Now that Sky Digital satellite receivers are coming out of warranty,
people are asking me about repairing them, so I thought I would take
this opportunity to tell you what I know about Sky Digibox
repairs.
It's still not certain when Sky will switch off its analogue
broadcasts from the Astra satellite cluster at 19.2 E of S but, with
more and more Digital receivers being installed, it seems likely that
it will be in 2001. From the repair point of view, the "Sky Digibox"
will be almost impossible for the one-man repair shop. The boards are
mostly seven layer; that means that, as well as copper tracks on top
and bottom surfaces, the PCB contains another FIVE layers of tracks
inside. In addition, a large number of the parts is the surface mount
type and several of them are large, expensive surface-mount chips
with hundreds of connections. However at least one organisation has
"bit the bullet". Horizon Satellites in Basingstoke (01256 841860)
has invested thousands of pounds in equipment and training that will
allow them to offer a repair service for digital receivers. The man
in charge, Martin Greene, told me that parts and service information
for Pace receivers were available but that other manufacturers seemed
reluctant to provide anything.
Amstrad, for example, don't provide any spares or service information
at all. CPC who are the stockists for Amstrad spares are referring
all enquiries to BskyB. Meanwhile, BskyB is apparently trying to set
up a repair operation for the Amstrad DRX100. At the time of writing,
it seems that whoever gets this repair business is going to have to
invest at least 100,000 in component stocks but without knowing what
spares will be needed! The DRX100 was made for Amstrad by the Samsung
factory in Portugal. It's quite likely that they ordered only
sufficient parts to fulfil the manufacturing contract with very few
left over for service spares. Anyone now wanting spare parts is going
to have to pay an awful lot of money since some parts are custom
designed and most will have a large minimum order quantity - not to
mention a long lead-time. So BskyB is currently offering a
replacement Digibox for 300 to customers whose DRX100 has failed
outside warranty. If you have one of these you might consider
insuring it right now!
Pace, on the other hand, was the first manufacturer to supply
Digiboxes. Their Service Department has, in my opinion, been second
to none since Bill Fraser took it over from his predecessor around
nine years ago. Spare parts and service manuals are available for all
models, including the Pace 2200 Digibox. Dealers can get free
training at the Pace factory and the Technical Helpline is almost
free, with calls being charged at standard national rates. You can
also get help by e-mail and the Pace web site has a
password-controlled technical section for dealers. Few other
companies provide such comprehensive support. In addition, other
companies, such as ARD, are advertising Pace Digibox spares.
In the event that a Pace Digibox fails, the owner can either take it
to a dealer or he can parcel it up and send it direct to Pace after
first obtaining a Returns Authorisation. The advantage of sending it
direct is that the owner might save money as Pace are currently
charging just 76.38 which includes delivery back to the customer.
However, the owner must be sure to send it in its original packing or
equivalent and must make sure that the receiver really IS faulty. You
can send it by Parcel Force for around 6 or by next-day carrier for a
little more. Do insure it. Your total cost is now around 82 minimum.
If the receiver is damaged in transit or exhibits no fault on arrival
or has been damaged by water, lightning or by dropping, then Pace
might levy a heavy charge. On balance it might be safer to return the
unit via a local dealer who will be able to test it before packing it
carefully and forwarding it to Pace. The charge from the dealer will
probably be very little more than the 82 mentioned, since dealers can
often get discount. Units less than 12 months old will be repaired
free of charge by Pace except that the dealer will obviously charge a
handling fee - especially if he has to find packing materials or
collect/deliver to your premises.
Panasonic also offer a repair service but no spares or service
information. Faulty Panasonic TU-DSB20 Digiboxes must be taken to the
nearest Panasonic agent who will arrange to return it to the factory
for repair. It will speed up the arrangements if you have the
original packing but leave all accessories (remote control etc.) at
home as these are not required and could get lost. The charge is
likely to be the same as that for Pace (from 82, with additional
handling charges). The TU-DSB30 and any TU-DSB20 units that are still
under 12 months old should be returned to the dealer (with proof of
purchase date) for free repair.
Grundig do not carry out repairs but have appointed repair agents to
carry these out. Again, no spares or service information are
available and faulty units should be delivered to Grundig authorised
dealers for shipping to the repair agents. At present, repairs are
being handled by Genserve in Swindon and Digitech in Manchester.
Please do NOT contact either of these companies about Grundig Digibox
repairs unless you are a Grundig agent.
Both these companies also carry out repairs to Nokia satellite
receivers (analogue and digital) and supply parts and service
information for these and you can contact them direct for
information. In addition, Genserve offers a Technical Help service to
dealers for just 50 + vat a year. This payment gets you access to
free advice on Nokia televisions, video and audio products including
"brand" name goods such as ITT, Finlux, Luxor, Salora and
Skantic.
Dealers can contact Genserve on 01793 436107 for more information and
Digitech on 0161 654 6664.