Gyn_Paul Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 I've just connected up a Grundig Sky box which has been sitting in the barn for a couple of years. After giving it a couple of hours to wake up, I turned it on and checked the EPG. No channel 4 or five (five not an issue really as no card). I gave it an 'Igor reboot' but it's no different. Oddly, although the default 101 channel is BBC1 London, the default 103 is ITV Central West Midlands, then it jumps straight to Sky 1.Any thoughts anyone ??p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayring Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Leave it connected for another 24 hours and channel 4 should appear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 'Igor reboot' ? - does that mean a forced software update ?No idea why it should 'jump to Sky1' but I presume you don't mean that it actually receives it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 I've heard a few people around with this problem. Some Sky boxes seem to be struggling with Channel 4 since the changes were made to go free to air. The solution that someone has come up with seems rather strange, but they discovered that by inserting a card of almost any kind in to the Sky viewing card slot seems to make it work. Some have used a bank or library card. You don't have to leave the card there, apparentely.I've not had this problem myself, so I can't speak from experience, but it may be worth a go.Regards - Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin963 Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 I think I now know the reason why ch 4 and ch 5 give problems on card-less Sky boxes at the moment.For the BBC and ITV, absence of a card causes the box to default to London for 101/103 etc (why yours has chosen Midlands I don't know!). Absence of a card for ch 4 and ch 5 merely serves to confuse the box as no postcode is mapped to 104 and 105, so they disappear. Presumably this anomaly will eventually be rectified, possibly when the FTV cards are replaced (replacement only I suppose for "freesatfromsky" customers).You can get ch 4 London on the EPG somewhere up in the high 900's, and ch 5 can of course be added manually now it's FTA.But try Tim's trick as well as it does seem to work in some cases!Nice to hear from Mr Gyn-P, you've been a bit quiet of late.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Good morning Martin - thanks for extra info. I haven't followed up the problem but what you said about the postcode being the issue is interesting.On your other point - do you think that FSFS cards will continue to be issued - especially now that Five is FTA? I'm not certain that Sky will be particularly enthusiastic about issuing more/new cards as they may well consider 'what's in it for them'? I know there's the possibility that some may want to upgrade to a pay package, but, at the moment, a FSFS card now only gives you three extra channels (five if you include the +1s) over an ordinary FTA or freesat box and from what I remember, they weren't exactly rushing forward to start the system in the first place.Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gyn_Paul Posted November 19, 2008 Author Share Posted November 19, 2008 Thanks everyone,I took the card out of my other box and offered that to it, and - as predicted - once it had loaded the full epg listing, it was happy to display Ch 4 with the card removed.Does Five exist as a proper fta listed channel or only as a manual entry addition, and does anyone know when its current carriage contract expires? paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin963 Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Yes I wondered if mentioning a re-issue might cause a discussion! I don't know the answer, but I imagine that Sky will go on providing cards to the "freesatfromsky" park of receivers for two reasons - one for the postcode mapping, the other (as you say) as a stepping-stone to upgrading.I don't know what the figures are, but if you've got to make and program say seven million videoguard cards anyway for your subscribers, then a few FTV ones for the freesatfromsky division is probably worthwhile.And I can't believe that they won't do a re-issue soon, they need to keep moving against the pirates; and while as far as I know the pirates are nowhere near Sky's encryption, it was of course TPS's undoing in that department, refusing to accept that a change of cards would secure their encryption again.AS you say, I doubt that people with convenional FTV cards issued in 2003 who aren't part of freesatfromsky will either want or be offered replacements.Pure speculation on my part though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin963 Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Five doesn't exist as a stand alone FTA channel on the Sky EPG at the moment. It does however now appear as 105 on the freesat EPG.The reason: - as you say, Five's carriage contract with Sky probably hasn't yet expired, unlike (AFAIK) ch 4's, for which programme we had ch 4 FTA running in parallel with Sky's encrypted versions for many months.The same may happen with Five, because apparently some transmissions have been blanked out on the FTA version as they would have spilled (even on 2D) into areas (such as Eire) where other operators had separately puchased the rights to some kick-the-bladder-round-a-field show. This has meant that if you wanted to see these spectacles you had to use your Sky box, (or watch on UHF of course). A caption appeared at these times on ch 5 FTA.No-one seems certain how long this situation will carry on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 The card trick worked for me. Prompted by THIS thread I did a forced update on a cardless box this morning to see if by any chance Ch5 might come in in the clear but no luck. Ch4 disappeared until I inserted a card.I do have a card for this particular receiver but it is a Scottish one so locks into BBC/ITV Scotland etc. therefore I use my BBC East subscription card to get it onto the required channels then remove it but it means no Ch5 of course because if I put the Scottish card back in the other channels revert to Jock TV.Apart from that annoying 'er indoors I get more than enough of those particular ethnic minority channels offshore thank you [Www]Anybody want to swap it for an English one ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osie Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 I used my Figeac library card.. and that worked fine too...hope it did not check a few books out for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 I'm pleased to read that osie - when I heard about it I wasn't sure if it was an urban myth, so I'm glad to know it worked.Regards - Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osie Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Hi TimWhen I used it again without a card, it reverted back to the old setting... So, now I got an old card (AA road assistance) in there and all is fine again.Any ideas how to stop a baby pulling it out though [8-)]osie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin963 Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 ball and chain? (on the baby that is)How satisfying that even an AA card does the job. Which ch 4 region do you get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Can't help with the baby problem I'm afraid, although Martin's solution seems perfectly reasonable to me.I get the feeling that it shouldn't be neccessary to have a card in at all, but I'll keep an ear open for any other ideas and post them here if I think they might be helpful.Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 [quote user="ErnieY"]I do have a card for this particular receiver but it is a Scottish one so locks into BBC/ITV Scotland etc. therefore I use my BBC East subscription card to get it onto the required channels then remove it but it means no Ch5 of course because if I put the Scottish card back in the other channels revert to Jock TV.[/quote]Surprised the Scottish one let go of the card [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gyn_Paul Posted November 23, 2008 Author Share Posted November 23, 2008 Further tests reveal that the receiver holds on to its EPG settings without the card in the slot, both working and on stand-by, but loses them if disconnected from the mains. When reconnected, it reverts to the original settings (ie. no ch4). However the presence of any card in the slot seems to force the box to look for a basic setup which includes Ch4. I am currently typing this with the Ch4 Hollyoaks omnibus on in the background having reconnected the mains to the box with a completely blank piece of plastic in the slot (it's actually the credit-card sized piece of plastic which came with my latest AMD processsor for spreading heat-sink compound!). I imagine it's only real function is to open (or possibly close) a contact or two at the end of the card slot.paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin963 Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 ...which suggests that there's slightly more to the way the card-in-the-slot system works than what I peddled a few posts back. Although I suspect it's London ch 4 that gets mapped to 104 when you stuff in n'importe quel morceau de plastique... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 Wonder what happens if you put your Credit Card in, subscription to Box Office maybe [blink] [:D]GP: My findings concur with yours with perhaps one other oddity. On a power up with no card inserted one of my current in use receivers defaults to SW region whilst another defaults to London and I am intrigued to know how or why they choose these particular region over any other. As far as I am aware there is no non volatile memory to remember a postcode from when a RX was first commissioned [8-)]As it happens I have one of my Sky boxes open at this moment for a change of PSU capacitors and I see now that there are indeed a pair of contacts at the back of the card slot which are opened on insertion [;-)]Teapot: There were bloodstains on the card when it came into my possession [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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