Eutelsat 28a & Astra 2F changes

I just found that I do not a signal from Sky. Is it the 'big turn off' or is it just a problem with my system ?

Kathyslad, thank you.  I will see what the situation is tomorrow.  Have cable so not all that bad.

Just unplugged and reconnected and it's back on.  Panic over !

If you are using a Sky box in Spain? They do have the odd problem, usually leading to a false 'no signal' reading. All the quirks & work arounds, listed here  http://tvtech.sharepoint.com/Pages/Skyboxesinspain.aspx   

Generally we recommend avoiding using Sky boxes in Spain, unless you have a subscription - as free to air boxes don't usually give you the same type of functionality issues as are designed to work world wide.

Many people bring over their old Sky boxes - 70% of our customer service calls are related to old Sky boxes with 'no signal' reading....

Generally we recommend avoiding using Sky boxes in Spain, unless you have a subscription - as free to air boxes don't usually give you the same type of functionality issues as are designed to work world wide.

Maybe I have been lucky, just coming up to 12 years since I first started using my free to air (a Grundig box) and this is the first time I have any problems at all.

I have about 5 sky boxes, an 2 HD boxes, 2 sky  + boxes, and like ElaineG and old Grundig box. All work perfectly. The last time I used the Grundig box, was when my old HD box was fried by lightening. It was in a box in my poolroom, and had been there about 2 years. It's not exactly dry in there, its under my terrace nad just mountain. I plugged it in, and it worked first time (without a card).

If you answered the tech support phones - you'd think differently!   Overall no doubt the most called in issue with TV reception is Sky box problems - comes up on the local forums quite often too.

Quite often the UK Sky boxes default to their UK settings giving the no signal reading. Also if power supply a little weak (common), this can also cause false error message & box reset. 

Annoyingly you can't believe the signal meter on the receiver either as also known to give false readings. Also cannot check frequencies - which again being in Spain cuts down on flexibility & ability to check signal or fault accurately.

If the box can't see the epg frequencies, which can happen - then it won't boot up properly or give a reduced epg.

I'm on my third Sky HD+ box in as many years - when it works, it works well, no complaints. However also have a couple of free to air receivers as seen enough problems with the Sky models.  

I can only report my own personal experience, although I agree that there can be all sorts of problems, some of which will be down to the box, but some will also be due to other factors, such spiders in the LNB, growth interefering with the line of sight, poor quality cabling etc, etc. The only time I have had a problem booting was when it was fried. You could litereally hear the lightening fizzing in the garden. Scary. Now I have a UPS, and breakers on the inputs.

I believe the UPS is a good idea and helps with the Sky boxes - smooths out the power spikes as well. A neighbour of mine also has a UPS, solely for his Sky HD+ and his has been more reliable than mine (i've had 3 boxes to his 1 in the same period). 

I have all my entertainment stuff running it through it now. It has a battery life of about 15 minutes. If our power goes off, its normally only for a minute or two. SHMBO pulled her face when I bought it (think it was about €130 as I bought a good quality one - APC) and said "do we really need it". Now, she thinks it great, and would defitely make me buy another if it failed. It takes so long for a Sky box to reboot if the power goes off, its well worth it, beisdes the other benefits.