[redsuntrading]

I have had a PACE twin de-coder for may years and it has always given good service (Over 4 years trouble free).

I live in East Devon and they recently switched Stockland over to digital only, since then I cannot record anything except "Family Guy" on BBC3.

It also loses the picture on the channel (and can lose the set i.e. all BBC) if you try to record.

EPG recording does not work at all.

Timed recording works a little (e.g. we managed half of BGT on Saturday).

Any ideas, any similar experiences with analogue switch off.

Is it a lack of recent updates from PACE?

I will replace the box if necessary but thought I would ask for help first.

[Gavtech]

Originally Posted by redsuntrading

I have had a PACE twin de-coder for may years and it has always given good service (Over 4 years trouble free).

I live in East Devon and they recently switched Stockland over to digital only, since then I cannot record anything except "Family Guy" on BBC3.

It also loses the picture on the channel (and can lose the set i.e. all BBC) if you try to record.

EPG recording does not work at all.

Timed recording works a little (e.g. we managed half of BGT on Saturday).

Any ideas, any similar experiences with analogue switch off.

Is it a lack of recent updates from PACE?

I will replace the box if necessary but thought I would ask for help first.

Welcome to the forum.

The pace twin should work fine provided your aerial is satisfactory. It should not require replacement.

But importantly, channels were moved around at the switchover...and you should rescan for channels.

Go to : Main menu / Channel List / Scan for channels.

[redsuntrading]

Thanks for the advice and welcome.

I have tried the following:

1. Re-initialised the machine several times.

2. Unplugged the box from the mains.

3. Re-scanned several times.

4. Re-initialised the disc several times.

By the way, all the above ideas came from this forum.

The box is old so it might have gone, it still de-codes OK.

I have a modern powerful aerial (use in low signal strength areas) in the attic, I can see Stockland mast but I have a slate roof with steel perlins.

I also have a signal booster splitter but the first feed comes into the PACE box and then to the splitter.

The signal by-passes the TV, it is connected by the S-video output.

I use the TV RGB scart for my DVD player.

The sound is output via optical to an AV receiver.

[Gavtech]

OK. You have pretty much done everything to eliminate machine issues.

Everything points to this being entirely a reception issue and it is to your aerial installation that you need to turn your attention.
None of your output connections have any relevance.

The risk at present is that if you have such cusp or problematic reception that if you threw in the towel and got a new device you could well have the same problems.

As far as I am aware, the changes at Stockland have not involved the moving of any channels to 'out of band' location that would require any aerial group changes so the aerial you have should still function.

Some points that need consideration: At changeover, the power of the digital transmissions was boosted considerably and it may be that the signal is now too strong and you may simply be overloading the front end, especially as you have a booster connected.

Check the received signal strength on the Pace and if possible experiment with turning the booster down / removing it / using attenuators.

One other recommended check to do first is to disconnect the aerial from the Pace and do a scan. This is the only know certain method of completely clearing the channel placeholder information from memory.

Thereafter, reconnect the aerial and do a fresh scan.

There is just one other point - If you have other equipment in your system that happens to use an HDMI connection, this can under certain circumstances play havoc with UHF reception and could also produce the symptoms you report.
Temporarily removing the HDMI connection is a simple elimination test for this.

Good luck.

[redsuntrading]

Thanks again.

I tried the aerial trick and it does improve but not completely eliminate the problem.

I checked the signal strength meters from the menu, they are running from 90% to 99% on both decoders.

I have ordered a variable attenuator from that well know high street electrical components shop.

I will post a link if it cures the problem.

My mother's Pace started having problems after the analogue on the Redruth transmitter was switched off. It keeps getting 0s time recordings or plays back for a few seconds and then freezes, several channels also then just display the Pace logo. Now they have completed stage 1 on the Caradon Hill transmitter my Pace has the same problems, it did 2 recordings successfully but a third had 0s time. After that many channels would only display the Pace logo, putting in and out of standby restored the channels. I have reset the recorder and rescanned several times but the fault remains.

