Sky Hd fault checking

Russellgti

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Last night my 1tb box started having trouble with signal reception. Upon checking the cables from the dish it seems my issue is down to water ingress into the calbe that was connection to input 1. As the copper pin has turned into brown goo where it has oxidised.

I have tried the box in another room that has 2 cables available and both tuners work. I am arraging for someone to come and renew the cable. In the meantime I have switched the box to single feed mode. When running this way is it normal for the search and scan bar to not get populated and for the channel nunber that you just entered to stay on screen even when it has changed.

As I am just trying to guage if the box is ok or not. Also as I have a spare one of the Thomson HD boxes can swapout the female connector on the back myself so that I don't have all the brown gunk on the back.
 
Does the box work correctly in the other room with both cables attached?

It may be advisable to renew both cables rather than just the one. It won't cost all that much more apart from the extra cable cost
 
I will be getting both cables changed. I just wanted to find out if what I was seeing in single feed mode was normal or a sign of the box having sufferd some damage.

Aslo does anyone know what I could use to get the oxidised copper off the connector for Input 1.
 
With single feed mode you have the working cable in input 1?
 
It seems odd that water has got all the way down the cable to the PVR.
Are you sure that's what happened?
 
It seems odd that water has got all the way down the cable to the PVR.
Are you sure that's what happened?

With an air spaced cable and twist fit connector is can easily happen.
 
The same thing happend previously with the cable for our normal ariel. It is down to the construction of the cable which looking at it looks like series of triangular tubes. Where it is going down the pitch of the roof it rubs on the tiles.

When it happend the installer used foam filled cable rather than the type with the tubes. The cables for my box have been up for about 12 years.
 
Is there a particular type of cable I should ask for?

The best coaxial Cable for Sky, Freesat, Freeview

Tells you all about cable for sat dishes

However, it's often the terminals that allow water ingress because of inadequate sealing. What follows is capillary action where the rainwater travels down the cable and into the box

All this stuff endures a hard life outside. Wet, windy, freezing, thawing, day after day. At anything over 5 years it can be ready for replacement depending on how carefully it was installed and sealed against the weather originally

If you have a fairly modern box and a current sky subscription it may be worth thinking about getting sky to sort it especially if there is damage to the box. The current charge is £65 to fix it. Quite apart from replacing the cables it may be that the dish and its lnb is coming to the end of its useful life and needs replacing as well
 
If you're a subscriber that should be a Sky employee.

Not necessarily, surely

If the system/box is out of warranty local aerial engineer may fix quicker/cheaper, although in this case not likely if new cable runs needed and box damaged
 
As I have to have the special heights team it will be a sub-contractor anyway. I would rather find my own one than have some random one turn up. Last time they drilled the holes for the sky + box in my brothers room and just left all the brick dust on the carpet.
 
As I have to have the special heights team it will be a sub-contractor anyway. I would rather find my own one than have some random one turn up. Last time they drilled the holes for the sky + box in my brothers room and just left all the brick dust on the carpet.

The phone number of a well respected local aerial guy who does a good job at a fair price is one to keep handy :smashin:
 
If you're a subscriber that should be a Sky employee.
I should have added "and he should cost you nothing". That was the point.
 
a self-contradiction
 
I should have added "and he should cost you nothing". That was the point.

Sorry, missed the point

However, the normal cost is £65 unless you are used to haggling. Many folk aren't and feel embarrassed

Now, the Special Heights Team is a whole new ball game :eek::mad::eek:
 
logiciel said:
It seems odd that water has got all the way down the cable to the PVR.
Are you sure that's what happened?


It's very common and most Tv repairmen will have come across it many times.
 
Does anyone know if I can replace the corroded connector should it prove necessary? I have attached a photo of how I found then when I unscrewed the cables yesterday.

HDSockets.jpg
 
I was asking about replacing it in the above post not cleaning it!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sky may well replace the box in that condition as part of the £65 all in service as well as supply new cabling and a new dish if necessary

Your local tv engineer may also do it if asked but you'll be way over £65

You can, of course, open the box and replace the item yourself if you are ok with electronics and a soldering iron, but I can't quite see the point in front of option 1
 

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