Indoor Parabolic Antenna

charafantah

Hello,

i just moved in a VERY small studio in Geneva, and its not allowed to mount any antenna on the roof or on the windows (i dont have a balcony).

But i have a very wide glass window, is it possible to put the parabolic antenna just infront of the window? will that get any signal that works?

what are the drawbacks of this; do you have any better solutions?

thanks a lot,
Achraf

rolfw

It will depend on three factors, firstly which satellite you wish to receive, secondly which direction your window faces and thirdly whether the window has a high lead content, as this could severely affect reception.

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charafantah

ok good, how do i get this info then?

i would like to receive NileSat, i think i could google its position or something, right?

How do i know the other factors? (i think i might be able to open the window too sometimes, would that help?


thanks

rolfw

Go to dishpointer.com and input your location and the satellite, it will give you a pretty good idea of where the satellite is in relation to your window.

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HB13DISH

Will depend on the glass thickness and quality and how transparent it is.
We have many posts about such situations. Use the search button and relevant keywords.
Would recommend a slightly larger dish than what is usually installed on roof tops to compensate for the attenuation of the signal. (instead of 80 cm I would use 100 cm)
Try to get hold of a dish from a friend and do some tests before buying. You will also need a good satellite meter and the best LNB that you can buy.
The drawbacks are plenty:
You could knock the dish by accident and then must realign again.
It will cover the view from the window.
You might still get complaints from neighbors when they see a dish, even if it is inside your studio.
The good news is that you have very good signals from the satellites over Europe, but don't expect much luck with a satellite like Nilesat.

charafantah

Thanks a lot guys,

With a position like the one attached in the pic, i believe there is absolutely no way to receive the nilesat from my place, right?

seems like its not even worth trying

Attached Thumbnails

 

HB13DISH

Don't waste your time on Nilesat under such circumstance.
But if you are after Arabic channels, then you could try receiving Hot Bird 13E which has plenty of FTA Arabic channels or buy a subscription to ART (Arabesque previously) in Viaccess.
If you must watch Nilesat, then arrange a Slingbox reception from somewhere in the Middle East with a reasonably priced ADSL (Broadband Internet) like we have in Israel.

rolfw

Sorry, didn't read the bit about Geneva in your post, just picked out the main bits, please change your location in your profile, as that was what I was looking at and assumed that you were in Egypt. Unless you have a window at the back of your building, forget satellite reception.

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charafantah

no, i dont have a window back there, but if the possibility of getting it working is high, i can check with the landlord to move me to the back!



where can i get the list of FTA on hotbird from?


Thanks a lot for the help guys, really appreciated

HB13DISH

_http://www.lyngsat.com/hotbird.html
FTA channels with yellow background

charafantah

ok, i got an 80cm dish and Phonotrend SDR5800 receiver.
i am in geneva switzerland (Lat: 46.19, Lon:6.14)

but the receiver cant find ANY satellites or channels at all, i tries hotbird, intelsat, hispasat etc but i cant receive anything.

I tries opening the windows and placing the the antenna on a table just in front of the window, i dont have any building blocking in front of me.

What satellites do you think i should be able to receive? i just want to test with anything and make sure it works ok.

thanks

rolfw

What were you using to point the dish? It has to be within a degree of the satellite.

Are we to take it that you managed to secure an apartment on the Southern face of the building?

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charafantah

hmm, i wasn't using anything specific, i put it on an approx. 45degrees inclined on the table and facing the window,
i was just trying to catch any random channel.

is there any tutorial/tips on how to do that, i never dont it before.

rolfw

Well if you use the rough direction guide from Dishpointer.com, get yourself a little satbeeper meter, I work out that your elevation should be around 35 degrees for Hotbird, so the dish face will be tilted back by less than 10 degrees (the dish elevation is offset, the LNB points up to the centre of the dish by 26 degrees or so). The satbeeper will rise in pitch instantly as you find a satellite, then you can check with the satellite receiver to see if it is hotbird.

You'll need to have the dish clamped on a tripod or similar, as you need to be able to keep it very still while you scan for channels.

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