Question Freesat Box, Satellite Cable Connection Issue.

Friesiansam

Well-known member
Simple question, when connecting the dish cable to the connectors on the back of an official Freesat 4K box, does the central conductor wire, in the coaxial plugs, need to be cut long to get a working connection? The central conductors on our cables seem to be quite short, they work fine with the Sky Q box but, the Freesat box complains of no signal.
 

Gray

Well-known member
.....they work fine with the Sky Q box but, the Freesat box complains of no signal.
Making the centre core longer will make guiding it into the socket easier but - trouble is, lack of connection would not have been the issue for you.
Unlike with the original Sky, their Q variant does not give the signal that a Freesat box is looking for.
You need to know about your LNB. The one I've just rewired for example, had 2 outputs for Q and 2 outputs labelled 'legacy' - suitable for Freesat and older Sky receivers. (2 other legacy positions had been blanked off - which means that some hybrid LNBs will have 4 legacy, plus the 2 needed for Q).

If you're not already using them, you will need to switch the plugs from Q to legacy at the LNB (if you can).
 

Friesiansam

Well-known member
Making the centre core longer will make guiding it into the socket easier but - trouble is, lack of connection would not have been the issue for you.
Unlike with the original Sky, their Q variant does not give the signal that a Freesat box is looking for.
You need to know about your LNB. The one I've just rewired for example, had 2 outputs for Q and 2 outputs labelled 'legacy' - suitable for Freesat and older Sky receivers. (2 other legacy positions had been blanked off - which means that some hybrid LNBs will have 4 legacy, plus the 2 needed for Q).

If you're not already using them, you will need to switch the plugs from Q to legacy at the LNB (if you can).
The LNB has one pair of connectors also, the Sky box identifies it as a wideband LNB, not hybrid. Can't see any easy way of removing the plugs at the box end, so have replacements on way, to see if I can sort it.
 

Gray

Well-known member
One listed LNB states that it is 'suitable for Sky Q and 4k Freesat only'.

If true, that would mean that an entirely legacy LNB may not suit you.
You need to check the requirement of your 4k Freesat box.

This video explains the difference.
I've had no dealings with 4k Freesat, but It wouldn't surprise me if it required the simultaneous polarizations he mentions - whereas original Sky / Freesat HD didn't.
That's what you need to check - the specific requirements of your 4k box.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xElFux1xmEU
 
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daveh75

Well-known member
Making the centre core longer will make guiding it into the socket easier but - trouble is, lack of connection would not have been the issue for you.
Unlike with the original Sky, their Q variant does not give the signal that a Freesat box is looking for.
You need to know about your LNB. The one I've just rewired for example, had 2 outputs for Q and 2 outputs labelled 'legacy' - suitable for Freesat and older Sky receivers. (2 other legacy positions had been blanked off - which means that some hybrid LNBs will have 4 legacy, plus the 2 needed for Q).

If you're not already using them, you will need to switch the plugs from Q to legacy at the LNB (if you can).

The 4K Freesat boxes DO actually support Wideband LNBs like Sky Q use.

With the only exception being the early hybrids Sky used, that had auto-switching ports rather than separate Wideband and legacy ports of the current ones, which limit the Freesat box to only being able to watch one channel whilst recording another as they're unable to switch those LNBs from legacy to Wideband mode
 
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Gray

Well-known member
b#gger all of what I or the wife watch, is available in 4k, so that doesn’t really matter.
Don't surprise me.
BBC are even taking News HD off Freeview 107 at the end of the month, leaving the glorious channel 231 SD option.
(They long ago cut News / BBC4 HD transmissions from Crystal Palace to my group A aerial.....if not slow in coming, some things are actually going backwards 🙁).
 

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