movies4men reception

_ben_ben Posts: 5,758
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After seeing it on the freesat channel lineup (and not previously having heard of it) I gave movies4men a try, but it alternates between "no signal" and lots of breakup on my Sky box. There are no problems with any other channel, so what's different about this one?
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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,276
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    That comes from Eurobird 1 (I think) at 28.5E, which is positioned slightly differently from Astra 2D (where the main Freesat channels come from) which is at 28.2E.

    They're normally close enough to be both picked up by dishes pointing at them, but maybe yours is slightly off, pointing more at 28.2E. Are you getting problems with the EPG (which comes from Eurobird 1) or any other channels?

    EDIT: Oh, just saw that you're getting it on your Sky box. Umm... could still be the problem, maybe. Most of Sky's stuff comes from the other Astra 2 satellites at 28.2E, but as mentioned, Eurobird 1 is 28.5E.
  • rai unorai uno Posts: 21,328
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    _ben wrote: »
    After seeing it on the freesat channel lineup (and not previously having heard of it) I gave movies4men a try, but it alternates between "no signal" and lots of breakup on my Sky box. There are no problems with any other channel, so what's different about this one?

    Your DECT phone .................. ?
  • rai unorai uno Posts: 21,328
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    TimmyRaa wrote: »
    That comes from Eurobird 1 (I think) at 28.5E, which is positioned slightly differently from Astra 2D (where the main Freesat channels come from) which is at 28.2E.

    They're normally close enough to be both picked up by dishes pointing at them, but maybe yours is slightly off, pointing more at 28.2E. Are you getting problems with the EPG (which comes from Eurobird 1) or any other channels?

    He's using a Sky Box,so the EPG comes from Astra 2A North.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,276
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    tv.gusto wrote: »
    He's using a Sky Box,so the EPG comes from Astra 2A North.
    Yeah, just re-read and noticed that. Could still be the problem though.
  • rai unorai uno Posts: 21,328
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    TimmyRaa wrote: »
    Yeah, just re-read and noticed that. Could still be the problem though.

    Bet it's the DECT phone .............

    Handbags at dawn ? :D
  • richardcdonrichardcdon Posts: 556
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    dont wast your time with this channel. If you see a good movie on their il give every one £100
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,276
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    Heh, does his DECT phone target 12,523MHz specifically, and no other frequencies then?

    Have I missed this DECT thing or something?
    dont wast your time with this channel. If you see a good movie on their il give every one £100
    <watches the TV listings with earnest now>
  • BadvokBadvok Posts: 972
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    TimmyRaa wrote: »
    Heh, does his DECT phone target 12,523MHz specifically, and no other frequencies then?

    DECT operates at 1880 - 1900MHz, 12.523GHz after down-conversion by the LNB is 1773MHz - pretty close if I've done the maths right.
  • rai unorai uno Posts: 21,328
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    TimmyRaa wrote: »
    Heh, does his DECT phone target 12,523MHz specifically, and no other frequencies then?

    Have I missed this DECT thing or something?


    <watches the TV listings with earnest now>

    Any DECT phone, operating at around 1880MHz is liable to cause interference to a couple of Low Band TPs around 11630MHz (LNB Local Oscillator 9750MHz) and ditto in High Band around 12480 MHz (LNB Local Oscillator 10600 MHz).

    Although 12523 is a bit higher than this nominal range, it rather depends upon the exact frequency any offending device is actually operating on.

    There are other known Interference sources as well, the latest culprit being BT Homehub.

    The OP would be advised to turn off all such devices at source in a logical way to find out if the problem really is Interference and, if so, which device is to blame.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,276
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    Pretty close certainly, but doesn't explain why it would affect this one channel and not any others. Could be down to harmonics or something I guess, but I'd still put money it being dish alignment.

    Handbag is at the ready...
  • rai unorai uno Posts: 21,328
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    TimmyRaa wrote: »
    Pretty close certainly, but doesn't explain why it would affect this one channel and not any others. Could be down to harmonics or something I guess, but I'd still put money it being dish alignment.

    Handbag is at the ready...

    No, it isn't anything to do with harmonics (generally).

    Don't forget that each TP is 20 MHz or so wide and the nominal TP frequency is the centre frequency.

    Each TP can carry round about 8 Channels on Frequencies up to about 10MHz higher or lower than TP nominal.

    Clearly L Band Interference can affect only one Channel, then, although it does often affect several.

    This is a common problem and a well worn path, as is a Dish a few tenths of a degree too far west of the optimum for 28.2/28.5E, as you suggested.

    Edit: Of course, as we haven't been told the Make/Model of the Sky Box in question, it might turn out to be an ageing one with incipient Power Supply Smoothing Capacitor failure.

