Astra 2d..South Sweden, which size dish please!

**Rabbit** · 18-07-2003

I am currently using a 1.4m offset dish, 0.7Db univ.LNB, and Sky digibox, basic coax cable. I am not picking up any channel from the 2d beam. Can anybody living in my vicinity (eg Helsingborg, Lund, Malmo) tell me which size dish will pick up the channels on the 2d beam all day? I am thinking of buying a 2m or 2.4m prime focus dish, and a invacom 0.3dB C120. The 2.4m is nearly 500 english quid more expensive...am I wasting my money? cheers...another upset ex-pat!

Andy · 27-07-2003

Hi Rabbit, Im just east of Trelleborg. From the research Ive done it seems to me that we must be in a 2d weak spot. Why is it that those lucky sods in Stockholm can get 2d with an 85cm dish.
What make and type of digibox have you got. If you have a Panasonic dsb 31 as I have you have problems. I am picking up a dsb 30 in the UK soon and hope to connect that to a 1.8m dish some time around the end of August. If this dont work then I give up! Keep us informed on your progress. Will let you know of my failure/ success when I have experimented.
Andy.....upset ex-pat!

**corrigap** · 27-07-2003

@ Andy

Originally Posted by Andy

I am picking up a dsb 30 in the UK soon and hope to connect that to a 1.8m dish some time around the end of August. If this dont work then I give up!

What size dish are you using at the moment and what are your reception patterns?

I'm just outside Lund with a 1.5m Gibertini and a Panny DSB 30 and get everything on H except during Primetime and in very wet weather. So I'm having a 1,8 Channel Master installed this coming week, if all goes accdg. to plan.

If you like I could come down to you with my digibox to test it on your rig.

Corrigap

Andy · 27-07-2003

Originally Posted by corrigap

@ Andy

What size dish are you using at the moment and what are your reception patterns?

I'm just outside Lund with a 1.5m Gibertini and a Panny DSB 30 and get everything on H except during Primetime and in very wet weather. So I'm having a 1,8 Channel Master installed this coming week, if all goes accdg. to plan.

If you like I could come down to you with my digibox to test it on your rig.

Corrigap

Corrigap,
tried to send you a private message but your stored messages quota is full and you need to clear some space. I can try later.

**Rabbit** · 27-07-2003

Originally Posted by Andy

Hi Rabbit, Im just east of Trelleborg. From the research Ive done it seems to me that we must be in a 2d weak spot. Why is it that those lucky sods in Stockholm can get 2d with an 85cm dish.
What make and type of digibox have you got. If you have a Panasonic dsb 31 as I have you have problems. I am picking up a dsb 30 in the UK soon and hope to connect that to a 1.8m dish some time around the end of August. If this dont work then I give up! Keep us informed on your progress. Will let you know of my failure/ success when I have experimented.
Andy.....upset ex-pat!

Att Andy...
I agree with you regarding those lucky sods in Stockholm. It seems like we are in an unlucky position regarding 2d. Anyway, I have a Panasonic dsb30, which is the same as Corrigap. We have posted in detail in the area called 'Astra 2D BBC and ITV reception' page 26, more on this subject. As Corrigap has mentioned to you earlier, he is installing a CM1.8metre on tuesday, and so I can't wait to hear the results. I am confident the CM 1.8metre is the answer to our troubles. Also I have been researching LNB's and the renowned 0.3 Invacom will not suit our needs. Corrigap seems to have the right one. You are in the same situation as we are and if we work together on this I am sure we shall succeed. Just out of interest, which size dish do you currently use with your receiver? And has Corrigap popped down with his receiver yet?

**sgar** · 27-07-2003

Guys, maybe we should all move up to Stocholm LOL.
Well good to know that there is a few of us in this side of the world with same problem.I really hope those of you that are going to try these huge dishes will keep the rest of us uptodate on it.
Cheers

**corrigap** · 28-07-2003

@ Andy

Originally Posted by Andy

Corrigap,
tried to send you a private message but your stored messages quota is full and you need to clear some space. I can try later.

Sorry about that. I've emptied my inbox now.

Corrigap

Andy · 30-07-2003

Originally Posted by Rabbit

Att Andy...
I agree with you regarding those lucky sods in Stockholm. It seems like we are in an unlucky position regarding 2d. Anyway, I have a Panasonic dsb30, which is the same as Corrigap. We have posted in detail in the area called 'Astra 2D BBC and ITV reception' page 26, more on this subject. As Corrigap has mentioned to you earlier, he is installing a CM1.8metre on tuesday, and so I can't wait to hear the results. I am confident the CM 1.8metre is the answer to our troubles. Also I have been researching LNB's and the renowned 0.3 Invacom will not suit our needs. Corrigap seems to have the right one. You are in the same situation as we are and if we work together on this I am sure we shall succeed. Just out of interest, which size dish do you currently use with your receiver? And has Corrigap popped down with his receiver yet?

