sky card

[has2mow]

if i bought a second hand sky box , do i need a sky card to make it work ? will i get all free to air channels

[Broadz]

You'll get all FTA channels without any card. You'll need an expired card (or a FSFS card - £20) to get the FTV channels as well.

[fernandez]

Just to add...

that without a card the box may default to BBC1 London and ITV West Midlands on 101 and 103.
Likewise if you get an expired card that was activated in another region the BBC and ITV locals will be for the postcode in which the card was activated.

A freesatfromsky card (£20 direct from Sky) needs to be activated against your postcode upon receipt and will ensure the correct local channels (subject to the vagaries of postcode allocation).

Without a card C4 and FIVE (although FTA on some transponders) will not appear on the EPG and will need to be tuned in manually and accessed through the 'Other Channels' menu

[has2mow]

Many thanks guys