SatCure Technical Help for analogue satellite receivers
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| Before you ask for technical help, please save to disc and read the following... Please tell me as MUCH information as possible.
I ALWAYS reply, even if your question is dumb or I can't help. If you receive NO reply, your return email address was incorrect.) Do NOT send me picture files!
Any files greater than 100k will automatically exclude you from receiving free help! Do NOT send me attachments!
I don't want your HTML garbage so save your phone bill (and mine) and send just TEXT.
I definitely don't want any Microsoft WORD or EXCEL files as these can carry viruses.
Any files greater than 100k will automatically exclude you from receiving free help! Type a sensible "subject" line - the receiver make/model, for instance.
I hate to receive ten messages a day, all entitled "please help!" - It doesn't help my filing system. Do NOT ask me why your XYZ decoder will not work with your ABC receiver! BTW I reserve the right to take the piss. It's the only amusement I get! So, if you have no sense of humour, please ask somebody else ;o) |
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| Before you ask.... |
| a) Yes, we can supply components by mail-order. No minimum order. Strictly payment by return post. We will post the goods immediately (if in stock). See "How to order". |
| b) No I no longer carry out repairs sent by mail in the UK. |
| c) No, I won't phone or fax you urgently. I reply by e-mail. |
| d) No, I don't supply a spares price list. It is already available in the Order Form. |
| e) Yes I'm the guy who writes for "Television" magazine, "Satellite Trader" magazine (no longer published), "What Satellite TV" magazine and wrote "The Satellite Repair Manual" and "Satellite Secrets Revealed". |
| f) I don't do installation so I might not be able to answer installation questions. |
| g) We do NOT supply Sky cards, Pirate cards, Pirate software, CAMs or hacks and I don't know anything about these things so please don't ask. |
| h) I will NOT mail you a list of parts needed to repair your xyz receiver power supply. We sell repair kits with instructions. Some of the parts are classed as Safety-Critical and MUST be the correct types. I'm not going to encourage you to go to your local hobby store to buy something which will possibly result in your house catching fire. I WILL try to tell you what parts are required if the power supply is not faulty. |
| i) We can NOT usually send you circuit diagram copies by post or by e-mail. Most of them are A3 size, folded into service manuals. They are copyright and I'm not going to upset the manufacturers by copying them. We sell service manuals for Pace, Amstrad and a few other makes. |
| j) I may be able to help you with faults in UK and some European satellite receivers but, unfortunately, not American (but please write me anyway :o) |
| k) I can not often help with receiver faults except Sky Digiboxes but you can ask general questions. |
| I answer typically 30 - 50 e-mail questions each evening after (during) a hard day's work. Frequently I am tired and short-tempered and I tend to treat everybody like an idiot. You can help me to give a quick, simple, polite reply by supplying the right information. (Obviously I might manage without ALL of this but give me as much as possible.) *************** This help service is FREE *****************
So I don't HAVE to answer you if I don't want to.
Feedback is nice. If I help to solve your problem I'd like to know.
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| DEFINITIONS - Let's get the words and SPELLING correct to begin with! |
| LNB: The horn-shaped signal collector on the dish arm. Low Noise Block-downconverter.
DISH: the parabolic antenna used to reflect satellite signals into the LNB.
RECEIVER: The box that receives and selects the satellite TV transmissions from the dish.
DECODER: The box or internal circuit that unscrambles the pictures on some channels.
TUNER: The internal module that you connect the LNB cable to - usually with a screw "F" plug.
RF Modulator: The internal module that you connect the TV aerial into and TV picture out.
PSU: Power supply unit which may be part of the main circuit board or may be a separate unit.
AERIAL: (this is how we spell it in the UK) that bunch of metal sticks on the roof.
