B&Q Satellite - Ross freesat box and dish
 

This is just a warning to anyone who buys a B&Q Satellite system.

The paperwork states that you need to find the Astra 2D satallite channel to access the BBC/ITV Freeview channels. Astra 2D gives you hundreds of European channels but not the UK freeview channels.

These channels can however be acessed using the Astra E channel.

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

I'm not sure what you think you've tuned in to, but the BBC themselves claim to be on Astra 2D. http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/info/...quencies.shtml

However, if you have bought your system at B&Q it is unlikely to be one carrying the Freesat logo:

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2009/08/1.jpg
... and so won't give you the official Freesat EPG. Or the BBC iPlayer (once it launches).

Shoud've gone to Radio Rentals! (well, maybe not, but just about anywhere other than B&Q to be honest...)

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

Astra 2D and a few others share virtually the same spot in the sky so pointing towards one will get the others... You should have got about 1000 channels with less than a tenth of then being freesat and half of the 1000 probably encrypted sky and other euro channels.

BUT...if you're after just freesat then follow Chris's advice and get an official freesat logo'd system that'll give you just the freesat channels and full epg..

Just one final thought... did you put it up yourself? if so are you sure you've pointed it towards astra 2D and not Eurobird, Astra 1E/2E, Hotbird... which are all within 15 degrees of each other and ever so easy to accidently point the dish at

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

The satellite box is a cheap one from china. I get hundreds of channels, and all the one's I'm after (freeview) however the software on the box says i'm picking up the signal and quality from Astra 1, and Astra E not 2D. Yes I put it up myself using a satellite finder. Just wanted peeps to know that if you buy the B&Q one, the paperwork says find Eurobird 2 or Astra 2D. But if your in the south west of england, Try aiming the box at Astra 1 or Astra E, it will find all the channels you need.


on a side note, I can pick up lots of german or french channels but they say TP locked, what does that mean and how can I unlock them?

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

Ignore what the box says.. It doesn't get that information from the satellites instead it's in the firmware as to "what should be at that sky position" (on my sat when I use an old firmware it says the same as yours, when I use a brand new firmware it includes the later sats and also references freeview"

Sounds like the firmware is a few years old but it will still scan for ALL of the channels in that position as it will query the sat for a list of all transponders..

Before you ask I don't have a clue if you can update your firmware.. My sat is one of the linux based firmware boxes with serial and 10/100 network so I can reflash by a number of means..

As far as the TP locked channels (usually PPV) I'm afraid we don't allow then sort of conversations on here ;)

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

Can I ask what your model number of your box is, and the firmware version and does it carry the *Get Set for digital tick* and the brandname Freesat (R)

thanks

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

Amanhalai, we have already established that the box does not carry the Freesat brand. Not least because B&Q don't stock Freesat boxes, and we also know that Freesat haven't licenced any cheap Chinese imports.

I don't think it's too much of a leap to assume it probably doesn't carry the digital tick either!

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

cheers for the pointers folks,

just for info i'm not after anything dodgy, its just I was able to view the channels that now say TP locked, when I was pointed (i think) at a different satellite. Now I'm at the freeview UK signal those channels are now TP.

anyhoo the warning is anyone else who buys the cheap B&Q dish set, should be aware that the signal they tell you to point at is actually called something else on the firmware.

hopefully will save others the hours I took getting it to work.

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

Hi Guys, i havent never had SKY or any other cable telly etc. I just have had freeview for a few years now.

I saw this in B&Q and was tempted to buy it for £40 only (sounded too good). having read the above comments, im abit confused whether this is a good kit or not. Should i be returning it for a full refund and maybe spend about £20 extra for a better system?

All input will be appreciated.

Cheers:)

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

It does exactly what it says on the box and that is it recieves FTA channels for whichever satellite you point it at.

The problem though is that people confuse FTA (free to air) with Freesat.

