Sky Plus Problem

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I think this counts as 'other technology' but if mods want to move, fully understood.

We have a sky plus box thats about 20mths old and like everyone, it used to play up occasionally in poor weather. However, for the last 3 weeks it has been a nightmare - well, so Mr LL tells me, being as he is the man in charge of the remote. During normal viewing it freezes, jumps, loses the signal and generally plays up every few minutes, usually when it so much as spits with rain and ocasionally even when its not raining at all.

So my question is this - am I right in thinking its more than likely a fault on the LNB thingy? I really dont want to pay Sky a call out charge, though i am tempted to quote sale of goods at them, but the hassle seems a lot if all it needs is a new LNB. I have already checked the cables are tightly secured into the unit on the dish an into the receiver box and all seems well.

Also, lets assume for a minute i have to replace it, is there a way to weather proof them more effectively?


For information, when using the record facility, the jumping and freezing still happens on playback, pressumably because it happened during teh live transmission. However, there is still a program on the HD that as recorded bakc in March and that plays perfectly well.

Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks

Yv XX
 
First thing you should try, is take out the viewing card, and give it a very good clean. Very often this works.
 
When I had Sky installed nearly a year ago we lost the signal as soon it merely spat with rain , got a bit windy or any other bad weather. We had to reboot the box so much I also considered moving my chair to beside the Sky+ Box!

I rang up Sky and had an engineer around. He tested the signal and we were hardly getting one.

The engineer clambered up a ladder (apparently they shouldn't really due to H & S rules!) and discovered the installation engineer hadn't put in enough retaining bolts so the dish was held securely in place!!! So you can imagine in even the slightest bit of wind we lost the signal as the dish must have been moving about a bit!

He put in the correct amount of bolts and we've never had any problems since.

Funny enough I was rung up by Sky yesterday to encourage me to take out a form of insurance which covers me against call out charges, replacement of dish, sky+box etc. They're sending me details as I won't give out my bank details over the phone.

Anyone have this sky insurance? Apparently the only one they approve I was told.
 
King of Groove said:
When I had Sky installed nearly a year ago we lost the signal as soon it merely spat with rain , got a bit windy or any other bad weather. We had to reboot the box so much I also considered moving my chair to beside the Sky+ Box!

I rang up Sky and had an engineer around. He tested the signal and we were hardly getting one.

The engineer clambered up a ladder (apparently they shouldn't really due to H & S rules!) and discovered the installation engineer hadn't put in enough retaining bolts so the dish was held securely in place!!! So you can imagine in even the slightest bit of wind we lost the signal as the dish must have been moving about a bit!

He put in the correct amount of bolts and we've never had any problems since.

Funny enough I was rung up by Sky yesterday to encourage me to take out a form of insurance which covers me against call out charges, replacement of dish, sky+box etc. They're sending me details as I won't give out my bank details over the phone.

Anyone have this sky insurance? Apparently the only one they approve I was told.
Click to expand...

If I was you I would ring sky yourself, In recent years there has been a firm cold calling regarding Sky insurance, they were saying that they are from Sky, when in fact they were cowboys. Be very careful
 
Thanks Guys, done all the above, its been fully powered down for 10-15 minutes more than once, the card has had several cleans and the dish is secure, checked when I checked the cables were secure on the LNB - and all to no avail. I have also fitted new adsl filters, not just on the sky phone socket but all of the ones being used, just in case. :shrug: We do live at the bottom of a hill, and when it was fitted the engineer had to check there was enough signal to mount on the wall, rather than roof, and he was quite surprised that we actually got a very good strong signal, like I say, in the past it only ever played up in really bad weather, full blown lightning storms kind of stuff, and we would usually unlug it then just in case.
 
first check the dish alignment and that it is securely mounted. try slight adjustments in different directions. When you have as good a signal as you can try rotating the lnb in its collar - it needs to be slightly offset for best signal.

Then check if the connections at the lnb end are protected - you should have either rubber boots or self-amalgam tape on the connections. if water gets in the connections or into the cable you will have problems.

sky+ boxes are twin tuner - one tuner for what you are watching and one for the recorder, so if it is affecting both then I'd go with poor alignment or a failing lnb as first port of call.
 
Yv

Have you checked the signal strength in the service/setup menus to see if it weak or less than you originally had?

