Sagemcom Freesat PVR & Ham Radio

Tony1A

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HI ALL

Well this was an eye-opener! Hope I have posted in the right section admin! I found a strange phenomenen with this Sagemcom Freesat jobbie. Every time I keyed up on the 2m ham band this unit was kicking over to HDMI 1 on the TV (what the hell?). What I can't understand is that I can put ANY Sky box on and it does not do it so I have had to go back to the Sky PVR for now until I can get my head around this problem. This morning when I had the Freesat unit in place I disconnected both LNB cables and it didn't do it (what a surprise). I'm in a catch 22 situation. I could buy a Humax Freesat PVR and try that and if the problem persists put some ferrite rings in the LNB cables?

In the meantime, I have rung Sky and got my package reduced to the basics. £11.50 a month won't break the bank until I can solve this Freesat problem! :eek:

Gentlemen! Over to you!
 

timo_w2s

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Very odd. Sounds like some kind of signal is leaking down the LNB cable and triggering something in the Freesat box.

Is there some kind of HTML control option on the problematic box? If so, does the problem go away if you switch it off (and put up with manually switching to the HDMI port when needed)
 

PaulR

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Three suggestions:

1) I'd try the ferrite rings straight away.
2) Check both downleads for DC continuity from receiver to LNB. The LNB only needs one of them to supply power and the 22KHz signal will jump a small gap. The change from H to V on the second lead would obviously not work in such a situation but you may never have noticed it. (The LNB may also be faulty actually).
3) Go to 70cm only!
 

Tony1A

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Humax HDR1100S Freesat Recorder. Medion HD satellite box with Gibertini 1m motorised dish. Triax TD78 for Freesat. Triax TD64 for Freesat to 3 rooms. 2 Panasonic Freeview+ HD recorders.
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Only one problem.....I don't have any ferrite rings kicking about! I know the LNB is fine but this has really got me stumped and why is there no problem on any type of Sky box? In my brick shed, I have a Humax Freesat box connected to small flat screen in there so I might try it with the mic lock on and if there's no problem, what I do next? This is a total bolt from the blue.....never expected this at all. One theory is that maybe the Sagemcom is not as well filtered as other PVR's. What a bloody headache!
 

PaulR

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I'd agree with your assessment of the Sagemcom. It's either designed with low rejection or has gone faulty presenting that symptom.

Good job it doesn't belong to neighbour. You'd have pretty near zero chance of convincing them that it's the receiver at fault with poor out of band signal rejection.
 

Tony1A

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Humax HDR1100S Freesat Recorder. Medion HD satellite box with Gibertini 1m motorised dish. Triax TD78 for Freesat. Triax TD64 for Freesat to 3 rooms. 2 Panasonic Freeview+ HD recorders.
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I think it could be the Sagemcom which has the problem and not my radio set up! OK! I have just tried my Sky box in this room where I have the computer and the dish is just feet away from the transmitting antenna mast....nothing....all fine!

Just done a test on the Humax Freesat box and TV in workshop (fed from same dish that was connected to the Sagemcom), well what surprise....all fine! I am sure it is the Sagemcom PVR that is problematic with ham radio nearby. That'll be going up for sale soon! The main living room and workshop dish is about 20 feet away at least from the antenna mast and the antenna itself is 18-20 foot from the ground, and I'm running 20 watts of TX power.
 
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Lazarus

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Return it as unsatisfactory as it seems not to meet the Immunity levels required under the EMC Directive: That could mean the CE Mark has been improperly applied. You can always ask for the "Technical File" supporting their Declaration of Conformity.
 

Tony1A

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Humax HDR1100S Freesat Recorder. Medion HD satellite box with Gibertini 1m motorised dish. Triax TD78 for Freesat. Triax TD64 for Freesat to 3 rooms. 2 Panasonic Freeview+ HD recorders.
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I think you are correct, Tivu! It has poor EMC rejection and as far I am concerned, not fit for purpose. In real terms I only paid £25 for this thing off my dad as I sold some stuff at a local ham rally in December so I'm not going to cry buckets over it. Can't recommend this one to anyone.
 

Lazarus

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Ah, ok. Not worth pursuing, as you say.

Might I ask if it is the case is just plastic, or metal? Metal enclosure clearly assists Immunity as the case acts as a Faraday Cage.
 

Tony1A

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The case is plastic. As for the rest...I don't know. All I will say is that it does not look as well made as the Humax.
 

battenfan

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I've had a Sagem dvb-t tuner that was very sensitive to spikes. If someone opened the fridge door in the kitchen I could see blocking on the screen and sometimes even lose tuner lock.
 

Tony1A

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Humax HDR1100S Freesat Recorder. Medion HD satellite box with Gibertini 1m motorised dish. Triax TD78 for Freesat. Triax TD64 for Freesat to 3 rooms. 2 Panasonic Freeview+ HD recorders.
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We once had a Sagem freeview box that went bonkers! After you re-tuned it, you had to do it again...and again...and again...and, oh you get the picture. :)
 

timo_w2s

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Can't say I'm surprised to hear that. I have a Sagem Canal Digital Finland box and it is the worse peace of junk I've ever had the displeasure of using. So buggy and nasty to use and just feels and looks so plasticy. Even the remote is horrible.

80195.jpg
 

Tony1A

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Humax HDR1100S Freesat Recorder. Medion HD satellite box with Gibertini 1m motorised dish. Triax TD78 for Freesat. Triax TD64 for Freesat to 3 rooms. 2 Panasonic Freeview+ HD recorders.
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I see your point there, Timo! It does look very plasticy and then some! Think I'll be going for the Humax :)
 

skomedal

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Which software version are you using?

Regards

1) Check your current software version

  • Press MENU on your remote control and select INFORMATION
  • Open the RECEIVER submenu
  • Check your software version (SW Version)
 

Tony1A

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Humax HDR1100S Freesat Recorder. Medion HD satellite box with Gibertini 1m motorised dish. Triax TD78 for Freesat. Triax TD64 for Freesat to 3 rooms. 2 Panasonic Freeview+ HD recorders.
My Location
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I don't know what version of software it's running, though it wouldn't have made much difference but it does not matter now. Thanks to friends who gave me an old blue Sky card and I have another Sky+ machine which I bought a year ago very cheaply, I can use the record/playback function to record all the FTA channels as it had missed the kill signal completely. Tried it last night and it's working fine. The last recording the box made was January 2013. I'm happy. :)
 
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Captain Jack

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Timo, why don't you get a Canal Digital CAM and used that in a receiver of your choice?
 

timo_w2s

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Timo, why don't you get a Canal Digital CAM and used that in a receiver of your choice?
I do! I just use the Canal Digital box occasionally when I have Finns visiting so I can keep my own receiver for myself.
 
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