Frequent channel loss in last month

[Julian]

In the last month I get fairly frequent loss of certain channels even in totally clear weather. Tonight is a case in point. I currently have no satellite signal on BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky1 but Channel 5 and Sky2, G.O.L.D. etc are all OK. Also, if I go to the regional variants for BBC1 and BBC2 (e.g. 988 to get a BBC1 variant) then that is OK but 101 isn't. The channels are typically out for 5 to 15 minutes at a time and the failures tend to be clustered, i.e. it can be 100% OK for a week and then one night I might get 6 incidents in 3 hours. Also, the channels don't always drop in and out together, so for instance now BBC1, BBC2 and Channel 4 are back but ITV and Sky 1 are still out.

I'm thinking that if this was Sky's uplink dropping out or something on the Astra satellite failing then there would be non-stop chatter about it on the internet so the problem is probably at my end.

Can anyone give me some pointers, based on the pattern of the failures, as to where my problem might lie? I am in a block of flats and am fed through a communal system if that makes a difference.

- Julian

[dms05]

"I am in a block of flats and am fed through a communal system if that makes a difference."

That may well be the problem. Does anyone else in the block have similar problems?

[Julian]

"I am in a block of flats and am fed through a communal system if that makes a difference."

That may well be the problem. Does anyone else in the block have similar problems?

Well, conveniently one of my neighbours is hosting a New Year's Eve party tonight so I'll try and find that out in the next 24 hours.

Do the distribution amps up in the roof tend to be specific to groups of frequencies? I'm confused as to why I seem to lose specific sets of channels.

- Julian

[amjid_1978]

I seem to have had the same problem with 2 engineers coming out to my house. All my neighbors do not seems to have any problems. I too live in a flat.

[Smithy99]

Well, conveniently one of my neighbours is hosting a New Year's Eve party tonight so I'll try and find that out in the next 24 hours.

Do the distribution amps up in the roof tend to be specific to groups of frequencies? I'm confused as to why I seem to lose specific sets of channels.

- Julian

Usually on these systems the LNB deals with different frequencys so you may find that the LNB is starting to fail at the lower end.

[Sam Radford]

In the last month I get fairly frequent loss of certain channels even in totally clear weather. Tonight is a case in point. I currently have no satellite signal on BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky1 but Channel 5 and Sky2, G.O.L.D. etc are all OK.

That's fairly typical of a failing power supply in a Grundig or Thomson Sky Digibox.
Repairing the Grundig Digibox

(It would help if people told us the make/model number so we don't have to guess.)

[Smithy99]

With this being a communual system i'm not sure it would be the power supply, depends on whether anyone else is having trouble.

[stu8975]

I have a similar problem, roughly 4-6 times per day, sky box (amstrad) automatically goes into standby for no apparent reason (not sure if box is on its way out), have to wait a few mins before i can switch it back on, then normally regional variants are changed (normally ne/cumbria for bbc and tynetees for itv) and normally lose channel 4 and 5. i too live a block of flats (4) but have my own dish (not communal). aslo when i turn it off over night (standby) it reverts back to channel 998 by the times its switched on again..Its on the verge of being removed and going back to virginmedia.
Amstrad DRX500 box by the way.

[Troakie]

I have also been experiencing this problem recently. We've had intermittent signal loss on BBC1, BBC2 and ITV as well as some movie channels (Sky Premiere, Sky Prem +1, Sky Modern Greats, Sky Screen 1 and Sky Screen 2) and various others. The onscreen message is either "No satellite signal is being received", usually with error code 36, or "There is a technical fault with this channel. Please try again later."

I can't find the meaning of error code 36 anywhere. The problem only seems to occur during the evenings/nights and first thing in the morning, which is making us think it might be connected to the weather. Whereas we've not had any precipitation at all, it has been extremely cold. I've tried doing the LNB reset and a system reset with no improvement. Would the cold cause this behaviour?

Our Digibox is a Sony VTXS75OU. Many thanks in advance for any help, and Happy New Year!

[Sam Radford]

Try Sams sky satellite TV home page
Signal Problems
Digibox problems
Interference on satellite TV
etc.