD box.
It is not that I bought Sky+HD recently, I owned longtime both machines, and because of audio issue with HD box, kept me using SD´s, out of power forced me to use this HD´s for now...
For me option is either
1) repair my SD,
2) improve audio issue with this HD box,
3) buying 2nd hand SD is not option for me.
I contacted and answered by local repair man, and I would like to post his mail answer to the thread, to hear your opinions,

And thank you for each posters´ advices

 

[Stevey7]

this is the received answer from Antwerp repair man, Home
I am wondering not from the UK, but a Belgian small firm?! (his name seems local Moroccan), your opinions can he fix it?
(I will attach also photos of inside my box)

Dear
Our company specializes in repairing TV & satellite receivers
including the Sky Digibox 2600 satellite receiver
Technical problems are repaired at component level, but as a technician I can only give a price quote to thorough Analysis Please contact us on the tel number in order to make an appointment to bring in your device
mvg
Anys
Mon-Fri 10h-18h
By appointment only !!!
------------------
From: Steve
Hello
I have a problem with my Sky Digibox 2600 satellite receiver:
The power supply no longer works (no longer receives power).
Would it be possible to restore this?
Maybe a blown fuse that needs to be replaced?
I attached some pictures

Thanks in advance for helping me !
Steve

 

[ozumo]

Is it really worth it? Next year all BBC channels will disappear from this box due to going HD & DVB-S2 only. That could trigger other broadcasters to do the same and Sky to stop transmitting the EPG which will make the box nigh on useless.

 

[a33]

Sending it to a professional repair shop might come expensive, if the expected remaining life time (use time) is not long.

What I would do:
1. Check to see if there are obvious defect causes (see post #2): bulging capacitors, burnt resistors, etc. You could try to change them for new ones (but there might be other defective parts as well, not visible).
2. Check if you can see what voltages are needed, and use other power supplies of that voltages to try to get the receiver working again.

You yourself can decide, if it is all worth your time, and/or money.
Maybe there are excellent HD-receivers, with good sound volume...

Greetz,
A33

 

[Stevey7]

Thanks for the many suggestions to get this device working again As promised I am sending here some photos of the inside circuit board. Hopefully this can provide additional info and if necessary I can take additional photos. Thanks in advance for additional help.

 

[a33]

From the photos it is hard to see if there are bulging capacitors. Or leaking capacitors (leaving residu).
So I guess you have to check yourself, if there are suspect ones. I'd look especially at the capacitors at the right side of 96.jpg, as those would be involved in the power supply voltages, I suppose.
The big brown one (400V) looks OK?

The little round brown/red part in front of the power cable connection (photo ...034.jpg) might be a fuse: you could measure that.
If the fault is not in capacitors, it might be in semiconductors, but that is usually not easy to find. Alas, no visible damage from the outside....

Greetz,
A33