I am looking for suggestions if there is anything productive I can do with a UK Sky Plus box (not HD). The model is an Amstrad model DRX280. Which I think is at least an approximate equivalent of the non-HD MY Sky box here.

We just moved back from the UK, and when we disconnected Sky in the UK they told us that the Sky Plus box was ours to keep (no idea why they are just giving them away but there you go) so we shipped it back. We've got a Sky dish on the roof of our place in Wellington, so I've tried plugging it in as an experiment but just get a long delay then a message that the sattelite cannot be found.

I know that I am not going to get Sky for free or anything like that, and to be honest with you I am probably just going to end up getting Sky switched on anyway - but $599 for a PVR box that B Sky B gives away for free seems like an awful lot. 

So basically I just wanted to know if there is anything productive I can do with the Sky Plus box (a Freeview decoder/PVR maybe)? Or do I just crack it open for parts now?

Any suggestions gratefully received (though the more complicated/outlandish ones will probably require instructions too). I'm not really too concerned if I brick it, so happy to experiment a bit.