FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

The Cush · 22-06-2014 8:12pm

Elmo wrote: »

Is the weather causing it acting up, notice RTÉ TWO HD, TV3 mux braking up a good bit.

Haven't noticed it here but with the atmospheric conditions we have at the moment it's possible if your aerial isn't pulling in the best Saorview signal.

jack12a · 01-07-2014 10:06am

Hello all,

I need to replace sky zone 2 dish which is shot due to rust, it has a inverto octo black ultra lnb which was fitted about 3 yrs ago, as far as I know this lnb is more suited to a round solid type dish.
I measured the sky dish which is 60cm H x 74cm W, I am getting a good signal from this setup, my problem is I don't know how much of this dish the lnb is seeing / using.
I would like to replace this dish with a solid round aluminium type dish and use existing lnb, I watch Freesat and Sky fta only, I am located in Co.Meath.
I need advice on what size of round dish I need to maintain or improve existing signal while keeping it easy on the eye,

Regards,

zg3409 · 01-07-2014 11:45am

jack12a wrote: »

I need advice on what size of round dish I need to maintain or improve existing signal while keeping it easy on the eye,

A 60cm round dish is fine in Meath. It needs to be set up correctly using a decent signal meter and Skew set up right. If not set up correctly it may not perform well.

If you don't mind the extra size an 80cm would be better especially with an 8 output LNB, but not really necessary.

Note you may also need new wall brackets/bolts and the old coax cable may be too short

jack12a · 01-07-2014 12:35pm

Thanks zg3409

I am grateful for your advice re purchasing / installing a dish will get a good strong wall bracket and bolts, new cables were run when lab was fitted so should be ok, I would like to go with 60cm dish as it will be visible from front of house but I am really afraid it may lower signal, if 60cm had the same gain as a sky zone 2 I think I would run with it as signal is good at the moment,

Regards

zg3409 · 01-07-2014 1:34pm

jack12a wrote: »

Thanks zg3409

I am grateful for your advice re purchasing / installing a dish will get a good strong wall bracket and bolts, new cables were run when lab was fitted so should be ok, I would like to go with 60cm dish as it will be visible from front of house but I am really afraid it may lower signal, if 60cm had the same gain as a sky zone 2 I think I would run with it as signal is good at the moment,

Regards

A 60cm round offset dish will be 60cm wide and a little taller possibly 70cm. From the satellites point of view it will see a 60cm x 60cm circle. The main thing is to adjust it correctly and it should be fine

realdanbreen · 03-07-2014 10:00pm

I am having problems with a 12v masthead power supply. It is in the attic and from time to time just stops working(power light just goes off). If I unplug it for a few hours it usually comes back on. It's like as if it is overheating or something but there is no mention of temperature in the spec?

realdanbreen · 04-07-2014 12:04pm

realdanbreen wrote: »

I am having problems with a 12v masthead power supply. It is in the attic and from time to time just stops working(power light just goes off). If I unplug it for a few hours it usually comes back on. It's like as if it is overheating or something but there is no mention of temperature in the spec?

?

fat-tony · 04-07-2014 1:03pm

Try the terrestrial forum if it's an aerial masthead amplifier. It may be that you have a cable short between the power supply and the actual masthead amplifier or water ingress into the amplifier (assuming the aerial is outside!).

realdanbreen · 05-08-2014 11:39am

fat-tony wrote: »

Try the terrestrial forum if it's an aerial masthead amplifier. It may be that you have a cable short between the power supply and the actual masthead amplifier or water ingress into the amplifier (assuming the aerial is outside!).

I think it is a short problem. What do I do?

Cogg · 05-08-2014 5:16pm

realdanbreen wrote: »

I am having problems with a 12v masthead power supply. It is in the attic and from time to time just stops working(power light just goes off). If I unplug it for a few hours it usually comes back on. It's like as if it is overheating or something but there is no mention of temperature in the spec?

realdanbreen wrote: »

I think it is a short problem. What do I do?

Is there an obvious trigger for an intermittent short, such as water ingress already mentioned above? If not, I would just start swapping out components.

I'd start with the PSU.

realdanbreen · 05-08-2014 6:33pm

Cogg wrote: »

Is there an obvious trigger for an intermittent short, such as water ingress already mentioned above? If not, I would just start swapping out components.

I'd start with the PSU.

Swapped the psu,same problem.what do you mean by 'water ingress'?

Cogg · 05-08-2014 6:45pm

realdanbreen wrote: »

what do you mean by 'water ingress'?

Water getting in somewhere it's not wanted. Is the actual amplifier outside?

Anyhow, you probably would have noticed if the problem seemed related to wet weather.

Marc Carlo · 09-11-2014 2:23pm

My TV link/ magic eye stopped working last night , I had just changed out the TV for a smart/Uhdtv im wondering is it drawing power away from the sky hd box , I brought down the tv link and it lights up connected directly to the box its at the other end there isn't enough power
Any ideas?

doubie · 04-01-2015 3:39pm

If I terminate my Sky+ subscription will the record function on the box still work for freesat channels ?

