The SatCure Satellite Review # 123

IN THIS EARLY CHRISTMAS ISSUE: News Monthly Whinge Auto standby  Special Offer New Products Questions Happy Customers Free eBooks! December 17, 2008   http://www.satcure.co.uk See Newsletter Archive

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News Here's hoping that you have a Happy Christmas!   VAT The VAT rate changed to 15% for all invoices generated after midnight November 30th 2008. This means that anything we shipped from that time was rated at 15%. On the down side, the Pound/Euro exchange rate is plummeting. As I'm trying to buy a house in Europe, that's not helpful at all. Will I vote for Labour at the next election? Go figure! There's more bad news, too. Six months ago a pound was worth 14 Chinese Yuans - now it's worth 10. As the value of the pound has fallen against most currencies, the price of all imports will go up. That means that our suppliers will soon be increasing their prices. Buy now while things are still cheap. It won't last! POST The Royal Mail postal service has deteriorated in the last year, with fewer collections and fewer deliveries. December is the month when the most mail gets delayed or stolen so think carefully about your delivery choices. Recorded or Special Delivery might be better (if your order is small). Mind you, Royal Mail is not alone. One Christmas I sent a CD writer to my sister. The van driver of the carrier company didn't stop at Plymouth. He drove onto a ship and sailed away with the van full of parcels! I don't know if he was ever apprehended. But I had one consolation - the CD writer was for an Apple Mac and wasn't compatible with ordinary PCs. Whoever bought it probably wasted his money. LAST ORDERS, PLEASE If you want something in time for Christmas, please allow several days for delivery but please tell us immediately if it doesn't arrive after 2 working days maximum so we have time to chase it. Orders that reach us by 9am on Wednesday 24th December should be dispatched that day (but no promises). The carrier will deliver to you on (or after) December 29th. We will be working till midday on Christmas Eve. We re-open on January 2nd. Of course I'll still be around to answer technical questions throughout the holiday period and you can still place orders but they won't be dispatched before January 2nd (except eBooks, which you can download right away. Ideal last minute gift!) MAGAZINES I mentioned, last month, that I have some electronics magazines for disposal. The reason is that I've hoarded these for years - I have "Practical Wireless" as old as 1951 - but I'm coming to the end of a project to scan them all as PDF "books". This way, I can preserve them indefinitely and they take up no physical space at all. Because of copyright, I can't sell the scans for at least 50 years, so they are for my own use only. See my magazine auctions here and here. I have also completed my project to scan hundreds of old 35mm slide photos. Now I'm starting on print negatives. Ninja Rants and Raves This is the name of a blog written by Kulvinder Singh Matharu. This week his topic happened to be entitled "Sky+ HD failures - Thomson DSI8215 model". In return I'd like to thank him publicly and add this link to his "MetalVortex" home page at http://www.metalvortex.com Kulvinder has travelled extensively and his web site is full of interesting photographs from around the world. Monthly Whinge Why do some companies think it's perfectly all right to bombard us with unwanted daily text messages? Do they really think it will encourage us to buy from them? In my case, I'm receiving a daily "12 Days of Christmas" message from "LRN" who can't even spell "December" (see picture). I'm fairly sure I know who this is but I emailed Vodafone for confirmation on December 3rd and received a reply on December 11th asking for my password. Once I get confirmation, I'll decide what action to take (if I can take any legal action, which I doubt). I'm on contract and I'm careful who gets my number. I have no idea how this company got it.   Yes, I know it's an old 'phone! Sky Digibox Goes to Standby on its own! "Auto Standby" is an energy-saver feature of the latest firmware, which is rolling out during December. This is how it works:- Between 3.30am - 11pm at night if the software senses that the box hasn't been used in over 4 hours, it will display a "Your box is going into standby" message and give the opportunity to press [backup] to cancel the process. From 11pm to 3.30am, the same will happen but sooner and will present the same "symptom", after 2 hours, of no response to the remote control, or to buttons on the box. You may have to reboot the Digibox by switching off and on at the wall socket to regain control. You can set it to OFF in your Sky Digibox menu. See http://www.kevblog.co.uk/190944/Sky_Turn_Off_Auto_Standby/ Please note that very little energy is saved with this feature unless your Digibox is a Sky+ or SkyHD model with a Hard Drive. Special Offer In the previous newsletter I gave away