[Gavtech]

Originally Posted by mwpl

My mother's Pace started having problems after the analogue on the Redruth transmitter was switched off. It keeps getting 0s time recordings or plays back for a few seconds and then freezes, several channels also then just display the Pace logo. Now they have completed stage 1 on the Caradon Hill transmitter my Pace has the same problems, it did 2 recordings successfully but a third had 0s time. After that many channels would only display the Pace logo, putting in and out of standby restored the channels. I have reset the recorder and rescanned several times but the fault remains.

Welcome to the forum.

At the time of the switchover, there was a considerable boost in transmitted power, so it is possible that your signal is now too strong.

Check the signal strength in setup for any problematic channels.
If it is up at 100% then you may need an attenuator.

[redsuntrading]

I have tried everything suggested here including fitting an attenuator.

My current thoughts on this is the PACE box needs some form of software upgrade because the signal has been changed in some way. This is not going to happen.

I am going to change to SKY+.

I think the whole Freeview set up is amateurish. There appears to be no reliable equipment out there without spending a fortune (and judging by the posts on this forum, that does not guarantee success).

Thanks for the help from everyone.

[grahamlthompson]

Originally Posted by redsuntrading

I have tried everything suggested here including fitting an attenuator.

My current thoughts on this is the PACE box needs some form of software upgrade because the signal has been changed in some way. This is not going to happen.

I am going to change to SKY+.

I think the whole Freeview set up is amateurish. There appears to be no reliable equipment out there without spending a fortune (and judging by the posts on this forum, that does not guarantee success).

Thanks for the help from everyone.

The BBC mux at dso changes from 2k mode to 8k mode some older stb's and tv's won't work with 8k, some are upgradeable others not.

Originally Posted by Gavtech

Welcome to the forum.

At the time of the switchover, there was a considerable boost in transmitted power, so it is possible that your signal is now too strong.

Check the signal strength in setup for any problematic channels.
If it is up at 100% then you may need an attenuator.

Thanks for the reply. The BBC channels were showing 100% signal strength, but the other ones were about 20% lower, I obtained a variable attenuator and adjusted it down and tried again. As before when switched out of standby all the channels were present but after a while many will just display the Pace logo, displaying the signal strength shows zero.

I did several 30 minute recordings, some were complete but others showed varying times between 0s and 30s. On playback as the end of the recording is reached the picture breaks up and then freezes.

[prking]

I was under the impression that the Pace Twin doesn't carry the digital tick logo and won't work properly after switchover. I'm sure I read in a previous thread that Pace do not intend to offer an upgrade as it is long discontinued. I can't find the thread at the moment but will keep looking.

Edit: see here
http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/retailers...uipment_search
The Pace twin doesn't meet the minimum spec to continue working through switchover, whether Pace could upgrade the equipment to do so is another matter, but as it isn't on the list I doubt they intend to.

[LV426]

There are all sorts of issues with the Pace Twin which (after a quick scan so E&OE) aren't mentioned here. The most pertinent I think is that the two tuners can interfere with one another inside the machine. I think the earthy electrical connection between the screening case and the machine's chassis deteriorates over time and allows some leakage of RF between tuners.

It may be that the new, stronger signal is radiating around inside the machine or that different frequencies now being used have caused the problem to exhibit.

You can try soldering earthing straps around and between the tuners; I understand that this may relieve the symptoms.

Or just ditch it and buy a new one from, say, Topfield.

[Gavtech]

I heard from Pace last week who stated that the Pace twin is Hardware Capable of dealing with the 8K mode that the BBC Muxes have transitioned to after the Digital Switch Over, and they say it should work, but - they have not tested for compatibility, and do not intend to as they no longer support the unit.

There are lots of reports in the west country of Pace Twin problems after the DSO.

Whether this is due to the power boost or the 8K change remains to be seen.

It would be good to hear from ANY user in a 'DSO'd' location who is not having problems with this device, which would tend to indicate that the issue is with the power change.