For £40 for a FTA it's not too bad, it'll still pick up the freesat channels, just probably won't work to well with the EPG and you'll get a lot of encrypted (sky/others) channels in-between if you point it at 28.2E

What in the end though did you expect? A proper freesat system? If so then you're never gonna get one including a dish for anywhere near that price

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

Hello Kymmy;

thanks for that quick response - much appreciated.

as a newbie to all this, i take it as freesat and fta recieve different number/types of channels.

whats the benefits of each of them (if known by you, kymmy or anyone else)?

any suggestions?

btw - i also bought a satellite finder from ebay - any help on that will be appreciated as the manual is 5-7 sentences on that! lol

cheers

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

Freesat is a group of channels on a few satellites at 28.2E (same groups of satellites as Sky), when you buy a freesat system it only shows you the freesat channels (again like Sky) even though there is a lot more foriegn and other channels using the same group.

If you take into account all of the TV/Radio stations on that group of satellites it tends to be mixed into encrypted (most of the sky channels though not all) and unencrypted, it's the unencrypted channels that are called by the generic name of FTA as you don't need a subscription to view them.

So if you point a FREESAT system at 28.2E you'll get just over 100 channels (I think) where as if you point a FTA system at the same group it'll find nearly a thousand channels but most unwatchable due to the need of a subscription. A lot of the channels may be foriegn but you should find amongst them all of the channels availble on freesat ;)

---------- Post added at 22:20 ---------- Previous post was at 22:18 ----------

Freesat channels/info can be found HERE

where as a complete list of channels available on the group at 28.2E can be found HERE

---------- Post added at 22:25 ---------- Previous post was at 22:20 ----------

Another thing to add on at the end is that more and more HD channels are now coming available so SD systems (like the original freesat or FTA) will start being cheaper and cheaper.. Once though you have the dish up you can upgrade to a HD box later and use the same dish/LNB.

Also most freesat systems now have built in PVR's and require a multi output LNB, but it does mean you can record programs whilst watching another but this system is available (as well as HD) on newer FTA systems

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

I have bought one of these B&Q Ross satellite systems and am having some difficulty aligning the dish to the Astra 2 group.The receiver manual doesn't explain which menu option to use to do this.
Do I select the satellite name under TP scan and then watch the signal quality bar? Do I need to select "Add TP"?
The signal strength is around 67% no matter where the dish is pointed.

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

Only decent way of aligning a dish is with an external meter.. that way you can see instantly a measured change in signal strength (with some meters you can also hear the change)

Just remember that as you scan from left to right you also need to lower/raise the dish as though it's a polar mount.. best to find your best left/right signal, then do small up/down changes to see if it improves or not. Also remember that not all the channels are the same power and also out of the group of sats not all of them might be perfectly inline.. Look at the channel to sat list and select a channel off all the sats and tune for good strength on all of them (good strength might not be full meter strength)

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

Hello there

Anyone know if it is possible to take the B&Q Ross satelite dish and put a Quad LNB on it. Will it still work as normal. Rather than change the dish i was just anticpating buying a quad LNB but was worried that it might not work.

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

You can put a quad LNB on any dish, then feed either 4 standard units off it or two PVR units

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

ok may have jumped in before i've looked in to this properly:dunce: i've got the 40 quid box and dish from b&q and i've set it up with a finder and its pointing exactly were next doors dish is there side by side am getting a reading of 78 % and quality off 60 % this is best i can get it ive selected astra 2 group and i have lots off channels but no dave t.v virgin 1 etc as i do with a free view box, i dont get why this is oh and clubland t.v has no sound, what am i doing wrong? :mad::dunce:

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

You won't get Dave on satellite - it's not broadcast as a free channel via satellite as it has exclusive carriage with Sky.

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

gutted there go's me top gear! she's going be made up lol anything i can do to get this channel with this set up???

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

Nothing at all, except to hope and pray the BBC, via Freesat, eventually persuade UKTV to put more of its channels in the clear on satellite, particularly those channels it broadcasts for free on Freeview. Whether UKTV does this will simply depend on whether they think they can make more revenue from advertising to a few extra punters on free satellite, or by sticking with their Sky exclusivity and encryption deal.

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

does anyone know if it is possible to connect this dish to a freeview recorder?

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

Freesat recorder YES freeview recorder NO - The frequencies are totally different..

