The Sky Gnome was a device from British Sky Broadcasting launched under their Sky Digital brand. It allowed users to listen to radio channels and digital television from around the house.
Contents
History
The Sky Gnome was released in September 2005 and was available until mid-2007 with a retail price of GBP 75. Although Sky no longer markets the 'Gnome', it is still possible to use existing units. Until recent times, the website was available to use, but now it shows the message: "I'm Gone,", as well as the manufacturer's website (though that is covered with a simple domain holding page).
The Gnome had many advantages compared to a DAB receiver: It provides more stations than a DAB radio, and the broadcasts are almost all of higher audio quality on satellite than via DAB. It works anywhere in the UK that has a satellite installation compared to DAB which does not have universal coverage. It is also able to provide British digital radio to non-UK residents, and as such it is very popular among the British expat community.
Technical information
The Sky Gnome used a 433 MHz digital communication link to communicate information to and from the Digibox, the audio was sent on ch 1: 863.4 MHz / ch 2: 863.8 MHz / ch 3: 864.2 MHz / ch 4: 864.6 MHz.
The Sky Gnome sender box connected to the main Digibox using the RS232, audio out and RF2 out connections.
The Sky Gnome was compatible with the Sky and Sky+ Digiboxes. When used in a non-Sky satellite receiver, it was possible to listen to the radio channels, it was possible to change the channels of the receiver from the Sky Gnome.