Lost TV channels

[Guest CFrost]

We have recently moved house (last month) but not far, just about 12km up the road.  We had a local appliance shop move our satellite dish and for the first few weeks had no problem with reception then, when ITV 1,2 and 4 went FTA the reception on those new channels was really broken up,similar to what you get in a really bad storm.  I was able to get ITV1 by changing to Channel Islands but the others were OK in the mornings but hopeless mid afternoon and evening.

We were disappointed but lived with it but over the past few days we have started to lose BBC channels as well, first ch.102 then 101 and now 115 and 116 and BBC News 24, also Reality+  on 188 although so far 187 is OK.  As with ITV1, we are still able to get BBC 1 by changing the region.  We were afraid that the satellite footprint was being narrowed but believe that if others had the same problem there would be cries of pain all over this forum but not a word.

A new development in the past few minutes is that if we go to any of the "bad" channels, the box hangs and we have to do a reboot.

Perhaps our box is past its best, it is a Panasonic, second hand and I would guess at about 6 or more years old.

We do not have any card at all and we live in the Dordogne about 20km from Riberac.

We would really appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks

Anne 

[Martin963]

First,  no "narrowing of the footprint" has taken place;  it's extremely difficult to achieve without a steerable beam,  which Astra 2A/B/D don't have; (Eurobird I think does have some transponders on this basis but that's irrelevant here).

Here are a few tips

The most likely is that your dish has shifted slightly.  Go into services -> system set up -> signal test and look at the meters.  The quality one is the more important and should not drop below 50% (and preferably higher) for reliable reception.  However this only indicates one transponder and may not give a specific guide to your particular problem.  But if that's dodgy then most likely it's the dish.

However, if it looks OK,  turn the box off and pull out the mains plug and wait 30 seconds or so.  Then plug it back in and give it a couple of minutes to sort itself out.  Now see if the programmes have come back.

If not, try and find someone else with a working Astra 2 set up and ask to take your box round there and see if it works OK.  Again if it does burst into life chez les voisins then get the installer back to rectify the problem.

It has been pointed out that Astra 2D (BBC & ITV) needs a slightly more pronounced skew on the LNB.  What this means in practice is that - looking at the dish from the front - the LNB needs to be twisted a few degrees clockwise from the straight-up-and-down position.  Many French installers may not be used to this as "their" satellites (being higher in the sky and therefore appearing more vertical from the ground) show this effect less markedly.   It's the same effect that the moon shows as it rises and sets - it appears to rotate slightly as it passes from far east to far west.

No doubt others will have their tips too - I always miss one or two.... 

[Guest CFrost]

[quote]First, no "narrowing of the footprint" has taken place; it's extremely difficult to achieve without a steerable beam, which Astra 2A/B/D don't have; (Eurobird I think does have some transponders on...[/quote]

Thanks for your advice.  I think you got it in one.  Our signal quality fluctuates between about  15 and 25 percent.  Will make sure by testing the box on a friends dish as suggested but we are pretty sure that the signal quality is the culprit. 

Sorry it took me so long to reply.  I tried a few days ago but kept getting a "site not responding" screen.

Regards Anne

[Eslier]

Signal "quality" is affected by the skew angle of the LNB. Take a look at the front of your dish and see if your LNB is at an angle. It needs to be at about a one-o-clock position. You should find it rotates fairly easily so go out and adjust it whilst someone else looks at the signal quality meter on the TV screen. Hopefully you will see it improve. There should be no need to move the dish unless your "signal strength" is below around 70%.