Nigel
 
Agree, call Sky yourself, have the policy through them, but keep getting calls from a third party re cover.

King of Groove said:
When I had Sky installed nearly a year ago we lost the signal as soon it merely spat with rain , got a bit windy or any other bad weather. We had to reboot the box so much I also considered moving my chair to beside the Sky+ Box!

I rang up Sky and had an engineer around. He tested the signal and we were hardly getting one.

The engineer clambered up a ladder (apparently they shouldn't really due to H & S rules!) and discovered the installation engineer hadn't put in enough retaining bolts so the dish was held securely in place!!! So you can imagine in even the slightest bit of wind we lost the signal as the dish must have been moving about a bit!

He put in the correct amount of bolts and we've never had any problems since.

Funny enough I was rung up by Sky yesterday to encourage me to take out a form of insurance which covers me against call out charges, replacement of dish, sky+box etc. They're sending me details as I won't give out my bank details over the phone.

Anyone have this sky insurance? Apparently the only one they approve I was told.
Click to expand...

Gerods said:
If I was you I would ring sky yourself, In recent years there has been a firm cold calling regarding Sky insurance, they were saying that they are from Sky, when in fact they were cowboys. Be very careful
Click to expand...
 
Hi LL,

I cant help you directly but all my problems I post on the forum DigitalSpy. A lot of Sky gingerbeers use it and usually I find the solution.

Rob
 
Thanks again peeps. I haven't checked the services menu for signal strength yet, so will do that later when the boss has finished watching TV. NOt getting any failed recordings, they all work, just get the same jumping/freezing on recorded programs as we get on live.

I suppose its possible if the signal strength is low that the dish has moved a little over time too, so will see what the strngth is.

One other thing, the cables where they do into the LNB do not seem to have any kind of sleaving on them over the connections, in fact they look almost identical to the other ends inside the house, screw type aerial connectors with nothing to protect them from water ingress.
 
LadyLens said:
Thanks again peeps. I haven't checked the services menu for signal strength yet, so will do that later when the boss has finished watching TV. NOt getting any failed recordings, they all work, just get the same jumping/freezing on recorded programs as we get on live.

I suppose its possible if the signal strength is low that the dish has moved a little over time too, so will see what the strngth is.

One other thing, the cables where they do into the LNB do not seem to have any kind of sleaving on them over the connections, in fact they look almost identical to the other ends inside the house, screw type aerial connectors with nothing to protect them from water ingress.
Click to expand...

That could well be your problem. they need to be waterproofed.
But if it is your LNB, That has gone, you can buy them on eBay
for about £12 for a twin.
 
Gerods said:
That could well be your problem. they need to be waterproofed.
But if it is your LNB, That has gone, you can buy them on eBay
for about £12 for a twin.
Click to expand...

That is my feeling, but will do the signal check later too. Just been looking on ebay and I think I am right in thinking I need a quad one, one with 4 connectors, for sky+, but like you say, they are 10-12 squids, so not expensive. Just wondering how to waterprrof them in future?? :shrug:
 
LadyLens said:
That is my feeling, but will do the signal check later too. Just been looking on ebay and I think I am right in thinking I need a quad one, one with 4 connectors, for sky+, but like you say, they are 10-12 squids, so not expensive. Just wondering how to waterprrof them in future?? :shrug:
Click to expand...

I think that you only need a twin. Could be wrong though. As for waterproofing there are plenty of tapes out there that will do the job.
When I did mine I used vaseline and covered it with denso tape, never had a problem.
 
tape

Check the dish alignment.

If you have water in the cables then I would replace the cables. If it seeps down to the receiver it can be new box time.

For sky you'll be ok with a bog standard lnb - you only need a twin for sky+ unless you have more than one box in which case buy a quad. I'm not a sky user but the early sky dishes had non-standard fittings fot the lnb and you had to get an adapter to fit a 'normal' lnb. I think the newer ones are standard, but basically buy something that looks like what you have. (or an MTI or a smart which are better brands but will cost you £30-40)
 
Best thing for waterproofing LNB connections is bathroom silicone sealant - just make sure that it goes onto a dry surface, and try and keep it dry til it sets - I fitted a dish to my old house in 1990, using silicone to waterproof things, and it performed faultlessly, in all weathers, for years . . . .
 
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