Using old Sky box for free channels

Hoof_Hearted

I've had a good look through other threads but can't find my answers so would really appreciate any help.
We have Sky+HD in the living room and I'd like to hook up the old (not + or HD)box in the kitchen (for the free UK channels). Do I need to run a cable directly from it to the dish? Can the dish take 2 cables? Do I need a card in the old box?
Thanks a million in advance.

Peter Rhea

Yes, run a cable directly to the dish, it should have 2 free outputs if you only have 1 Sky+ box connected atm.

icdg

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

IDo I need a card in the old box?

Not for BBC & ITV, no. Very few free to view channels are left. If you do still have your expired Sky viewing card, it will do you for those channels which are Pick TV and a handful of Sony branded channels. The only UK-only free to view channel is Channel 5 HD, but you wouldn't be able to receive that on a non-HD box anyway.

Hoof_Hearted

Great stuff, thanks. I'll work around that.

paddyjoe183

Hey I have a Sky+HD box and I looking to cancel the monthly payments as times are getting hard. I've looked up boards to see how to set up the free channels but I can only find how to do it for the old boxes, is it the same procedure? Because when I follow the steps it says 'No signal'. Yet I'm still paying and getting the channels I pay for so I do have signal. Bit confussed. Thanks

muffler

paddyjoe183 wrote: »

Hey I have a Sky+HD box and I looking to cancel the monthly payments as times are getting hard. I've looked up boards to see how to set up the free channels but I can only find how to do it for the old boxes, is it the same procedure? Because when I follow the steps it says 'No signal'. Yet I'm still paying and getting the channels I pay for so I do have signal. Bit confussed. Thanks

What steps?

paddyjoe183

muffler wrote: »

What steps?

To add channels to your "Other Channels" option, do the following -

With your digibox turned on, press the "Services" button (near the top of the remote).

Select number 4 (System Setup), and then 4 again ("Add Channels").

In the appropriate fields enter the following (you move through the fields using the up and down arrow keys).


In the Frequency field enter: 10.773,

The next three fields are toggle fields, i.e. using the left and right arrows will change the value.

Toggle Polarisation to : H
Toggle Symbol Rate to: 22000
Toggle FEC to : 5/6

Then select the last button - Find Channels.

After a few seconds the channels should appear. The channels on this frequency should be - BBC One London, BBC Two England, BBC News 24, BBC Four, CBBC, CBeebies, BBC Three, BBC One Northern Ireland and BBC Radio Cymru.

Use the Yellow button to place a tick beside each one you wish to store and when you've finished ticking press "Select". These channels will now be stored.

You can view them by pressing the "Services" button, then 7 "Other Channels" (Other Channels is option 9 on Sky+ and Sky+ HD), use the arrow keys to move to the channel you want and press "Select".



To add the channels below, repeat the procedure using the details provided. As suggested by Sceptre, I'd just like to make people aware that sometimes when too many channels are stored in "Other Channels" they can mysteriously all disappear ! This seems to be a bug in Sky's software that they've never bothered to fix. Different people seem to recommend different numbers of Other Channels to store, but I've never had a problem with anything up to 30. If they are deleted, don't panic - you just have to go through the hassle of storing them again. It may be best not to try to store all the BBC and ITV variations, but just the ones that you're particularly interested in.


MODEDIT [byte]
UPDATED: 26 January 2009.

With thanks to DMC for the lists (AGAIN)!



ITV Frequencies.

10.758 V 22.0 5/6

ITV 1 London
ITV 2
CITV (0700-1900)
ITV 4
Men & Motors
ITV 1 Granada
ITV 1 Anglia North
ITV 1 Central West


10832 H 22.0 5/6

ITV 4 +1
ITV 1 Thames Valley North
ITV 1 Central East
ITV 1 Wales
ITV 1 West
ITV 1 Westcountry South
ITV 1 Border England


10891 H 22.0 5/6

ITV 1 Border Scotland
ITV 1 Tyne Tees North
ITV 1 Meridian South
ITV 1 Meridian South East
ITV 1 Anglia South
ITV 1 Yorkshire West
ITV 2 +1


10906 V 22.0 5/6

Channel TV
STV North
STV West
STV East
Ulster TV
ITV 3
ITV 3 +1 (1900-0700)

Note ITV now uses 1 less transponder than it used to (10.714).

BBC Frequencies

10.773, H, 22.0, 5/6

BBC One London
BBC Two England
BBC Four (1900-0600)
CBBC (0600-1900)
CBeebies UK (0600-1900)
BBC Three (1900-0600)
BBC One Northern Ireland
Five (aka Channel 5)

10788 V 22.0 5/6

BBC One West Midlands
BBC One North West
BBC One East Yorkshire & Lincolnshire
BBC One Yorkshire & North Midlands
BBC One East Midlands
BBC One East


10803 H 22.0 5/6

BBC One Wales
BBC Two Wales
BBC One Scotland
BBC Two Scotland
BBC Two Northern Ireland
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra


10818 V 22.0 5/6

BBC One West
BBC One South East
BBC One South
BBC One South West
BBC One North East & Cumbria
BBC One Oxford


10847 V 22.0 5/6

BBC One Cambridge
BBC One Channel Islands
BBC HD UK

11954 H 27.5 2/3

BBC News
BBC Parliament
BBC Alba
BBCi Stream 4 0
BBCi Stream 4 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 4 DAB
BBC Radio 4 LW
BBC Radio Scotland AM
BBC Radio Wales FM
BBC Radio Ulster
BBC Asian Network
BBC World Service UK
BBC Radio Cymru
BBC 1Xtra
BBC 6 Music
BBC Radio 7
BBC Radio nan Gaidheal
BBC London 94.9 FM

muffler

I hope you didnt type all that

When you add in the channels you then need to go to "other channels" to view them.

You can also do the "card trick" which is well documented and you will then get the those channels either on the blue button or if using a UTV card they might appear on the EPG.

paddyjoe183

muffler wrote: »

I hope you didnt type all that

When you add in the channels you then need to go to "other channels" to view them.

You can also do the "card trick" which is well documented and you will then get the those channels either on the blue button or if using a UTV card they might appear on the EPG.

Hey thanks muffler, and no id be there for a week typing that!!! Can you find me the find for the 'well documented card trick' because im having one of these days where i cant find anything :mad:

muffler

On the front page here but be advised that the first few pages were all before a major software update to the boxes. Have a look at the first 2 or 3 pages in that thread and then the last 3 or 4 and that should get you a lot of info.

paddyjoe183

muffler wrote: »

On the front page here but be advised that the first few pages were all before a major software update to the boxes. Have a look at the first 2 or 3 pages in that thread and then the last 3 or 4 and that should get you a lot of info.

Cool thanks again for the help!