picture breaking up

[markmgk]

the picture on my Sky digital regularly breaks up. sometimes it is completly unwatchable. i have a panasonic digibox thats about 4 years old. it has been doing this for about 1 year. i`ve been told that it may be something to do with the trees opposite my house but it used to work fine and the trees don`t look any bigger to me than they used to be and there are no leaves on them at the minute. sometimes there is no problems with the picture at all. sometimes it works on some channels and not others. from day to day the channels that work will change but it is bad most often on e4 and motors tv. the signal strength is usually about 75% and the quality is usually about 60%. the picture breaks up worse during ad breaks and when the banner is on screen. the dish is tightly secured and i dont think it has moved any. does anybody have any ideas on how to fix this problem? (cutting down the trees is not an option as they are not mine but i`ve bought a saw just in case!). thanks.

[Bluevanman]

You need to get the signal properly checked. The bars that you see on the signal test screen are an indication only and then only for the default transponder. Can you borrow another box from someone and try that? The symptoms you describe could be anything, box,lnb or cable.

[RMCF]

Same thing is happening to mine. Except it tends to be the weather that has the greatest effect on the picture. Wind doesn't do a thing but as soon as you get a heavy drizzle the pic starts the break up. I too have some channels that seem to be able to get through it (they must be stronger) but there are some channels that pack up at the slightest rain (BBC channels as far as I remember).

I spoke to my installer and he is coming to have a look at it. He believes that the dish may have moved a bit in the 90/100mph winds we had a few months back.

Sounds like you'll have to get yours checked out as well.

[Grumpy Old Troll]

Mark,

It won't be the box.

How far away are the trees? Really close? Over the road?

If they're not that close it'll be the LNB...

If so, no need to call the men in the blue vans, just get an LNB for a tenner or so and try it. Waddya got to lose? Except a tenner?

A. Dork

[markmgk]

the trees are probably about 30-40 feet away. is this close enough cause the problem? where would i get a LNB and how hard are they to fit? thanx.

I had exactly the same thing happen. I spent 400 quid to get my trees trimmed down and it did not improve the picture. Got the Sky engineer out and he changed the LNB (i have had my dish for 4 nearly 5 year) as he said it was weathered and i am sure he sligthly re-aligned my dish as it is on a poll at the side of my house. I too suffered from the 90+ mph winds. Cost me £65 but my signal is now perfect. I suppose to me it was a price worth paying. I would get Sky out to check.

[swarrans]

Has anyone used the cheap signal strength meters being sold on eBay to align their dishes - are they any better a guide than the digiboxes menu? As they're only about £12 I might give one a go...

Simon

[Grumpy Old Troll]

If it's for Sky digital only, there's really no need.

Spend the £12 on beer.

A. Dork

[swarrans]

Hi Mr Dork(!) - your note implies that it's easy to set up sky digital dish without a meter - I have to say that despite having clear line of sight to the sky mine's been a devil of a job and never been reliable (including 2 "professional" attempts)
The signal strength and quality are both about 70% (quality does move down to 50% intermitently) and the picture is usually fine but sometimes justs breaks up - sometimes during rain but sometimes for no apparent reason...

Or did you mean spend the £12 on beer and then I won't care any more?!

Simon

[Grumpy Old Troll]

Originally Posted by swarrans

Hi Mr Dork(!) - your note implies that it's easy to set up sky digital dish without a meter - I have to say that despite having clear line of sight to the sky mine's been a devil of a job and never been reliable (including 2 "professional" attempts)
The signal strength and quality are both about 70% (quality does move down to 50% intermitently) and the picture is usually fine but sometimes justs breaks up - sometimes during rain but sometimes for no apparent reason...

Or did you mean spend the £12 on beer and then I won't care any more?!

Simon

Simon,

It's pretty easy to set up a dish for Sky without a meter, as long as you're not a complete arse of course! Believe me, you won't gain anything by buying a £12 'meter'.

BTW, are we talking Sky or Sky+ here? If you're using a single LNB the most common cause of your symptoms is a duff LNB. Especially if it's a 'Cambridge' type.

The signal levels you've got should be adequate 99% of the time.

You need to look at the LNB.

Then spend the saved cash on beer! And get me one!

A. Dork

[swarrans]

OK I've been looking at new LNBs on eBay and therefore have more questions!
My current LNB is a Grundig 0.7dB - on eBay there are loads of single and quad LNBs (I'm considering getting a quad just in case I ever need it) with sensitivity numbers ranging from 0.3dB to 0.8dB and lots of different makes (Thomson, Raven, Humax, Sharp, SynTec..) -- can anyone recommend one that may be more "resistant" to picture break up?

Luckily someone outbid me for the £12 crapometer, so I can now spend it on an LNB/or beer.

Simon

[swarrans]

Well I fell for the advertising hype and bought the most expensive LNB (apparently winner of "Best LNB" in What Sat MAg) a Syntec 2000 0.3dB (still only cost £25 though). Since buying it I've read a few bad reports, but when I get it (about a week) I'll fit it and see if it cures the long stand reception problems I've been having.

I'll post results if anyone's interested.

Simon