No signal on BBC 2/3/4 (Sky +)

[Jonny_no2]

Hi folks,

I am having a strange problem with Sky failing to recieve a few channels. Mainly it is BBC 2/3/4/News etc although BBC 1 is perfectly fine. I think there are some Discovery channels which are giving the same message:

"No satellite signal is being received" (error code 28)

I have had the sky engineers out to have a look at this, and they have put a new LNB on the dish as well as putting a brand new sky+ box in place, which has done one thing, change the error code to 28 (it was previously 25) but it is still the same channels that are missing.

The engineer said to leave it a few days to see if the signal returns but it hasn't, I have done a few searches for any trouble shooting advice, including restarting the LNB/Sky+ box. (obviously these were done when both were replaced in anycase.)

On the signal test screen the signal strength and quality are above half and locked "OK" on both input 1 and 2, and I have tried switching the feeds over between the two sockets, but as it is only certain channels that aren't working I knew there was going to be a decent signal as there are no problems with the rest of the channels.

The new box is a Thompson 127k148 version no: 4E2138, and it is a Sky Business account for an Educational Establishment.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I will be calling Sky back out but I am not holding out much hope as they didn't fix the problem on Friday!!

[big bob]

I had the same problem last year with an ordinary Sky box (Thomson).

Had to replace the box in the end.

[dms05]

Well if you have a new dish and new LNB and new Sky+ box we are left with Sherlock Holmes statement 'when you removed the probable then whatever is left, no matter how improbable, has to be the cause.

So it's either the cable/connectors from the LNB to the Sky+ box, somethings in the way of the dish or some interference from another source.

Did the Sky installer replace the cable/connectors? Has anyone built something in the way of the dish or started a new electrical source near by?

As the first step I'd get Sky back in to check the cable .

[Kenedin]

Hi folks,

I am having a strange problem with Sky failing to recieve a few channels. Mainly it is BBC 2/3/4/News etc although BBC 1 is perfectly fine. I think there are some Discovery channels which are giving the same message:

"No satellite signal is being received" (error code 28)

I have had the sky engineers out to have a look at this, and they have put a new LNB on the dish as well as putting a brand new sky+ box in place, which has done one thing, change the error code to 28 (it was previously 25) but it is still the same channels that are missing.

The engineer said to leave it a few days to see if the signal returns but it hasn't, I have done a few searches for any trouble shooting advice, including restarting the LNB/Sky+ box. (obviously these were done when both were replaced in anycase.)

On the signal test screen the signal strength and quality are above half and locked "OK" on both input 1 and 2, and I have tried switching the feeds over between the two sockets, but as it is only certain channels that aren't working I knew there was going to be a decent signal as there are no problems with the rest of the channels.

The new box is a Thompson 127k148 version no: 4E2138, and it is a Sky Business account for an Educational Establishment.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I will be calling Sky back out but I am not holding out much hope as they didn't fix the problem on Friday!!

Identifying the cause of signal loss can be a lengthy process, but from what you say, it appears that your STB is not correctly receiving signals from transponders with a Horizontal polarization. ( eg BBC2/3/4 & certain Discovery channels ). BBC1 for your region is transmitted on a Vertical polarization and is not affected. Similarly, the Signal Strength from the Default Transponder is V-polarized.

If the Sky people come out again, it may be worth asking them to slightly 'skew' the LNB, so as to better receive H-polarized signals. They should know how to do this.

I am assuming that the STB is connected directly to the dish. If not, the fault could be in whatever distribution system you have.

Do some tests yourself - go to Linowsat and check a variety of channels with V and H polarizations.

[Jonny_no2]

Thanks for the replies. That gives me some more ideas for investigation.

The STB and dish are pretty much directly connected although I believe (before I started this job) the connecting cables were fitted by our electical contractors and not sky, so I will have to get them in to have a look at that. There hasn't been anything built nearby, and the dish is on a high wall in a closed off courtyard in the middle of the college buildings, so I don't think there can have been any changes to the dish's line of vision.

Failing that I will get sky back in and ask them about the polarization issues, thanks for the link, but how do I know if they are Horizontal or Vertical channels?

[Kenedin]

If you follow the link to Linowsat, you will see a list of Transponders. Each transponder is headed by details , including whether it is Vertical, or Horizontal. All channels on each transponder are transmitted accordingly. Try a selection of each, and see what you get.

This link makes it easier.

[pirsquared]

i've just had the same problem
the only channel i'm receiving is BBC1!!

all the rest say no satalite signal is being received

missed the liverpool everton game

is it possible that the strong winds have moved the dish?

pi

[Jonny_no2]

Here's an update for you and thanks to those who suggested problems:

I did follow the list of channels/transponders and it was in groups of transponders that were missing, however some were horizontal and some were virtical, so that didn't seem to solve the problem.

Our contractor electricians brought in a friend of theirs who is an expert on this sort of thing, and he tried running a cable from the LNB to the box directly (i.e. not through the wall as is the case in the permanant cable), and this changed nothing.

Today he came back and took doen the dish and put up a new one, and hey presto the channels are back It seems there was a slight kink in the bottom of the old dish which could cause the signal to not be reflected exactly onto the LNB. He said it looked as though it had been dropped, though it is up on the wall in an enclosed courtyard so I really dont know how it happened.

Anyway, all is good now and thanks everyone who had suggestions

[Kenedin]

Well done. Glad it's been sorted. It's amazing what a seemingly trivial thing can do to a system. Rust also does the same thing - but you'll be OK for years yet. I don't suppose a rogue football got to the dish?? Or a short-sighted pigeon?!!

Happy Viewing!

[Smithy99]

Best guess, window cleaner, they never look up when carrying ladders