Humax Foxsat No Freesat (yes again!)

stevedordogne

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I know this subject has been addressed many times before in this and other fora; I must have looked at most.
However here goes:
We live in SW France

I installed a Humax Foxsat HDR a couple of years ago to replace a Sky box; 1 LNB, small dish; however installed Freesat which worked fine though reception poor during bad weather.

So I recently upgraded the dish size and installed a 4-port LNB; 2 for the Humax (with new twin cable), 1 for the old Sky box so we could use that separately in the bedroom.

Installed OK, old Sky box working fine; Humax also working fine UNTIL I did the Freesat tune....then the dreaded "Invalid Post Code" message. Manual tune gives 400+ channels etc.

Having reviewed various threads I have done the following:
Factory reset; manual scan for transponder 11428 H 27500 only; diagnostic now shows 60-70% S & Q for both LNBs, correct transponder, loader version U7.54, software HPRSFCI 1.00.21.
Whilst tuned into this transponder have gone to channel 999 and pressed guide which shows about 4 channels. Left the box connected overnight, tried again and still can't get past the post code so presumably not finding the Freesat EPG.

Starting to get a sense of humour failure.....

Any suggestions as to what I'm missing will be much appreciated.
 
First thing I would try is tweaking the lnb skew while looking at 11428 H to see if can you increase the quality.

Kingofsat has Astra 2E home transponder as

11425.00 H DVB-S QPSK 27500 2/3 (It's on a UK spot beam so will be harder to get than Eutelsat 28A was)

It has a slightly different orbital location to the others at 28.2E and a different skew. It would be interesting to add this in manual tune and look at what signal strength/quality you get.

You can find the skew for your location by selecting your location and Astra 2E at www.dishpointer.com.
 
You read good advice, the key is getting reasonable quality on the freesat transponder, which several months ago moved to a UK beam making it harder to receive.
At the quality level you mention (60-70%) I would have thought that would be sufficient, but apparently not.
I assume you are entering a valid UK postcode.
I am a little south of you at 32460 with a 100cm dish and have just checked the signal on the freesat transponder here. Signal is about 90% but quality is 100% with good weather.
What size dish do you have?
 
At the risk of sounding silly, presumably you are using a valid UK postcode aren't you (you didn't say)?
 
Thanks for the prompt responses
Tried several post codes so I don't think that's the problem.
Have adjusted the skew but find max S & Q are still at 60-70%
Can't see the suggested transponder 11425 in the list offered
Dish size is approx 90cm
 
Thanks for the prompt responses
Tried several post codes so I don't think that's the problem.
Have adjusted the skew but find max S & Q are still at 60-70%
Can't see the suggested transponder 11425 in the list offered
Dish size is approx 90cm

In manual tune you can add transponders.

Menu - Setup - Manual Tune - Select The Transponder entry - Press OK - scroll up to User Define. Save it to add it to the list.

The Astra 2 frequency plan does not exactly support the original assigned freesat home transponder, suspecting that while this works OK with a good signal it may have created some issues in difficult areas (just an idea, not seen any other evidence). Be interested to see what Repassac says (He lives in France).
 
Thanks again
Set transponder as stated
Went and wiggled the LNB and had 90-100% on both inputs for the above transponder, search and found approx 14 channels, selected guide, all these shown, then went to Freesat tune....."Invalid Post Code"......it's almost as in when Freesat tune is selected it goes and searches somewhere else??
 
Clarification:
I've set the transponder as stated with Horizontal, after saving this, I then look at Diagnostics ...the figures for S & Q are for the Vertical....whatever I do by the time I look at Diagnostics it always shows Vetical?
 
I must admit that I have not tried a freesat tune since the freesat transponder went to the UK beam. I will try it on my little used HB-1000S and update you. SWMBO would not be pleased with me if lost freesat on the HDR-1000S. I will try postcode WC1E 7HD.

My guess is that once tuned all will be perfect at quality levels > 45%.

Edit: freesat tune completed as described. No Problems.
 
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Clarification:
I've set the transponder as stated with Horizontal, after saving this, I then look at Diagnostics ...the figures for S & Q are for the Vertical....whatever I do by the time I look at Diagnostics it always shows Vetical?

Using diagnostics tells you the figures for the channel tuner 1 and 2 is currently using. Having saved the transponder to the list in manual tune, locate it and click on it. The strength and quality will be shown.
 
Thanks again
Set transponder as stated
Went and wiggled the LNB and had 90-100% on both inputs for the above transponder, search and found approx 14 channels, selected guide, all these shown, then went to Freesat tune....."Invalid Post Code"......it's almost as in when Freesat tune is selected it goes and searches somewhere else??

Diagnostics gives you the figures for the transponders the two tuners are currently using, in manual tune clicking on a transponder shows the figures for the highlighted transponder.

As above.
 
Fashion One is the freesat transponder.

Although KingofSat shows Fashion One on the home transponder, I think it's an error. The Freesat epg version is on 11685 V.
 
Graham, That's very strange, on the HDR-1000S I did a manual tune on the 11428 H (FTA, TV) and it listed Fashion one which I saved. Do you see it if you do the same?

Edit: Stranger and stranger their web site lists it as 11 686 Mhz, V-Pol, Europe wide.
It would appear that on the freesat transponder only the ID is there, no broadcast.
 
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Graham, That's very strange, on the HDR-1000S I did a manual tune on the 11428 H and it listed Fashion one which I saved. Do you see it if you do the same?