PCB: The Printed Circuit Board on which components are mounted. DEAD: Please note that "dead" is defined as "no measurable secondary voltages from the power supply". Please confirm this is so. I get a lot of people wasting my time with false descriptions of "dead" when they actually mean "scrambled picture, no decoder messages", "no sound" or "working perfectly but no front panel display" etc. (I also have people write: "My receiver is not dead because it keeps blowing fuses"! If it blew the main protection fuse, it is dead, believe me!) DO NOT REPLACE THE INTERNAL FUSE! It is there to protect YOU and the receiver. If you replace it you can make the damage worse and put yourself at risk! Ask me before you touch it. |
TO GET HELP |
| 01. I want you to tell me a little about yourself. This makes life more interesting for me and also allows me to decide whether you will understand a highly technical answer or whether I should tell you to "take it to your dealer" or if your knowledge lies somewhere inbetween, in which case I'll keep it simple. Please tell me your name, your location and any other relevant facts about yourself, your level of expertise and the equipment you have available. |
| 02. Please tell me how you found this web page? - (which search engine/what key words). This information allows me to see how well my "advertising" is going and which "search engines", News Groups or publications are giving me a mention. |
| 03. Most important! Tell me your Receiver make/model. Look underneath and on the rear panel to see if the manufacturer's code is there. If it's not obviously a model covered by my Receiver FAQs then tell me how many channels it has, handset button names etc. The more clues the better. DO NOT send me a picture file unless I ask for one!! PLEASE. |
| 04. Tell me the history of fault (when/how did it begin?). This helps me to make an accurate diagnosis instead of a guess. Mention anything you noticed previously that might be a clue to the present fault. I need to know if the symptoms came gradually or suddenly. Did anyone alter anything that might have triggered the fault. |
| 05. Describe the fault symptoms accurately.
If it is completely dead, please make sure before telling me a lie. (Dead = no lights, no noises, no picture, no low voltages from the power supply). If you have no meter or don't know what to measure, please say so. If the fault is intermittent, how often does it happen (2 minutes - 2 days??) After how long a warm-up time does the fault happen (let it cool down). |
| 06. If it's dead then there's not much more you can tell me, other than measuring the internal fuse to see if it has melted. If the fuse is OK, listen to see if the PSU is making a "ticking" noise. If it is NOT dead then there is a lot more that I need to know! |
| 07. If the fault affects the picture in any way you can give me valuable clues by describing what you see when you use the RF lead and Scart lead to connect the TV to every output in turn. Many receivers can be checked as follows: __ From the RF output:
__ From the TV Scart output:
__ From the VCR Scart output: Note 1: if all you see is a coloured screen, please try to turn this coloured screen OFF first.
(See relevant receiver FAQ) Note 2: Most televisions will blank the audio and sometimes will blank the screen if the video output from the satellite receiver is low. See note 3, below.... |
| 08. Describe any front panel light problems:
(If button presses are involved, describe the sequence exactly). |
| 09. Describe any audio problems:
(State whether Left, Right or mono audio channels are affected. Describe noises in terms of frequency and location of source e.g. from inside receiver or from TV or external loudspeaker) Note 3: Most televisions will blank the audio and sometimes will blank the screen if the video output from the satellite receiver is low. Try using the RF output with the TEST (TSG) switch ON if the audio seems to be muted. Alternatively, turn the satellite screen menu ON. This gives the TV a video input which may prevent it from muting the audio. |
| 10. If you are unsure whether the fault is caused by your satellite receiver, LNB, cable or connections then you must carry out some checks as follows: Check menu/installation settings. Make sure LNB power/voltage is set to "ON".
Make sure LNB frequency is set to match your LNB (usually 10.0 or 9.75).
Set receiver contrast level to "4". See what happens if you increase this.
Use another receiver to test LNB, cable and dish alignment.
Test your receiver/decoder on another dish system. |
| 11. If there is NO picture and NO audio, measure the LNB voltage supply which comes out of the tuner.
Voltage supply up cable to LNB should be 13v for vertical and 17v for horizontal. |
| 12. If you are competent, please locate and measure the 5 volt supply rail, the 12 volt supply rail and the 13/17 volt LNB supply out of the tuner. The 5v supply is often present on one of the corner pins of a 40 pin I.C. The 12 volt rail often comes from a 12 volt regulator. Use an oscilloscope to check for ripple on the 5 volt and 12 volt supply. Ripple often causes lines on the picture. It can also make the microcontroller do strange things. DO NOT attempt to make any measurements on the high-voltage side of the transformer! I never do - so even if it does not kill you, the measurements will mean nothing to me. Measure individual component values with the 230v power disconnected at the wall socket. |
| Note 4:
Please be sure to send ALL relevant details including those from any previous message which I will have forgotten!