    Without actually being there, all we can do is suggest possible causes.
  • _ben_ben Posts: 5,758
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    Just tried unplugging the DECT phone at the mains and it made no difference. We don't have WiFi, so I expect its the dish alignment. Does this mean that if I got a freesat receiver I'd need to realign the dish to get the EPG then?
  • rai unorai uno Posts: 21,328
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    _ben wrote: »
    Just tried unplugging the DECT phone at the mains and it made no difference. We don't have WiFi, so I expect its the dish alignment. Does this mean that if I got a freesat receiver I'd need to realign the dish to get the EPG then?

    Ok, I'll stuff my Handbag back in the cupboard.

    Can you tell us the Make/Model of your Digibox? It isn't an old Grundig, by any chance?

    At the end of the day, if this is a misalignment issue (and you might like to check reception on some other Eurobird Channels before accepting this as the likely cause), it isn't terribly difficult to optimise the alignment yourself.
  • Scalper JackScalper Jack Posts: 4,733
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    Coming in loud and clear. tv.gusto explains well to a possible cause.
    dont wast your time with this channel. If you see a good movie on their il give every one £100
    Out of the Past, Fort Apache, Thing From Another World, Django Kill, So weit die Füße tragen, Tunes of Glory, Death Race 2000,... how much money do you have? Nine Deaths of the Ninja. OK, well... not Nine Deaths of the Ninja.

    Not that bad for free if that's your type of thing. Bear in mind a lot of known movies are no doubt expensive for the rights and have exclusivity on them. That's likely why Sky's cost extra. Anyway, this is all off topic! ;-P
  • _ben_ben Posts: 5,758
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    tv.gusto wrote: »
    Can you tell us the Make/Model of your Digibox? It isn't an old Grundig, by any chance?

    Its a Pace DS445N
    At the end of the day, if this is a misalignment issue (and you might like to check reception on some other Eurobird Channels before accepting this as the likely cause), it isn't terribly difficult to optimise the alignment yourself.

    I've checked the following Eurobird channels and their +1 versions where applicable, and they all work

    Zone Reality
    Zone Reality Extra
    Zone Romantica
    Zone Horror
    Zone Thriller
    UCB TV
    Jewellery Channel
    Tiny Pop
    True Movies
    Al Jazeera
    France 24
    Russia Today

    Movies4men (and +1 and 2) are the only channels that I'm having reception problems with, so I'm a bit stumped now!
  • rai unorai uno Posts: 21,328
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    Hmm.

    Good mixture of both Horizontally and Vertically Polarised Channels in that list, so it probably isn't an LNB Skew issue.

    Stumped myself, now!

    Time for someone else to chip in with more ideas.
  • davemurgatroyddavemurgatroyd Posts: 13,328
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    Do you have wallplates fitted for the satellite cabling?
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 39
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    It wouldn't be enough to just unplug the phone, you'll need to remove the batteries to stop the handset communicating with the base station. I've had this problem with a skystar 2 PCI card. Just bought a Humax freesat box, and that is fine, maybe its a more responsive tuner.
  • _ben_ben Posts: 5,758
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    It wouldn't be enough to just unplug the phone, you'll need to remove the batteries to stop the handset communicating with the base station.

    Ah, good thinking... but it didn't make any difference :(

    No wallplates.
  • _ben_ben Posts: 5,758
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    Just done another test, and it turns out I can't receive any of the 12,523 H channels (Daystar TV, BEN, Information TV, EWTN Europe, Movies4Men, Movies4Men +1, AIT International) whereas the 11,224 V channels are all intermittent (Movies4Men 2, AIT Moviestar, PTV Global, Pitch World, OMusic TV, Pitch TV). Not sure what this achieves...
  • davemurgatroyddavemurgatroyd Posts: 13,328
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    Switch off/unplug at mains and swap the lnb cables on the back of the Sky+. If one of the cables/lnb outputs has a fault then this may show which is faulty. Tight bends or "pinched" cable can cause loss of one particular frequency.
  • rai unorai uno Posts: 21,328
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    Sorry to go back to the Interference idea, but are you in a property whereby neighbours are only a thin wall away?

    What I'm getting at is does one of them use "noisy" gear?
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,276
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    Maybe it's their DECT phone?
  • _ben_ben Posts: 5,758
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    Switch off/unplug at mains and swap the lnb cables on the back of the Sky+. If one of the cables/lnb outputs has a fault then this may show which is faulty. Tight bends or "pinched" cable can cause loss of one particular frequency.

    Its not a Sky+ box, I only have the one cable. I'll check the cable for anything visible, but note that 12,523 V seems OK, which would be hard to explain if its some frequency dependent characteristic of the cable.
  • _ben_ben Posts: 5,758
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    tv.gusto wrote: »
    Sorry to go back to the Interference idea, but are you in a property whereby neighbours are only a thin wall away?

    What I'm getting at is does one of them use "noisy" gear?

    I couldn't really comment on what gear the neighbours may be using, but they are a fair distance away, certainly out of DECT range.
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