sony sky satellite receiver help

**diggertrev** · 07-06-14, 10:39 PM

Hi I am new to this forum and also to satellite free to air tv i had a dish installed and the digital satellite receiver is a SONY SKY DVBS2880 it appears to have stopped working and all i wish to know is can any other satellite receivers do the job or must i buy one the same as this also once i buy another will i be able to set it up by just using scan search to find all of the free to air programs or do i need to set the new receiver up first we use it to mainly pick up cambodian channels , any help at all would be appreciated as i don't wish to buy something if it wont do the job .
thanks in advance . And where is the best place to sorce satellite equipment?
Trevor

**mtv** · 07-06-14, 11:17 PM

Welcome to Austech, Trevor.

Some more info please.

Which satellite and frequencies were the Cambodian channels on you were watching?

Are you certain it's the decoder that's the problem, as dish/LNB/connection issues can also result in loss of signal.

If the channels you were previously receiving were FTA and did not require a smartcard or any subscription, then there are several decoders which will work as well, if not better than the Sony box.

It was only capable of SD channels and more and more satellite signals are now using the DVB-S2 standard, so there 'may' be some channels you were missing out on.

If you can provide more info on the satellite/s and dish setup you have it will help determine what options are available for you.

**diggertrev** · 07-06-14, 11:40 PM

Thanks for the welcome .
The decoder still comes on it goes to 0 and channels will not go up or down before if you turned it on and of a couple of times it worked .
The dish looks the same as the one in your avatar and is set up so it moves to track different satellites .
All free to air channels i was told no subscription and i don't know about a smart card there is nothing from the outside the box unless its internal no idea sorry .
i have know idea which satellites but other than the cambodian channels there was also a lot of indian thai and vietnamese channels as well .
could the motor or what ever drives the dish be knackered and if you think other decoders would be better could you name a couple and where to get them please .
i hope you can decipher something out of this rant .
thank you TREVOR ..

**tristen** · 08-06-14, 11:06 PM

From the information you have supplied, it appears to me that you were previously watching channels transmitted in C-band from a satellite called Thaicom 5, which is located at 78.5 degrees east longitude.

This satellite is, to my knowledge, the only one which carries the range of channels (i.e. languages) you have listed.

If you go to you will find a list of the channels on Thaicom 5.

Please look through the list on that page to see if you recognise any of the channel names, but only those which are listed as being on a global beam (column 8 (second from right), called "Beam/EIRP (dBW)". (Only channels listed as being transmitted on a global beam are receivable in Australia).

Now, there are a number of possible reasons for no reception, such as....

1/. The dish might have moved slightly.

2/. The LNB might be faulty.

3/. Cable faults are not unknown.

4/. The receiver might be at fault or mis-tuned for some reason.

Your comment that the receiver is "stuck" at channel "0", possibly indicates that it has lost the list of original channels that were loaded or has "locked up" for some reason.

Are you able to get into the setup menu? There should be a button called "Setup" or similar on the remote control unit. If you haven't already done so, push the Setup button in order to see if you can access the receiver's setup menus. Post the result. An access code is usually requested. It is often 0000. The Owner's Manual usually indicates the appropriate pin code but some installers change it at installation time.

Satellite receivers sometimes develop power supply faults and this could be the case with your receiver, although in most cases this results in a completely dead receiver. Having said that, I repaired one only a few days ago which had locked up but performed perfectly after I located and repaired the power supply fault.

Having a working knowledge of satellite-tv reception makes fault-finding, even without appropriate test equipment, comparatively straight forward, whereas having no knowledge at all makes life fairly difficult, but it can be done.

Melbourne Satellites are reputable satellite equipment suppliers located in Melbourne (I notice that you are located in Robinvale).

**diggertrev** · 09-06-14, 08:47 PM

Thank you tristen
i have no idea about satellites as i am sure you can tell they are interesting but frustrating lol .
I double checked and it appears i was wrong once turned on it isnt a 0 that appears it actually only says on i am thinking
i am going to have to do this by process of elimination i tried accessing the setup menu on the set top box and i cant so
after what you have said i think it may be the cause of my grief so i will purchase a new one and if that doesn't fix the problem i will move onto the LNB and so on i have looked at the Melbourne satellite web page and would one of these to be a suitable replacement for what i had .
R-ST2000F STGold ST-2000F FTA Digital Satellite, Ch.Display, SCART(YUV), RCA, RF, S/PDIF 96.00
R-ST4100IR STGold ST-4100IR FTA & IRDETO Digital Satellite, Ch.Display, SCART, RCA, RF, S/PDIF - NEW PIN #9949 105.00
we receive 5 cambodian channels and i presume they are maybe from more than one satellite as a couple of the channels requires the dish to move a long way .
Thank you again for your time and patients .
Trevor .

**tristen** · 10-06-14, 02:35 PM

I have seen a large number of satellite receivers but have never seen one show the word,"On", in the window.
Perhaps you mean that the On indicator is lit indicating that the receiver is on?

I was unable to locate either of the receivers which you mention on the Melbourne Satellites website or in the catalogue I downloaded.

As MTV has already indicated, some channels transmit in the DVB-S2 standard rather than the older DVB-S standard. Many broadcasters are gradually changing over to the new standard. DVB-S receivers will not resolve these signals.
In view of this, if you intend purchasing a new replacement receiver, you should look for one which is DVB-S2 capable.

I mentioned Melbourne Satellites as they are located in your home state of Victoria. There are other reputable suppliers.