Please read other files on this web site which refer to your receiver or problem.
Please don't be offended if, after all this, my reply is "I don't know."
I can't be expected to diagnose *every* fault by e-mail! *************** This help service is FREE *****************
So I don't HAVE to answer you if I don't want to. |
|  Ask a question NOW
Martin Pickering |
| HAPPY CUSTOMERS |
| Aha - a tiny break in the track to the top leg of Q2 is now
repaired and the receiver is working perfectly. Your service has been superb, your help most invaluable, and your
speed in replying astounding. I wish you much deserved success
with the future of your business. Very best regards Chris Dewey Editor, Dark Star Official Mike Oldfield Magazine |
| Dear Martin, Very impressed with the "Relkit" and the "Satkit". My Pace PRD800 is operating like a new receiver and the picture and sound quality are on par with units costing twice as much. Many Thanks. Tommy O'Connor taoconnor@REMOVElineone.net |
| Martin, May I say "thank you" for your response to my problem and for sending me the necessary parts so quickly. What an excellent service that was. The receiver is now working fine. Just for the record I have been using your "Satellite Repair Manual" edition 3 and now edition 4 for quite some time. Looking forward to edition 5. (Now available) Sincerely, Ron Brock
Pro-Sat Sysems |
| Dear Martin, Many thanks for your excellent service - the parts arrived incredibly quickly and, although I'm by no means an experienced repairer, I now have a working receiver again. I don't know if it's worth considering in your range but I'd have bought a desoldering kit, had you sold one, as I ended up using a desoldering pump which, as you predicted, damaged the soldering pads.
(Solder Kit now available for just 0.95p !!) My receiver is now working before my local repair shop even thought they would give me an estimate so I'm extremely happy. Many thanks & best of luck for your business, Sincerely Chris Dewey (again!) |
| Dear Martin, Many thanks for the quick response to my last order. I fitted the RELKIT to my Toshiba TS540 and it cured a small problem that I have had for a while. Also my PRD is now fully functional and my Churchill D2Mac is working great. Your diagnosis was spot-on for both machines and the instructions that come with the kits are great. I like the fact that they tell you what the component you are fitting does and what fault it is fixing. Alan Chisnal, Prescot, Merseyside. P.s. the Satellite Repair Manual is not just informative but one great read! Very interesting and well written. WELL DONE! |
| Dear Martin, May I say 'Thank You' for your response to my problem and for sending the necessary parts so quickly. What an excellent service that was! The receiver is now working fine. Ron Brock, Pro-Sat Systems. |
| Dear Martin, The RELKIT 10 did the job. No more patterning or "motor error" on the MSS500-IP since I fitted the kit. Well worth the price and probably one third the cost of a local engineer. Gary Davies, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. |
| Dear Martin, Thanks for the RELKIT 9. Fitting the kit solved my problem, saving lots of time on fault-finding and catalogue-searching. Well done for providing a valuable service! Malcolm Baldwin (Electronics), Middlesex. |
| Dear Mr Pickering, Thank you for your prompt delivery of The Book. It's marvellous! Here's my cheque. F. Dove, Kilburn. |
| Hi Martin, The kit worked like a dream on my dead MRD950+.
Thanks for trusting me on the payment. Jan Hanson, Copenhagen, Denmark. |
| Dear Martin, Many thanks for your excellent service. The parts arrived before I expected. Sorry about the misspelt e-mail address. You guessed correctly in adding a "t" to "sofnet". As agreed, I am returning the tuner kit unused because fitting the tantalum capacitor in RELKIT 2 cured the fault. G.R. Fox, Birmingham. |
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Version 1.5 updated on September 3, 2000
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