Tim

Yep - just got in and it seems to be back up and running.   Tim   P.S. - spoke too soon - it seems to have dropped out again now.

Yes, since late this afternoon. I have been told that Skype are having problems with their servers. Unfortunately, I have no idea when their service will be restored. I did, however, receive a call from my wife in England on her mobile via the 'Skype in' service - so it's not completely down. Regards - Tim 

What receiver are you using? Most radios have an internal aerial and it could be something simple such as the orientation of the receiver. In addition, long wave is quite suseptable to interference from other electronic equipment. For example, I too often have Radio 4 on overnight, but the bulb in my bedside table is an energy one and puts out a lot of hash noise which ruins the reception mainly because it's so close to the radio. This is not too much of a problem because the light is switched off overnight. But there could be something else in the house that is switched on and causing the trouble. If you are using a portable radio try moving it around - perhaps even taking it around the house to see if you can find something causing the problem. One final thing. I'm not sure of your location, but at night, particularly in the winter time, the signal strength can vary due to atmospheric conditions which also may not be helping at times. Regards - Tim   P.S. I've just seen your location and you are pretty much at the limit of reception for the BBC Droitwich transmitter - some would say well out of the range but if reception has been good up to now, I would still suggest something nearer that may have changed.

Well, I haven't plugged my Sky box in for nearly two years, but I'm confident in saying that it's your box. Both systems use the same satellite, so if your freesat receiver is working (as is mine) the transmissions from the satellite are fine.   Regards - Tim

Well Eric. This is not exact science. I don't know where you live as far as surrounding/environment etc. But there are some general rules. These are that V.H.F antennas usually work at their best when they are high and out in the open. With V.H.F antennas there is also the issue of what you are trying to receive. Alot of antennas available are omni-directional - i.e. they are designed to receive signals from any direction. In a lot of cases these are sufficient. But if there is a station you are hoping to get that is a marginal signal where you are, then a beam antenna would be required and this would need to be pointing in the correct direction to get the best reception. Finally, as far as locating the aerial in a barn is concerned, well as I said, it will work better if it's outside and in the clear, but if you try it in the barn, and the reception is good enough, then that's fine - no problem - you have acheived what you need. Good luck - regards - Tim

Not really - no. It's quite possible that if you do hook up your radio to the old TV aerial, it will give improved reception, but it won't be as good as a properly designed radio aerial. This is because of the large difference in the freqencies used, hence the different length of the elements (the sticks of metal) used. The TV antenna has short elements because of the higherr frequency an FM antenna has much longer ones. Maybe worth a try though.   Regards - Tim

The BBC had to make some changes over the weekend to accomodate BBC1 being available in HD in a couple of weeks. This meant that a couple of channels were rearranged. BBC4 changed to frequency =10803 H Symbol rate= (S/R)22000 =  FEC 5/6. I'm not sure of the exact workings of your satellite receiver, but it will obviously entail going into the menu - good luck.   Regards - Tim

There maybe one other possible issue. Early terrestrial digi-boxes were only capable of receiving 2K signals. France, and now the UK, use an 8K system. If you are unlucky enough to have a 2K box, it won't work. Other than that, I agree with Anton. It's certainly worth trying. Regards - Tim

The UK channels are broadcast from the Eurobird and Astra 2 satellites at 28.5 and 28.2 degrees east respectively. Both satellites can received on one dish if correctly set up.   Regards - Tim

If the previous occupants were French, then it's most likely that the dish is pointed at a satellite for French TV. It's probable that you will need to move the dish to point at 28.2/5 east for the channels from the UK. Sky don't own any satellites, they just rent space on the Astra/Eurobird satellites, just the same as the BBC and others. There are several threads on this forum and elsewhere on the internet about this. Regards Tim.   Oops - sorry Martin - bump.

Quite agree with Sid, although it's not a problem I've come across recently. I already had a free Yahoo account and I used that to send e-mails to the occasional Hotmail account if they'd been returned as undeliverable. Quite easy to set up. Regards - Tim

I haven't paid Sky for quite a while, but, for what it's worth, I was under the impression that a Sky card does normally work in a different box, but not with the 'Premium' channels such as sports and movies. I'm sure I've read somewhere that they're matched to the receiver for those channels. I do stand corrected over this though. Regards - Tim

Sorry guys - have been out for the evening but it seems as if all will be sorted out. Tim Martin - I think you're right. I must admit it's a while since there's been a decent issue to sort out. Still, I remain on standby - if needed.

Well, Astra 2/Eurobird seemed the most likely but what we asked, and what we need to know is what receiver are you using? When we know that, I'm sure someone will be able to give advice as to where France 24 has gone.   Regards - Tim

It would help everyone if you said what receiver you are using.   Regards - Tim   oops - snap Martin

I can also recommend Advanced Windows Cleaner. I've been using on a couple of XP machines and this Vista Laptop. I first discovered it around 5 years ago when one of my XP machines started to take more and more time to shut down. When it got to more than a minute I decided it was time to take some action. I tried several different free programmes and stuck with Advanced Windows Cleaner as it was about the only one I tried that did what it said it would do without alot of pffaffing about and annoying registration reminders. Since then I've used it on many other machines I've been asked to look at and the results have always been good. Regards - Tim

I used to, and my in-laws still do use a card you can buy from Post Offices here in France by a company called Kertel and it works in the way that sweet 17 has described. Once you have bought the card and used up the credit, it can be 'rechareged' at the Post Office. May be of some use to you. Regards - Tim

M.CdLion is absolutely correct. - but just to add, you don't actually need the all seing eye to use Skype - it's just an extra feature if you want to have the video as well.   Regards - Tim

Hi Anton I used to have an old Optex box and I seem to remember that there was only one LNB input (and one output), but of course, the op may have a different model. But you're quite correct, of course. If it does have two, then no need to fork out. Regards - Tim

Well, firstly, you can get HD TV without subscription. My thoughts are that at some stage it's possible that you'll need either to upgrade or replace your satellite receiver. If so, it's more than likely that your replacement receiver will be equipped to receive HD. If that happens, then your TV is, as it says on the box, ready for HD. Right now, I don''t think it's possible to buy a new TV that's not capable to receive HD. Regards - Tim

You don't say what satellite your dish is pointing at, but I assume it's Astra/Eutelsat and 28.2/5 east for the UK channels. There is a FTA (free to air) version on Astra 19 east. Your current set up will not receive that. Simplest solution would be to install a second dish and a second digital receiver. I don't know whether that's good or bad news for you.   Regards - Tim oopps - Hi Martin - snap.

Thanks for the info - I am suitably warned to try to keep alert. Regards - Tim

I think you'll probably find that there will be a second BBC1 for the HD transmissions. The exisitng BBC1 will continue in SD (standard definition). Unless there's been some sort 'great leap forward' in technology, I've yet to hear anything about HD & SD transmissions being able to share the same frequency. With a freesat HD receiver and Sky HD box, this change should be taken care of automatically. Regards - Tim

Very pleased with my Humax (hope I haven't jinxed it ) - I would place it in the top two in all the kit I've bought over the years - and I've had some equipment go through my hands. My machine is nearly 18 months old now and hasn't missed a beat. It does everything I ask of it. Fingers remain crossed. Regards - Tim

As far as I know it's mainly down to number of people using that type of machine/software. Those inclined to produce that sort of thing like to go for 'maximum inconvenience'. I think it's been noticed that as there are more Apples around, more viruses are produced for them - they are not immune. Regards - Tim