my Business eBook for a pittance. I was amazed by the number of people who took up this offer. So far I've had no feedback but I hope you found it interesting and useful. A few people read the newsletter too late (sorry - not my fault!) and a few complained that "Paypal doesn't work" or "I want to pay by credit card". Our automated system works only with Paypal. If you didn't get the eBook, it's still available at a reduced price here: http://www.The-Cool-Book-shop.co.uk/book.htm#lazyman And you can now pay by credit card here: http://www.satcure.co.uk/book.htm#lazyman The price will shortly return to £9.95 so hurry! New Products The new Humax FOXSAT-HDR PVR for BBC has had limited availability in Argos and John Lewis. I apologise to those of you who ordered from us, but our promised stock simply hasn't arrived. Of course it wasn't helped by the fact that someone stole a lorry load of them! We still hope to have some before Christmas but I'm not holding my breath. To those (few) people who managed to buy one elsewhere - congratulations and thank you for letting us know. Here's something which is relevant. It's a 4-output LNB upgrade kit for SKY+, SKYHD and Freesat+ for just £19.99 plus carriage and VAT. See full details at http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/easier.htm   (top) Questions - a selection from this month's emails   On 16 Dec 2008, at 10:03, Peter B. wrote: Hi Martin, The question is simply which is the better LNB. The Raven RAV-BJ44 or the MTI QUAD LNBF? Oh, unfortunately I don't have specifications for either. In any case, the specifications only become relevant if you are outside the UK and using a dish of 2m or larger diameter. In the UK, LNBs usually "just work". It is the case that Panasonic Sky Digiboxes develop an "allergy" to certain LNBs but the LNBs that caused that problem seem to be obsolete now. Some Grundig Sky Digiboxes had problems if the LNB had especially high gain and a short connecting cable. I'm not aware of any current incompatibilities. The "proof of the pudding is in the eating" as the saying goes. Suck it and see. Look for a difference in "signal quality" but bear in mind you need to check this in the "Manual Tuning" menu for EVERY transponder frequency, not simply the "default transponder". Also see Sam's explanation of noise figure:- http://sam-radford.me.uk/lnbs.htm Our Chinese friends seem to come up with a new LNB every month. My impression is that the specifications are getting better, price is falling but so is the reliability. I am in the market for a simple Free to Air Sat Receiver to replace my old Analog receiver box, during my search I am encountering the term Patched or Patch in relation to satellite receivers , would you be kind enough to try and explain in a few words what this term means and should I be concerned as I only intend to view Free To Air German channels . Thank you very much. Peter C.   Google is your friend. Simply typing in "patched receiver" brings up results like these:- <http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/Patched-Satellite-Receivers_W0QQugidZ10000000001901352> <http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=485560> <http://www.techwatch.co.uk/forums/30435-difference-between-patched-receiver-and-card-sharing.html> Equipment made by: Thomson Model number on label or rear panel: DSI 8210 CS I have recently fitted remote controlled sockets to my 13 amp plug sockets, so as not to leave the appliances on standby. When powering up my sky+ box is taking up to 30 mins to respond so that it can be turned on. Do you have any suggestions? If it helps the digibox S/N is 716159319145 Bernie McG.   Hi, Bernie. Like most computers with a Hard Drive, the Sky+ Digibox takes time to boot-up (about a minute). Also, in common with many such computers, it is inadvisable to power it off. If you do so without first putting it into standby and allowing time for the Hard Drive to "spin down and park", you could corrupt the files on it, causing total failure. In addition, continual powering down may result in early failure. In your case, it seems to me that your Digibox has one or more failed capacitors in the power supply which are causing the extended warm-up time. This fault is not uncommon with this model. You could try fitting a capacitor kit. See http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/page12.htm#psukit and the discussion here:- http://notonyourtelly.