sky card - no C4 and C5

[sunkissed]

My dark blue sky card (with yellow house on it) that came with a secondhand box does not pick up channel 4 and 5 yet is identical to my neighbours card which does

Any ideas?

[Beachcomber]

Do you get a screen message? What does it say?

Remember that the free to view cards only operate on Channel 4 and Five now. If it has not been used for some time it may reactivate itself after a while.

[sunkissed]

When you try 105, 105 it says channel unavailable

The card has been in the machine for at least 9 months

[Beachcomber]

Does it say 'Channel Unavailable' in red in the bottom left hand corner? Is it the same with 104? Did you plug it in with the card inserted?

If you boot up the box first then insert the card it often will not be recognised.

Try pressing 'Services - 4 - 5' and see if it gives a viewing card number.

It may be that the card reader is not working.

[sunkissed]

Yep, both 104 and 105 say channel unavailable in red at the bottom left

It does give a card number under services

[Beachcomber]

If you haven't already tried this

Remove the card
Unplug the digibox
Leave it for a few minutes then replace the card
Plug the digibox back in (with the card already inserted)

If this doesn't work I don't know what more to suggest except to ask your neighbour if you can try his card in your box or your card in his.

There is one other thing. I'm sure you will have tried this but if not try going up to 104 from 103 using the + channel button.

[ashtondav]

Beach

I have the same problem and will try your idea when i'm out in a couple of weeks time.

Thanks

[sunkissed]

Probably had 3 or 4 power cuts in the last year of having this installed which would have been the same as turning off and turning back on with card inserted but makes no difference

Inserting an identical looking card from neighbour provides C4 and C5

Weird

[Beachcomber]

Have you tried your card in his box?

[Niki Harrison]

If you go to the TV Guide and then to Services you will Signal test, scroll down to here and select it. This will show you how strong the signal is you are receiving. The grey area shows the signal strength, usually if the bar is not over half way then this might be the reason you are not receiving Ch4 and Ch5 and I would recommend that you move your satellite dish to try to improve the signal. You can buy the satellite signal detecter/meter boxes quite cheap in the UK.

We have had numerous problems with Ch4 and Ch5 but Ch5 mainly and sometimes it depends on the weather. We don't receive Ch5 all the time, it comes and goes but we are situated right in the campo.

Hope this is of some help.

Niki

[Beachcomber]

Thanks Niki but he says that he gets Channel 4 and Five when he puts his neighbour's card in. If it is a signal problem you usually get a blue screen showing the message 'No satellite signal being received'

By the way, the signal quality and signal strength reading you get when using Services - 4 - 6 is the signal strength from the default transponder which is not the transponder from which Channels 4 and Five are transmitted.

To check the actual channel you have to go to Services - 4 - 4 and add the channel frequency manually. You then get the signal strength and quality for that particular channel.

[Faire d'Income]

Where do you find the channel frequency?

[Beachcomber]

There are several sites but this is probably the best one:

http://www.lyngsat.com/packages/skyuk.html

[pmb]

CH4 12168V 27500 2/3
CH5 12304H 27500 2/3

[spanish_lad]

beach - we have intermitant "no signal being recieved" messages, mainly during bad weather - is this dish alignment or cos of all the dings in the dish from the air rifles being fired at it?

[Beachcomber]

It could be any of those things. Bad weather certainly affects the signal especially if the dish alignment isn't 100%. Bad weather at the uplink site can also cause it because the signal is reflected rather than retransmitted.

Constant hits with airgun pellets could also affect the parabolic properties of the dish which would make it less efficient at reflecting the signal into the LNB.

[sunkissed]

It's nothing to do with the signal or dish it's the card. As I said, my neighbous card which looks identical works OK on my box and picks up C4

When I bought the box and card from some guy in the Sur he said it would download the extra channels to the card over the weekend if I left it on. Never saw him again!

[Beachcomber]

Yes, I know but I think spanish_lad was asking about his own dish.

I think, in your case, you are either going to have to make do without Channel 4 and Five until (or unless) they go free to air as well or try and get another card.

By the way, did you try your card in your neighbour's box?

[sunkissed]

Yes, your right, I'll have to look on ebay

Had the same problem when the card is in the neighbours box so it's the card

[spanish_lad]

Yes, your right, I'll have to look on ebay

Had the same problem when the card is in the neighbours box so it's the card

if you can get a box with a card, that box can always be set up as a second unit to watch all the freeview channels - ie: if u have kids or a tv in the bedroom etc, all you need is a double lnb and some more cable to make it work

beach sorry, didn´t mean to throw the thread off there, just didn´t feel the need to start another [/end of hijack]