sky freesat-HELP

**samstuart** · 21st March 2009, 10:46 PM

Hi, I live on the Costa Blanca near Torrevieja. I have a Sky box"Amstrad DRX 550" and a sky freeview card, however I can not get BBC1, Channel 4, or Channel 5. The software was updated last week when I activated the card in the UK. I have a 1.8 dish. Can anyone advise me?..Sam Stuart

**satandpcguy** · 22nd March 2009, 12:27 AM

it may help if you post what does appear on the screen when you try to view these cahnnels.
but at a guess..,.
your bbc1 (101) regions is bbc1 london,
you itv1 (103) is central
and when you try 104 and 105 (and their sister channels) you get a red banner saying channel unavailable...?

if so then it is a viewing card issue.
basics first...
is the card instered correctly?
is the card in the correct slot? (the viewing card slot is under a little flap bottom right of the receiver - not the interactive card slot)
sometimes yo may ned to take out the card, go to sky one, reinster the card, and let the system re-read the card..if it works the "insert viewing card" message will be replaced with a "Sky upgrade messge"

if the card is working and n the ocrrect slot then the 101 and 103 (bbc and itv) reguions will go to the correct regoions for the card and 104 and 105 and the sister channels iwll appear.

if this is nothte case then please report back with what messages are onthe screen...

**samstuart** · 22nd March 2009, 11:08 AM

Hi, thanks for answering. I followed your instructions and when the insert card notice appeared, inserted the card and got the upgrade message pressed the red button for the upgrade, even though I only have the 20pound freesat card and the message was ,-trer is a technical problem please try later. Channels 4 & 5 do not appear in the listing,...sam
PS---When I try BBC 1 & 2 I get "No Satellite Signal"

**satandpcguy** · 22nd March 2009, 12:50 PM

c4 and five will only appear in the listing if the box has booted up correctly and the card is activated and inserted correctly.

try this
take out the card
unplug the box
wait for 30 seconds
reinsert power plug
reboot the box (you MAY need to go thru the default tranponder setting process)
wait until you get picture
go to sky one
wait for insert card message
insert card
it should say "initialising sky card please wait - it is loadingup the channels
when you get the please upgrade message your 104 and 105 should now be in the channels list

When I try BBC 1 & 2 I get "No Satellite Signal"

as mentioned, without a sky card your box defaults to bbc1 london...which is on the same freuqneyc as bbc2, which you may only get at certain times of the day on your dish in your area.

**samstuart** · 22nd March 2009, 01:33 PM

Hi, followed your instructions a couple of times but still no joy, 104 & 105 are still not in the list,....sam

**satandpcguy** · 22nd March 2009, 01:53 PM

sounds like the card reader is knackered but heres a more few other things you could try,.

does you card work ok in another receiver?
does another card work ok in your receiver?

maybe a quick swipe on the trousers of the card / chip may get rid of any static on the card?

if your box has previously had 104 and 105 in the lisitngs then you should be able to insert ANY card into the card slot, this should trigger the mechanism intho thinking a card is in the slot, and in should reload thelast known EPG regional settings.

PS I have just tried this on the amstrad i have here (onmy small 80cm dish), no 104 or 105 in list, sky one, insert card, please wait, 104 105 appears....

**samstuart** · 22nd March 2009, 02:33 PM

Hi tried wiping card and re-inserting still no go.It seems to be able to read the card, I have an old one belonging to a friend and it said "This card not authorized". Thanks for your interest,......sam

**satandpcguy** · 22nd March 2009, 03:10 PM

this card not authorised means it is not active.
it has either never been activeated by sky, or it has been out of a sky receiver for so long it has died as it has not hed the "active" signal for over 2 or 3 months.

even so, when you put the card in the mchanism should have triggered the box to load up the correct EPG settings , including 104 and 105....

what about leaving your sky card in the box, unplug, boot up.

it is wierd that yu getthe correct "upgrade" message on the pay tv channels, so we know your card mechanism is working to some extent.

maybe you have one of the few "problem" cards...try it in a mates box..

**samstuart** · 27th March 2009, 07:10 PM

Hi satandpcguy, sorry not to acknowledge your answer earlier but I have been trying to find a friend with a sky box, at last I have and it seems the prob is my sky box, the card worked perfectly on my friends, so I will have to find someone local to repair my box.
Thanks for all your help and advice I really appreciate it,....Sam

**satandpcguy** · 27th March 2009, 07:17 PM

Originally Posted by samstuart

Hi satandpcguy, sorry not to acknowledge your answer earlier but I have been trying to find a friend with a sky box, at last I have and it seems the prob is my sky box, the card worked perfectly on my friends, so I will have to find someone local to repair my box.
Thanks for all your help and advice I really appreciate it,....Sam

no problems... as in a post above my first instinct was problem with the card reader...
card readers can be remnoved and replaced with a other on erelativly easily...i think they are pretty much generic across all sky boxes, but not 100% sure on this.