sky+ with single LNB - freesat?

Joined
Sep 26, 2007
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Age
41
My Satellite Setup
sky+ box 40gig
single LNB
My Location
Nottingham
Hello,

I have recently moved into a house with a sky mini-dish with single LNB fixed to it. Before i even knew what an LNB was, i rushed out and bought a Sky+ box (second hand, no card).

It seems the best i can do (without paying money to sky), is to use the box to receive the 200 or so free to air channels sent down by sky.

Do i need a viewing card or freesat card for this... at the moment my sky+ box is saying no signal, i don't know if that is because i have no card in it or if the old mini-dish/wiring is damaged??? any guesses and do i need a card to use my sky+ box as a basic freeview?

thank you in advance.
 

rolfw

Believe it when I see it Admin.
Staff member
Joined
May 1, 1999
Messages
38,292
Reaction score
1,615
Points
113
My Satellite Setup
Technomate 5402 HD M2 Ci, DM7000s, Transparent 80cm Dish, Moteck SG2100 DiseqC motor, lots of legacy gear. Meters: Satlook Digital NIT, Promax HD Ranger+ spectrum analyser.
My Location
Berkshire
Three points, if you are showing no signal, then you need to check the dish cable, connections or alignment.

You will need a card to view Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky 3, the other non subscription channels are totally free to air.

The Sky plus function will not work without paying Sky for the privilege via a subscription, or I have heard possibly a £10/month payment. To work properly requires a second feed from the dish, a quad LNB can be used to provide this.
 
Joined
Sep 26, 2007
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Age
41
My Satellite Setup
sky+ box 40gig
single LNB
My Location
Nottingham
Thank you, that has cleared up a lot of confusion...

Seeing as i do not need a viewing card, i am getting an error 29 - no signal being received by satellite.

is there another way of checking the signal from my mini-dish?
has anyone experienced error 29 (could not find it in search)

thanks again in advance.
 

PaulR

Dazed and Confused Admin
Staff member
Joined
Jun 28, 2003
Messages
18,023
Reaction score
4,046
Points
113
My Satellite Setup
-----------See sig-----------
My Location
Wirral, NW UK and Vaucluse, France.
theresafunnysmell said:
is there another way of checking the signal from my mini-dish?
has anyone experienced error 29 (could not find it in search)
Best and easiest way is to borrow a working Digibox off a friend/neighbour and connect it to your downlead from the minidish. You could also try connecting your plusbox to their working dish/cable setup - but not until you've checked your dish and cable.

I don't have a plusbox, only the standard Digibox, and I've never seen an error message number on that, nor heard of error message numbers any where else. Exactly how and where is this error message number shown?
 
Joined
Sep 26, 2007
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Age
41
My Satellite Setup
sky+ box 40gig
single LNB
My Location
Nottingham
When i turn my sky+ box on, it does the usual 'searching for channels'

about 5 minutes later it shows me a blue screen with a box in the middle saying 'no satellite signal is being received'

the number 29 is in the corner of that box so i assumed that was the corresponding error number.
 

mariust5

Specialist Contributor
Joined
Dec 8, 2005
Messages
507
Reaction score
120
Points
43
Age
46
My Satellite Setup
Cristor Atlas 100HD , motorised 1.1 Triax on Stab H-H
My Location
hastings , uk
Hi , make sure you plug the sat cable in the Tuner 1 of the sky + box , if you plug it in the tuner 2 you will get a no signal message . Alternatively watch the signal strenght bars to see if there is any signal . Good luck .
 

aba

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2007
Messages
173
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Age
70
My Satellite Setup
chaparral montery 40 fully loaded
ehcostar ad3600ipvia
3 dishes zone 2 / 1 mt motorized / 2.3 m motorized
My Location
nottingham
i see you are in nottingham stick kettle on and ile come round with a satellite meter and check it out for you
owt for a cuppa tea
im in nottingham as well
 
Joined
Sep 26, 2007
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Age
41
My Satellite Setup
sky+ box 40gig
single LNB
My Location
Nottingham
thanks for all the advice, i think i'm just gonna stick the box on eBay and give up with it.

cheers
 
Top