I just got one of these today and I am having a nightmare getting it to perform it's function. When trying to record it displays the message that the signal is too weak to record.

Now on my old freeview box the signal was perfect and the signal strength was up to the top, but now the signal in all channels are not. There are however no sign of picture break up and to my eye it is definetly the same as my old box.

Is there anyway to sort this problem because it has certainly got me stumped.

Some people have reported that the short RF loop-through cable can be faulty. They have replaced it with a "standard" RF patch cable and say it has c ured the problem.

John.

Is this the standard RF cable that always comes supplied with vcr's, Digiboxes etc..?

Yep. That's the one. I should repeat that I'm only reporting what others have posted - I can't verify myself that it's a cure.

John.

I've got this too.."Unable To Start Recording, The Signal Is Too Weak". I hooked up the Dual DPVR80 (the same box at the Digihome) using the same connections my Humax PVR8000T does, just to test it, so it can't be the RF lead.

The signal on the Dual box is rated "Very Good" and I managed to get the recent OTA software upgrade.

My Humax has worked fine for years.

Will I have to buy an aerial booster? Any ideas?

Thanks.
Last edited by quirkafleeg : 04-02-2007 at 16:52

quirkafleeg,
The signal on the Dual box is rated "Very Good"

How do you know this? Haven't seen a signal strength indicator on the Dual.

Go into manual tuning mode.

Thanks for the replies.

I've tried Manual Channel Scan to see if it could make any difference, just to see..not much use.

Channel 41 (Blackhill, Glasgow) is what it picks automatically, the same as the Humax.

A few more are also rated "Very Good" but the signal is still too weak to record, apparently. They don't bring up all the tv channels, unlike Ch 41.

Did markmc2k5 have any joy with the same problem?
Last edited by quirkafleeg : 05-02-2007 at 15:43

I've just phoned the Asda helpline and they were a bit stumped. They reckon the box is faulty.

If anyone has had similar woes, I'd love to know..before I swap it?
Last edited by quirkafleeg : 05-02-2007 at 16:20

Just wondering... is it a problem with the little rf stub cable (or one of the sockets that this cable plugs into)?

Have you tried pressing the PIP button on the remote (to load up the picture in picture feature). If one of the Freeview decoders isn't getting a signal then the PIP will just display a blank screen... or maybe an error? (I've never tried this myself).

I'm not sure if pressing SWAP actually swaps between decoders or just tells the primary to show the channel that was previously on the secondary and vice versa.

I have a signal booster with 4 RF outputs sat in a box somewhere in the loft and I keep wondering about connecting this to my PVR (with each decoder receiving an RF signal directly from the booster rather than relying on the stub cable).

TBH, if I were you I'd just swap it anyway. Hopefully, seeing as it's Asda, they'll just offer you a swap or refund without any hassle.

Thanks everyone.

I'm not using the RF stub cable, seeing as I've got it on top of my Humax to test it, it's too short anyway

The Picture In Picture comes up blank. I'm sure Asda will be fine about swapping it.

Aha, you know what, I've actually put the leads in the wrong places. In my haste to get the thing working, I hooked it up the same as my Humax.

The RF stub lead goes in the middle two connections, the other RF lead to the left and the aerial to the right.

And recording now works! I'm off to look for my dunce cap.

Sorry for going into a flap. And thank you for replying
Last edited by quirkafleeg : 05-02-2007 at 17:45

I'm glad you sorted it.

I wonder if this could be the answer to a lot of the dropout/breakup problems for programs stored on the HD (ie. PVR states that the reception is good but recordings are poor) - in the "official" software release, the PVR always uses the secondary decoder but on the manual tuning page, the PVR shows the signal strength for the primary decoder (also, the PIP mini-screen is always the secondary decoder - the SWAP button just swaps the channels over, not the decoders).

Maybe some of the stub cables supplied with these PVRs are a bit dodgy. I wonder if replacing the stub with a shielded RF cable or (like I've suggested before) plugging an RF directly into the secondary decoder would help.