No signal on Sky channels in hot weather

[nsymons]

I have Sky+ HD using a DRX890-R box and am in London.

For the last few years I have had an intermittent fault where I lose Sky channels in hot weather. I get error message 25 (your sky+HD box isn't getting a satellite signal) and no signal on either input in the services menu, however I can usually still access terrestrial channels. This only happens in the daytime and during summer. Sometimes power cycling the box restores picture but often it fails again within a few minutes (picture gets increasingly blocky and distorted before losing signal completely)

I have tried resetting the LNB without effect and the sky box was replaced (under sky's free replacement offer) about 1 year ago - this didn't help either.

It seems to me that this must be a LNB problem (overheating?) but I wanted your thoughts before I call out an engineer with no real likelihood of a first time fix.

 

[Stevenage Neil]

Have you noted/recorded the Signal/Quality levels when the system is working?

It definitely sounds like a dish/LNB/cabling problem which could easily be sorted.

 

[nsymons]

Yes, normally the signal is ok but not brilliant, about 6-7/10 in the signal levels. I live in quite a built up area.

 

[Stevenage Neil]

Quality level?

 

[Stevenage Neil]

Just testing my understanding:-

a) "... I can usually still access terrestrial channels." Means from a terrestrial aerial, ie totally unrelated to Sky?

b) You have your own dedicated Sky dish and do not live in an apartment with a communal dish?

 

[nsymons]

As I remember quality level was usually similar but I haven't checked it for a few months and Sky is currently FUBAR'd as it's about the first hot day of the year.

I have my own dish in a maisonette/end terrace town house and it's not shared.

No terrestrial channels also come through the sky dish and box. I can get 1-5, BBC HD, E4 and a few others but none of the sky channels. It's odd because the signal level is zero on both feeds when checking the services menu and there's no aerial/coax or other terrestrial feed to the tv.

There is a large building in the direction that the dish is pointing but it is about 500 yds away and the dish is just about pointing above it. A blockage wouldn't explain the time dependent nature of the problem though. This only happens on hot summer days during daylight hours.

 

[Stevenage Neil]

Thanks for the info, let me, and others, ponder on the info...........

 

[Tight Git]

let me, and others, ponder on the info...........

Which roughly translates to:

I haven't a clue at the moment!

(Don't worry, Neil, neither do I... )

 

[Stevenage Neil]

Which roughly translates to:

I haven't a clue at the moment!

Nah, the Grand Prix was on and my son, (MA Cantab, PhD Imperial College London), works for Red Bull F1.

 

[Stevenage Neil]

OK, I've pondered and cannot explain why the problem only seems to affect subscription channels.

Anyone else?

 

[logiciel]

I can usually still access terrestrial channels

That means "channels that can be received on Freeview by people who have access to it" - right?
Which ones, precisely?

 

[Stevenage Neil]

That means "channels that can be received on Freeview by people who have access to it" - right?

Eh?

No terrestrial channels also come through the sky dish and box. I can get 1-5, BBC HD, E4 and a few others but none of the sky channels. It's odd because the signal level is zero on both feeds when checking the services menu and there's no aerial/coax or other terrestrial feed to the tv.

 

[logiciel]

For which reason I wrote "that can be received on Freeview by people who have access to it" - he hasn't.
The idea was to get a full reply to your question #5 (a).

 

[Tight Git]

the Grand Prix was on and my son, (MA Cantab, PhD Imperial College London), works for Red Bull F1.

We had no idea you were Mark Webber's dad!

 

[logiciel]

Which gives me an excuse to mention that I always had vague knowledge of the words "Red Bull" only as the name of a particularly unpleasant brand of drink, and in recent years have wondered how they came to be applied to a variety of other things, now including strange wheeled constructions that people ride around on at highly dangerous looking speeds.

 

[nsymons]

Ok, now sun no longer hitting LNB picture has returned.

Input 1 signal strength 7/10, quality 8/10.
Input 2 signal strength 6/10, quality 8/10.

Any new ideas?

 

[davemurgatroyd2]

It would help tremendously to know exactly which channels are lost and which can still be received when the fault occurs. I suspect very strongly that it is a fault within the lnb on one of the two switching circuits (freq band or polarisation) with either a dry joint or broken circuit board track or component that loses contact when it gets to a certain temperature so losing all channels either a frequency band or polarisation

 

[logiciel]

As in:

That means "channels that can be received on Freeview by people who have access to it" - right?
Which ones, precisely?

It does happen with "all channels either a frequency band or polarisation" but it's been known, more oddly, with just one TP.

 

[nsymons]

Not tried free view for a while but reception is usually pretty dodgy as we do have a shared aeriel (separate dishes though).

Anyhow I have persuaded Sky to send an engineer tomorrow for £40 as I'm such a loyal customer and I'll try to get them to replace the LNB and see what happens.

Didn't manage to get a good check on channels lost today as when I looked at about 4pm was exactly as the LNB went into the shade and they all came back within about 20 mins.

Will let you know how it goes.

 

[nsymons]

Well the engineer came round and, thankfully the fault was present at the time! Always a good start.

No signal from the LNB when tested so he replaced it and so far so good. It was definitely an LNB problem but what the exact cause was I don't know.

Thanks for your advice and I hope that others with a similar problem may now know what the problem is.

Nick

 

[Stevenage Neil]

Thank you for letting us know!

 

[niall campbell]

Some of the Satellite magezines can help withLNBs for hotter countrys.

Some people screen their dish for the hottest part of day

 

[Stevenage Neil]

Some of the Satellite magezines can help withLNBs for hotter countrys.

Some people screen their dish for the hottest part of day

Are you suggesting he cover his LNB with satellite magazines?

 

[Tight Git]

Are you suggesting he cover his LNB with satellite magazines?

Just ignore him, Niall.

He's used to it at home...

 

[Stevenage Neil]

Does anybody know if there is a universal Magic Eye that applies to other satellite boxes.

Yes, it's called "the wife". If I'm in bed watching Sky and want the channel changed I kick the wife out of bed to go downstairs and change it.