But if instead of DISH you meant SAT Reciever and instead of freeview recorder you mean AV recorder then yes..

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

i have just bought a ross satelite and am having trouble with it, i cant set the time, any help? it also doesnt show me what im watching. could someone please halp me. thanks

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

Time on the sat is normally set two ways, either manually via the setup menu or auto via the sat. Just remember that if you point it to a foreign channel then the time will reflect that channel ;)

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

Hi everybody. We have read all these comments and we have tried everything, we bougth a compass, searched Astra website where we found exact position of satelite and still we have on screen "no programe found". Do you think that it`s the cable or whole set is at fault. We are just south of Cirencester, Gloucestershire
P.S. We would like to pick up Czech channels if it`s possible with this system
Thanks Tad & Petra

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

Welcome to the forum,

Have you bought a sat finder meter?? They are about the ONLY sure way of pointing the dish to the strongest signal source. (less than a tenner from ebay)

BUT there is a great website that allows you to pinpoint your exact location on a map and then select your sat. It'll then give you your Elevation, Azimuth (true), Azimuth (magn.) and LNB Skew

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

Hi I,m new on this forum.Can you or anybody else help me I,ve bought this system from b+q my dish is an old sky dish tuned in using a sat finder.I have lots of foreign channels but not one in english, picture and sound quality is good.There is no astra E only astra E1 and this is foreign as well any help would be appreciated.

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

You sure that you tuned into Astra28.2 ?? I think you might have hit Astra23.5 (which astra 1E is part of), you need to go slightly more east.

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

Not strictly true as the dishes that come from B&Q have a completely different arm to that found on your standard Sly dishes, so if people want to start using pvr's or multiroom systems oin their ross dishes, then they may be better advised to get themselves a standard Sly dish which will then take the majority of the quad.octo LNB's on the market.

And please ensure that they are quads / octos that you buy and not quattro lnb's. ;)

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

And a few of the old sky dishes can't take a quad LNB either without an adaptor :rolleyes:

Now excuse me whilst I ring up my friend who has a quad LNB on thier B&Q dish feeding a couple of dreamboxes in various rooms to inform her that she'll have to stop using them as the experts have said that her quad LNB won't fit on the dish it's been on for 6 months

:rolleyes: :doh: :rolleyes:

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

I did say it is not strictly true, in case you wasn't aware, sly have changed their dishes and also the lnb fitments in the last four months.

So if your friend who has had the quad lnb on here dish for six months, then it's pretty good odds that they are using the old style sly quad lnb.

And sly have done this so that people buying 3rd party dishes cannot use their quads / octos on their systems.

perhaps you would like to tell us all if this new style quad would fit on your friends system.

http://neroaerials.co.uk/onlineshop/images/skyquad.jpeg

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

That's the whole point, we're not talking about sky dishes here.. nor are we talking about sky LNB's :rolleyes: And my EME bounce dish definately didn't come from Sky (mind you that doesn't have an LNB, hard to transmit through an LNB) :D:D:D

My new 1.2m dish didn't come from sky, neither did the Diseqc motor nor the quad lnb, none of my friends stuff came from sky either..

Please stop assuming that everyone interested in sat has stuff supplied by sky and that sky are the only suppliers out there :(

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

I personally am of the opinion that people buying cheap FTA dishes and boxes from B&Q to get their freesate signals will not be going to grax or sat solutions to buy their quad or octo lnb's.

I am more than aware that sly are not the only suppliers of equipment as of yet I have never even thought about buying, diplexers, launch amps, mast head amps or multiswitches etc from sly.

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

I've found that a lot of people will buy a cheap system (FTA ) as it's the first step into finding out that there's more to sat than Sky. A lot then go onto better recievers (most which do not come with a dish) and if the reciever has multiple modules and/or pvr functions then they of course need a dual (or greater) lnb. Also there's the options of twin (monobloc) lnb's with varying degrees of seperation for as on your profile hotbird or other sat reception.

