Lost in space

[gardengofa]

HELP!!
Just moved into a new house where the previous people left their satellite dish so I bought a receiver plugged it in and found I could get some channels but not many often getting the message that i needed to insert sky viewing card, so I bought one genuine sky viewing card it says I have inserted it and now I cant get anything at all It simply says schedule information unavailable

Any suggestions or ideas would be much appreciated*

[BGonaSTICK]

Hello GG, welcome to Satellite Help

Where did you get your Sky viewing card?

Sky? Ebay?

Does it have a yellow house on it?

I assume you have a Sky digibox?

Does the receiver work at all with the card removed? BBC or ITV?

Sorry for all the questions, but the more info we have, the better help we can give you.

In the mean time, just leave the receiver on with the card in the slot. It's likely that the card has just missed a 'keep alive' transaction or two via satellite and is having a kip. It could well re-activate on its own. The box may well want to upgrade it's own firmware if it's been unplugged from a dish for a long time.

STICK

[gardengofa]

Thanks for your response, the card was bought from an ebay 'Shop' it is unused and it does have a yellow house on it. The box is a sky digibox and although before I had a card I could get BBC 1,2 and ITV since inserting the card I cant get a thing whether the card is in or out, not even the channel listings.

The receiver was on all night with the card in and its still no better.

gardengofa

[BGonaSTICK]

OK, I think that either your box has failed to update its firmware Over The Air, or it's actually defective.

Leave the card in place for now.

Turn the box off and unplug from the mains for 10 minutes. Turn it on, and leave it on for 24 hours to see if it will auto update the firmware. It might complete a partial update as soon as it boots up.

If that hasn't fixed it then you need to poke it into action.

What you need now is a known good dish. If you are confident that your dish is well aligned, then use it.

If you can still access the menu system on your digibox, then press:

Services
System Setup
Signal Test

If the signal strength and quality are both over 2/3, the network ID is 2 and you have a lock, then use your dish. If you can't do this, or it doesn't look right, take your box round a m8's who has Sky satellite and use his dish to update your box.

Take the card out.

Unplug your digibox from the mains and connect the dish.

Press and hold the backup button down on the front of the box (not the remote), then switch the mains back on without releasing the backup button.

Wait for about 20 seconds, until you see a message appear on the TV (which only happens if you're using a SCART lead) and all the lights come on on the front of the digibox.

Release the button and follow the instructions (i.e. don't do anything for the next ten minutes) after which time the box will restart.

That should fix the box. if it doesn't, try it again. If it still doesn't work, it's probably dead with a defective tuner etc. What make is it? Maybe it's a Grundig or a Pace which are both a bit suspect.

Assuming the box is now OK, take it back home and re-test it. If BBC is duff without the card, it's your dish (see signal test above) if OK, re-insert your yellow house card and leave it for 48 hours. The card should now re-activate giving you access to Ch4, Five and Sky three.

If not, reboot with card inserted and leave for another 72 hours.

When fully cooked, remove from oven and enjoy with a can of beer.

STICK

[Analoguesat]

If the card is unused it might not have been activated. This shouldnt stop the other channels working though..

You do realise the card will ONLY give you C4, C5 and Sky 3 dont you. Everything else in the pay service will still be blacked out.

[gardengofa]

Thanks for your help Stick I shall have a go at your suggestions and see what happens

After all this does it mean that the only extra channel, other than the standard 5, I am going to get without paying is Sky3? if so I may as well stop messing about now!

Gardengofa

[BGonaSTICK]

LOL - no, you will get truckloads of free TV and radio (see ftasat.co.uk for a list - lots of it is rubbish, but maybe 20 good 'uns). What Analoguesat's saying is that without the card you would NOT get Channel 4, Five or Sky 3

STICK

[gardengofa]

Having followed your instructions we are now fully connected to the sky and lots of channels so I can now sit back and have my beer.

Thanks for your help
gardengofa

[BGonaSTICK]

Cool, glad we could help fix you up

Maybe we can help you expand your system again in the future.

STICK