No satellite signal afte 10 minutes?

RKQ

Left Sky in Dec, using Sky+ box without card. The last day or so signal goes for no reason - "no satellite signal being received", but no wind or rain to affect signal?
I unplug box for 5 minutes and it works fine - perfect. Then today it goes twice after about 10 minutes? Works perfect for 10 minutes then goes.
I thought it was the sky box so I plugged in an sky old box but can't get any signal at all now. Is this an LNB issue or is it the sky box?
Thanks in advance for any help or advice

watty

It's the PSU faulty. Knocks out the tuner first. Dying capacitors. Well known fault.

Go buy a Freesat box.

RKQ

Doubt it Watty!
Both Sky boxes developing same problem at same time? Seems unlikely.

Second box looses satalite after 2 - 12 hours. Always seems to go at 11:30am for some reason.

watty

You didn't say two boxes.

Anyway, yes. Absolutely. With some models there is nearly 100% failure rate as the PSU capacitors age. Since it's a different period of time it's not the LNB, but the Sky boxes.

Is the location in a shelf, with or without other gear or totally in the open?

Anyway, they are repairable, but nowadays with Freesat HD, an out of sub Skybox is "crippleware". So they are "BER".


Signal is weakest at 11.30am this time of year as satellite passes between Earth and Sun (also Autumn Solstice). The faulty PSU reduces the noise margin on the tuner due to faulty capacitors.

steveon

I would expect a faulty Lnb by the sounds of it unless a bird is continuously landing on the bar on the front of the dish all the time. If you find that to be the case wrap some tie wraps around the bar and point up[wards at cut at different lengths, these will stick up the birds a** should he decide to land on the bar in the future and he will immediately fly off.

watty

A faulty LNB will last same time on either Sky box though, and usually just dies period.

RKQ

Thanks Steveon and Watty, appreciate your advice.
Neither Sky box is working now so I'll pop in and borrow my Mothers just to check it.
Both boxes were on a open shelf in a tv unit under my plasma tv.
Stuck with saorview for the moment.
Sky disk is on chimney so I'll need to call an Engineer if its the LNB, which is about 7 years old.

winston_1

RKQ wrote: »

Sky dish is on chimney so I'll need to call an engineer if its the LNB, which is about 7 years old.

Don't call sky then as they don't use engineers.

fat-tony

RKQ wrote: »

Thanks Steveon and Watty, appreciate your advice.
Neither Sky box is working now so I'll pop in and borrow my Mothers just to check it.
Both boxes were on a open shelf in a tv unit under my plasma tv.
Stuck with saorview for the moment.
Sky disk is on chimney so I'll need to call an Engineer if its the LNB, which is about 7 years old.

It might be better to bring your SKY boxes to your mother's as well and test them there to eliminate any issue with the boxes themselves. SKY will charge you €100 to send out a technician/installer to check the dish alignment and LNB. Might be better (cheaper) to seek out a local sat installer. I really don't know why dishes are installed on chimney stacks instead of on walls. That's unless your situation is unique where there is no view of the sat from the lower location.

St Senan

Fat-tony and Winston 1. you guys have not read the 1st post properly. The OP left sky in Dec.:)

hughowen

I had similar problem to OP but I am still with Sky. My signal was going periodically and what I found was the LNB connection to my cable was after burning ?? (was all blackened) and the copper wire was broken, I also found the same problem at the back of the box but not as bad, I changed the cable to another outlet on the LNB re-cut the cable for the box and it worked perfectly.

Why did that happen and is it possible the OP has the same issue on his LNB

Hugh

fat-tony

In your case it would appear that your connection at the LNB (or a fracture in the cable elsewhere) has let in water and it has migrated down the cable to the receiver. It's not uncommon where the installer has done a less than professional job.

fat-tony

Navarre wrote: »

Fat-tony and Winston 1. you guys have not read the 1st post properly. The OP left sky in Dec.:)

Touché - I was misled by the "engineer" term. My advice is still good, though - use a local installer

watty

fat-tony wrote: »

In your case it would appear that your connection at the LNB (or a fracture in the cable elsewhere) has let in water and it has migrated down the cable to the receiver. It's not uncommon where the installer has done a less than professional job.

yes.

The "black" is perhaps a form of Copper Oxide
If there was a lot of pollution or near sea it's green or greeny-blue depending on Sulphates, Chlorates etc.

RKQ

fat-tony wrote: »

It might be better to bring your SKY boxes to your mother's as well and test them there to eliminate any issue with the boxes themselves.

Thanks fat-tony, that makes a lot of sense. I'll try it tomorrow. If its the LNB I'll get a local installer to move the dish to a more accessable position. That way I'll have full access to it in the future.

