Magic eye problem

[Mark39]

Bizarre... weekend perhaps? Fingers crossed it doesn't go off again equally abruptly.

[TrevB42]

Not weekend as it wasn't working last weekend. One of lifes little mysteries that may never get solved. 

[Hobbypremium]

Hello,

I have been following your posts as i have the same problem which is driving me crazy, i have tried everything changing all connectors even replaced the io link and bought a new splitter box, mine is not time related but just when you think its fixed its off again , its only the remote that will not work in second locations magic eye lights are on and bright pictures are clear and good sound.

I dont want to have to give in and have sky Q as i cannot afford the extra cost plus for years the old system worked for us

[Mark39]

@Hobbypremium I take it then that your current setup has worked ok in the past. Can you give us complete details of your setup and details of what you've tried so far. 

[Hobbypremium]

Hello Mark,

My set up is much the same as many others main Tv in lounge connected to a skybox in a cupboard behind via hdmi cable and ariel cable with a magic eye, the skybox is fed via shotgun cable from the dish.

At the rear of the skybox is fitted an io link from the loft is cables one down from the ariel and one up to a SLX booster/spliter (4 way model) from whic run 2 cables one too the bedroom the other the kitchen.

I have tried many ways to try and find what is the problem all cable conections have been changed i even replaced the io link and spliter for new still no difference main tv is fine works night and day bedroom and kitchen not , on both the picture and sound are fine as is the magic eyes both brightly lit problem is remote will not work, i could maybe try it now and all will be normal its that odd.

I have now the remote app on our phones and this is working great and saving me a lot of hassle from my wife who is the sky watcher and likes to watch tv in the bedroom

[Mark39]

Hi @Hobbypremium if the bedroom and kitchen magic eyes stop working at the same time, it points to an issue somewhere from the amplified splitter back to your Sky box. As you've replaced the IO Link and the splitter already, with no improvement, that leaves either your Sky box (unlikely to be the problem) or the cable between the IO Link and the amplified splitter.

I know you've replaced the connectors already, but I'd give them another go. Use metal bodied connectors, not plastic. You might need to solder the centre wire of the coax cable to the centre pin of the connectors.

[Ellie2506]

Can I jump in here, with exactly the same problem.  It's been driving me crazy for about a month.  I have two sky HD boxes, Rf 2 output to two separate amplifiers, each connected with coax to multiple tvs throughout the house.  All the magic eyes have the light on, and at some point the remotes work, but on an evening the remotes stop working.   I hadn't thought of checking the time until I read this article, so I'll do that, but I'm guessing tonight they stopped working at around 7.  The fact it is both boxes and both amplifiers is mystifying.  They've been in this locale for years, albeit with the odd box change.  I have no new equipment, and the central heating isn't on.  Tonight I disconnected all but one of the magic eyes on one sky box, and the remote worked for about half an hour, then stopped again.   I was considering if the boxes were overheating as they get quite warm on top, so I started turning them off at the wall until I got in from work (rubbish if you want to record).  However, they still go off.   Thank you for any insight you can offer.

[TrevB42]

@Ellie2506  Mine was exactly 8pm to 8am. Worked fine in the day and nothing at night on all 4 magic eyes. It went away as quick as it came after a few months after I had given up on it and started using a remote app on my phone. Never did get any rhyme or reason for it.

[Paul1025]

Hi all
Just found this thread because I am also investigating the exact issue.

Hoping that, with so many other threads reporting the same issue, that there is by now a definitive resolution.

In any case, I'll summarise my issue as well:

- I have a Sky HD Box with i/o running out to 2 other TVs using the magic eye

- Using a powered Triax link/amp.

- All of a sudden, for both magic eyes at the same time, the remote control is no longer able to change channel on the sky box.

- The picture feeds through perfectly, green lights on the magic eye, but the remote simply does not work through the eye

- I bought a new amp, turned the RF setting off and on, tightened all the connections, none of these things worked

- Tried the magic eye directly into the box, that worked, which means the amp, the magic eyes and the remote and sky box are all good

Any help or suggestions would be welcome ..

[Annie+UK]

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@Paul1025 wrote:

- Tried the magic eye directly into the box, that worked, which means the amp, the magic eyes and the remote and sky box are all good

---

As eliminating the cable from the set up had the magic eye working, only one conclusion can be made, you have a bad cable or one of the other devices not connected to the eye during the test

[Mark39 · Accepted solution]

Specifically the cable from your IO Link to the amp, as the fault affected both magic eyes at the same time. It's more likely to be an issue with the connectors at either or both ends of the cable, rather than the cable itself.

[Ellie2506]

Having posted earlier in the thread with the same issue, I wanted to update to say I never found a solution, having changed everything I could including the sky boxes and decided to move to sky q.   It has its own niggles, particularly the restrictions on the number of boxes, but at least the remote works.  Good luck to anyone still trying.

[TrevB42]

Never found the issue with mine but it suddenly started working fine again. Recently my 4 way pass through amplifier stopped working and I only had a non pass through one so did away with the magic eyes and now use an app on my phone to change channels anywhere in wifi range.

[Daveybhoy]

Personally I'd have gone from the HD box to IO Link to a F140 with PSU and out to the tvs that way. The F140 is specifically designed for said Sky box and not use a 3rd party amplifier.

[Forever+Customer]

I'm fairly sure these issues are all RF interference related.  The reproducable patterns are probably down to timed activities and settings (eg local or 3rd party WiFi settings, mobile phone networks, emergency services radio masts and terrestrial TV transmission frequencies MUX settings and signal broadcast power).

Terrestrial TV providers and mobile phone operators have now managed to effectively 'own' certain frequency ranges and will continue to pack them out as they see fit with not even a thought for any negative impacts on existing end user hardware solutions.

Nearby LV and HV swithing can also upset RF down co-ax.

The most effective fixes I have found are un-plugging (and thumbing the ends to clear any static) and re-connecting the coax runs periodically and also changing the RF channel you use to find the best clear 'gap' in the ever more congested frequency range.

The distribution AMP you use should not make any difference as long as it has IR bypass.

Finally remember bright sunlight and radiation from your TV screen can affect IR signals too so position your magic eye behind or at least level with (rather than forward of) your TV screen.