As such the B&Q makes a great starting point for these people.. But yes you are right that they're not great for true freesat usage as you will lose most of the freesat extended features but they will work for simple channel viewing

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

Kymmy, that's me! I bought the B and Q system on impulse because of the price. I bolted it together on a Sunday afternnon, rested the dish on a chair pointing out of my bedroom window, in Northumberland.....and it just worked. The double glazing appeared to have very little affect.

The diffrence between FTA and Freeview passed me by until now.

However, I can say that I would totally recommend this box if you are begiining in
Satellite TV. It does everything it says it does on the box. I am having fun with it!
£40 well spent!

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

Freesat will have all the red button functions, HD and a more fully featured EPG, FTA will show you all the channels (including all of Sky's FTA non-encrypted) and will be perfectly watchable.

Glad you're happy and welcome to the forum

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

i bought this box and dish using it on a multi sat system it a great box for the money

---------- Post added at 22:00 ---------- Previous post was at 21:55 ----------

a quad lnb will work with this dish

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

Hi all, just registered on this forum.
I recently bought a Ross satellite from B & Q and am having trouble finding any satellite. Where am I going wrong.

I think I have found 28.2 degrees and have hitched the dish up to the box which is hitched up to the television, but when I do auto scan I am getting nothing. Just a message at the end of the scan saying cannot find program.

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

hi you must be pointing at the wrong satellite. switch on the audio signal in the menu this will buzz very loudly when you find a satellite. is there a house near you that has a sky dish on it if so compare your dish position with. remember the dish should be pointing straight ahead best of luck.let me know how you get on
kevin

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

Thanks for your help Kevin

I will try that............

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

your welcome let me know how you get on . if you still have problems you can contact me.
regards
kevin

Can't get % quality reading on Ross Satellite
 

Hi have bought a Ross HD Digital Receiver and have managed to get 99% on the level but cannot get anything on the Quality, it just stays at 0%. Have been trying all day. Any ideas? My first time trying to dabble with satellite dishes. cheers

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

Hi,

Can someone tell me why you would buy one of the Ross's freesat dishes ahead of a normal freeview box, aren't the channels pretty much the same?

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

Freesat has a slightly different channel lineup than Freeview. Also a lot of people might be in a weak freeview area so can only get freesat

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

Long term, the prospects for a decent selection of HD channels are far, far better with satellite than with terrestrial. However, I still wouldn't buy a Ross box because they are not Freesat accredited. You will get all the same channels on the Ross box as with a branded Freesat box but you're unlikely to see extra goodies like the BBC iPlayer appearing on non-Freesat boxes.

I would say, unless you are a particular fan of the few channels that are on Freeview but not Freesat (basically Dave, UKTV History, Fiver and Five US), a branded Freesat HD box is a far better purchase than a new Freeview HD box.

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

Just like to say that I bought this on impulse, however my version cost £79.99 not £40 (nevertheless 89.99 at homebase). I wasn't even convinced that it would work at all. Thought that it would be a good idea to set it up inside so pointed the satellite out of the bedroom window and looked for satellite but to no avail (I couldn't even see one with my binoculars and I have some really good binoculars), A quick visit to maplins was in order and I managed to pick up a satellite finder for around 20 quid. This worked really well especially as it has an audible output which allowed me to fine tune quite accurately. I must admit to a great deal of satisfaction when I first heard some intelligible sounds however there was no picture which was slightly frustrating then I realised that the set was on radio. Oh joy Oh joy, a picture then arrived when I selected TV. My wife asked me who this joy person was so that was a tricky moment. Having set it up indoors the next thing was to roughly note the direction and then to set it up outside. This went well and once erected meant that minimal time had to be spent on tuning it in. Overall am really pleased with it. I must admit though that the lack of Dave is a loss.Now I have an HD ready telly and I receive both BBC and ITV HD on this satellite but I cant see what all the fuss is about HD. Am I missing something here?
Hints for others who are having problems tuning in:
1 Buy a satellite finder and one which has an audible signal.
1 Set it up inside where you have satellite, receiver and telly all within arms reach.
2 Be patient and then be even patienter. if it doesn't work, stop and have a cup of tea or a smoke. The whole operation took me several hours.

I am so pleased with it.

