Free To Air / Freesat Satellite TV FAQs

Index

• How to Convert my sky receiver into a Freesat system ?
• How to Run Satellite and an Aerial down a single Cable ?
• The Difference between a MK3 & MK4 Sky Dish and LNB ?

 

How to Convert my sky receiver into a Freesat system ?

Summary: It is possible to cancel your subscription with sky and use the Satellite dish and sky digibox to receive the 'Freesat' channels. Below is listed the key issues to consider.

• List of 'Free Channels' on a sky receiver ?
• What equipment will I need to buy ?
• Will my sky+ still work as normal ?
• How to add FTA boxes to multiple rooms ?
• How can I get the Irish channels ?
• How to cancel my sky subscrtiption ?

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List of 'Free Channels on a sky receiver ?

See below a list of the channels which can be received for free on a Sky Box working in ex-subscription or 'Free Mode'

Note:

• Channels marked ^{* freesat card} can only be viewed using a Freesat Card
• All other channels can be viewed with or without the purchase of a freesat card
• This is just a sample list of the main channels -  over 100 channels
• You can not receive subscription channels e.g. sky sports on a freesat card
• You will NOT to receive the 4 Irish (RTE1, 2, TV3, TG4) channels

 

What equipment will I need to buy ?

As you can see from the Free-To-Air installation guide below the equipment used for an FTA or sky system is near identical so there is no need to Purchase additional equipment.

 

The 3 possible purchases would be:

Purpose	Equipment
Add Free-To-View channels	Freesat Card
Add 4 Irish Channels	see How to get the Irish channels ?
Add Systems to additional Rooms	see FTA boxes to multiple rooms ?

 

Will my sky+ still work as normal ?

Unfortunately the answer to this is a very definite no. The sky+ box will revert working as a  standard sky digibox.

The following features will no longer work:

• The record facility will no longer work
• Freeze and rewind will no longer work
• Access to the hard drive will be blocked

A possible alternative product is the Mvision HD300 combo box with a 250GB External Hard Drive though the truth be told that nothing on the market is as good as a sky+ box.

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How to add FTA boxes to Multiples rooms ?

If you already have a sky system installed in your house it is relatively simple to add Free-To-air (FTA) receivers to other rooms in the house. This is beacuse a single satellite dish with the correct type of LNB can support up to 8 FTA receivers.

Step 1	Step 2
Select LNB	Select Connectors and Cable

Step 1: What type of an LNB is required ?

The first step is to determine how many rooms you want to have an FTA receiver in as this will determine the type of LNB required.

Table 1: Types of LNBs
LNB	# of Outputs
Single	1
Quad	4
Octo	8

And compare this to the LNB requirement (i.e. inputs) for possible types of FTA boxes

Table 2: Satellite Receiver Requirements
Satellite Receiver	#LNB of Outputs
SD Smart SX2, Triax SR110	1
HD Smart MX04,  Mvision HD300	1
Sky standard sky digibox.	1
Sky PVR sky+ box, Sky HD	2

Example: if you already have a standard sky box working off a single LNB and you wish to add 2 Smart SX2 FTA satellite receivers

Purchase required: you would need to purcahse a Quad LNB

Step 2: Select Cable and Connectors?

The final step is to purchase the accessory equipment.

Table 3: Connectors and Cable per additional Satellite Receiver
Item	Qty	Alternative
Black Satellite cable 20m	1	50m, 100m, 250m
F type	4
F type Joiner	1

  Also you may require:

•  7mm black cable clips,  (100 per box)
•  300mm * 4.8mm black tie wraps (100 per bag)

Example: As above

Purchase required: you would need to purcahse: 50m of Black satellite cable, *1 F Joiner  *2,  F connector * 8,  Box of cable clips, Bag of  tie wraps 

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How can I get the Irish channels ?

As the Irish channels are not available for free on satellite it is necessary to install an TV aerial to receive the Irish channels (RTE1, RTE2, TV3, TG4).

 

Given in the table below are links to allow you to select the correct aerial for your region, along with an installation guide

Table: Guide to Aerial Selection and Installation
Transmission Type	Guide
Analogue	Aerial Selection Guide
Digital	Aerial Selection Guide

See below Kits available from http://www.tvtrade.ie/ to installing UHF and VHF aerials.

Table: Aerial & Installation Kits
Aerial Kit	Associated Equipment
UHF Aerial and Bracket kit	Installation Kit
VHF / UHF Aerials and Bracket kit	Installation Kit

How to cancel my sky subscription ?

Steps to cancel sky

• Phone sky on 0818 719 819
• Select  
  • Option '5' - 'Cancel or thinking of leaving us'
  • Option '1' - 'thinking of leaving us'
  • Option '5' - 'to arrange cancellation'
  • Period on Hold
  • Talk to sky assistant and request cancellation of your account

Note:

• Ensure you are entitled to cancel your sky subscritpion i.e.:
  • have honoured your sky contract for at least 12 months
  • have not been upgraded to sky+, HD etc in the last 12 months
• Sky will only allow the person who name the account is in to cancel the subscription
• Sky normally take out 1 final payment from your account directly after you ring to cancel leaving you with 30 days before the viewing is actually cut off.

 

 

The Difference between a MK3 & MK4 Sky Dish and LNB ?

NOTE: Since May of 2009 Sky have being rolling out their new MK4 design for satellite dishes. The design of the dish is identical to that of the previous versions except:

• the shape of the feed arm is different (no longer a tube)
• the LNB design is different
  • it snaps on rather than slides in
  • the LNB neck is smaller.

Tvtrade.ie are now stocking the MK4 dishes and LNBs as our default.

• Customers who wish to buy pre-MK4 Satellite Dishes or Single LNB should order as normal and simply add a note (when placing order there is section to add such comments) that you wish to select pre-MK4 or Old style instead at the same price
• Customers who wish to buy a Quad or Octo LNBs for a pre-MK4 satellite dish need to also buy a Sky Legacy LNB adaptor