Sky Gnome

The Sky Gnome was released in September 2005 and was available until mid-2007 with a retail price of £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 provided more stations than a DAB radio, and the broadcasts were almost all of higher audio quality on satellite than via DAB. It worked anywhere in the UK that has a satellite installation compared to DAB which does not have universal coverage. A major disadvantage, however, was the device was not strictly a radio device and instead was effectively an external speaker - meaning it was not possible for one person to use the Sky TV service and another to listen to a different radio station. ==Technical information==

The Sky Gnome used a 433 MHz digital communication link to communicate information to and from the Digibox, the wide FM modulated audio was sent on one of four channels: 863.4 MHz, 863.8 MHz, 864.2 MHz, or 864.6 MHz. The Sky Gnome sender box connected to the main Digibox using the RS-232, audio out and RF2 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. == References ==