Good luck
daycartes

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

Hi All

I bought a Ross Hd satellite receiver kit today from B&Q and have to say im very impressed for the cost. I paid £79.99 for the kit an £14.99 for a satellite finder, after installing it i updated the software on the receiver (see the Ross website). I then set up the dish using the finder an on the second go i found the right satellite (i don't think you could do this without a sat finder). It all worked perfect i have loads of channels & HD channels including most of the freeview ones (no Dave). I plugged in a potable usb hard drive (the ones without a power adapter) and im able to recored no problem. The picture quality is excellent in HD and even on the standard channels its very good (im viewing on a 43inch plasma HD tv) . So if you are thinking of buying one i would highly recommend it……….

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

I was wondering whether anyone here could help my with a minor difficulty I'm having with a Ross system I got from from B & Q for a months ago. I'm receiving hundreds of channels from Eurobird 1 & Astra 2A/2B/2D with no problems but no amount of auto, blind or tp scanning will pick up the Food Network on Freq. 11344, Symbol Rate 27500, Pol. H. What's puzzling me is if I add a TP with the above settings a scan find several channels but none of those listed by Lyngsat for those settings.

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

Got them fine on my FTA sat receiver, can you possibly add a single channel using the correct VID..etc..

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

After you had updated the software what benefit did you receive from this ?:) Also Dave which USB hard drive would you recommend for recording purposes as we have just installed the same system as yourself on Bank Holiday Monday just gone.

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

I have just bought a Ross freeat box - Spent the last few hours installing it and trying to tune it in. Getting 99% on the signal level meter but 0% on the quality. Tried adjusting dish ad LNB to lots of different positions but quality meter does not rise above 0! Any thoughts?

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

My hubby has been trying to install the ROSS HD sat system all day, we get an L reading of 99% but the Q reading doesn't even get any green lights .... first attempt proved to be a faulty box, but we have a new one now and have also tried a new LNB ... can anyone tell us what we can do to get this working? Thanks

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

Looks like you've got the same problem as me - 99%L 0%S -will be keen to hear from anyone who knows what we need to do to fix this

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

Only thing I can think of is that you're pointing it towards the wrong sats, remember a few degrees out can make all the difference

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

We bought this handy little kit from Maplins...Take the guess work or trial and error process out of locating satellites. This finder kit makes sure that you connect to the satellite of your choice. Kit includes compass, signal meter, cable and battery box.

A compact meter to help align your satellite dish for best reception
Output from the satellite LNB is fed directly into the unit, via 1.8m of RF cable provided
Kit includes a compass to help in the initial positioning of the dish and a PVC storage case
Meter can be powered from the line power of the receiver via the downlead or from the supplied battery holder
Takes 10 x AA type batteries (sold separately)
http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o...untitled-1.jpg

It was EXTREMELY helpful and cost £19.99 also we had walkie talkies (luckily we have had them for a few years and knew they would come in handy one day) so while the Hubby was up the ladder i could tell him when the Q signal was going up the scale to a higher percentage.

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

£19.99 plus a king's ransom for the batteries. :erm: 10 AAs!

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

Got it working ... no matter how much you think you can line it up with an existing dish, if you don't get a Sat Finder you'll never do it ...

Re: Can't get % quality reading on Ross Satellite
 

hi there, me and my partner have had the same problem this weekend. 99% level but 0% quality.. did you have any luck with it? thanks

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

Merged another thread about 0% quality into this thread

Leonielde, you'll probably find that you were on the sat either side, and as you had astra2 seelcted it won;t actually find any data streams so 0% on quality ;)

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

I know what you mean but thankfully we didn't have to buy any of the AA batteries as we have plenty of them in the house.:)

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

ok. so have got a sat finder, even when high reading on that have no joy - still 0% on Quality, 99% on level- getting to our wits end! Help!

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

Tilt it in the right place. I had the same issue indoors with a dish, and mine turned out to be a very slight tilt problem.

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

The LNB should be rotated dependant on your longitude and latitude.. Even with a sat finder you might still be on the wrong satellite ;) as that will stil give you a strong signal but it won't scan any Astra2 channels..

