Re: B&Q Satellite - Ross freesat box and dish
 

Could be tolerance ... not sure on that point. I do know that the CBS channels are not encrypted, so you should be able to get them.

You might try fractionally re-aligning the dish so it is in a better compromise position between the satellites you want to receive from (yes, there's more than one ... ).

Re: B&Q Satellite - Ross freesat box and dish
 

Yeah. I thought that initially Chris but the fact I can get the channels on the Sky HD box is suggesting to me that I must be on-line for that satellite.

The dish is only mounted on a pole so any movement would (unless it's the elevation) not exactly be scientific, more a "best guess".

So which movement would I be performing?

Re: B&Q Satellite - Ross freesat box and dish
 

Hi John I got the Ros HDR-6110USB last week and have fathomed it out now.

I could only get 57% quality at first, but now it has crept up a bit (no idea why) and I always got the CBS channels ok. (I would worry about that later.)

To get BBCOne HD you could scan, and should get it, but when I did, I lost loads of SD channels. It would be safer to just add the one channel.

On my box you click 'Menu' Go down to 'Manual Add Service' and click.
Select the satellite. (On mine it says 04 Astra/Euro1, which the handbook says is Astra 2A/B/D/Eurobird1.) If all else fails you can try both.

Click on TP Number an scroll down to 10847 'ok'.

Then Service id: 06941

Service type: TV

video type and audio type: ' I cant remember which combination works. Probably makes no difference (try 'em all)

Set PID: I only typed in the top two 5400 then 5401

I took these numbers from: http://www.flysat.com/28east.php

I am delighted with my box now, and am only wondering if yours is older or newer!

Good luck

Arthur

:dozey:

Re: B&Q Satellite - Ross freesat box and dish
 

As a quick guide for new users.
B&Q have now added 'How to install a digital satellite receiver' to their list of how to leaflets.
Brian

Re: B&Q Satellite - Ross freesat box and dish
 

Hi Arthur

Thanks for the run through, I'll give that a go.

Not sure on the age thing. I can only assume the 8130 is the newer of the two as the 6130 has an update thingy on the Ross website.

It was complete chance that I saw it in B&Q. We'd gone in for paint and there was this box sitting in the corner just all on it's own. Took it to the checkout to see how much it cost and then found out it was 15% off day as well so bargain all round.

More than pleased with the box thus far. Knowing absolutely nothing about satellite I can't believe we managed to get it working. Dishpointer site was a massive help as it had some good landmarks I could work to and was seriously amazed when the thing just burst into life. I know it's probably cheap and nasty but it'll do me as a starter system before I decide whether I want/need to upgrade in the future.

As it is working in the main I'm reluctant to fiddle with it too much unless I can be reasonably sure of getting back to where I was originally should it all go Pete Tong.

Thanks for the advice thus far. The comments on here have been a great help in giving some much needed guidance.

John

Re: B&Q Satellite - Ross freesat box and dish
 

Just overnight a couple more questions have occurred to me.

With regard to a satellite signal does it work in the same sort of way as a Freeview signal? On my TV I can get most Freeview channels OK but there are others (notably ITV1, CH4, CH5) that seem to be "weaker" so that sometimes I can't watch them. I was just wondering if the satellite channels worked in the same sort of way (i.e some are "stronger" than others).

Along the same lines are satellite channels more or less affected by "atmospherics" than Freeview channels?

Sorry, I seem to be full of questions at the moment.

John

Re: B&Q Satellite - Ross freesat box and dish
 

I have installed one of these systems. I can't get more than 57%Q but everything seems to work. It found BBC1 HD when I did a rescan as well as Vintage TV. Didn't find BBC3 or 4 but will input these manually. BBC1 HD is not the same as BBC HD.
HOWEVER - re HDMI lead problems - it may not be the lead. On my box its a loose HDMI socket- wiggle it with the lead attached and the picture and/or sound will return! I am awaiting a response from Ross as its less than 12 months old. To conclude - yes its very fiddly to set up as its the 1st time I'd done it the 2nd would be a lot quicker! It is an ideal entrance to the world of freesat and to get away from BBC East Midlands Today!

Re: B&Q Satellite - Ross freesat box and dish
 

Yes some channels can be weaker than others due to variance in transponder power.. Also there are three sats all in vying for the same spot, the Astra techs try to keep them in an optimal position (i.e.. within the same box) but sometimes you might end up with one sat slgihtly outside the optimal position which may effect it's signal strength..