Sorry if this question has come up before I searched buy couldn't find it.

muffler · 04-01-2015 3:44pm

doubie wrote: »

If I terminate my Sky+ subscription will the record function on the box still work for freesat channels ?

Sorry if this question has come up before I searched buy couldn't find it.

The Sky+ features will only work with a paid up subscription.

However if you have a look on Adverts.ie you will see that there are a good few cards for sale (€50 approx) which will alow you to use those features with FTA channels.

Ernest · 28-02-2015 5:44pm

Link to this site not working - just says "Site Not Found"

muffler · 28-02-2015 5:49pm

Ernest wrote: »

Link to this site not working - just says "Site Not Found"

What site?

murfilein · 24-03-2015 1:50pm

probably a frequently asked question so i'll just ask here:

a shop near us has a 60 cm dish with a twin lnb, wall brackets and cables for 65€. is that a fair price?

Gerry Wicklow · 24-03-2015 3:03pm

compare these
or these

murfilein · 24-03-2015 3:25pm

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

compare these
or these

ok wow.

so the one from the second link says "sky, Freesat or a mixture of both"
i'm not sure what exactly that means - can i receive any satellites that i point it to? the wiki page it says "Freesat is a free-to-air digital satellite television joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc, serving the United Kingdom.", so it sounds like i can only receive those.

/edit: ok the way i see it, when you buy one for reception of astra, eurobird etc., you will have to buy the lnb separately. add the cable, and i'm at around 60-65€ again.

Thurston? · 24-03-2015 4:39pm

murfilein wrote: »

/edit: ok the way i see it, when you buy one for reception of astra, eurobird etc., you will have to buy the lnb separately. add the cable, and i'm at around 60-65€ again.

Those dishes that also come with LNBs, the LNB will work for any programmes from KU-band satellites, not just Sky or Freesat. Whether the dish is big enough for reliable reception, depends which satellites you actually want to receive programmes from.

Elmo · 24-03-2015 4:47pm

Just need to clarify a term

What's a fixed terrestrial network?

Thurston? · 24-03-2015 5:11pm

Elmo wrote: »

What's a fixed terrestrial network?

Presumably it's anything where the transmitting & receiving locations are fixed e.g. receiver connected to an aerial on a building, rather than being intended for portable or mobile reception.

Essential for anything that needs line-of-sight conditions & means well-sited directional aerials can be made full use of, allowing lower transmission power.

Elmo · 24-03-2015 5:11pm

Thurston? wrote: »

Presumably it's anything where the transmitting & receiving locations are fixed e.g. receiver connected to an aerial on a building, rather than being intended for portable or mobile reception.

Essential for anything that needs line-of-sight conditions & means well-sited directional aerials can be made full use of, allowing lower transmission power.

DTT?

Thurston? · 24-03-2015 5:23pm

It can be but, even the Saorview network that's ostensibly designed around fixed reception, allows portable 'set-top' aerials in some places, & presumably even mobile reception, if you're so inclined.

Elmo · 24-03-2015 5:32pm

Thurston? wrote: »

It can be but, even the Saorview network that's ostensibly designed around fixed reception, allows portable 'set-top' aerials in some places, & presumably even mobile reception, if you're so inclined.

So if you were to say fixed or mobile terrestrial network DTT would be covered?

BTW sorry I am sure this is way OTT.

Thurston? · 24-03-2015 5:42pm

Elmo wrote: »

So if you were to say fixed or mobile terrestrial network DTT would be covered?

Depends in what context you're 'saying' it, I suppose. Don't be relying on a couple of forum posts from the likes of myself, for anything truly definitive.

To the best of my knowledge, the Irish & UK TV transmission networks have always been designed with fixed reception in mind, with any incidental portable or mobile being seen as a bonus. Other countries may have different ideas.

murfilein · 24-03-2015 6:27pm

Thurston? wrote: »

Those dishes that also come with LNBs, the LNB will work for any programmes from KU-band satellites, not just Sky or Freesat. Whether the dish is big enough for reliable reception, depends which satellites you actually want to receive programmes from.

so ku-band satellites are the ones used for television? i will be able to receive astra, eurobird and so on?

the wording on the website with "can be used for sky, Freesat or a mixture of both" sounded like the lnb only works for sky or freesat.

Thurston? · 24-03-2015 8:46pm

The LNB will be fine. Which non-Sky or Freesat channels are you looking for? Are they on the satellites at 28 degrees east?

The Cush · 24-03-2015 10:02pm

Elmo wrote: »

Just need to clarify a term

What's a fixed terrestrial network?

My definition would be any network that would use fixed terrestrial antenna to transmit and receive in the radio spectrum. That would include broadcasting, fixed wireless internet, point-to-point/multi-point links etc.

Mobile terrestrial network would refer to the likes of Vodafone, Three, Meteor etc., fixed base station to mobile reception.

murfilein · 03-04-2015 9:45pm

what are the prices for a company to install a dish? i checked one, it quoted 195€. and that includes all, all the equipment as well as the installation.

is it a good price?

icdg · 13-07-2015 9:02pm

I think the original point of this FAQ is long gone, its turned into a bit of a "General Queries" thread. If someone really does want to write an up to date FAQ they can knock themselves out but its high time this thread finished.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

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