[cpns]

I emailed customer.service@pace.com about the issues I was having:

• No EPG
• New recordings are broken up, frozen, or empty, and when trying to playback the play time-scale advances several times faster than real-time.
• Activating live pause crashed the device and requires a power cycle. It was not responsive to the remote or front-panel buttons, and eventually switched from the frozen image to a green-screen.

I got the following response:

This box has never been tested on the signal that is used after digital switch over so there could be issues however from feedback we have received a factory reset may fix the recording issue.

The lack of EPG is due to the number of channels broadcast, the EPG can only handle 99. To get around this set up a favourite channel with less than 100 channels in it.

Please let me know how you get on.

The factory reset fixed the recording and live pause issues, and after the re-scan, it picked up only 85 channels rather than the previous 108, so the EPG fixed itself without having to create channel list groups. All the channels I want are present, so all's good.

I did encounter one problem in the initial factory reset scan; I have seen this before and resolved it, so in case any one else sees this here it is: After the factory reset, the initial channel scan freezes when the progress bar gets to about two-thirds (at the point where the first channels are normally detected), the remote and front panel controls are non-functional and the unit requires a power-cycle, after which the scan will continue to fail in the same manner. The solution is to remove the aerial connection, and allow the scan to proceed past the point where it previously failed and then reconnect the aerial before the scan completes. After it has completed the scan, a subsequent scan will complete and pick up the channels on which it was previously freezing.

I am still getting a higher than normal bit-error rate on some channels, but I am still using the amplifier I needed before the ASO. I shall experiment using it without teh amplifier once the Mendip Tx ASO is completed on 7 April.

Problems with watching the same channel as that being recorded have worsened; it used to break-up only on channel 5, but now seems to happen on most if not all channels. I have a very early box that did not have an earth-strap between the two receiver screening cans. I have added one myself, but problems getting enough heat from my weedy soldering iron made for a less than perfect job. I may revisit that with a more powerful iron.

Hope all that helps.

Clifford

[Gavtech]

Here are crosslinks to two other Major Pace Twin threads:


Pace Twin - Wont start up.

Pace twin - Upgrading hard disk

[alzhalan]

The problem must be caused by the 8k mode problem. My box works perfectly apart from the fact that it will not record. Since July 2010. Elgin area
Has anyone found a way round this yet?

[Gavtech]

Originally Posted by alzhalan

The problem must be caused by the 8k mode problem. My box works perfectly apart from the fact that it will not record. Since July 2010. Elgin area
Has anyone found a way round this yet?

I do not think it can be the 8k mode....The unit does support 8k... if by otherwise working OK, you mean it can receive programmes.

If it were an 8K problem then you would not receive anything. So the problem must reside elsewhere.

Have you given the unit a lengthy power reset and retune?

[cpns]

Originally Posted by alzhalan

Has anyone found a way round this yet?

Yes, unfortunately the conclusion I came to was that the Pace was obsolete and I replaced it with a Humax (very cheap from Humax Direct as a "Grade A" stock). I have not regretted it; the larger hard-drive, record two channels simultaneously (while watching a third if it is on the same multiplex as one of the recording channels), faster EPG, current support etc. The Pace UI and remote are marginally more intuitive, but that is a minor quibble.

The Pace is currently doing service at my mother-in-law's in Winchester, where DSO is not until next year; but she still has to ensure that it is on BBC1 before putting it in stand-by to be sure it will start-up again! The bugs are just too many to seriously consider maintaining this antique much further.

Another nail in the coffin for the Pace Twin is the launch of Freeview HD services. My new Humax does not support this, but there was a 5 month gap between my Pace being rendered useless and any vendor launching a Freeview HD box; since I do not have an HD TV, I figured the low cost Humax box would suffice for the time-being, and when I come to upgrade the TV I won't be paying early-adopter prices for a Freeview HD box, and there will be greater choice (not to mention the probability of an integrated Freeview HD decoder).