RKQ

Dish was off-line and quad lnb probably gone.
Engineer replaced dish & lnb.
Box probably not 100% so decided to replace it.
Great to have Sat tv back.

Thanks for all your advice

winston_1

RKQ wrote: »

Dish was off-line and quad lnb probably gone.
Engineer replaced dish & lnb.
Box probably not 100% so decided to replace it.
Great to have Sat tv back.

Thanks for all your advice

You don't need to replace an out of alignment dish, just realign it and LNBs don't probably go if the dish is out of alignment. Sounds like you were ripped off. Did he/she move the dish to a more accessible position for you?

same ol sh1te

winston_1 wrote: »

You don't need to replace an out of alignment dish, just realign it and LNBs don't probably go if the dish is out of alignment. Sounds like you were ripped off. Did he/she move the dish to a more accessible position for you?

It's not always possible to realign as the ones Sky provide are of such poor quality, 2-3 years on a chimney or exposed gable and they've rusted to nothing (but could look perfectly OK from the ground). A decent installer will insist on a proper aluminium dish and decent bracket which will last 15+ years, always worth the expense for FTA

winston_1

same ol sh1te wrote: »

It's not always possible to realign as the ones Sky provide are of such poor quality, 2-3 years on a chimney or exposed gable and they've rusted to nothing (but could look perfectly OK from the ground). A decent installer will insist on a proper aluminium dish and decent bracket which will last 15+ years, always worth the expense for FTA

Actually the sky provided dishes are quite well made. The problem is the clowns who put them in don't grease the bolts so if you later want to re align them they have rusted up. Then of course if they were aligned properly in the first place?.
Aluminium dishes don't help as the bolts are still steel.

My sky dish is 15+ years old and the bolts are as good as the day it was first installed.

same ol sh1te

winston_1 wrote: »

Actually the sky provided dishes are quite well made.

They may be well made, but the quality of the materials is poor, I stopped selling them years ago because they don't last, the wind blows through them and they rust away in no length because they contain the minimum amount of metal and a crap coating. The perforated holes are not there for any scientific reason only to make them lighter on the pallet. I can buy Sky dishes for little more than 10 quid each, but they're just not worth it.

Decent Aluminium dishes like Triax and Inverto have aluminium and stainless fittings and bolts, you add a decent dipped solid bracket

RKQ

winston_1 wrote: »

You don't need to replace an out of alignment dish, just realign it and LNBs don't probably go if the dish is out of alignment. Sounds like you were ripped off. Did he/she move the dish to a more accessible position for you?

Sky made me an offer I couldn't refuse, at €9 per month!
So Engineer replaced dish on chimney - its eight years old and rusty brown in colour.

The Sky+ box was working fine until he tried to use live pause.
Box wouldnt recognise card, did a software update but no joy.

He gave me a new sky+ box with HD but would not replace remote control?
So I've a brand new sky+ box with old remote that stopped working last night.
I had to turn of the power supply to the box, let it reboot before remote would work again.

So have spent over €2,500 on Sky over 8 years, I was happy to get a new dish and box. Old remote is a mystery?
Engineer also took my old Sky+ box?
So I won't be getting my recorded movies back

The signal to the dish is better than ever before. I'll have to move dish myself later.

Anyone suggest a clamp or way to fix dish to 200mm dia steel column. I don't want to drill column.

St Senan

This is what you will need. But ideally a better quality solid 6ocm satellite dish would be the way to go

winston_1

RKQ wrote: »

Sky made me an offer I couldn't refuse, at €9 per month!
So Engineer replaced dish on chimney - its eight years old and rusty brown in colour.

The Sky+ box was working fine until he tried to use live pause.
Box wouldnt recognise card, did a software update but no joy.

He gave me a new sky+ box with HD but would not replace remote control?
So I've a brand new sky+ box with old remote that stopped working last night.
I had to turn of the power supply to the box, let it reboot before remote would work again.

So have spent over €2,500 on Sky over 8 years, I was happy to get a new dish and box. Old remote is a mystery?
Engineer also took my old Sky+ box?
So I won't be getting my recorded movies back

The signal to the dish is better than ever before. I'll have to move dish myself later.

Anyone suggest a clamp or way to fix dish to 200mm dia steel column. I don't want to drill column.

Sky don't use engineers. He was an installer.

fat-tony

Navarre wrote: »

This is what you will need. But ideally a better quality solid 6ocm satellite dish would be the way to go

Don't think so Navarre - 200mm column is approx 8 inches

St Senan

fat-tony wrote: »

Don't think so Navarre - 200mm column is approx 8 inches

That's what i get for been educated in the Imperial age. It looks like he needs a Welder so.

fat-tony

I'm from the age of valves myself, but thought I'd get back at you after chiding me for not reading the OP's question earlier in the thread