Advice Needed 100%quality and strength on skynews, zero% on bbc. full epg, but no normal channels

TR4Owner

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My Satellite Setup
110 cm dish, sky+HD box.
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South of Beziers, France
I have just increased the size of my sat dish from 80 to 110. I live in south France and use the SkyHD box with a paid for freeview card.
Before upgrading to the 110 dish I was receiving all Sky channels and BBC but poorly, strength = 60%, quality 30%) and the dish was a poor quality one which moved under windy conditions.
Upgraded to 110 cm and moved it to a less windy position - I get 100% strength and 90 % quality and can watch some sky channels (Sky News etc) with no problem and get the full EPG. But there are no normal channels (BBC, ITV etc).
Lock indicator = OK
Network ID = 0002
Transport stream = 07ea
I have set the dish using normal compass/level and a meter. I have turned the skew. I tried changing the transponder frequency to no effect.

- What is odd is that when I try to watch BBC the signal strength and quality goes to 0 - yet when I choose the Sky News channel the signal strength and quality goes back to 100/90%.

Can someone advise please what I am doing wrong? I have been watching sky on the continent for 30 years and have never had such a good signal strength and quality yet I cannot get any normal channels.

Thanks.
 

a33

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Hi TR4Owner, and welcome to the forum!
:-welcome1

Are you aware that Astra 2F and 2G are positioned at 28.2 east, but Astra 2E is at 28.5 east?
See Astra 2E / Astra 2F / Astra 2G (28.2°E) - Alle uitzendingen - Frequenties - KingOfSat , on the top of that website you can see where the three satellites are 'hanging' (at "longitude").

So it might be that you are too much directed to 28.2, and too far off for 28.5.
Can you try aiming the dish a little bit to the left (seen from behind), and increase reception levels for 28.5 east channels?

Aiming at 28east is always a compromise between 28.2 channels, and 28.5 channels. So you must not maximalize signal on some channel, but find the optimal compromise between Astra 2E and Astra 2F.
Finding the best compromise therefore may take some time and patience, while again and again changing between channels to watch the effect of your moves.

Here in the Netherlands I can notice the position-difference of 28.2 and 28.5 with dishes from about 60 cm in width.
And the bigger the dishes, the more accurate they must be pointed!

I hope this helps you further.
Good luck with your new dish!

greetz,
A33


Edit: For finding 28.5E, you can choose a channel that is on the Europe-beam.
For finetuning, choose channels that are on the UK-beams! They are the hardest to get.
 
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4wd

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Hello, may be as simple as some minimal dish misalignement.
Resulting in the (very easy to get) EU beams coming in strong, and the UK beams completely MIA (needs millimeter accurate dish adjustments).

This:
Edit: For finding 28.5E, you can choose a channel that is on the Europe-beam.
For finetuning, choose channels that are on the UK-beams! They are the hardest to get.
 

Terryl

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To properly receive two (or more) satellites at almost the same location you would need to be pointing the dish in-between the two.

So for the Astra satellites you would take their locations at 28.2 and 28.5 add them together, then divide by 2, this will give you 28.35, this would be the center point for the dish to be aimed at.

Ignore the signal strenght as this is the level of the IF signal coming down from the LNB, it is the quality you need to maximize for all satellites, 80 percent on all would be fine, or 85 on one and 75 on the other, trying to get them all the same level would/could be a hair pulling task.
 

TR4Owner

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To properly receive two (or more) satellites at almost the same location you would need to be pointing the dish in-between the two.

So for the Astra satellites you would take their locations at 28.2 and 28.5 add them together, then divide by 2, this will give you 28.35, this would be the center point for the dish to be aimed at.

Ignore the signal strenght as this is the level of the IF signal coming down from the LNB, it is the quality you need to maximize for all satellites, 80 percent on all would be fine, or 85 on one and 75 on the other, trying to get them all the same level would/could be a hair pulling task.

Thank you all for your rapid and useful replies. Despite tuning my old smaller dish without any problem in Switzerland this is the first time I have read clearly that I do not need to point the dish precisely at one satellite and that different stations pick up signals from different satellites and therefore the strength/quality shown on the sky box depends on your last viewed station. I have now all the UK stations with only ~40% strength and 50% quality - but I think I can improve that when the wind drops in the south of france. I will need to find a way to brace the dish against the wind as it is moving the dish quite a few mm simply due to the dish bending (not a surprise because its very this steel) even though its on the ground behind a wall.
Once again thank you for all your help and I can and will strongly recommend your site for useful information and replies.
 

dmaavrigdo

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I have a threaded rod from below the LNB to the balcony fence. I used to run up and down stairs to adjust with wingnuts but now I have motorized tweaker.
 

4wd

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I have now all the UK stations
Good!
Switzerland much easier for UK's than South France (afaik). Get the best possible out of the 110 cm (is it a real 110, or a manufacturer\shop number :O) and see how it behaves (especially the HD's) during the sat level variations and different weather. Here in 06 north of Cannes\Nice, a fine tuned 130 cm (real size) is minimum, most channels ok 24\24, but loosing some of the weaker channels and HD's now and then.
 

a33

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I have now all the UK stations with only ~40% strength and 50% quality - but I think I can improve that when the wind drops in the south of france

If you need every 0.1dB of signal quality you can get, I would (if the dishface is flat, and elliptical) also check if the LNB position matches the offset angle of the dish;
and maybe even calculate and check the focal distance, from dish measurements (that takes a bit more calculations than just offset angle, but there are calculators for that [but not all calculate correctly!] ).

But that is up to you, of course.

Greetz,
A33
 

Burnham Beech

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I am near Avignon in Vaucluse (84) and I have no problem on a 100cm dish except for ITV1 HD & ITV4 HD (and the other channels on the same transponder).

I've seen forum posts over recent years, and from these reports it is clear that it depends very much where you are located in the south of France. It seems as you go further south and further east of me the signal strength reduces, even over relatively short distances.
 
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