enodreven Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Hi, Has anyone any idea why i can't tune into channel 4 & 5 on my satellite system, I get all of the other channels but it won't pickup 4 &5 any ideas suggestions would be welcome, Note:- Its not that i can't axcess thems it that they don't show on the listings thanks Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stitch Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Channels 4 and 5 are still encrypted by sky you need a functioning sky free to air card in the box for it to list these we channels, without the card it is quite normal for them not to be listed Stitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjphillips Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 This brings a question to mind relating to my sky card which was purchased 3 years ago for the grand sum of £23.50 to give a limited number of channels for 2 years.I gathered that the company who sold them went bust, Sky told me that it was okay just to leave it in the box & I'll continue to receive the same programs as long as I dont remove it, so I havent.Question is, if I did remove it would I still get anything at all when I use the dish,I was told that there is another card now available by Sky that offers roughly the same channels but does now cost £20 for the year,does anyone have this card in their box ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordonaldson Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 I've got an old Skydigibox DV3 made by Pace which I dad a subscription on and cancelled it a few years ago. I kept the card and I still use it in the Motorhome, getting BBC1, BBC2, all the ITV stations (2,3,4), Ch4 + 5, Men and Motors, Playboy on 912, Horror Films, Film4 Films Etc, Etc. So am I doing OK or is someone not so fortunate. Gordon (Steamtown). :-D :-D :-D :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hymer C 9. Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 HI endroeven, We purchaced the £20 card this year from Sky it picks channels 4 and 5 with no trouble and they said the card will last us for 3 years. Cheers Carol. *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w1ntersun Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 One important thing to remember. Sky do automatic updates down the line so to speak. The way your automatic dish works you have to switch the digibox on first for the dish to align.This won't get the updates. Once aligned switch your digibox off and then on it will then be ready to recieve up dates as and when. also if you can leave your dish up and running 24hrs to catch the updates which are usually send out at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 Checked my main digibox, which has been switched off for some time and C4 & C5 are showing as 'update your subcription to recieve' , did a update (switch off at mains, press 'back up' button, switch on at mains and hold button till message says updating) still no luck, this is with an old expired subcription card, maybe I need to get new card :-( but I will leave switched on and do another update next week, as sometimes this works Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankkia Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 For some time now sky have been able to send out "stay alive signals" to your card. They do this so that people who subscribed to say premium channels and then changed to a basic package couldn't take the card out for a while and then put it back in to prevent the "kill" signal from zapping the card for the premium channels. If your card has been "off the air" for a while with the box unplugged it will not have received the stay alive signal and you will have to get it reactivated. To do this for the "free to view card" ring sky on the FTV phone number shown under phone numbers in the services / system setup menu and they will reactivate it for you as long as it is in the UK. You will then get channels 4& 5. Note it can take up to 48 hours for the card to become active and you will have to leave it in the box and switched on. The reason they say the FTV card will last 2/3 years is that sky change the type of viewing card every so often and will want you to pay for your replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terrytraveller Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 You should find by leaving the Sat receiver on with the Freeview card inserted, the card will reactivate, after a period of non-use, without the need to phone Sky, but it can take 24 hrs to reactivate. Our Freeview card is some three years old, and because its in the camper and not used, will need reactivating about every fortnight to enable Channel 4 & 5, all other public channels are not encypted, so they work with or without the card inserted. Colin refers to Holding the Backup button whilst switching on the mains or 12 volt. You only need to do this if you want to force a download of the EPG. The procedure is to switch off the mains or 12 volt, Hold the backup button on the receiver (not the remote control) down whilst switching on the mains or 12 volt, wait until the indicators illuminate on front of receiver, and then release the backup button on the receiver. It takes around 10 mins to download the new EPG, the receiver then will go into standby. You can have your card in or out of the receiver during this operation I have found, the card will still need a period of up to 24hrs to reactivate, and you will get a message that you need to uprade when selecting Channel 4 or 5, until your card has been reactivated. Before you download the new EPG, please make sure you have a good signal strength and signal quality, do not switch off whilst the download is progressing, otherwise you may corrupt the receiver firmware (eprom), and it may not recover. Regards Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enodreven Posted November 13, 2006 Author Share Posted November 13, 2006 Hi, Thanks everyone, I phone Sky again as I wasn't sure if they had activated the card or not, as it turns out they hadn't, So I can now confirm that if your Free To View card is not activated, you will not see channels 4 or 5 showing on the lists, which still seems strange as you can see all of the other channels even though you can't access them I just wonder why 4&5 are different Its all working now (Lidls dish and LNB with an old Sky Box and a £20 Free to view Card) Thanks again everyone Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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