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

thanks, but with the LNB does it have to be pointing at the dish itself, cuz the sat finder says it has a better signal when its pointin 90degrees away from the dish?

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

Errr, yes, the LNB nornally points towards the centre of the dish :rolleyes:

Think of the dish as a mirrir that gathers in the signal and concentrates the signal at the point of the LNB, the LNB has to point at the signal for the strongest signal

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

I totally agree with Kymmy what we did was when we got a strong signal reading the hubby rotated the LNB everso slightly and slowly until we got the Q level over 50% we couldn't get 99% on the Q level but we have 99% L level and we have an extremely good crisp picture.I hope you have more success this time.:)

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

The best site is http://www.dishpointer.com/ you can put in your postcode and select the satellite and it'll show you the direction, elevation and also the LNB skew

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

ok, so have tried dispointer.com, have a sat finder..... still no joy!! Awaiting to hear back from ROSS, reckon we've got a dud?!

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

You can try but I still think you may be pointing towards the wrong satellite..

Have you tried going either side of the strong signal you have to the next strong signals.. or even leave it on that strong signal and selecting to scan the adjacent hotbird, eutelsat, badr or arabsat frequencies to see if youre on one of them??

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

Agree with kymmy i had problems scanned other sattelights got astra channel list but wouldnt tune in. changed to channel 4 instead of itv scanned again and sudenly worked. sorry cant help further.
I still cant get cbeebies childrens channel any ideas anyone?

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

That's because the signal isn;t just of one antenna floating in space but multiple antenna's on multiple sats and also using differing polerizations.. These sats float around at different points but always trying to keep in a virtual 3d box. If you tune into one of the sats that's in one corner of the box then channels on that sat may be strong but channels on the other Astra2 sats will be very week.

Hence when you tune in you need to look at the full list and choose varying channels on far apart frequencies and varying H/V polerizations..

Also something else to look out for is the LNB setting.. Most common is Universal LNB's (9.75 and 10.60 GHz that uses a 22Khz switching signal) that's likely to be the one supplied with the system (also common on most Sky systems apart from some of the very old analogue ones) The reciever must be set-up to use that LNB otherwise the whole frequency listing will be out and major blocks (if not all) of the channels will be missing

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

I bought this Ross complete system at B&Q(Isle-Of-Man) yesterday(15%off day) for 56 quid,connected it to my existing dish,think its astra euro?,& its working fine,a bargain for the money,& I now have a spare dish etc for future use:p:.

pause live TV
 

Hi

I bought it today as well. I upgraded its firmware from ross website. Evrithing is working fine. BUT, on this firmware, timeshift (pause live TV) is working. Also I can record a program while Im watching another one. But it sometimes stuck. No remote con button works. Need to switch the box off using power ON/OFF switch on the back of the box manually. There is something wrong with the recording and playing function. I used 8GB USB 2.0 flash disk as a USB HDD.

Anybody tried this functions and any problem yet,
Or I bought a faulty receiver or the new firmware has got problem,

Any help please?
DG

Re: pause live TV
 

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

Fed up waiting for Freeview HD equipment to reach the shops, I thought I'd try this. As a complete satellite newbie, here are my experiences with installing it yesterday.
Dish took about an hour to assemble. Diagrams could be clearer.

The supplied mast is too short for me as I have no SE elevation on my house and the dish needs to be almost at 90 degrees to a SW-facing wall. Until I get a longer mast, it's sitting on the ground. The bracket's not much good for that either as the supports seem too short when the mast is level (diagram seems to show them longer than the mast). Eventually, I got everything screwed down, level and stable.

The signal level indicator shows 99% no matter what you point it at. Is it just measuring noise?
The satellites are exactly where Dishpointer said they were, so azimuth setting was easy enough, but I couldn't get the elevation right (should be 20.8 degrees). By accident, I let the dish slip while adjusting and the quality bars went green, up to 60%, so the only dish elevation that works seems to be slightly negative i.e. it's pointing at the ground! Reflections? Or have I cocked up the assembly?

