Sky/Freeview - No signal on many of the free channels

HUMBUG

Some strange things have been happening to my Sky TV reception:

1. Lost some of my satellite channel signals between 11:45 - 14:00 every day when the sunlight was very strong.

Tried fixing:
a. Threw some water on the LNB - signals came back temporarily
b. Wrapped some foil around the LNB to deflect the sunlight - worked for a few days then lost some signals again.

2. Situation got progressively worse until I lost virtually all signals except a range of frequencies for specific rubbish channels (lost all the BBC , ITV, Channel 4 /5). Sky news seemed to be okay for some reason.

I wasn't that unhappy because I could still get the 'lost channels' on my TV (Panasonic with inbuilt digital decoder box) via Freeview. Although the freeview reception for BBC channels is shockingly bad because the decoder box tunes in on non-optimal frequencies and I cannot manually retune it - the TV is a very old 2004 model.

3. Then I lost even more 'free' channels on Sky (including Film 4 which I like).

4. Then I started getting no DVB signal on my TV for freeview channels . Did a retune and lost all the channels - got some message saying check your DVB subscriber availability or aerial .

Tried resetting the TV back to 'Shipping Conditions' and then do a DVB Auto Setup retune . No luck - lost all DVB freeview channels as well as most of my SKY free channels (I don't subscribe to SKY pay channels).

Incredibly frustrating and I thought it could be my Skydigibox (Amstrad model - very old) that could be on the blink . So I borrowed an unused Sky HD box from my sister and was going to connect it all up Friday afternoon to see if that might fix the 'Sky No Satellite Signal error 28 message'.

Anyhow I looked at the back of the TV and remembered I'd fitted an LTE/4G filter that at800 had sent me several years ago (to stop 4G signals interfering with my freeview channels).

So just out of interest , removed the filter and connected my digital aerial connection direct into my tv aerial socket. Then I did a 'DVB Auto Setup' retune on my TV.

Results:
Got all my Freeview channels back (except ITV ones). The BBC channels signal reception is strong .

Got all my sky free channels back (except Channel 4 for some weird reason).

Unsure whether there are any techie experts out there who can explain what has happened. It seems that the 4G filter had somehow affected both freeview signals via my digital aerial and also my skydigibox. This interference could be internal via the skart sockets (the only connection between my TV and skydigibox) or via some interference between the digital aerial cable and satellite dish cable.

Never experienced such a weird set of circumstances like this before.

Neil_Jones

What the 4G filters do (or did) was reduce interference between Freeview signals and the mobile phone networks. However not everybody needs these and they can cause more issues than they claim to solve.

In a nutshell they're just filters/jammers. Yours may have gone faulty and started "broadcasting" and blocking anything and everything.

HUMBUG

Neil_Jones wrote: »

What the 4G filters do (or did) was reduce interference between Freeview signals and the mobile phone networks. However not everybody needs these and they can cause more issues than they claim to solve.

In a nutshell they're just filters/jammers. Yours may have gone faulty and started "broadcasting" and blocking anything and everything.

Many thanks. I think the filter is one problem because now I've lost 'some' of the SKY satellite signals while the sun is shining strongly on my dish (as per norm around 11:45am for several hours). Just wondering whether I've got multiple issues for the skydigibox and LNB that were also made worse by the filter. At least I have my freeview channels back but why no ITV channels? Do you think the old digital decoder built into the TV is just not equipped to deal with all these extra freeview channels and different frequencies? I think back in 2004 when I bought the TV , the number of channels was less than 100.

So at this moment in time: 12:43
1. Freeview box not picking up channel 4 and ITV channels (but the BBC channels have real quality signals - not like before).

