Receiving “Other Channels” with a Sky Digibox “Off Satellite”

Receiving “Other Channels” with a Sky Digibox “Off Satellite” i.e from 19.2 deg E without a card only appears to be possible with EPG versions lower than 3.2.11, higher versions requiring a card. It should be noted that versions below 3.2.11 only have a 30 channel capacity whereas higher versions have a 50 channel capacity.

It is possible to receive channels off satellite with version 3.4.4b without a card providing the digibox is initialised on 28.2E allowing the transport stream of 0002 and EPG to be loaded. Other channels off satellite can then be viewed by swapping over to a 19.2E feed. It would appear that either the Network ID of 0002 or the EPG is required to prevent blocking of access to other channels off satellite.

The Network ID tells the box which satellite it is looking at and will read as follows for the following satellites: -

Network ID     0002     Astra 2 @ 28.2E
Network ID     0001     Astra 1 @ 19.2E
Network ID     013e     Hotbird @ 13E

To receive other channels off satellite with version 3.4.4b requires a digibox with a paired card, any old card will not work as a PIN is required which is the last 4 digits of the viewing card number and is stored in the box and on the card and must match.
It may be possible to pair up a random card by plugging the box into a phone line and using the New Installation option in the Installer menu.

Also note that it is not possible to access the parental controls to change the PIN to match a card as an on screen message appears asking you to phone Sky.

When attempting to store other channels off satellite it is essential to have a valid time signal otherwise the box will loose the stored channels when powered off. By setting CNN as the default transponder on 19.2E, 11.778, V, 27500, 3/4, the digibox will read the time info which is CET ( –1hour) and thus save the channels. The time info on the Sky News/BBC world transponder does appear to register and hence the stored other channels get lost. Other transponders have yet to be tried.

When changing the default transponder the box must be powered of for the change to take effect once stored