Loss of U.K. channels « My Humax Forum

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Loss of U.K. channels

(8 posts)

Binky Huckaback

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I lost my TV signal which resulted in the council sending out a subcontractor 3 days ago to sort it. Now my Humax HDR won't accept a postcode (please see image) whereas before the signal loss it did. I have tried numerous postcode variations (leaving out the gap, just using the first part of the code, using a different postcode entirely) and none worked.
https://ibb.co/pWxp41H
This resulted in numerous fruitless reboots of the Humax in the presence of the subcontractor. The subcontractor diagnosed the Humax as being faulty so when he left I went into the Humax Settings. Given that Freesat Tune wasn't an option now I chose Manual Tune. I used the default settings, retuned and lo and behold I had all my channels as they were previously - happy days.

This morning I discovered that, whilst the majority of the HD channels I'd favourited were active, ITV 2HD, 3HD, 4HD and ITVBeHD had apparently lost their signals overnight. I decided to once again retune the Humax which turned out to be a grave mistake.

After retuning the Humax will now only pick up a bunch of useless European channels. I suspect this may well be due to the Tuner being shown as fixed with the Satellite set to freesat 28.2E (please see image).
https://ibb.co/NVnMT6X

In a previous thread (Factory reset. Postcode not accepted.) the following is suggested regarding the postcode:

"Select the following Transponder (11428 H 27500 A) from the list of Transponders. Check that you are receiving stable levels for both Signal Strength & Signal Quality or >50%."

I did that and it resulted in no channels showing.

Can I somehow get the U.K. channels back or am I now, as I strongly suspect, screwed?

Footnote:
I have two aerial sockets - one for the TV and one for the Humax. The one for the TV (Freeview) is fine inasmuch as it provides me with the basics; BBC HD, ITV HD etc but is lacking other HD channels I used to get. Swapping the Humax / TV aerial cables simply results in the same settings as previously with the Tuner being shown as fixed and the Satellite set to freesat 28.2E. There is however one intriguing difference - it results in not one single TV or Radio channel being found whereas the other aerial cable brings up a bunch of Euro channels. Bizarre.
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| Sun 10 Nov 2024 14:22:38 #1 |
dino

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Freesat and Freeview are not interchangeable.
A Freeview aerial connected to a Freesat device can't work.
A Freesat satellite feed connected to a Freeview (terrestrial) receiver can't work.

From your description, it sounds like you have a Freesat device (a Foxsat HDR) which cannot reliably 'see' the Freesat transponder (11428H).

This could be several things including

Satellite dish mis-aligned - not pointing at the right satellite
Satellite dish 'view' of the sky obscured - trees etc.
Faulty LNB - the part in front of the dish which collects the signals
Faulty physical connection between the LNB and the Foxsat - all the cabling and connectors between the dish to the Foxsat need to be sound
Faulty Foxsat HDR

If the technician removed the satellite feed cable from the HDR, connected it to another device and proved the other device could see the Freesat Transponder with good quality that suggests a faulty HDR, though it could be a poor connection near the device.
Because your description suggests the fault may come and go, a bad connection can't be ruled out.
If the technician didn't use a test device to check the freesat transponder quality, then all are still possible.

If you know someone else with a working Freesat dish, can you ask to connect your Foxsat to their satellite cable to check if it works ?
If you are able to borrow a known working freesat device, connecting it to your satellite feed could provide more diagnostics.

| Tue 12 Nov 2024 9:03:03 #2 |
trog

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@dino Do any councils supply even communal satellite services ? I smell fish.

| Tue 12 Nov 2024 12:01:24 #3 |
Binky Huckaback

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First off, many thanks to dino for taking the time to respond with a prompt and extensive reply, it is greatly appreciated - cheers.

OK, so an update...
The signal is Freesat. I've had three different blokes out from the same firm and, very long story short, it appears the tuner on the Humax has failed. At one point it appeared to be a cable issue as one of two cables I had proved faulty but ultimately this wasn't the cause.

I'm getting a great Freesat signal directly into my TV but the Humax doesn't appear to be getting anything in the way of a signal apart from the bunch of useless European channels I mentioned in the earlier post. As a desperate last measure I've tried a Factory Reset but this has consequently confirmed that the box isn't picking up a signal . I thought the drive would be the first part to expire but the drive is still operational so I guess I ought to be thankful for small mercies as I can at least download the remaining programmes I have on there.

The two options now appear to be either try and get hold of a firm that will repair a FOXSAT-HDR or buy a new Humax. A cursory look online at a repair brought up one company but they specifically exclude the FOXSAT-HDR model from repairs so I'm not too hopeful going down that route.

With regards to buying another Humax, can anyone please tell me whether it would be possible to download .TS files from any of the newer HD models available?

Cheers.

| Wed 20 Nov 2024 15:27:02 #4 |
fedman1

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If you are happy with your Foxsat HDR then why not buy a working model, very cheap from eBay.
I am still using my old Foxsat HDR, and since I am not streaming from the internet it does exactly what I want 100%.

| Wed 20 Nov 2024 19:34:25 #5 |
Binky Huckaback

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fedman1 - 2 days ago »
If you are happy with your Foxsat HDR then why not buy a working model, very cheap from eBay.
I am still using my old Foxsat HDR, and since I am not streaming from the internet it does exactly what I want 100%.

Good idea. I'm a little bit wary as my communal aerial signal has clearly become dodgy AF however I didn't realise how low eBay Foxsat HDRs go for. Will have to do a bit of research to see if the software enabling me to transfer files is still available somewhere online but I may well take your advice, cheers.

| Sat 23 Nov 2024 16:14:07 #6 |
prking

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trog - 1 week ago »
@dino Do any councils supply even communal satellite services ? I smell fish.

Yes, they did and do for social housing.

Also, some councils made it a requirement for private estates to have communal aerials and satellite. To avoid a clutter of aerials and dishes.

| Sun 24 Nov 2024 7:44:26 #7 |
trog

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prking - 5 hours ago »

trog - 1 week ago »
@dino Do any councils supply even communal satellite services ? I smell fish.

Yes, they did and do for social housing.
Also, some councils made it a requirement for private estates to have communal aerials and satellite. To avoid a clutter of aerials and dishes.

I knew about communal tv aerials that the council would be responsible for on council housing but not satellite dishes and why would the council be involved in servicing a sattelite dish on a private estate?

| Sun 24 Nov 2024 13:41:51 #8 |