BSkyB DIGITAL RADIO
The answer - use a SKY dish and digibox for digital radio.
SKY tv is justifiably successful, so SKY digital radio is easily overlooked. There are dozens of stations, the reception is reliable and quality is better than DAB. I'm not a tv watcher but do like to listen to the radio.
The Setup. We need a dish fitted with a universal lnb, correctly aligned, and connected to a SKY digibox. The stereo phono outputs are connected to a Hi-Fi amplifier and speakers. The whole can be controlled using a SKY remote control. No tv is required, and the SKY digibox does not require a SKY operating card.
Electronic Programme Guide. This is an important feature of BSkyB and distinguishes it from a standard digital satellite receiver. The electronic programme guide (EPG) protects the user from having to know about frequencies, fecs, symbol rates and pids - all that is taken care of and the user is presented with a numbered channel list. New versions of the EPG download automatically with the viewing card and can be forced to download without it. At the time of writing the EPG is version 3.4.4b for the standard Sky digibox. The Skyplus box uses a different version.
Freesat service from the BBC and ITV. This service has begun early in May 2008. It appears to be a variation on the idea of using a SKY Card without a subscription. This enables viewing of all free-to-view channels. I understand that the Freesat Card offers its' own Electronic Programme Guide. Some channels, available on Terrestrial Freeview, may yet to be rendered free on the Freesat Service, due to licencing problems.
Reception of foreign satellites. With advances in the EPG, the skybox has become less and less useful for receiving other satellite systems. It has previously refused to store certain channels and users have noted that the new EPG requires the use of a SKY subscription card plus PIN number to recall stored foreign channels. No Swiss Radio jazz for me, then. Probably, SKY are concerned that viewers may use a second dish to pick up free-to-air broadcasts, especially German channels, that may rival their subscription output. Examples are German Eurosport and
SKY pin number. This is said to be the last four digits of the viewing card number. That was the original card - the cards have changed and many people have, then, lost their number.
The SKY viewing card. We don't need this for radio, but it is necessary to receive some free-to-view channels, such as Channel Four and Five. For this reason, SKY cards are useful even when the subscription has run out. Free-to-view is not the same as free-to-air.
Sky radio channels. Sky has recently changed all radio channel numbers to four digits, with a leading zero. BBC, Radio 2 is channel 0102 in the EPG, whilst BBC 2 television is channel 102. The new EPG allows the remote control to enter all channel numbers. At the time of writing, the SKY Gnome is unable to store four-digit numbers, so they must be entered manually using the SKY Gnome keys.
SKY Gnome. This device allows the SKY digibox to be used about the house as a portable radio. It is clever but complicated and expensive. The sound quality may not be good enough to listen to serious music.
Forced software download. When used with a subscription card, the SKY digibox will make any new EPG download automatically. The box has to be left in standby overnight. A forced download can be made without the card, and, in my view, should be made at around ten or eleven in the morning. First check that the operation of the box is normal. Unplug the SKY digibox from the mains supply and leave it several minutes, but leave the monitor on. Press and hold the backup button on the SKY digibox: plug the SKY digibox into the mains supply: after several seconds, the monitor should report that download is in progress: you can now release the backup button: after the download has completed, the SKY digibox will go into standby, after which it can be operated normally.
SKY Engineers' setup code or 401 code. This gives extra control over the SKY digibox. Press the following series of keys on the SKY remote control :- service, 4, 0, 1, select. The six-level menu can help you find foreign satellites. Do not attempt to use menu item six - new installation - or you may disable your SKY digibox. Item four is used in setting up the SKY Gnome.
Setting up a SKY dish. When experimenting with the 19.2o Astra and 13o Eutelsat satellites, it is easiest to set up the dish using an old analogue receiver, though there is little analogue on Eutelsat now. For SKY it will be necessary to set up the dish, as far as possible, using dead-reckoning. The SKY satellites are at or near 28.5o east of south. Being on the Earth's surface in London UK, I have to point the dish at 34.8o. The elevation above horizontal is 25.5o, so I need to have the dish tilted a little back from the vertical - this may vary with the dish. I found due south using the sun's shadow cast from a plumb-line at midday GMT, and set the azimuth by marking the angle on a board. The SKY digibox should not be powered-up till the dish is roughly set. You could monitor the signal using a small mono tv. The signal strength is shown at this menu item:- setup,4,6. If the signal is not already present, it will be necessary to make small adjustments to the positioning of the dish. Allow a second for the receiver to respond after each adjustment. Digital signals are harder to find than analogue and it is easy to assume the equipment to be faulty. Try to get signal strength and quality above the half-way mark.