Leaving Sky – would like some help/advice

[Cuddy]

Forgive my ignorance Ozumo. But does that mean we can receive, ‘Freesat’ TV channels and be able to record – just like a Humax?

 

[ozumo]

Forgive my ignorance Ozumo. But does that mean we can receive, ‘Freesat’ TV channels and be able to record – just like a Humax?

You'll be able to receive all the Freesat channels, but you'll only be able to record the channel that is being viewed. The Humax boxes would allow you to record one channel while watching another. IIRC the Freesat 4K box can record 4 channels at once. Just using the TV's satellite tuner might be enough until the heavily discounted Sky offers turn up?

 

[Satspot]

Strong winds (50mph +) and heavy rain preventing me getting out to take a photo of the LNB.
At the moment we are thinking of the Humax for receiving/recording the TV. Then purchasing a Sky sports pass as and when needed.

Probably the best choice for all round family use and simplest too.

 

[Cuddy]

The LNB is DL028

 

[ozumo]

The LNB is DL028

Is it definitely DL028 and not EL028? How many outputs does it have? Stuggling to find any LNB with that model #. The EL028 is a hybrid LNB with six outputs, 4 of which are universal and will work with your TV (would also explain why the Sky installer didn't change the LNB ).

 

[Cuddy]

Opps... sorry my fault it is EL028 with 6 connections/outputs.

 

[ozumo]

Opps... sorry my fault it is EL028 with 6 connections/outputs.

You won't have to change the LNB. Any of the 4 ports not used for Sky Q will work with your TV.

 

[Cuddy]

Encouraging. Hit another problem now. Due to the wind speeds Sky is now reporting, ‘no satellite connection.’ My wife and I have tried experimenting by moving the satellite up/down/ right/left but no luck. We noticed the bracket that holds the LNB has broken off.
It’s b***** cold up a ladder! Think we need someone who knows what there’re doing!

 

[Offtensive]

Encouraging. Hit another problem now. Due to the wind speeds Sky is now reporting, ‘no satellite connection.’ My wife and I have tried experimenting by moving the satellite up/down/ right/left but no luck. We noticed the bracket that holds the LNB has broken off.
It’s b***** cold up a ladder! Think we need someone who knows what there’re doing!

One solution:
Cancel the cancellation with Sky.
Tell them you're not receiving anything at the moment and are unable to investigate outside.
They will send out an engineer to fix the issue. They should pause your subscription until the engineer resolves the issue.
Then re-cancel once resolved.

You should be able to ask for an engineer to come out without cancelling the cancellation as you are paying for a service but not receiving it.

 

[Satspot]

Any chance you could relocate your dish to a more accessible location. No doubt in the wilds of the highlands this will happen again. Maybe a photo or two of your setup would help others to make helpful suggestions.

 

[ozumo]

One solution:
Cancel the cancellation with Sky.
Tell them you're not receiving anything at the moment and are unable to investigate outside.
They will send out an engineer to fix the issue. They should pause your subscription until the engineer resolves the issue.
Then re-cancel once resolved.

You should be able to ask for an engineer to come out without cancelling the cancellation as you are paying for a service but not receiving it.

They'd probably swap the hybrid LNB for a two output wideband LNB which wouldn't work with the television.

 

[Satspot]

They'd probably swap the hybrid LNB for a two output wideband LNB which wouldn't work with the television.

Personally I’d start off with a fresh dish and lnb sited in a convenient location for maintenance purposes. I’m sure the cable in situ could be rerouted for this new setup and if required using a four output lnb additional points could be added around the premises at a later date.

 

[Offtensive]

They'd probably swap the hybrid LNB for a two output wideband LNB which wouldn't work with the television.

I should have added, you can tell them you are using a hybrid lnb as you use freesat too - the engineer will bring a replacement hybrid lnb. I did that last year, they realigned the dish, replaced the lnb and laid new cable.

@Cuddy how many wires do you having coming from the lnb into the house?

 

[Cuddy]

There are 6 wires coming from the LNB. Regarding location… could be a possibility. But we are mostly surrounded by trees. At the moment it is very windy – but will try to take a photo. We do know that the previous owner was a bit of a DIY cabling freak. There are several wires on the outside of our house. We understand that he wanted Sky tv in all the rooms – bit of a mess. Having said that the system does/did work fine. We like the idea of a fresh dish and lnb.

Another hiccup in the great scheme… we will be, ‘away’ from our house in 10 days time – visiting our grandchildren. We will not return until the first week in April. As far as I am aware the Sky installers will take 2 to 3 weeks to arrange an appointment.

 

[Satspot]

There are 6 wires coming from the LNB. Regarding location… could be a possibility. But we are mostly surrounded by trees. At the moment it is very windy – but will try to take a photo. We do know that the previous owner was a bit of a DIY cabling freak. There are several wires on the outside of our house. We understand that he wanted Sky tv in all the rooms – bit of a mess. Having said that the system does/did work fine. We like the idea of a fresh dish and lnb.

Another hiccup in the great scheme… we will be, ‘away’ from our house in 10 days time – visiting our grandchildren. We will not return until the first week in April. As far as I am aware the Sky installers will take 2 to 3 weeks to arrange an appointment.

If you go the Sky cord cutting route the Sky engineers busy schedule will be of no concern to you.

Decide how many points you need in the house, choose your lnb accordingly and assuming a Zone 1 dish will suffice it wouldn’t take you more than two hours of your own labour to get up and running.

If the Humax box you’ve chosen does DVBT as well as DVBS you’ve all bases covered.

 

[Offtensive]

There are 6 wires coming from the LNB. Regarding location… could be a possibility. But we are mostly surrounded by trees. At the moment it is very windy – but will try to take a photo. We do know that the previous owner was a bit of a DIY cabling freak. There are several wires on the outside of our house. We understand that he wanted Sky tv in all the rooms – bit of a mess. Having said that the system does/did work fine. We like the idea of a fresh dish and lnb.

Another hiccup in the great scheme… we will be, ‘away’ from our house in 10 days time – visiting our grandchildren. We will not return until the first week in April. As far as I am aware the Sky installers will take 2 to 3 weeks to arrange an appointment.

Ask them to come asap, you’re a paying customer that is about to leave, they’ll come running down.

If your dish is old sky will install a new one for you. I didn’t need a new dish installed, but the sky engineer was happy to give me one for free - which is happily pointing at 30w now.

 

[Cuddy]

Trying to upload a photo but get the message, ‘The uploaded file is too large for the server to process’. Have tried to insert image (drag & drop) ‘files are still being uploaded…’ And then, ‘Opps we ran into some problems’.

 

[statalite]

I would say a zone 2 for Scotland.

 

[Cuddy]

My wife and I have decided to go the Sky cord cutting route. We will follow the advice and look for a DVBT & DVBS Humax. Not made any choices yet. I suppose there is no harm contacting Sky to see what they say - just feel its a wee bit naughty as we are leaving.

 

[Offtensive]

My wife and I have decided to go the Sky cord cutting route. We will follow the advice and look for a DVBT & DVBS Humax. Not made any choices yet. I suppose there is no harm contacting Sky to see what they say - just feel its a wee bit naughty as we are leaving.

If you can, hold off from buying a new set top box for a couple of weeks. Sky will be pretty certainly reach out to you offering you a discounted rate.