Now that we've had a completely new Sky installation I find myself with a
brand new dish and a working Sony VTX S750U receiver going spare. Anything
interesting that can be done with them apart from selling, sculpture or
wierd perversions? Should I set-to pointing it at a furrin satellite wot
has English stuff on it or something similar?

Also, is the old viewing card of any use?

Si

In article , Mungo "Two
Sheds" Toadfoot scribeth thus
Now that we've had a completely new Sky installation I find myself with a
brand new dish and a working Sony VTX S750U receiver going spare. Anything
interesting that can be done with them apart from selling, sculpture or
wierd perversions? Should I set-to pointing it at a furrin satellite wot
has English stuff on it or something similar?


No .. Sell it on ebay or loot or freecycle...

Also, is the old viewing card of any use?

No..

Si



--
Tony Sayer

On 25/03/2008 12:00, tony sayer wrote:

Also, is the old viewing card of any use?

No..

Or rather yes. It will function as a freesatfromsky card to reception of
C4/E4/M4/Five/FiveUS/FiveLife on a skybox.

On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:00:51 +0000, tony sayer wrote:

Should I set-to pointing it at a furrin satellite wot has English stuff
on it or something similar?

No .. Sell it on ebay or loot or freecycle...

The full KOBs (Rx, Wok, LNB, card) should realise about £50 on ebay. There
is an awful lot of other stuff from other birds about but don't know if a
Skybox is crippled in respect of receiving other birds. It might be a
right pig to use via the "other channels" menu rather than the EPG.

Also, is the old viewing card of any use?

No..

If it's a "yellow house" one it can be used as a "Freesat from Sky" card
to watch the FTV channels such as Channel 4 and five on any Sky box. It
will be tied to the orginal postcode so the regional variations might be
wrong. I don't know if Sky will adjust the region if you rang 'em up, it
must be possible as people move house...

I could use another card.

--
Cheers
Dave.

In article , Andy Burns usenet.jan2
scribeth thus
On 25/03/2008 12:00, tony sayer wrote:

Also, is the old viewing card of any use?

No..

Or rather yes. It will function as a freesatfromsky card to reception of
C4/E4/M4/Five/FiveUS/FiveLife on a skybox.


One did presume that it would remain with the Skybox or else that won't
be a lot of cop without it;!..
--
Tony Sayer

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:00:51 +0000, tony sayer wrote:

Should I set-to pointing it at a furrin satellite wot has English
stuff on it or something similar?

No .. Sell it on ebay or loot or freecycle...

The full KOBs (Rx, Wok, LNB, card) should realise about £50 on ebay.
There is an awful lot of other stuff from other birds about but don't
know if a Skybox is crippled in respect of receiving other birds. It
might be a right pig to use via the "other channels" menu rather than
the EPG.

Also, is the old viewing card of any use?

No..

If it's a "yellow house" one it can be used as a "Freesat from Sky"
card to watch the FTV channels such as Channel 4 and five on any Sky
box. It will be tied to the orginal postcode so the regional
variations might be wrong. I don't know if Sky will adjust the region
if you rang 'em up, it must be possible as people move house...

I could use another card.

Thanks all - ebay it is then.

Si

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in
ll.net:

snipped for brevity

There is an awful lot of other stuff from other birds about but don't
know if a Skybox is crippled in respect of receiving other birds. It
might be a right pig to use via the "other channels" menu rather than
the EPG.


Yes, Sky boxes are crippled and are almost useless for receiving anything
other than what is on the Sky EPG.

On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:54:49 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:

On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:00:51 +0000, tony sayer wrote:

Should I set-to pointing it at a furrin satellite wot has English stuff
on it or something similar?

No .. Sell it on ebay or loot or freecycle...

The full KOBs (Rx, Wok, LNB, card) should realise about £50 on ebay. There
is an awful lot of other stuff from other birds about but don't know if a
Skybox is crippled in respect of receiving other birds. It might be a
right pig to use via the "other channels" menu rather than the EPG.

Also, is the old viewing card of any use?

No..

If it's a "yellow house" one it can be used as a "Freesat from Sky" card
to watch the FTV channels such as Channel 4 and five on any Sky box. It
will be tied to the orginal postcode so the regional variations might be
wrong. I don't know if Sky will adjust the region if you rang 'em up, it
must be possible as people move house...

I could use another card.

Do those Channels have regional variations ? Not so I have noticed .

formulated the question :
On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:54:49 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:

On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:00:51 +0000, tony sayer wrote:

Should I set-to pointing it at a furrin satellite wot has English stuff
on it or something similar?

No .. Sell it on ebay or loot or freecycle...

The full KOBs (Rx, Wok, LNB, card) should realise about £50 on ebay. There
is an awful lot of other stuff from other birds about but don't know if a
Skybox is crippled in respect of receiving other birds. It might be a
right pig to use via the "other channels" menu rather than the EPG.

Also, is the old viewing card of any use?

No..

