Monoblock confusion!

linsladeboy

I swapped my single Hotbird Lnb for an Astra/Hotbird monoblock a coulple weeks ago and since then I am constantly keep losing D+ and other mainly Spanish channels in bad weather and EVERY EVENING for some reason
All channels on Hotbird give me a constant 80+ % reading on and also such channels as Premiere on Astra but I can't for the life fathom out why some channels are breaking up whilst other are so strong
I have tried tweaking lnb on numerous occasions but still get a drop of signal on mentioned channels
I only have an 80 cms dish, is that reason or not

linsladeboy

Sorry, thread should read " monoblock confusion"

Topper

You have to remember that at 19.2 degrees there are 6 satellites co located thus any slight deviation from a well tuned set up will mean that you start dropping channels that are slightly weaker because the footprint is slightly different from satellite to satellite and transponder to transponder. Don't forget you are using a monoblock and as such whilst it may have 6 degrees separation the satellites are actually 6.2 degrees apart and so you still have to fine tune the dish to give you the best overall result, both satellites output strong signals so I suspect that your solution does indeed lie in fine tuning.

War does not determine who is right, it determines who is left!

Formerly toppervte33h
whose six pack has turned into a keg

Help support this web site by making a donation
Or use other options to help support Sats UK
Show Your Support
by clicking the button

Thank you.
Freddie Flintoff is back

rolfw

Also try skewing the LNB slightly, with the Astra side being higher, this may solve your signal problem.

Rolf If you enjoy our site, you can help support it by wearing our unique branded merchandise, you can do this by clicking on my baseball cap, making a direct donation with Paypal by clicking on the Donation button below, or using our site supporting advertisers, to do this, click on the central image below. Follow us on Twitter, click on the twitter image.

linsladeboy

Thanks for prompt feedback everyone!
Rolfw, I have skewed and moved LNB forward and back from holder on numerous occasions but still no good, that's why I have written in

My dish is easily accessible as it's on side of house above my garage flat roof which means I have been able to ring on mobile to my son downstairs who's checking signal. I checked receiver this morning and can report that signal on D+ is about 20% and BBC World about 60% and obviously both not coming through Premiere still fine on 80% and also Rai and TPS on Hotbird.
Do you think I should tweak with Azimuth and elevation as well ?

I was under the impression from lots of threads I have read that fitting a monoblock would be a piece of cake as my dish was already aligned to Hotbird and was only a matter of fitting monoblock and tweaking skew on it.

rolfw

Strange that you have certain good channels, I don't suppose that there is a tree slightkly obscuring the dish on the 19.2 E satellite?

May be worth trying to align Astra as the prime satellite on the main LNB and see if you have the same problem, also check that you don't have a problme with interference from a DECT phone.

Rolf If you enjoy our site, you can help support it by wearing our unique branded merchandise, you can do this by clicking on my baseball cap, making a direct donation with Paypal by clicking on the Donation button below, or using our site supporting advertisers, to do this, click on the central image below. Follow us on Twitter, click on the twitter image.

linsladeboy

Thanks for advice
I'll have another go later on and also do some research on bandwiths for dect phones
There's definitely no trees in the way. the only possible problem alignment wise would be next door's roofline, but it's about 8 metres away and about 1 to 1.5 metres higher from centre of dish and according to all my calculations angle of signal coming from satellite should easily clear it(or should it?)

rolfw

Yes agreed, the roof shouldn't prove a problem.

http://www.rfcafe.com/references/ele..._allo_euro.htm

Rolf If you enjoy our site, you can help support it by wearing our unique branded merchandise, you can do this by clicking on my baseball cap, making a direct donation with Paypal by clicking on the Donation button below, or using our site supporting advertisers, to do this, click on the central image below. Follow us on Twitter, click on the twitter image.

linsladeboy

Thanks for your attachment Rolfw, although I would be amazed if that's problem
I'll let you know how I get on sometime(weather is pretty bad today)
Do you think tweaking of elevation/azimuth is worth doing or not if all else fails?

linsladeboy

Hi Rolfw,
Well I unplugged and took batteries out of Dect phone at dinnertime and made no difference whatsoever

Once again ( and this happens all the time!) signal has come up and is strong on all transponders including troublesome ones - 80-82% on Hotbird and Astra( and it's raining) with clear channels all round, but I can more or less guarantee that I will lose signal later in the evening and it's always weak first thing in the morning

rolfw

Strange, that would perhaps indicate an outside influence, perhaps a Radio Amateur or CBer.

I can check for this type of interference on the Spectrum analyser, but it is difficult to trace using just the receiver.

Rolf If you enjoy our site, you can help support it by wearing our unique branded merchandise, you can do this by clicking on my baseball cap, making a direct donation with Paypal by clicking on the Donation button below, or using our site supporting advertisers, to do this, click on the central image below. Follow us on Twitter, click on the twitter image.

rolfw

PS. I would certainly try aligning the dish to 19E using the default side of the LNB and leave it over night, as it could still be an LNB fault.

Rolf If you enjoy our site, you can help support it by wearing our unique branded merchandise, you can do this by clicking on my baseball cap, making a direct donation with Paypal by clicking on the Donation button below, or using our site supporting advertisers, to do this, click on the central image below. Follow us on Twitter, click on the twitter image.

linsladeboy

Hi Rolfw,
I thought I would post back latest findings as you've been more than helpful and patient putting up with my ignorance

Well I 've just had a quick foray upstairs( it's not raining for a change!) making contact with my lad on mobile and still can't really pinpoint problem
Elevation and azimuth are fine, skewed the LNB, moved it forward and backward and signal fluctuated with movement as it should too. I also covered each lnb with foil and signal disappeared at it should as well.
Weather is calm at present( I'm in SouthBedfordshire by the way) and these are a selection of signal strengths I'm getting.
HOTBIRD 79-82% on all channels as always

ASTRA 1

BBC WORLD 75%
D+CHANNELS 69&
PREMIERE 82% as always
ZDF 79&
EUROSPORT 82&
SKY NEWS 72%
TEQUILLA 66% and already breaking up , and like I said will getting worse as the evening wears on
I am beginning to think that either lnb or dish isn't up to it

rolfw

Strange, perhaps it's a faulty monobloc then.

Rolf If you enjoy our site, you can help support it by wearing our unique branded merchandise, you can do this by clicking on my baseball cap, making a direct donation with Paypal by clicking on the Donation button below, or using our site supporting advertisers, to do this, click on the central image below. Follow us on Twitter, click on the twitter image.

linsladeboy

Hi Rolfw,=, just thought I let you know a change of LNB (LEMON) seems to have done the trick
I am now now getting around 80% on most channels on both satellites at all times , signal was even steady in yesterday's downpour so I still don't quite know what the problem was with other LNB
Having said that I am only constantly getting about 72% on BBC World( although signal did not drop during rain) on Astra compared to 79% on Hotbird. Is this normal or do you think all is still not well and I am still going to have issues later on

rolfw

Don't be too worried about relative signal strengths, if the signal holds in bad weather, then you have enough.

Rolf If you enjoy our site, you can help support it by wearing our unique branded merchandise, you can do this by clicking on my baseball cap, making a direct donation with Paypal by clicking on the Donation button below, or using our site supporting advertisers, to do this, click on the central image below. Follow us on Twitter, click on the twitter image.

linsladeboy

Thanks for reassurance and your help and advice with problem.
You're a star