Sky signal - none at all for a few days?

GBX

Hi all.
Im having major problems with the sky service. Last week the signal started to drop quite a lot and then one day it didnt come on again. it powered on but the blue screen saying no signal appeared - it wouldnt allow me to switch channels, there was no listings. This went on for another day, so I called them and the guy on the other end got me to reset the machine by powering on and off and then go into the services menu then going to "4" then pressing "0+1 and select" to bring up another menu and go into the RF menu (?). He told me to turn the 2 options at the bottom of the list and turn them to off. I did this and went back out of the menu and the signal worked ok for a few hours, but then we got the blue "no signal" screen again. I tried the above again and it didnt do anything. I also reset the machine (powering on and off) and removed the card for a few seconds but no luck.
While on the phone to the guy he had at first said that id need to get an engineer out which would cost me £65 just to look at it.

Im wondering if
A: anybody is having or had problems like this at the moment?
B: anybody could tell me what I could do to try and fix this before i get somebody out?

Thanks for any help/advice

ethernet

The RF options you were told to change have nothing to do with your problem.

The error message you're getting is because your signal is too weak, your satellite is misaligned, your LNB could be faulty or so could the cable from the LNB to the decoder.

It may just be misaligned as commonly happens. Press 'Services' on the remote and choose 'Signal Test'. Tell us how high the signal quality bar is. Ideally, it should be at least half way up and rain will make it drop further.

GBX

Ive checked the signal strenght meter, its been both good and non existant over the past few days. sometimes the "searching for listings" thing appears, sometimes its just "no signal"

Would it be wise to just go ahead and get sky out? Or how could I check it myself?

ethernet

'Searching for listings' comes up after a reboot or after restoring signal to the box. How is the dish's line of sight? Anything that could be blocking it?

You could try doing it yourself but it is rather stressful. If you can keep an eye on the readings from the digibox [or have someone report them to you] as you slighty move the dish, that may solve the problem. You could also purchase a signal meter [connected to the LNB] in Maplin or online and watch it as you move the dish. This is more practical if you decide to do it yourself.

If you want someone with all the fancy equipment to do it, I'd recommend you contact an independent satellite installer. You could be waiting a while for a Sky engineer and will be landed with a nice call-out fee too.

GBX

Well the guy who I spoke to on the phone mentioned £65 call out fee .. which in my making is close to €100 ... and thats before he knocks on the door!
Do independent satelite installers charge as much?

Would the golden pages be the place to look or has anybody got an recommendations in South Dublin?

ethernet

Independents may well charge that amount. I paid €70 for a call out about two years back. I'd feel more comfortable with an independent installer as the Sky engineers seem so rushed with so many installations to complete.

byte

If it's your digibox that's faulty, it probably be cheaper to get Sky, as they replace the box for the fee (or whatever else is wrong)

If it is something like dish misalignment or LNB faulty, then generally cheaper to get an Indy out.