The pre-programmed box seems to do all it should, except the manual says the audio output is optical and the connector is coax (RCA). Many of the pre-set channels are not present, so maybe a re-scan is needed (or would the upgrade have a more up-to-date list?) PVR function is a bonus - I'm not too worried about possible bugs, since all PVRs have these!

Although I'm pleased with the results so far, I can't help feeling my dish assembly has gone a bit wrong, even though it looks like the pictures. The dish instructions were OK, but I'm not completely sure about the LNB. Is it possible to get a satisfactory signal with a misaligned dish/LNB?

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

Well, there are lots of other birds in the sky ... I guess you could be reading a good signal off one of those? The ultimate test is whether you get good pictures on the channels you want to watch.

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

Got it on the wall now, with a larger offset mast. I left the elevation as it was on the ground. Actual measurement on the Elevation Bracket is 15 degrees on the A side (about 42 on the B), even though the mast is vertical and dish is pointing below the horizon. Signal still 57%-63% quality. This doesn't seem sensitive to minor adjustment of LNB skew.

I upgraded the software on the box and it seems to have sorted the many missing channels.

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

hi everyone im new to the forum and was wondering if anyone can help me, have just bought a grundig sat receiver with the freesat logo having tuned it in i have a signal strenght of 86 yet unable watch programs because theres no signal would the fact that i am useing a sat dish that the previous tenants left be the probs any info would be much appreciated

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

What sort of dish is it? If a small seethru sky dish then it should work (as long as the dish hasn't been knocked out of line) if another sort of dish then you might find that it's not even pointing towards Astra2 but more than likely Hotbird or Eurosat and/or might not have a universal LNB

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

thanks for the reply, yes its a small see thru but you will have to excuse my stupidity whats lnb

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

LNB is the device on the dish arm that the cables plug into.. As it's a SKY dish the LNB should be of the correct type. Does the freesat box allow you to configure which LNB you are using? if so it should be set to universal.

Other than that unless you are 100% sure that the dish worked previously I'd suggest either a dish alignment, duff LNB or Co-axial (water damaged??) fault

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

Hi
There is a kit at B&Q on offer at £69. Is this the same kit as discussed in the previous comments.

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

The original kit was the SD system which was the original basis of this thread. Since then the thread has also incorporated posts about the HD system that B&Q also sell

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

having read other posts now know what LNB is looking at the condition of dish its not that old have done a bit of diy on the dish [smack it with a club] and got a signal for a few seconds will try to realign the dish and take it from there could you suggest a good meter and type or are they all standard thank you.

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

Get an analogue meter with an audible signal. I got one from ebay for less than a tenner.

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

For anybody thinking of going down the HD free to air satellite route there's one available from Aldi from next Thursday 3rd June:

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers...uys3_14324.htm

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

This appears to be a Skyline model which was sold in B&Q for SD ,strange that B&Q don't sell it.

Did we ever think you could get HD for that price!!! I think its time other makers like Technomate and Humax etc. started lowering theres as most of them are way overpriced.;)

---------- Post added at 12:34 ---------- Previous post was at 12:25 ----------

yes great value for a HD kit and if you are over 60 you get another 10% off with their diamond card !! even better.:D

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

There are a fair few snags with this B&Q Ross HD kit. What ever you do don't leave it recording from the USB port as the unit powers down every 3 hours. When utilising the Astra 1 satellites which have the european channels the reciever locks up whilst doing the scan for channels. When installing the system you notice that the signal level doesn't move from 99% just one of the many firmware errors encountered. This is the reason they are much cheaper than Technomate and Humax, there is no comparison.

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

This for me was a great way to get cheap hd for the world cup. plugged it into an existing sky dish, which unfortunately wasn't aligned correctly so it took about an hour making small adjustments but its all good at 63% quality.

Is it possible to get hd sound with this box? im running it through a sony ht-sf 1300 via hdmi but its only coming through standard 2 channel

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

I am having trouble with my B&Q Ross HD system. I have set it up and am able to see quite a few channels but none on the Astra 2D satellite (that's the likes of BBC1, BBC2 etc so pretty essential!). I see zero quality for all the transponders on that satellite while I get up to about 63% on the transponders on some of the other Astra 2/Eurobird 1 transponders. I assume therefore that I'm pointing in at least roughly the right direction so I would have expected to see some sort of signal quality for Astra 2D but, as I said, I see absolutely zero!

