No channels on Freesat+

Gunther_Gloop

Suddenly today my Freesat box is receiving 'bad or no signal' on all channels. Nothing at all is on, apart from the menu settings and stored media etc. (ie. no live channels -blank, black screen but all wires are definitely in place inside the house)

This is my dish:


OK, it doesn't look to be in the best shape, but up until today it was working perfectly (maybe the odd 'bad day' when things were a bit jerky on some channels, but mainly this ironed itself out).

I realise it's not really possible to diagnose a problem on this evidence, but what's the most likely fault? Banjaxed dish syndrome?

Assuming I need a new one, is there a particular brand/size I should go for (for Freesat)?

At the moment I have one Freesat+ box. In time I plan on having a few 'normal' Freesat units. That being the case, is there more I should consider (4LNBs?) at this time?

ISAA

Go for a triax 65cm with quad, much better quality dish/mount.

If you are in the dublin area : Tony @ www.satellite.ie

pa990

try unplugging and restarting

if that doesnt work check the cables at the back of the box

Gunther_Gloop

ISAA wrote: »

Go for a triax 65cm with quad, much better quality dish/mount.

If you are in the dublin area : Tony @ www.satellite.ie

I had a look on your site and can only see 60cm or 80. Did you mean 60? Is that big enough to get a constant, reliable HD signal? (Yes I have no idea if that question even makes sense)

Unfortunately also I'm Cork and I'd need installation (asap).

I was thinking maybe if I went up there tomorrow with a wire scrubber and perhaps a bucket of paint I might get something working. (?)

Gunther_Gloop

pa990 wrote: »

try unplugging and restarting

if that doesnt work check the cables at the back of the box

Yup. I did that. Unfortunately nothing was sorted. The wires are all definitely in place (and tight). HDMI cable also not the issue (menus, etc. working).

It's getting no signal on either in-feed. I've disconnected both, blown, reconnected and also unplugged.

Maybe a bird shat on my LNB? (there's a family of sparrows and a family of pigeons, extended families of both, nesting on or in or all around our house).

Apogee

When the Freesat box is turned on, it does an "ET phone home" where it downloads EPG data from one of the weaker transponders on Eurobird. If this signal is too weak, then you won't be able to get the box up and running, even though the signal for BBC, ITV may well be strong enough for signal lock.

At a minimum, get a wire brush and clean the rust off the dish. If this isn't sufficient, you may have to tweak the alignment of the dish using the receivers signal meter or a separate sat meter.

IF that doesn't work, you need to get a new dish.

duckysauce

Gunther_Gloop wrote: »

Yup. I did that. Unfortunately nothing was sorted. The wires are all definitely in place (and tight). HDMI cable also not the issue (menus, etc. working).

It's getting no signal on either in-feed. I've disconnected both, blown, reconnected and also unplugged.

Maybe a bird shat on my LNB? (there's a family of sparrows and a family of pigeons, extended families of both, nesting on or in or all around our house).

must be big sparrows around where you live:D

montgolfiere

duckysauce wrote: »

must be big sparrows around where you live:D

you should see what the Herons deposit around here!!! If 'that' landed on a LNB it would be completely 'pebbledashed'.
the Skyman

Rippy

Looking at that photo it looks like the dish and mount are severely corroded.
As it has rotted it has 'settled' and is probaly no longer in alignment. It would not be possible to realign a dish in such poor condition.

ISAA

I would suggest : http://www.signalsolutions.tv/

There based in Cork.

Regards,

Gerry

Gunther_Gloop

Thanks for all the replies. All good. The signal came on last night, then started blinking again later on. I'm gonna climb up and take a looksee in a while to see what I can do (after I make a roof ladder).
I'll likely call signalsolutions at some stage, if not today, soon -although I'm not exactly in that area.

T-Square

I was wondering, why would it be impossible to align?

pa990

T-Square wrote: »

I was wondering, why would it be impossible to align?

possibly because bolts/bracket would have rusted/seized as well

Gunther_Gloop

I went up and scrubbed the dish yesterday, then sprayed it with a metallic paint I had in the garage. I didn't spot any evidence of big sparrows on the LNB.



It's hard to say if it made any difference at all since the channels had come back on by then, but there were some 'jerks' and pauses and jumps throughout the day yesterday afterwards, so my effort definitely didn't fix the problem.

I'll likely be calling in the experts later in the week.
I'm thinking (hoping) a new LNB (quad while I'm at it) might fix it, adding a few new cables to other rooms.

snaps

personally i would get a new dish and lnb complete. not just an LNB.

Apogee

Gunther_Gloop wrote: »

I'm thinking (hoping) a new LNB (quad while I'm at it) might fix it, adding a few new cables to other rooms.

It won't. The metallic paint wasn't a great idea either.

If you are able to loosen the brackets on the dish, you could try realigning it using the signal meter on the digibox.

Failling that, get a new dish.