SKY HAS ITS LIMITS

You may have read an article entitled “Star Wars” in issue16 of the Olive Press news paper, in which the authors of the piece (both independent supplier of Sky TV systems) stated that “thousands of Sky television users around Andalusia could face being cut off!
Subsequently, as an independent satellite TV installer, I received numerous calls from concerned clients wanting to know what was going on and would they be cut off. Well let me give you a little insight into satellite communications and Sky television also about what has been happening lately.

Arthur C Clark was not thinking of satellite TV, when he wrote an article called “Extraterrestrial Relays in 1945, I suspect he was not thinking of beaming Eastenders around the globe. The first nation to take onboard Mr Clarks ideas was Russia with Sputnik, on 4th October 1957. The United States not wanting to be left out launched their first satellite on 1st January 1958. The race was on! Early Bird was launched in 1965, but did not have a battery and only worked during hours of sunlight.

We have all moved to Spain for numerous reasons, but one thing is guaranteed we all like to watch English Television or listen to the radio, be it for local news channels or our favourite programmes.
You may be aware that Virgin media and Sky TV have been at loggerheads of channel pricing amongst other issues, but it has had a knock on effect on you the viewer.
As a result of the ongoing investigation into the Sky operation by the Department of Trade and Industry, it has come to light that in some instances there has been multi registration of equipment at individual addresses in the UK. This has caused Sky to disconnect the users at these locations. This is not the end of the world as this only applies to those of us that have Sky packages i.e. Sport or Film etc packages it does not affect the “Free to Air packages” (BBC and ITV to you and me).
But I suggest that you speak with your local installer for the latest information, they can organise your preferred package. There is a new option whereby you can have just one of the packages and not a minimum of two.

There are no OFFICIAL Sky suppliers here in Spain, despite what some installers may intimate in their advertising, we are all Independent no matter how we wish to flower things up, and all suffer with the same supply problems, no matter how big or small an operator.

The Astra satellite has been circling the earth for quite a few years now and like all satellites is powered by solar energy during the day, but relies on battery during the hours of darkness, and like all batteries constantly being charged and discharged have lost some power. This you will probably notice about 6pm when additional channels start their transmissions.
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Sky have a licence for the Uk and Ireland only, but by the nature of the
Transmission area the footprint covers as far south a southern Spain, but only just! Due to the ongoing investigation into the Sky operation, the power levels have been reduced to comply with the licence. To combat this local Sky suppliers found a cheat to view channel 5, but this has now been removed.

We have taken for granted, that we can view all available channels whilst living in Spain, but we are on the edge of the footprint of reception thus the large satellite dish (1.3 metres) anything larger is not necessary, although a larger dish will only increase the reception marginally. That is why, when there is heavy cloud formations and rain we loose reception.

The new style satellite decoders supplied by Sky, are causing problems, as they are built to receive signals from within the Uk and not here in Spain. Distributors are trying to resolve this problem, and I am sure an answer will be found soon, to restore channels 4 and 5

The Astra satellite has been circling the earth for quite a few years now and like all satellites is powered by solar energy during the day, but relies on battery during the hours of darkness, and like all batteries constantly being charged and discharged have lost some power. This you will probably notice about 6pm when additional channels start their transmissions.

This can sometimes be overcome by having the dish checked and realigned where necessary, we think nothing of servicing our cars, why not an annual health check on the satellite system? The dish is, as you know is not small and the slightest movement can and does result in signal degradation. Check the mounting on the wall, does it look like the bracket is coming away from the wall. Do not leave it, as it will be cheaper to have the bracket secured properly before the dish falls off and injures someone or is damaged. The LNB (bit on the front of the dish) will not last forever and will benefit with being replaced every 3 years, to enhance reception. Don’t chance it, go and have a look as soon as possible.

Sky television only has a licence to transmit within the boundaries if the British Isles and we are very lucky to be able to receive all our favourite TV channels, your local satellite installer can add all your local ITV and BBC channels to your system despite the viewing card supplied. The dark blue Sky cards are still valid and will be for the foreseeable future for those of you who just have a free to view package. Your local installer will keep you informed should Sky decide to change the cards.

Useful tips to prolong you Sky decoder

Make sure that there is an air gap under the decoder and any cupboard doors are left ajar. Run the vacuum cleaner over the top occasionally to remove excess dust from within the decoder.
Fit a power surge protector to the decoder. It may invalidate your guarantee if you don’t.
If the decoder does not respond to the remote control or appears not to be working correctly. Remove the power lead wait 30 seconds and replace the lead, wait a further 30 seconds before attempting to switch the decoder on.
Use good quality Scart leads (the black lead from the decoder to the TV/Video)
Do not crush of bend any satellite cable as this will result in reduction of reception.
Change the remote control batteries annually.

Should you accidentally cut the cable, contact your local installer to replace the complete cable. (Any joints will result in serious reduction in reception quality) or if not possible to replace the cable, ask your installer to supply and fit a professional connector.

Countrysky Satellite systems are your local sky installer and take pride in offering a quality friendly service with most of our work is from recommendations.