If you don't mind purchasing on-line and/or from interstate, you could look at the receivers available from such suppliers as Satplus at or even from eBay.

Strong (brand) receivers are very popular and are reasonably priced.

An Austech mermber, Leroypatrol, also supplies high-quality receivers and can be contacted using private mail. Perhaps he will see this post and respond also.

**viewer** · 10-06-14, 03:45 PM

Originally Posted by tristen

I have seen a large number of satellite receivers but have never seen one show the word,"On", in the window.

Ahhh..now there were quite a few that did that, and they were the pack of panasat clones that came out with 5 buttons on the front, and were UCAS ready.Atom brand was another.

Do you other blokes remember them old great UCAS days?

**diggertrev** · 10-06-14, 08:32 PM

This is what i am using currently well was

**tristen** · 11-06-14, 02:23 PM

Originally Posted by viewer

Ahhh..now there were quite a few that did that, and they were the pack of panasat clones that came out with 5 buttons on the front, and were UCAS ready.Atom brand was another.

Thanks for pointing that out, viewer. I can't say that I always take a lot of notice of what appears in the front panel displays of receivers provided they are operating correctly. Or then again, perhaps I am just getting old and decrepit! I do know that I increasingly get the impression that I have passed my "best before date".... I have still to reach my "use by" date .... thankfully

Originally Posted by diggertrev

This is what i am using currently well was

Now that you have posted a picture, I do recognise the receiver, but not as a SONY SKY DVBS2880. I can't recollect the brand but I have one buried in my workshop amongst a number of faulty units won from customers over a period of years and not repairable for various reasons.

**viewer** · 11-06-14, 04:33 PM

Model Number Password Type of Password
Phoenix DVBS-2800A 7799 Master

**diggertrev** · 15-07-14, 10:59 PM

This is what i finally decided on i hope it is an ok replacement for my above previous receiver ..

**tristen** · 16-07-14, 11:41 PM

From your picture it appears to be a SRT-4330, which is a DVB-S2 Mpeg4 capable receiver.

Yes, that looks O.K. for your purpose. In fact it is a step up from what you were using, which I now realise strongly resembles a Coship CDVB5110D receiver. (See ).

Let us know how you get on.

**mtv** · 16-07-14, 11:46 PM

Should work fine.

I've had (and still have) several Strong decoders.

They do most things well.

**diggertrev** · 17-07-14, 08:35 PM

As i know nothing at all about this i am just wondering is this basicly a connect and go situation or will this receiver need to be completely programmed or will it search and find all channels sorry for what must appear to be silly questions ..
Still waiting for it tio arrive bought if of the bay thank you for all the help so far ..

**mtv** · 17-07-14, 10:10 PM

Every decoder has to be programmed.

Things like which satellite, which LNB, etc.

Once you have satellite & LNB details programmed, then you can 'blind scan' the satellite which the dish is pointed at, which is a search of every transponder on that satellite.

**diggertrev** · 20-07-14, 06:56 PM

Ok guys the good news is i now have my strong Decoder the bad is i have almost had a break down trying to set it up lol i have managed to get a few channels but nothing i want i have tried to put in all of the relevant information that is required but the dish doesn't appear to move when i change it .
The positioner was set up when it was installed but i am wondering if i need to reset it now because i am using a different decoder any ideas on what to try next would be greatly appreciated its a journey but hell it looks like being a long one hahahah live and learn ....

**tristen** · 21-07-14, 03:56 PM

From your comments, it appears that the dish is not fixed (single satellite) but has a polar mount (enabling it to move from one satellite to another).

In order to provide further detailed assistance several points need clarification.

1/. Is the receiver a Strong SRT-4330 as I surmised (post #12)?

If not, what is the model number?

2/. What is the make and model of the positioner you are using? (This is the unit which supplies 36 volts to the dish actuator in order to make the dish move from one satellite position to another).

(N.B. Some positioners have their own remote control unit while others are controlled by the satellite receiver - i.e. the satellite receiver controls the positioner so that the dish moves from satellite to satellite, in response to the channels which you select on the receiver).

If your positioner is controlled by the satellite receiver, and the receiver is a SRT-4330, the (albeit brief) instructions for setup appear on page 19 of the receiver owner's manual.

Either USALS or DiSEqC1.2 must be selected (NOT both).

**diggertrev** · 21-07-14, 06:22 PM

Hi Tristen
The receiver is a Strong srt 4330 and the positioner is a Phoenix usa technology Diseqc 1.2
that i don't have an instruction book for . the satellites i want to connect to are Apstar 6
Thaicom 5 and the other channels just say LyngSat Stream i did have thaicom five but lost it trying to find the others cheers .
Trev .

**tristen** · 22-07-14, 06:13 PM

The name you have supplied, "Phoenix usa technology Diseqc 1.2", is insufficient to enable me to identify your positioner, so I am unable to provide "step-by-step" instructions regarding its setup. However, the method for setting up all DiSEqC1.2 positioners is similar, so I have uploaded the user manuals for several DiSEqC1.2 positioners to . Hopefully this will help you to set up your positioner correctly.

Also, there is a company, Phoenix Technologies, who are an Australian satellite equipment supplier. They have a web presence at . If the manuals I uploaded do not help you, perhaps they can identify the positioner and supply the relevant operating manual or provide additional advice.

Lyngsat Stream refers to channels that are "streamed" over the internet. Channels listed on Lyngsat Stream will not necessarily be transmitted from a satellite which is accessible from your particular geographical location.