Please help! I can not receive Astra!

Huevos

Slightly off topic: My meter can send diseqc and usals commands to the switch/motor/monoblock. And the new one I've just ordered can also read commands coming from the receiver. Very handy for solving problems like this.

Huevos

Just to clarify:

Tivù

I did warn I was getting befuddled!

Odds on the problem is still the Nokia - but proving it isn't helped by the borrowed Receiver displaying a degree of petulance as well.

Robert_winter_1000

Hello Gordon & Mike,

Maybe there is breaking news:

I install the LNB like seen in Picture 5 of my post and start getting both Astra & Hotbird with the borrowed Rx. I changed the Rx with the Nokia which did only receive Astra and absolutely no Hotbird! I think now it is clear that the Nokia is broken!

Regards,

Robert

Tivù

Excellent news!

But the credit goes to Huevos as he got the correct diagnosis first.

Grand Prix now - catch up later.

Well done on proving things out and good luck purchasing a new toy!

Robert_winter_1000

Gentlemen,

Many thanks for all of you for the great advices and assistance which you offered me to solve this problem, I highly appreciate .

But please do NOT go away! I would like to ask you what do you think is the best way to go further. Is it better to buy a new Rx? Which sort is the most reliable and user friendly?

What I need from an Rx?:

1. It accept my Smart card for the Canal Digital (on Astra) for the Dutch chanals (Nederland1, Nederland 2, Nederland 3, RTL4, RTL5, SBS6..etc…).
2. Reliability & Durability (not often does not function or badly function).
3. User friendly (as you all know, I am not the biggest expert in this business).
4. Prefer to have more than one LNB input for more that one dish.
5. Prefer if it has a Hard disk for recording some programs if necessary.

Your advice will be highly appreciated.

Best regards,

Robert

Huevos

You haven't talked budget.

Here are my thoughts. PVR is a great feature but to really capitalise on it you need a box with 2 tuners. Also what about HD? If I wanted HD, PVR and twin tuners I would get the Vantage 8000 (around the 400€ mark without a hard drive installed - more depending on hard drive but I would go for external). Works with Seca and Irdeto.

If you want to do card sharing the DM8000, a similar spec box but a lot more versatile, will cost 1000€.

If you want SD only the Vantage x221 series is pretty good for a lot less money. They have diseqc 1.0 and 16 port diseqc 1.1 so can switch between up to 64 fixed positions if that is sufficient for you.

However, everyone is going to have their own opinion on receivers.

Robert_winter_1000

.

Hello Huevos,

Thank you for your message. I was looking the Vantage 8000 TS/ Vantage 8000S. They look nice decent machines. Here, in The Netherlands we do not have them everywhere but in Germany I can find many of them. I found one Vantage 8000 TS without HD 439 Euro’s, which is still within the limit of my budget. Do you know what this machine (with extern HD) can offer more than watching a satellite TV?

.
What do you mean by this?


Many thanks for your advice.

Best regards,
Robert

Robert_winter_1000

Sorry, I forgot:

Today I was in an Rx shop. They were telling good things about the Vantage 8000 but they do not have in the stock (it must be ordered). As well they mentioned Rebox 8000 349 Euro’s, Rebox 9000 450 Euros and TopField 7710 about 500 Euro’s.

Regards,
Robert

Huevos

Shops always recommend what they have in stock. The vantage has full blind scan of both SD and HD. I don't believe any of the others you mention do this. The Vantage is available from satshop24.de. As for what it can do, it can receive, play, or record two SD or HD transmissions at the same time. Seca and Irdeto are the two encryption systems your bouquet uses.

Vipersan

Originally Posted by Huevos
Works with Seca and Irdeto


Hi Robert ..this would usually indicate that the internal card slot/reader is configured to work with both Seca and Irdeto encryptions/cards by the manufacturer..
rgds
VS

ooops pipped at the post
Sorry Huevos

Robert_winter_1000

Huevos & Vipersan,

Many thanks for your explanation.

Regards,

Robert

Tivù

Doh! I really started something there .....

Robert_winter_1000

Yes Gordon, You never know what you will see after few months

Robert_winter_1000

Hello all,

I bought the Vantage 8000 CS as advised by Huevos. It is a nice modern Rx which has many nice features which my old Rx didn’t have; Thank you Huevos again for your advice.

I went to install the Vantage 8000 CS: It has a choice for 3 Astra’s: Astra 1E-2C, Astra 1D-3A, Astra 2 and one Hotbird which is: Hotbird 2.

I pointed the main LNB to Hotbird (pic. 2) which gives a signal strength of 84%. The secondary LNB get an Astra 1E-2C signal strength of 78%. The rest of Astra’s has almost no signal. I scanned for both Hotbird & Astra 1E-2C. All chanels in Hotbird and Astra 1E-2C are OK except the Dutch chanels i.e Ned1, Ned2, Ned3, RTL4, Rtl5 etc…which are missing.