2. The only free SKY channels that I can get a signal from are:
111 -Dave
140- Food Network
142 - Really
143- Drama
144- Quest
145 -Challenge
149- Quest Red
152 -Pick
153- Paramount
155- Yesterday
157 -Sony Crime
158- Home
172 -Dmax
178 -Travel Channel
179- True Ent
181- Forces TV
194- Together
204- Food Network +1
244 - Quest +1
245 - Challenge + 1
249 - Quest Red + 1
252 - Pick+1
272 - Dmax +1
278 - Travel Ch+ 1

Just plain weird goings on.:(

Neil_Jones

The fact that you can only pick up certain channels does suggest an LNB fault, and if you throw some water on it it temporarily fixes it almost certainly suggests an LNB or connection fault.

As a general rule the only thing that should really block a satellite signal is either something physical (like a tree) or a heavy thunderstorm as it passes overhead. Heavy rain may degrade the signal but shouldn't block it altogether.

With regards to Freeview, again only picking up certain channels from certain multiplexes can be an aerial or signal symptom. If you have access to another Freeview box (they're not expensive even if you have to buy one, about £20/£25) then try this. If the problem follows itself to the second box then your installation is at fault. If it fixes itself on the new box your TV may have an issue with its Freeview tuner, but after 15 years it's going to be well out of warranty anyway.

HUMBUG

Neil_Jones wrote: »

The fact that you can only pick up certain channels does suggest an LNB fault, and if you throw some water on it it temporarily fixes it almost certainly suggests an LNB or connection fault.

As a general rule the only thing that should really block a satellite signal is either something physical (like a tree) or a heavy thunderstorm as it passes overhead. Heavy rain may degrade the signal but shouldn't block it altogether.

With regards to Freeview, again only picking up certain channels from certain multiplexes can be an aerial or signal symptom. If you have access to another Freeview box (they're not expensive even if you have to buy one, about £20/£25) then try this. If the problem follows itself to the second box then your installation is at fault. If it fixes itself on the new box your TV may have an issue with its Freeview tuner, but after 15 years it's going to be well out of warranty anyway.

Many thanks again .

It's now 21:58 and I've just arrived home and now all the sky channels are okay , even channel 4 is working. I did throw water over the LNB earlier in the afternoon and that didn't fix the problem . I don't think its trees blocking the signal because I'd have thought it would affect all the channels and not just some.

Something about sunlight causing heat issues on the internal workings of the LNB could be the problem.

Funny enough , I found these thread links which outline similar problems about sunlight.

https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/1665981/loss-of-satellite-signal-in-bright-sunlight

Interesting outcome, so it might be something called the F-Connector.

"Seeing your user's problem reported in News106 about losing reception in the hottest part of the day, I had a customer with a similar issue. It turned out to be a (probable) problem with the F connector. I think that what must have been happening was that the afternoon thermal expansion was causing the coax core to move just enough to cause connection problems (as shown by the BER/signal quality display). After remaking the F connection (screw-on) the problem went away & has not returned.

As we both know, connection problems are wickedly difficult to tie down, but this one was quite predictable, appearing most afternoons over 2 - 3 weeks before I nailed it. Clearly, this may have nothing to do with the news story, & I myself wondered about the cable trapping, but my experience may help."

"I always advise filling the 'F' plug with silicone grease. This prevents the copper wire from corroding in the presence of air and moisture and eliminates problems such as this. Quite often the corrosion is so slight that it's not even visible but it can lead to "weird effects" as the temperature changes."

Neil_Jones

If you want to try it, go ahead. The F connector is the part that screws onto the underside of the LNB and is part of the cable that runs from the dish to your set top box.

You may be able to achieve a similar effect with self amalgamating tape.

buglawton

A new LNB should only cost £20 or so. Not long ago my Satellite signals started to deteriorate on some but not all channels. After carefully checking the dish alignment as correct, and knowing the old LNB was over 10 years old, got a new one from eBay. The only tricky part was finding an adapter as they don't make LNBs designed for my old dish anymore. All channels perfect now.

Tip about checking dish alignment: Point a security camera or a 2nd phone on a Skype or WhatsApp video call at the TV, and watch the picture or the signal strength/quality in the satellite settings menu at the dish as you make small adjustments.