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No Signal : Snow or tech problem?
[Deleted User]
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Thomson Sky Plus Box (NOT HD)
Snow started at about 5-6pm - currently maybe 8ins on car roof.
So about 8pm Sky Box thought it was recording two channels - it lied. Wasn't recording anything.
Deleted the progs it thought it was recording. It just thought it was recording two others. So I did what I usually do when it does this - switched off at the wall, waited little and switched back on
Seemed to reboot OK (made appropriate whirrings) and proceeded to the Searching For Listings message. Which didn't go. After a few minutes switched it off again. But it never gets passed this Searching message.
Read the code 28 thread which had some useful info.
Looked at dish - which I cannot reach without a ladder or hanging out of neighbours window.
Dish itself is clear but the gubbins (arm) that extends from the dish to the lumpy thing at the end are all covered with maybe 1-2 inches snow (sorry female talking - don't know what's called what).
How much snow does it take to kill the signal?
What do I do - nothing tonight obviously - and hope sun comes up in the morning (as dish gets the early sun)?
Oh checked the Services/Signal - no values listed for both which I kinda expected.
Any ideas...
BTW: I can't see why when there is no satellite signal it affects the ability to watch existing recordings. Apart from the fact that seems to be the unfriendly way the system works/is programmed.
Snow started at about 5-6pm - currently maybe 8ins on car roof.
So about 8pm Sky Box thought it was recording two channels - it lied. Wasn't recording anything.
Deleted the progs it thought it was recording. It just thought it was recording two others. So I did what I usually do when it does this - switched off at the wall, waited little and switched back on
Seemed to reboot OK (made appropriate whirrings) and proceeded to the Searching For Listings message. Which didn't go. After a few minutes switched it off again. But it never gets passed this Searching message.
Read the code 28 thread which had some useful info.
Looked at dish - which I cannot reach without a ladder or hanging out of neighbours window.
Dish itself is clear but the gubbins (arm) that extends from the dish to the lumpy thing at the end are all covered with maybe 1-2 inches snow (sorry female talking - don't know what's called what).
How much snow does it take to kill the signal?
What do I do - nothing tonight obviously - and hope sun comes up in the morning (as dish gets the early sun)?
Oh checked the Services/Signal - no values listed for both which I kinda expected.
Any ideas...
BTW: I can't see why when there is no satellite signal it affects the ability to watch existing recordings. Apart from the fact that seems to be the unfriendly way the system works/is programmed.
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Comments
So, look on the bright side, no Sky TV for a few days! Enjoy. Get out, listen to some music, get some mates round.....
Thanks HH. 99% chance things will be OK in the morning - unless the cold has broke sommat out there.
So what makes you think I have a life outside of my house? I have spent most of the last three weeks living in twitterland, reading/posting forums and generally taking root on my chair. Quite like it really.
But I may go out and make a snowman in the morning. Haven't seen this much snow for a while (OK before Xmas but before then.... I think they said 30 years on the news...)
Here's hoping it will be back on tomorrow - thank heavens for analogue tv as I can still watch the 5 terrestrial channels. How will we cope when they are switched off and it snows post 2012?!
But now getting signals.
thanks for comments
That's the LNB, it picks up the signal from the dish. If it has snow on the end it wont pick up signals.
All Sky channels gone at 0630, switched to Freeview which is OK
Mine is a garden mounted dish, twice I have had to go out with a soft brush and clear the snow from the arm that leads to the LNB. I was amazed how deep the snow was before the signal was lost, the first time it almost covered upto the top of the LNB.
Why don't you give LNB a whack as well and let us know what happens?
We've just done this and ours is working fine now!!
Agreed! The perfect solution, although trouble is you have to be careful to not knock the dish and move it out of position and also its only a short time fix until the LNB and dish gets covered again
The Skyman
One flake. I wrote about this here:
http://www.satcure.co.uk/reviews/review136.htm#00
Easy in hindsight, i was hitting ours to clear the snow, worked for a bit then went off again. Tried to clear it, accidentally moved the LNB.
Went out again with my satellite adjusting broom handle (don't own a ladder), and i pushed the dish too far up.
Went out last night, noticed that the dish was angled back forward again... but the LNB has fallen off.
Doh.
look at the LNB face that points at the dish, if it's cleal you should get a signal, if it's partially covered or covered no matter how much it's covered it will seriously dent or completely block your signal.