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1390 This is hopefully a simple one for you guys. I have sky + fitted in my lounge and have just finished decorating. We need to move the sky box slightly further along the room but the cable isn't long enough. What would I need to buy from you guys that would allow me to extend this a maximum of say 5 metres? I have been to b& q but the only satellite cables they have are single - I noticed that when I upgraded to sky + they had to change the cable to a dual cable (if that makes sense? Thanks in advance for your help Darek ---- I don't even need to answer this because I already provide the information here: http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/extend_cable.htm Equipment made by: Pace Sky Model number on label or rear panel: Sky+ ver 1 I am trying to connect a Pioneer (DVR-433) DVD recorder to the Sky+ box the same as I had a VHS recorder in order to pipe the signal ourond the house using the Sky+ box RF2 connection. I have discovered that the DVDR does not tranmit the signal via RF, the connection is just loop through. So I may need an RF modulator, but these seem to convert a scart to RF, and I want to keep the scart connection to the nearest TV and push the RF via the Sky+ box. So is there an RF modulator that allows scart output in addition to the RF output? Laurence A.   No, you'll need a take-off Scart adapter such as our "240-8175 Male to female Scart adapter with phonos". Connect the phonos to the RF modulator inputs. http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/page4.htm#coupler Note that anything which intercepts the Scart signal may have an undesirable effect on the picture contrast and audio level. Often it's not noticeable but afficionados may complain. Equipment made by: Thomson Model number on label or rear panel: DSI8210CS My Sky+ box has stopped working. It cannot come out of standby, the red power light is flickering and the power supply is doing something midway between humming and crackling! So, I purchased your capicitor relkit for it as there were 2 capacitors with the raised tops, which I was lead to believe could be the problem. It arrived this morning. Unfortunately, it hasn't fixed it. Do I need to get a replacement board by sending mine in immediately...or does it sound to be past repair. I do not want to pay £65 for repair as I could ebay one for less. I have order Sky HD...but it won't be installed until 16th Jan. Christmas without Sky+...argh! Thanks for your help. Steven F.   Hi, Steven. Unfortunately, I have nothing to add to our existing notes about this. Please read our instructions again: http://www.satcure.net/tech/thom_psu.htm#note Hi Martin My question relates to a page on your website http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/shock.htm Which sky box or equipment in the uk has an external metal casing or connector which are at half of mains potential? Because my understanding is that any equipment that has external metalwork which could be touched by someone must be earthed, unless the equipment has an external low voltage PSU, or the internal mains section is fully isolated from the said external metal parts. Peter S.   Hi, Peter. I'm not familiar with the newest digiboxes but AFAIK the only Sky Digibox that has a chassis grounded via a 3 pin plug is the Amstrad DRX100 (class 1). The others (with the exception of the Pace "Javelin" Minibox) all have an internal PSU, metal housing, and no earth connection. These are "class II double insulated" and at least some of them bear the "square within a square" symbol. http://www.double-insulated.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appliance_classes The equipment is fully isolated BUT it has one or more high value resistors and one or more low value capacitors connected to the chassis, for the purpose of interference suppression. This combination allows a tiny leakage current and results in the presence of around 110v on the metalwork, measurable with a high impedance voltmeter. http://schmidt-walter.eit.h-da.de/snt/snt_eng/snteng8.pdf My location is: Lewes near Brighton Need recommendation for good quality dish/brackets/HD receiver (Freesat) for coastal area with strongish wind - already have cheepo setup from B&Q (Philax) which works well to prove the viability - also need ditto with standard receiver for friend in Patcham Brighton. Present dish is 60-cm - first LNB failed after water got in - new MTI low noise LNB gives 90% + quality. Like the look of the smaller Sky dishes and better brackets - would this work? If yes, then which one - I am presently waiting for a reply from A.N.Other Satellite Shop, if nothing heard tomorrow, will come to you. Thanks Philip S.   Hi, Philip. If you are close enough to the sea to suffer salt spray (I don't think you are) then our "Seaside dish" is a must. http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/page2.htm#seaside Note, however, that the bracket is somewhat flimsy and may rust unless protected with Denso tape. A good compromise might be our Zone 2 minidish: http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/page2.htm#zone2 I'd recommend a good coat of primer and a couple of coats of oil-based paint, plus Denso tape around the bracket. Water should not get into an LNB if it's weatherproofed correctly. In theory, a standard zone 1 minidish should be fine but leaves very little "rain margin" - especially if the cable run is long. BUT! Frankly, if your present dish is really giving better than 60% signal and 60% quality, I'd leave well alone! No point in spending cash unnecessarily. You