"no signal" any ideas?!?!

[pdurie]

Hi all,



I'm hoping someone out there may be able to help me on my "no signal problem" please?



I have a Pace 2500 digibox and sky card without subscription. I had this working perfectly for over a year and then moved the box to another dish/location. It took about 5 mins to kick in, worked fine for 2 days, then "no signal" appeared. So I played around with the connection to back of box and it worked again.(seemed like just a bad connection)



Perfect for a week and then "no signal". I played with the connector again but still no signal. I moved it to original dish and at first no signal then eventually after switching power on and off a couple of times it slowly picked up the channels and worked fine for a few hrs.



I disconnected from mains and the day after reconnected (to original dish still) but now got no signal. I then reconnected to new dish and "no signal".



I have tried switching on and off at power, leaving for mins/hrs. The signal strength/quality gage shows nothing. I tried another digibox on the new dish and it worked. Seems like the box is broke but why? Is it a coincidence its broken straight after connecting to a new dish? Can a new dish/LNB break a digibox? Don’t want to buy another box for it to last 2 weeks again!! Any ideas anyone?? Please?!



Cheers, Paul

 

[BGonaSTICK]

I believe your tuner has gone.

See my posts on this subject in the workbench and soldering station section.

Your symptons are identical to mine.

 

[pdurie]

Thanks for the comment. I have had a look at the other post you mentioned. Any idea why the tuner has suddenly gone? Im just wondering if the new dish/LNB could have damged the tuner?(bearing in mind it was working fine on another dish for 2 yrs) If so then I dont want to get another digibox and have the same happen. Or maybe its just a coincidence the Digibox has broken just a week after trying it with a new dish/LNB? Should I change the LNB before connecting to a new digibox/tuner?

Many thanks for advice

 

[BGonaSTICK]

Think it's just coincidence. It's a very common problem on the Pace.

You should remove the power cable from the STB before connecting or disconnecting the coax though. It supplies the current to the LNB.

Unlikely (but possible) that your LNB is damaged either. As long as you kill the power first, then it should either work fine, or not. I don't think that a damaged LNB can harm your box.

 

[pdurie]

Thanks for that. So I guess I need a new box off ebay and then hope the LNB is ok. I still have the sky viewing card (no sub) but is this any use now? Will the card only work in the now broken digibox or is it possible to use it on another box?
I will look at maybe getting a new tuner fitted but it may be easier just to buy a new one off ebay.(and make sure it has a matching card!)

What do you think about the card?

Thanks

Paul

 

[richardinalex]

SKy card will be OK if you are only looking for BBC / ITV / 4 / 5 etc

Might take a few hours to pick up ITV stuff - but it will do in the end.

You'll only need a new decoder

 

[BGonaSTICK]

SKy card will be OK if you are only looking for BBC / ITV / 4 / 5 etc

Might take a few hours to pick up ITV stuff - but it will do in the end.

You'll only need a new decoder

Yes, I agree.

If you don't fancy repairing the Pace yourself, then you're probably best getting another box either off ebay, or one of the other companies that supply them S/H.

I also see that MCES will exchange/refurbish your existing box for £43.50 incl VAT and delivery with a 6 month waranty.

I have no connection with them, but that's where I got my exchange tuner, and they were pretty good.

 

[pdurie]

Thanks for the ideas.

Actually I tried the box again last night after it was unplugged for 5 days or so. 5 days ago it would not even bring the tv guide up and the signal info read zero, unlocked, no ID etc.
Last night it brought the tv guide up, and it displayed the program info at the bottom of the screen while scrolling through channels. I checked the signal info and it had locked on to 0002, gave an id number, changed from not fixed to whatever and had some signal strength which was fluctuating. Didnt have any signal quality showing though.
When I relised this I quicky scrolled back to a channel and for a second it said please insert card (which was out at the time) NOT no signal as usual. I scrolled to a channel which doesnt need the card but it said no signal. I then checked the signal details and by this time they had all gone back to not fixed, 0000, no ID, no signal (not even fluctuating) etc.
So it seems it almost worked but not quite!
With this new information would you say it confirms the problem is related to the tuner still? If the veiwing card I have will work in a new box then I'll buy one from ebay but if not then I would consider getting mine refurbished.
Many thanks

 

[BGonaSTICK]

If you have a free2view card (i.e. just ITV, Ch4 Ch5) then it'll work in a different digibox. If you have subscription channels on the card, you'll have to call Sly and have them switch the card to the new box.

Well, that's my understanding!

 

[ini]

Hallo, I seem to have the same problem with an amstrad 100.
We were watching telli earlier when suddenly the "no signal is being received" popped up. Signal Test: No signal strengt and quality, no lock and the transponder stream 07ee, normaly it is something else. After removing the card, unplugging the receiver and then plugging it back in, switch on, put the card back in, it worked again until we changed channels. The same thing happend again. After a recycle its working ok. I had the same problem two weeks ago and bought a new lnb, afterwards it worked fine - until now. Do I need a new skybox, or what? If so, which one works good in germany or is a good buy on ebay?
Good luck pdurie with your problem, let me know how you solved it.
ini

 

[Zorba]

The amstrad 100 is another model where the tuner is a common problem.Many of them broke down after 13 months.the amstrad 400 is good,and panasonic 40 also.in fact the latest models of all makes are good.the pace 2600 is one of the best for fringe reception areas but pace do not make that one anymore.do NOT buy panasonic 30 or 31,or grundig 200/300.

 

[dbolton]

Hi pduri

just shooting in the dark here have you tried switching on and off the lnb from the installers menu and then rebooting the the box. I have heard that the lnb can do this I am no expert but it worth a try.

 

[geoffreys]

The amstrad 100 is another model where the tuner is a common problem.Many of them broke down after 13 months.the amstrad 400 is good,and panasonic 40 also.in fact the latest models of all makes are good.the pace 2600 is one of the best for fringe reception areas but pace do not make that one anymore.do NOT buy panasonic 30 or 31,or grundig 200/300.

A lot of people swear by the Panasonic 30 for fringe area reception, why do you suggest NOT buying one Zorba??

Cheers & Beers,
Geoff
Cyprus (S)

 

[Zorba]

A lot of people swear by the Panasonic 30 for fringe area reception, why do you suggest NOT buying one Zorba??

Cheers & Beers,
Geoff
Cyprus (S)

Once upon a time the 30's were the best,then they developed a fault when they got hot.They would get stuck and you would have to switch off for a while till it cooled down.There is a cooling kit available(an internal fan which is strapped on to the main microprocessor chip,but this was for preventing the fault before it happens,not a cure once it had developed).Then this year since about last march,Sky sent out a new software update,and since then nearly all the 30's started playing up.Symptons are getting stuck in tv guide or a menu,a blank blue screen or when passing through a channel which is weak or no signal,then getting stuck.The only way out is by powering off the digibox then on again.I know a lot of people over here with this problem and they are starting to buy new boxes.Sky deny the problem ({}) of course.It has been mentioned on some threads and the problem is not just in Cyprus.Thats why you can get them cheap now,and probably why panasonic has stopped making digiboxes.They never supplied spares or service manuals anyway.
Mines a Keo

 

[ini]

Thank you, I will look for one on ebay.
Currently my box works again, it seems to fail only on sundays. Weird.

Ini