Att Rabbit...
I currently am using a 70 cm dish. After the loss of BBC I panic bought a new 1m dish after talking on the phone to the guys at Bavaria Sat. I tested the 1m at ground level and it gave no appreciable improvements over the 70cm so I didn´t even bother to mount it. What a waste!
I think I gave corrigap the impression that I already had a 1.8m dish so there was no point in connecting his box to my little dish......
But tomorrow I am going to look at a 1.8m prime focus. Now my experience is limited to offset dishes and universal LNBs.Can you help me here at all? The dish does not come with an LNB, it is described as having a feed horn, the seller said it needed a SMW (Swedish microwave LNB?????).
Does any of this mean anything to you, if so what would be the best LNB to buy, and where could I get it. Will give more details after I have actually seen it. Any imput much appreciated.
Look forward to hearing about corrigaps CM results.
Good on ya for starting the south Sweden thread.

**Rabbit** · 30-07-2003

Att.Andy
Hi...Looking at the 1.8 m dish is not worth doing...better to ask him over the phone what make and what gain it has (saves you time). Just as a guide, the CM 1.8m (95% going to work down here) has a 45.5db gain. If the dish is an inferiour make, then I suppose the quality will be poorer and therefore the gain a lot lower.
Regarding your question regarding LNB's. I think this bloke may be referring to a 0.3db SMW LNB. We (thru Corrigap and other informants) have found out it will not suit our needs, and its cheaper to buy a 0.6 MTI instead, just like Corrigap has. The model number is AP8-TW 0.6, and it has two outlets. Apparently it works a lot better on the 2D beam perifery. (You can buy it from any good sat store in the UK. and shipping costs are minimal). This flanged LNB then fits flush to the feedhorn and is bolted on. All prime focus dishes have a feedhorn, so it should be standard equipment.
I generally think and have confidence that Corrigaps CM1.8m dish will work well. I was contemplating going one step futher with a IRTE 2.4 m dish, but this was slightly more expensive and a lot bigger. The gain was slightly higher too, but did not warrant the expense and size. I preliminary measured 2.4m in the garden, and its bloody huge! Far too big!!! (there are limits if you have a house with a family living in it!).
So it looks like there is no choice but to spend the required 11-15000sek. I will do it shortly cos her indoors wants to watch Fame Acadamy!
Hope I was of some help, and please keep us informed what you will do next. Keep fingers crossed for Corrigap...hope he will post something tomorrow with successful results.

**corrigap** · 31-07-2003

@ andy, rabbit

Still waiting for my dish.

@ andy

Prime focuses dishes are less efficient than offset dishses of the same size. Re. the LNB, I've had v. good results with the AP8.

Corrigap

Andy · 31-07-2003

Att South Sweden Guys,
Went to look at that dish today, and the chap comes out with 1.2m.
Sorry he says the 1.8 must be at my mums. Great, all the way into Malmö for nowt. Anyway he tells me the 1.8 is just the same but bigger i.e. circular aluminium ring 56mm in diameter at the end of the tripod into which fits an ali disc with 4 concentric rings then a 20 mm hole in the middle. This disc has 4 screws in it which I assume are to attach the LNB. As said before I have no experience with prime focus dishes and associatrd LNBs, but isn´t the description I gave earlier a bit strange?
Does it mean anything to anyone?
Does anyone have any idea of the quality of a 1.5m Handic dish, I have a chance to pick one up cheap?
Thanks for recent advice regarding theAP8 etc.

**corrigap** · 01-08-2003

@ Andy

Originally Posted by Andy

Att South Sweden Guys,
Anyway he tells me the 1.8 is just the same but bigger i.e. circular aluminium ring 56mm in diameter at the end of the tripod into which fits an ali disc with 4 concentric rings then a 20 mm hole in the middle. This disc has 4 screws in it which I assume are to attach the LNB. Does anyone have any idea of the quality of a 1.5m Handic dish, I have a chance to pick one up cheap?

If I understand this correctly, this dish is made to take an LNB with a neck of 20 mm in diameter. These days, the majority of LNBs are 40 mm. That's definitely the case with the MTIs and the Invacoms etc. If you have a 20 mm LNB and a 40 mm attachment on the dish, then you can buy spacer rings, but I don't see how this could work the other way round. All of this of course applies if I've understood you correclty (it's 6.30 am and I've just rolled out of bed).

