Anyone else lost some Sky channels?

[Chrissie]

Over the last couple of weeks we seem to have lost some channels such as various CBS channels, Sony Action (no big loss there!) and Military (which we watched quite a lot).  Is this likely to be our dish getting out of alignment or has the access to those channels just been changed?

Chrissie (81)

[Martin963]

What on-screen message do you get on these channels?

[Chrissie]

They all say

"No satellite signal is being received"

Chrissie

[cooperlola]

Try unplugging your Skybox and plugging it back in again after a couple of minutes -usually works for me.

I've looked at "Military" and it says it's a subscription channel (do you subscribe?)  CBS working fine as is Sony.

[Chrissie]

Treid rebooting but no change.  Must be our dish then, so will have to get it checked.  (Yes, we subscribe.)

Thanks anyway!

Chrissie (81)

[Rabbie]

Had a similar problem last summer. It was caused by new growth on nearby trees blocking the signal

[Anton Redman II]

I suspect the missing channels are on Eurobird at 28.5 degrees East as opposed to the Astra satelites at 28.2 degrees. We are having trouble with Classic FM. If you look at the Lyngsat site you can check which satelte is used for your channels.

Current Atmospheric conditions probably not helping. You can at a risk to quality on other channels have you dish optimised for 28.5

[Val_2]

We have subscription channels with SKY and many have recently changed names and channel numbers.Have you checked on the on screen listings to see what you have? The new SKY Atlantic channel is pretty good.

[AnOther]

[quote user="Anton Redman II"]I suspect the missing channels are on Eurobird at 28.5 degrees East as opposed to the Astra satelites at 28.2 degrees.[/quote]Are Eurobird channels picked up by a Sky box ?

Don't forget the check the cable, as many problems are caused by water ingress as by dish misalignment. How likely is it that the dish has moved, unless it is actually loose it takes a fair bit of wind or a direct physical knock to move one.

[Gardian]

[quote user="Anton Redman II"]We are having trouble with Classic FM. [/quote]

Yes, Classic FM has been decidedly flakey for us for the last 3-4 days, but back OK again this afternoon.

Experience says not to muck around with anything - it'll come back in it's own time.   

[Anton Redman II]

Yes a Sky box does receiver channels from 29.5 degrees. For instance Classic FM is 0106. Last time I checked my set up was running quality of 80% and signal strength of 85% versus quality 100% and strenght 95% on the default transponder

[Anton Redman II]

One other thought if it is better first thing in the morning try cooling LNB with garden hose. If it improves LNB is nearing the end of its life. Check the sheaths on the cables are in good condition first though.

[Quillan]

We are down in Dept 11 and I am also getting a few problems with some channels like what you would expect when it rains very heavily although it's perfectly clear sky at present. I am sure I read somewhere that there is major solar activity and this can effect things but I may be wrong. I didn't give the LNB any thought re it's life span, how long do they normally last, mine is about 10 years old.

[Anton Redman II]

Concensus on net seems to be than life may be as short as two years in Southern Spain where large dishes,lots of sunshine and marginal reception mean any deterioration leads to regular replacement.

Equally loads of 10 year plus LNBs must be in use in Northern GB and Sky do not seem to inundated with calls about LNBs.

However everbody agrees performance can decrease with age or abruptly stop.

I would see what happens when weather cools down or sunspot activity decreases.

[audio]

I had a similar problem (not Sky) poor or no signal on a couple of channels.

It turned out to be something really simple. The coaxial cable to wall socket had become slightly corroded. Cleaned with a soft wire brush and sprayed with a contact cleaner and all was well. Might be worth a try.

[AnOther]

The current sunspot cycle is 2 years away from it's peak so you could

be waiting some time to see if that is the cause of the problem [:)]

FWIW the theoretical MTBF (Mean Time Before Failure) of a reasonable quality LNB should be around 100,000 hours, or 11 years +/-. Certainly the one I had in UK was considerably beyond that, probably closer to 15, and was working as well when we left as the day I put it up.

I'm a little sceptical about extremes of temperature per se causing an early demise, the spec would normally be up to 50deg C or more, and I suspect many failures are down to more mundane factors such as less than perfect installation and waterproofing.

[Martin963]

[quote user="Anton Redman II"]Yes a Sky box does receiver channels from 29.5 degrees[/quote]

What's this 29.5 deg?

Eurobird is located at 28.5 deg E

[Chrissie]

Just to say, for completeness, that our trouble was indeed caused by new growth on trees, as someone suggested.  Out with the chainsaw then...........

Chrissie (81)

[scotty]

I have the same mysterious problem which started 2 or 3 weeks ago.

[Anton Redman]

As a broad rule of thumb stand in front of the dish looking along the LNB arm. If there is new growth leaves on a tree which is less than half the distance you are away from the dish it is probably interfering with the signal. You only need a hole in the foliage marginally bigger than the dish provided it is the right place.

[milkeybar kid]

Scotty, are you still having satellite probs, what did you do to fix it.

We are with friends in your area and they have lost Bloomburg in the day but returns at night !!, other channels also gone totally ,lost numerous radio signals. No trees blocking signal , but old LNB.