Anyone got any ideas as to why?

[As I've just joined, a few comments on other posts which might help:
Signal Strength is a misnomer, it simply tells you if your box is communicating with the LNB.
Signal Quality is a measure of what is coming from the satellite, that's the one to concentrate on!
If you're getting zero quality, try different transponders and different satellites, you might find you're lined up wrongly. When I initially installed it, I couldn't get anything but zero. I eventually tried a scan and it finally found some quality some way through and some channels (all German as it happened, telling me I was pointing at the wrong satellite). At least that proved my system was working! I could then focus on a transponder that had some signal quality and move the dish to maximise it. (But none of the Astra 2D transponders have worked so far for me!)
You can change the switch off time from something other than 3 hours, it's in one of the configuration settings.]

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

Welcome to the forum

What channels are you getting? and on what freqs/IDs ?

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

And you think Technomate and Humax have no problems because thay are more expensive?? that is a joke m8 if you ever experienced Humax after sales service it is deplorable believe me as a former sat engineer they are only interested in sales of boxes after that forget about any back up on them.

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

I 0wn a Humax freeview PVR. The only problem I have encountered with this unit is when downloading files to my PC, this was overcome using a third party software and connecting directly to the hard drive. I own two Tecnomate FTA recievers wth which I am very pleased, at least they allow me to download channels from the Astra 1 group without locking up halfway through. The Ross customer support actually acknowledge that this is a problem. As this is one of the most poular satellite groups to me this makes the Ross system worthless. As I've never had to use the Humax or Technomate customer support, I'm unable to comment. In my opinion the manufacturers always know about problems with products but will never admitt to them, the customer always has to learn the hard way.

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

Thanks.

Some examples I'm getting:

Sky Intro 11934 V 27500
Sky News UK 12207 V 27500
BBC News 11954 H 27500

While one I'm not (and have zero quality for):

CBS Drama 11343 V 27500

I could look out some more if it'll be useful.

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

OK, it proves you're on the right sats. Take a peek at this previous post of mine which might be the cause of the problem you;re getting

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

hi, i have this ross hd system. assembled the dish myself and to save any messin around i decided to call a professional in to put it up and configure it. waste of time! £40 , and he comes off ladder into living room and sees a picture and remarks, ooooh look, thats a good pic,then buggers off! only then did i realise it would have been nice of him to hang around on the ladder and do a bit more configuring and tweeking till we obtained the best poss quality! anyway, i'm gettin 63% on bbc hd and itv hd and only 42% on luxe hd. am pleased with the system,but can't help feeling that i could be getting more! is it poss to increase the quality? and what figures are people on this forum getting? also, which sat is all the french and german stuff on? do i have to go outside and climb ladder to tweek the dish and lnb? sorry for such a long ramblin post. cheers.

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

If you have BBC & ITV then you;re pointing at 28.2E, french, german, spanish tend to occupy the sats at 19.2E, 13E and others. Only way of getting them is either a motorized dish or a dual head/2nd dish (or as you say to move the dish east or west and slightly up or down dependant on which way you go). Is the reciever capable of running a DiseqC switch? If yes then you can use a dual/triple head or a 2nd dish via a diseqc switch. If you have full diseqc control then you can use a motor that automatically turns the dish as you change channels..

Remember thought that freesat is one of the very few groups of FTA channels that actually have good content, most other good channels (especially on the continental sats) are not FTA and are encrypted

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

My daughter lives in a block of flats with a communal aerial and sky sat system.

I was wondering if she could connect a Freesat stb to it, or would she have to use a sky stb to get their free to air channels? Which as far as I'm aware, she would still need a card from Sky to receive some of the channels.

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

Freesat "should" work, they'll have two LNB's one for H one for V but the sat group is the same..

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

Thanks Kymmy I had a feeling it would, but wasn't sure if communal sat systems were set up specifically for sky reception.