Don't know anything about the Handic dish, but I personally would avoid a 1.5m based on my own experiences.

Corrigap

**Rabbit** · 01-08-2003

Att.Corrigap

Any news regarding the installation? If not, do you know when they are deliverring the dish?

Att.Andy

To be honest mate, I have no idea about the dish on offer to you. Sounds like Corrigap has offered some good advice though. Personally, I would not go for a 1.5m, simply because it just is not big enough for our needs.

Andy · 01-08-2003

Originally Posted by Rabbit

Att.Corrigap

Any news regarding the installation? If not, do you know when they are deliverring the dish?

Att.Andy

To be honest mate, I have no idea about the dish on offer to you. Sounds like Corrigap has offered some good advice though. Personally, I would not go for a 1.5m, simply because it just is not big enough for our needs.

Att.Corrigap & Rabbit,
Thanks for the advice today. I can´t help but hope that if I got a 1.5m cheap enough maybe I would be lucky and just out of pure luck get that digibox-LNB-dish-cable run equation just right. You can live in hope!!!
Off to Blighty for a couple of weeks soon so all quiet from me for a while. Should come home with my e-bay bought DSB 30 which is a start.
I think I may decide to subscribe to sky after all this free to view switch off chat, can´t survive on sky news alone. Really good to get radio 2 back though, I missed the Jonathan Ross Saturday show (11-14.00) tune in if you´ve nothing better to do, its a good laugh.

johnfallen · 02-08-2003

Thanks to Corrigap for linking to here from the Astra 2D site www.astra2d.co.uk
Great stuff.
Here is my experience with (mostly) a standard Nokia Viasat package but an older and slightly larger dish.

Location: Genarp, Sweden, (~30 km East of Copenhagen)
Dish: 90 x 80 cm Amstrad.
LNB: Nokia Universal (2624 5587-01)
Receiver; Nokia 9802S
Reception: Astra 2A, 2B (Radio 4 FM now, hurrah) no problem.
Astra 2D; enough to allow the receiver to lock on and save channels on 10,773 H (transponder 45) and 10,803 D (transponder 47) when tuned manually. But no picture, sound, or channel information. Also, the Nokia 9802S will not find those channels automatically on "channel update".
Anyone trying to get 2D from Malmö, Lund, Trelleborg, Copenhagen or the vicinity please contact me, we can probably compare notes to determine required dish sizes. Official footprints suggest "Scandinavia, forget it", but other reports show the problem is not that bad.

Here is an encouraging footprint:
BBC, ITV etc abroad - is it possible?

Has anyone here got any sense out of any local dealer? If so, which? E-mail me if you prefer.

Thanks again.

John

**corrigap** · 02-08-2003

@ Rabbit

Still awaiting dish. It is supposed to arrive mon/tues - then I call the installer in to do his bit.

This thread will be the first to know when the dish is up and running.

Corrigap

**corrigap** · 07-08-2003

Update

Waiting for custom-made wall bracket. Installation probably mon/tues next week.

Corrigap

Likvid · 07-08-2003

Originally Posted by Andy

Att South Sweden Guys,
Went to look at that dish today, and the chap comes out with 1.2m.
Sorry he says the 1.8 must be at my mums. Great, all the way into Malmö for nowt. Anyway he tells me the 1.8 is just the same but bigger i.e. circular aluminium ring 56mm in diameter at the end of the tripod into which fits an ali disc with 4 concentric rings then a 20 mm hole in the middle. This disc has 4 screws in it which I assume are to attach the LNB. As said before I have no experience with prime focus dishes and associatrd LNBs, but isn´t the description I gave earlier a bit strange?
Does it mean anything to anyone?
Does anyone have any idea of the quality of a 1.5m Handic dish, I have a chance to pick one up cheap?
Thanks for recent advice regarding theAP8 etc.

Handic dishes are BAD, don't buy it.

It was the first home-dish during the 1984-1985 in Sweden receiving Eutelsat and Intelsat.

I've installed several of these to customers when i was active and they are not good, however the receiver was pretty nice as it had a low threshold.

I would recommende you to try finding the Luxor 1.8m Cassegrain dish from the same year, those dishes was extremely high gain.

Likvid · 07-08-2003

My own experience is that you should choose a dish that is in one piece.

I have tried most of the dishes when i worked with this and all i can tell is that Channel Master is extremely good dishes.

If i was you i would buy the 2.4m CM.

The distributor for this in Sweden is Barcom AB, www.barcom.se

Also i would buy a third-party H-H mount to it.

If you want some old dishes that were sold during the 80's i would recommend the Luxor 1.8m Cassegrain dish.

The Luxor worked like a prime-focus 2.2m, it was extremely high gain.