They are more effected especially by rain/sleet/snow.. This is because of the frequency used (roughly about 10-11Ghz) which is a small enough wavelength to be reflected by water droplets.. If though you take the time and effort to orientate the dish correctly you should have enough signal strength to negate such drops in signal power.. With digital the signal has to drop below a threshold for the image to get corrupted unlike analogue sat where snow/rain/low lignal would cause either black or while sparklies to appear sparodically over the entire picture getting worse as the snow/rain got worse.

Re: B&Q Satellite - Ross freesat box and dish
 

@ MTJR

Before I used my receiver I upgraded the firmware http://www.ross.co.uk/upgrade/22300hd-r/ - the file's called 'miscBls.img'.

Simply put the file on an empty USB stick - pop it in the USB port and switch the receiver on. The file will load and install in about 3 or 4 minutes - afterwhich the receiver's display will show 0000. After a reboot and a pause of about 1 minute a channnel will appear on your tv! BBC 1 HD (on my set anyway) is channel 0008 - no need for any rescan or manual channel input. Signal strength is around 90-95% on all channels using an old SKY dish mounted on a wooden post. I didn't bother adjusting the elevation as I got a great picture after about 30 seconds of fiddling with the lateral position (azimuth?) using a sat strength meter.

Re: B&Q Satellite - Ross freesat box and dish
 

I think I'll fire an e-mail in the Ross direction. My model definitely says it's an 8130 (it's written on the manual and on the back of the receiver) and not the 6110 that the site says the upgrade is for.

I've no want to break it, considering I only just got it. :)

Re: B&Q Satellite - Ross freesat box and dish
 

I can't find any reference to that particular model anywhere - It'll be pretty interesting to know what the differences are between the 6110 and the 8130.

Re: B&Q Satellite - Ross freesat box and dish
 

As yet, no response from Ross re: the model differences.

However, I am going slowly insane with this thing. After much faffing about and managing to break my F connector cable I now appear to be back almost where I started.

I seem to have got a slight improvement on reception (showing 60% now on some channels) but other channels (CBS Reality) show as "Signal Weak". I'm loathe to even breathe near it now.

I'm sure I'm missing just one final tweak but for the life of me I can't work out what it is. Anyone any ideas at all? Could it just be that I'm a little too low?

John

---------- Post added at 16:42 ---------- Previous post was at 16:17 ----------

Scratch that. Just spoke to them on the phone.

Tech Support is handled by BT Nexus in the UK (be warned, there's lots of button pushing). The telephone number is 01952 238 100 for those who might need it/don't have it/can't be bothered to look it up.

According to the guy the 8130 is the HD Plus box and the 6110 isn't, He explained them as the "Sky Plus" and the "Sky" versions. Upshot is no update required.

Also he said that I wouldn't be able to receive BBC1 HD as it's not currently FTA or there has been no official announcement to them of same. The only two HD channels I "supposed" to receive are BBC HD and ITV1 HD. I haven't tried manually adding BBC1 HD as yet, will report back once I've tried it.

Finally, he said that I should rotate my LNB to around "8 o'clock" to correct the problems with weak signal channels. After doing this it made it worse so I turned it back. It currently sits halfway between 6 and 7 o'clock.

What joy the world of satellite TV is!

John

Re: B&Q Satellite - Ross freesat box and dish
 

That sounds like a load of bollards to me. BBC One HD is FTA, otherwise there would be no way for branded Freesat boxes to receive it (and they can, on channel 108 since 3rd November).

Re: B&Q Satellite - Ross freesat box and dish
 

I did challenge him on the FTA thing but he then went into fluff about "official updates". My main concern is to get the box working properly first and I'll worry about BBC 1 HD at a later date.

I tried to run through the procedure that Arthur posted but I don't see the things that he describes. In a different menu section I can add a Transponder but the numbers it wants don't seem to tally with Arthur's.

I get a rock solid picture on the first 20 or so channels up to CBS Reality after which it all goes a bit wibbly. The majority of channels show weak signal and some have a squiffy picture with or without sound which is usually interrupted by high pitched pops. I'm figuring I must be on target for the satellite(s) as I'm getting such good reception on some of the channels. Also, any turning of the LNB seems to make things worse. So my only option as far as I can see is to go up a bit. Does that seem logical?

John

Re: B&Q Satellite - Ross freesat box and dish
 

What LNB settings are you using?