If it's a "yellow house" one it can be used as a "Freesat from Sky" card
to watch the FTV channels such as Channel 4 and five on any Sky box. It
will be tied to the orginal postcode so the regional variations might be
wrong. I don't know if Sky will adjust the region if you rang 'em up, it
must be possible as people move house...

I could use another card.

Do those Channels have regional variations ? Not so I have noticed .

Usually no, but BBC 1 and ITV are regional.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:44:49 -0000 someone who may be "Mungo \"Two
Sheds\" Toadfoot" wrote this:-

Now that we've had a completely new Sky installation I find myself with a
brand new dish and a working Sony VTX S750U receiver going spare. Anything
interesting that can be done with them apart from selling, sculpture or
wierd perversions? Should I set-to pointing it at a furrin satellite wot
has English stuff on it or something similar?

Any Sky branded receiver will be a pain to use with real satellite
television, due to the crippled ("easy to use") menu system. Better
to buy a new receiver and use it with the "brand new dish".

On the mainland you could go into a supermarket and buy a receiver.
The Sky near monopoly of the UK market prevents this in the UK,
though sometimes there are sensibly priced receivers on offer in
shops based on the mainland like Lidl and Aldi. Alternatively
various suppliers do a range, one of the better known suppliers is
Maplin who offer them from £35 upwards
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?menuno=11746&FromMenu=y&doy=25m3&MenuN ame=Sateliite%20Receivers

If your dish remains pointed at the Astra 2 set of satellites then
you won't get any more stations than can be found in the recesses of
the Sky menu system, though it will be easier to use them. However,
your "brand new dish" could be pointed at Hotbird or Astra for more
channels, though not that many are in English. You could experiment
by watching the Astra channels for a week and then the Hotbird ones.
There are other satellites, which can be found out about on the
Interweb thingy, but these are the main two for most people.

It is possible to make a dish point at Hotbird and Astra without
moving the dish, by installing a dual LNB. This assumes that the
dish takes standard LNBs (in other words it is not most of the Sky
branded dishes) and also that the receiver can control a dual LNB
(in other words not a Sky branded receiver). A larger dish is useful
for such tricks, though in the south I am told that smaller dishes
work reasonably well.

If you want to watch encrypted channels, for example on Hotbird or
Astra, then you will need a receiver with slots for standard viewing
cards (in other words not Sky branded viewing cards). The cheapest
receivers don't generally have such slots, more expensive ones have
one or two slots. The cards are purchased (usually for 6+months) and
fit into a holder called a CAM. None of this monthly subscription
crap. The whole ensemble then fits into a slot and allows viewing.
CAMs provide particular forms of decryption, the card provides
access (a very simplified description). Some channels come in more
then one flavour of encryption, ensure the card and CAM are both
using one form of encryption and this matches one of the forms of
encryption the channel is in, otherwise it won't work. If you have
two cards of the same sort then they can be swapped in the CAM. This
is easier to do than describe.

If you can wait a little then the BBC/ITV will releasing high
definition services officially any time soon. This will be under a
brand name, I forget what it is but it is something like Freesat.
The BBC are already transmitting in HD and the sound/vision is a
dramatic improvement on ordinary television (provided you have a HD
television and home cinema set up properly). The new service will
have a different (to Sky) Electronic Programme Guide. I have no idea
if it will use the standard format for such things (in other words
the Sky one) or whether it will use yet another standard. Ideally it
will use the standard format, so that standard receivers can get
more than the now and next guide. However, in many ways the BBC/ITV
service is more about marketing hype and making things "easy to use"
so they may well take the stuff the rest approach of Sky.




--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:53:19 +0000 someone who may be David Hansen
wrote this:-

If your dish remains pointed at the Astra 2 set of satellites then
you won't get any more stations than can be found in the recesses of
the Sky menu system, though it will be easier to use them. However,
your "brand new dish" could be pointed at Hotbird or Astra for more
channels, though not that many are in English.

I forgot to add, there are suppliers of all sorts of satellite bits
and bobs. One example is http://www.sateuropa.co.uk/


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

In article , David Hansen
scribeth thus
On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:44:49 -0000 someone who may be "Mungo \"Two
Sheds\" Toadfoot" wrote this:-

Now that we've had a completely new Sky installation I find myself with a
brand new dish and a working Sony VTX S750U receiver going spare. Anything
interesting that can be done with them apart from selling, sculpture or
wierd perversions? Should I set-to pointing it at a furrin satellite wot
has English stuff on it or something similar?

Any Sky branded receiver will be a pain to use with real satellite
television, due to the crippled ("easy to use") menu system. Better
to buy a new receiver and use it with the "brand new dish".

On the mainland you could go into a supermarket and buy a receiver.
The Sky near monopoly of the UK market prevents this in the UK,
though sometimes there are sensibly priced receivers on offer in
shops based on the mainland like Lidl and Aldi. Alternatively
various suppliers do a range, one of the better known suppliers is
Maplin who offer them from £35 upwards
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?...3&MenuN ame=S
ateliite%20Receivers

If your dish remains pointed at the Astra 2 set of satellites then
you won't get any more stations than can be found in the recesses of
the Sky menu system, though it will be easier to use them. However,
your "brand new dish" could be pointed at Hotbird or Astra for more
channels, though not that many are in English.