Also i would look at Presskraft's 1.8m dish made in metal, those dishes Macab AB in Trelleborg sold hundreds of and they were extremely good also, but not as good as the Luxor as it was cassegrain.

I wouldn't buy the IRTE 2.4m dish as it is in 8 parts and that makes it lower gain that the others.

I also have a contact in Luleå that was one of the resellers of Teleste, he sold, in my opinion the best 2.4m prime-focus dish ever made, i think they still sell the dish.

It's in one piece metal but it costs more than the Channel Master 2.4m.

I don't see a reason you should go for smaller dishes, get the largest you can afford.

**Rabbit** · 08-08-2003

Att.Likvid

Have not had much luck with Parabolic and Transnova. Either they dont answer or answer phone.
But as I mentioned earlier in this thread, the distributers for CM in Sweden are Kjaerulff1 in Malmo. I found this out by calling CM European headquaters in Germany. So I have called them a few times and they have given me a few distributers in Helsingborg and Hässleholm. Allbäcks in Helsingborg seems to have given me a good price for the 1.8m dish. So I am waiting for Corrigap to have his one he just bought, fully installed and tested.
I called up Barcom in Stockholm, and they are only a distributer, not a sales-place.
Not too sure where this message should be posted...here, or in the '2d' main thread!

Likvid · 08-08-2003

Originally Posted by Rabbit

Att.Likvid

Have not had much luck with Parabolic and Transnova. Either they dont answer or answer phone.
But as I mentioned earlier in this thread, the distributers for CM in Sweden are Kjaerulff1 in Malmo. I found this out by calling CM European headquaters in Germany. So I have called them a few times and they have given me a few distributers in Helsingborg and Hässleholm. Allbäcks in Helsingborg seems to have given me a good price for the 1.8m dish. So I am waiting for Corrigap to have his one he just bought, fully installed and tested.
I called up Barcom in Stockholm, and they are only a distributer, not a sales-place.
Not too sure where this message should be posted...here, or in the '2d' main thread!

Rabbit:

I have found a Luxor 1.8m Cassegrain antenna for you that a guy in Uppsala sells.

I sold several of those during the 80's and it works like a 2.2m prime-focus antenna, it's very good.

I think you can get it cheap from him....

But you better check out the dish first so there are no damages to it.

I think the Channel Master 1.8m you looked at cost around SEK 10000:-

Contact me private and i give you the contact info for the Luxor antenna.

Here is a pic by the way:

**Rabbit** · 12-08-2003

Att Likvid

I will wait to see the results from Corrigaps installation before making any decision on the size dish to buy.

Att.Corrigap

Any news on the installation yet? I still keep fingers crossed all will work ok!

12-08-2003

Another expat in the Skåne 2d (Höllviken) blackhole here. 90cm with invacom 0.3 or MTI AP8 didn't cut it (bought prior to 2d turn up). Perhaps we should try to order some larger dishes 'en masse'. Had some positive feedback from 'nettopris' in Denmark but haven't got round to pursuing this. Who is the supplier in Malmö?
Looking forward to some success stories down here soon!

Best of luck,

Roti01

Originally Posted by johnfallen

Thanks to Corrigap for linking to here from the Astra 2D site www.astra2d.co.uk
Great stuff.
Here is my experience with (mostly) a standard Nokia Viasat package but an older and slightly larger dish.

Location: Genarp, Sweden, (~30 km East of Copenhagen)
Dish: 90 x 80 cm Amstrad.
LNB: Nokia Universal (2624 5587-01)
Receiver; Nokia 9802S
Reception: Astra 2A, 2B (Radio 4 FM now, hurrah) no problem.
Astra 2D; enough to allow the receiver to lock on and save channels on 10,773 H (transponder 45) and 10,803 D (transponder 47) when tuned manually. But no picture, sound, or channel information. Also, the Nokia 9802S will not find those channels automatically on "channel update".
Anyone trying to get 2D from Malmö, Lund, Trelleborg, Copenhagen or the vicinity please contact me, we can probably compare notes to determine required dish sizes. Official footprints suggest "Scandinavia, forget it", but other reports show the problem is not that bad.

Here is an encouraging footprint:
BBC, ITV etc abroad - is it possible?

Has anyone here got any sense out of any local dealer? If so, which? E-mail me if you prefer.

Thanks again.

John

**Rabbit** · 19-08-2003

Att Corrigap

How has the installation progressed? Is there a problem, or is the supplier delayed?

**anton** · 20-08-2003

What is ''LOL'' please ? (seriously, I see it used everywhere and it's not as obvious as, say, ''AFAIK'')
Is there a list of more cool ''forum like this'' jargon ?

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