Watching Davis Cup at the moment so can't check. It may be a duplicate, however certain Freesat channel is the one I posted.

Changes 25th June 2015

Transponder changes 146 Challenge+1 12304 H to 11836 H, 411 Fashion One 11973 V to 11685 V, 652 Forces TV 12304 H to 11836 H, 663 Zing 11508 V to 11670 H, 724 Absolute 80s 11973 V to 11685 V, 729 Jazz FM 11973 V to 11685 and 790 TWR 11973 V to 11685 V

Software to read data directly from channel database is on old laptop, booting it up now to copy Excel app across.
 
Data from Foxsat-hdr channel database Tuesday 25th November 2015

411 Fashion One TV-SD Freesat Open 55395 265 2315 2316 2315 8192 8192 freesat 28.2E 11685 22000 V

999 freesat info Data Freesat Open 10530 3600 8192 3603 3603 8192 8192 freesat 28.2E 11427 27500 H
 
I had forgotten about 999 on G1 units (Not on G2 units). That would be the preferred way of checking signal on the transponder.
 
Thanks you guys
Found transponder 11685 V 22000, saved then search, got to Fashion One, checked diagnostics to find both tuners showing 90-100% S & Q on 11685 V. Same levels in the manual scan screen too.
Then back to Freesat search....."Invalid Postcode"!!
 
Thanks you guys
Found transponder 11685 V 22000, saved then search, got to Fashion One, checked diagnostics to find both tuners showing 90-100% S & Q on 11685 V. Same levels in the manual scan screen too.
Then back to Freesat search....."Invalid Postcode"!!

You misunderstand Fashion One is not on the Freesat home transponder. There is a placeholder on the home transponder called Fashion One but it has no data. Basically Fashion One is a red herring :) .

There is 4 other freesat channels on 11685 V

411 Fashion One
724 Absolute
726 Absolute 80s
729 JazzFM
790 TWR

The Freesat info channel is on the home transponder (999), it's not a TV channel just data. See post 16.

Did you add the actual Freesat Home Transponder posted in post 2, save it and look at the signal using manual tune.

I take it you don't have Raydons custom firmware on your Foxsat If you had it is possible to replace the data you lost by attempting the freesat tune. Details are somewhere on this forum in the CF threads. I remember it because I provided the required data file from my Foxsat
 
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Many thanks for your patience (and the red herring explanation....I always seem attracted to red herrings)
So to confirm I should find transponder 11425 H 27500 DVB-S2 QPSK 2/3, search, save then look for channel 999.
No luck at present, so will have to await daylight tomorrow to access the dish to adjust the skew.
Great result in the tennis...
 
Many thanks for your patience (and the red herring explanation....I always seem attracted to red herrings)
So to confirm I should find transponder 11425 H 27500 DVB-S2 QPSK 2/3, search, save then look for channel 999.
No luck at present, so will have to await daylight tomorrow to access the dish to adjust the skew.
Great result in the tennis...

100% agree, great finish to a nail biting match.

If you already know this, ignore it. A brief explanation of what happens when you reset a freesat box.

The box asks you for a postcode. It then downloads a database that relates UK postcodes to the regional channels applicable to that postcode, from the home transponder. This allocates the right regions to the following logical channel numbers (lcn's). After this the box appears to discard this database, as no one has found the appropriate data stored on the box.

Namely 101,102,103, 108, 109,112 and 119 (I might have missed some). If the database does not get downloaded, the whole process stalls. If the required data arrives, the correct channels are allocated and setup completes.

You can though re-allocate the BBC regional variations after setup using Customise Channels (these all exist in the higher channel numbers) to the appropriate lower lcn's. ITV 1 London is also in the higher numbers for everyone (as it's the only ITV SD region variant with Audio Description).

In theory Repassac being South of you should have more problems with reception assuming same size dish.

When playing with the dish and the correct transponder selected, get someone to watch the box signal quality and strength. Apply a bit of pressure to each side of the dish to flex it slightly East and West (Azimuth), There is always some movement in mountings, wait for the box to respond (takes a short period). If the signal improves that's the way you need to move the dish a tiny tiny amount.

Repeat at top and bottom to check elevation.

At 22000mls above the equator it's a tiny target to hit, and the larger the dish, the smaller the focus area is, so alignment is even more critical than the tiny dishes we can use in the UK.
 
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Thanks very much for that.
Does it matter if I can get channel 999 on 11428 H where it shows up as Sky info?
When on this channel and I do the Freesat scan, the S & Q bars show 100% when in reality the channel is 60-70% S & Q !
 
Thanks very much for that.
Does it matter if I can get channel 999 on 11428 H where it shows up as Sky info?
When on this channel and I do the Freesat scan, the S & Q bars show 100% when in reality the channel is 60-70% S & Q !

Now completely confused, Sky Info ?

When you do a freesat scan it does not show the Freesat home transponder signal at all. All it does is ask for a postcode and shows a signal strength for at a guess one of the normal transponders (probably BBC 1). Where are you seeing the signal strength for the home transponder after a freesat scan, which you say always fails ?

In manual tune mode if you scan and save the results, it does not affect Freesat channels, you are merely adding FTA channels to non-freesat mode. TBH not sure if you can see 999 in non-freesat mode as it's not a proper channel.
 
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Presume that was on non-freesat?
Graham, given where I assume he is, a 90cm should be fine, if perfectly aligned (to the UK beam). Not an easy thing to do without a good meter.

steve, postcode please (postcodes cover a wide area in France, normally a whole town).
 

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