Nope.. not many at all but there is some bl**dy good radio from "over
there" listening to Bayern Klassik 4 at the moment from Germany a
classical music station as it ought be. France Musique is good to and
there are a few Jazz stations..

You could experiment
by watching the Astra channels for a week and then the Hotbird ones.
There are other satellites, which can be found out about on the
Interweb thingy, but these are the main two for most people.

It is possible to make a dish point at Hotbird and Astra without
moving the dish, by installing a dual LNB.

Not a dual LNB .. a Monoblock LNB..

This assumes that the
dish takes standard LNBs (in other words it is not most of the Sky
branded dishes) and also that the receiver can control a dual LNB
(in other words not a Sky branded receiver). A larger dish is useful
for such tricks, though in the south I am told that smaller dishes
work reasonably well.

I wouldn't like to set up one of those on a Sky dish as their quite
frankly not big enough, a 90 cms dish is much more like it. The Sky
region one dish is designed to receive Sky and sod all else can't think
quite why;!..


If you want to watch encrypted channels, for example on Hotbird or
Astra, then you will need a receiver with slots for standard viewing
cards (in other words not Sky branded viewing cards). The cheapest
receivers don't generally have such slots, more expensive ones have
one or two slots. The cards are purchased (usually for 6+months) and
fit into a holder called a CAM. None of this monthly subscription
crap. The whole ensemble then fits into a slot and allows viewing.
CAMs provide particular forms of decryption, the card provides
access (a very simplified description). Some channels come in more
then one flavour of encryption, ensure the card and CAM are both
using one form of encryption and this matches one of the forms of
encryption the channel is in, otherwise it won't work. If you have
two cards of the same sort then they can be swapped in the CAM. This
is easier to do than describe.

If you can wait a little then the BBC/ITV will releasing high
definition services officially any time soon. This will be under a
brand name, I forget what it is but it is something like Freesat.
The BBC are already transmitting in HD and the sound/vision is a
dramatic improvement on ordinary television (provided you have a HD
television and home cinema set up properly). The new service will
have a different (to Sky) Electronic Programme Guide. I have no idea
if it will use the standard format for such things (in other words
the Sky one) or whether it will use yet another standard. Ideally it
will use the standard format, so that standard receivers can get
more than the now and next guide. However, in many ways the BBC/ITV
service is more about marketing hype and making things "easy to use"
so they may well take the stuff the rest approach of Sky.


Lets hope its worth the wait...




--
Tony Sayer

On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:46:33 GMT, Harry Bloomfield wrote:

Do those Channels have regional variations ? Not so I have noticed .

Usually no, but BBC 1 and ITV are regional.

Ch 4 has national variations (aside from S4C...) and five regional but
mainly only for the adverts.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On 25/03/2008 21:53, David Hansen wrote:

Any Sky branded receiver will be a pain to use with real satellite
television, due to the crippled ("easy to use") menu system.

Also they have limited symbol rates and FEC settings.

On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:18:33 +0000 someone who may be tony sayer
wrote this:-

However,
your "brand new dish" could be pointed at Hotbird or Astra for more
channels, though not that many are in English.

Nope.. not many at all

I forgot to add that the ones that there are tend to be "rolling
news" stations. However there are stations for most tastes and only
watching programmes in English is very 20th Century.

but there is some bl**dy good radio from "over there"

Indeed. It is good to hear NPR from the USA and realise that there
is intelligence in the USA. Not everyone is as stupid as Mr Bush and
his cronies.

The new service will
have a different (to Sky) Electronic Programme Guide. I have no idea
if it will use the standard format for such things (in other words
the Sky one)

Obviously I missed the not there should be in the brackets.

Lets hope its worth the wait...

I'm not sure a fancy EPG will be worth the wait. If it uses some
non-standard format, so that it is only by buying another box with
yet another EPG system that one can view it, then it will not be
worth the wait. However, the programmes themselves will certainly be
worth the wait, as the current BBC HD service (and the other ones on
ISTR Astra) already demonstrate.

However the new service is designed to be "easy", like Sky, but
without the subscription. It is largely hype, the only really new
bit being the EPG, aimed at the mass consumer market rather than the
sort of people who do things themselves. In essence the aim is to be
almost as easy to set up and use as Freeview, with a dish being only
a little bit more difficult to install and align than an aerial.
Many people get someone else to install an aerial and many people
will get someone else to install/modify a satellite dish for this
new service.




--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Dave Liquorice"
saying something like:

There
is an awful lot of other stuff from other birds about but don't know if a
Skybox is crippled in respect of receiving other birds. It might be a
right pig to use via the "other channels" menu rather than the EPG.

It is, indeed, a right pig. Not impossible, but just a totally awkward
bugger.
--

Dave