don't say whether you intend to buy a Freesat HD receiver or a FreesatHD+ PVR. If the latter (there's a waiting list) then you'll need a quad-output LNB. We have no Freesat HD receivers in stock. Try Argos. Anyway, there's a lot of free technical information on our web site so I recommend you read it before making a final decision. Don't rush into it. I am ready to order dish etc but can't work out which wall plate I need. I have an FM and TY aerial that are fed into a Wickes booster, the single cables go to various locations in the house and the signal is split in a 1 gang plate into TV and FM. I would like to replace the wall plate and have one that has TV and FM fed by the existing coax, plus a Satellite output fed by the new cable.Can you advise please. thankyou Stephen B. Sketch uploaded here:- http://www.satcure.net/reviews/images/stephenticketTE91894.gif   Hi, Stephen, The triplex plate that you want to use has a single cable feeding it. This cable carries the LNB signals AND power, the UHF TV signals and the Radio signals. It will not carry power to the amplifier. (Your diagram is incomplete and doesn't indicate how the amp is powered.) So you need a box that combines TV, SAT and Radio into the one cable. Frankly, the simplest solution is to dump your existing amplifier and use a Loft Box. http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/lofthelp.htm That requires a Return feed if you want to send signals to any other room. The alternative would be to use something like this arrangement:- http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/combiners.htm ...although I can't see exactly how that could be incorporated into your present system. Happy Customers Layout of monthly review email. Nearly every month I start to click on the Unsubscribe links - I always assume they are the links to the review. Can you put them at the bottom of the letter? Living on the south-west coast of Portugal (don't tell Sky), I have a 1.5m dish and only lose the signal when it pours with rain. I use a Pace with Sky+ and the signal is crystal clear. Your newsletter is a great link for keep us poor expats up to date. Keep up the good work. Tony A. Yes, I can move the link - if I remember! New TV Thanks! I'm not actually a customer (yet) but I wanted to thank you for providing advice about buying a TV set. I've now had a demonstration at "Richer Sounds" and have ordered one that seems best for my requirements. http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/need_to_buy_tv.htm John R.   You are welcome, John. (I'm not an expert so I welcome any additional advice or information for that page.) Order: 032464 WF100BRTV20M WF100 Brown length 20 metre with TV plugs Qty:1 at £15.95 CABLETIDY 76382/1 FIX14 white wall grommet Qty:1 at £0.25 010-0115 UHF Y splitter Qty:1 at £0.50 Great service, excellent quality at a good price. I originally bought similar from B&Q but returned it because the reception was poor. I bought from yourselves and the reception is now brilliant and it worked out to be cheaper. Well Done! Stewart W. Thanks, Stuart. Glad to know we got something right! Hi, I'm just writing to say "THANKS" for the information on interference on scart leads I found on your website. After disconnecting pin 19 on both my leads, my Sky+ and Wii displays are perfect, after a year of putting up with the ghost of BBC1. Two of my family suffer with the same problem, so thanks to you, once I've cured theirs, I'll be a hero! CHEERS! David H (top)   Latest SatCure eBooks  None this month. All eBooks have been moved to a more reliable secure server which requires a username and password. If you can't access it, please contact us (wherever you bought it - SatCure or The Cool Book Shop) with your proof of purchase and ask for the new download information, stating exactly which eBook(s) you purchased and the EBK number(s). (top)

The SatCure Forum Meet other Satellite TV enthusiasts and put your questions or points of view here Need to buy wholesale stock to sell on eBay or on your web site? Thinking of starting your own business? Click on banner above. All kinds of video tapes transferred to DVD, UK's lowest prices and top quality. Experienced engineer and a personal service. Most tapes just £10 for 2:30 hours or less in quantity.   Expat Forum I can't recommend this forum for Expats too highly. It's run and moderated by Kay who puts in a lot of hours to make sure everything runs smoothly. If you are outside the UK or thinking of emigrating then you need to look in here!   Don't fancy DIY? Get an Installation Quote: http://www.ukapsi.com/contents.htm   REMOTES Looking for a TV or VCR remote control? Look no further. Same Day Remote   Sky+ Remotes only £18.80 inclusive from SatCure! Your advert could be here! Contact us for details. http://www.tnt-audio.com is an audio enthusiasts' website, run purely for the fun of it. No money involved at all! Take a look. Electronic kits and gadgets. Start a new hobby! Ideal Christmas Presents. http://www.Electrokits.co.uk