I decide to change the dish (it is crazy but I want to be sure that this is not the reason!). New scan with the same results.

I had a look in Google. Many people are having this problem. Looking to this article :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astra_1E

Which is telling that Astra 1E was moved to Astra’s new DTH orbital position 23.5°E. In the mean time the Dutch chanels are moved to Asra 1L. The question: Is this the reason why I am not getting the Dutch chanels? Why the menu of the Rx does not include the Astra 1L? By the way, I tried to make a blind scan on Astra 1E-2C which is successfully done but still without the Dutch chanels!

Any advice will be highly appreciated!

Regards,

Robert

Robbo

Your dish setup enables you to get the Astra(s) at 19.2E and Hotbird and 13E, nothing else.

What you have to make sure of is that whatever satellite you have selected, you have all the correct transponders listed for it, so that you can scan them easily. It doesn't matter much if the satellite names don't match exactly.
The satellite names for the various Astras on sat receivers are often wrong, or wrongly grouped.

By the way I have just checked Ned1 on 19.2E, 12515H and its scrambled, but very strong signal. So switch to 19.2E and check the signal quality on that tranponder.

Robert_winter_1000

Hello Mark,
Many thanks for your answer. I just put the information you gave me and scan it manually. Indeed I got Ned1, Ned2 and Ned3 but with very week signal (no pic). I am doubting now on the Monobloc if it is the correct one which I should use to get Hotbird and Astra (Dutch chanels)!
Robert

Robbo

No picture does not necessarily mean poor signal. Have you checked the signal quality?

Your monoblock is correct for 13E and 19E.

Also, after a quick scan through the thread, (it is long now) you now have the Astra part of the LNB at the focus is that correct? So the monoblock used would not be an issue. Does the dish need aligning better?

Could it be that you just can't descramble it?

Robert_winter_1000

Mark, if you look to picture 2, the right LNB (with the black holder) is directed to the Hotbird and it receive a very good signal. The left LNB is taken some signal (Astra?) with some channels which I am not familiar with it. I tried to directed the right LNB to any other Hotbird but there is none (this is the only position which can the right LNB take a signal from the Hotbird). Here is the antenna settings maybe you find some thing in it?

1
Hotbird 2-8
LNB power: on
Longitude: 13 E
LNB Type: Universal 1
LNB Freq: 9750-10600
DISEqC port: Port 1
Tone 22 KHZ on
Unicable: OK
Motor: NO
DISEqC 1.1: 1


2
Astra 1E-2C
LNB power: on
Longitude: 19.2 E
LNB Type: Universal 1
LNB Freq: 9750-10600
DISEqC port: Port 2
Tone 22 KHZ on
Unicable: OK
Motor: NO
DISEqC 1.1: 2

As well I tried to put the DISEqC 1.1 on 1 but it did not help!
Regards

Robert

Robbo

Yes, it doesn't matter which lnb goes in the holder, it just determines which sat the dish is to be focussed on. Either way will work. Normally you would tilt the LNB slightly so that the left hand LNB ( as per picture 2) is slightly higher than the right hand one.

Huevos

Robert, all those channels are scrambled, do you have a card for them. Also what signal and quality are you getting on that transponder? Go in to "manual search" in the menu and highlight that transponder and read the signal and quality from the bars at the bottom. You should be getting quality in the high 90s. Also don't pay any attention to the names of the satellites, 1E, 1L, etc. Even though some satellites have been replaced the transponder frequencies have not changed so a scan of 1E-2C will find all the transponders transmitted from the newer satellites. One other thing what are the choice of Unicable settings? I would have thought "OK" was wrong. Hard to now without seeing the choice though.

Robert_winter_1000

Hello Mark and Huevos,

The problem is solved. The problem was (you should laugh about it ) the left LNB slightly lower (NOT HIGHER) that the right one (picture 2). Therefore the signal of Astra was very low. I tilted the left LNB slightly higher so that it became higher than the right hand one. And it was perfect. Now I am having Hotbird & Astra both on 84% strength. Many thanks again for all your valuable advices.
Regards
Robert

Tivù

Of course, had you read back as far as Post #20 .................


Glad all is well.

Robert_winter_1000

Thank you Gordon. Great Forum with great people

Robert_winter_1000

I thought I know the trick of getting both Astra and Hotbird now, maybe it is a good idea to put the old dish (1 meter) back. I just did it but the result was that I get a very good signal from Hotbird but nothing from Astra. I put back the new dish (about 80 cm) and both Astra & Hotbird are perfect (84%). Thank you gentlemen for all your help & assistance.

Robert