Accessing 19.2° East from the UK?

El Matarfie

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Hello there, this is my first post, so I hope that I've put it in the correct part of the forum! Anyway, I currently have a standard Sky Digital setup. But I would also like to be able to get the free foreign language channels available on 19.2 East:

http://www.ses-astra.com/tv-radio/guide/lineup/markets/D_digitaltvfree.htm

Can anyone advise on how to go about doing this? I have been planning to buy a second dish (there seems to be plenty of standard Sky Digital type dishes for sale cheaply on Ebay), which I hope to tune into Astra 19.2. Can I connect both dishes to my single Sky decoder simulaneously, via some kind of switchbox, that will let me select which dish I want to use? Also, is the signal strength indicator on the Sky box's Setup menu sufficiently accurate to help me tell when I have the dish correctly aligned?

Any advice on what type of dish to use (I was presuming I can use something identical to the Sky Digital dish I already have), what switchbox to use, plus any tips on how to align the dish, would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.
 

El Matarfie

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I've been looking for more information on hooking up a second dish to get Astra 19.2 and I'm not sure whether the normal 43-45 cm minidish is big enough. Can anyone tell whether I'll need a bigger dish (e.g. 60 cm - I can't really afford anything any bigger than that). Also the DISEqC switches that allow you to connect multiple LNBs to a single decoder, they say you alternate between the LNBs using a "Tone Burst" option on the decoder. I have a Grundig Sky box and I've searched through the menu options, but I can't find such a setting. Can you not do this with this decoder - or is the option in some kind of "hidden" menu?

Thanks again.
 

El Matarfie

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Hmm, I just read that Sky Digiboxes don't support DisEqC. So I need a different bit of switching apperatus. Any suggestions...?
 

rolfw

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My Satellite Setup
Technomate 5402 HD M2 Ci, DM7000s, Transparent 80cm Dish, Moteck SG2100 DiseqC motor, lots of legacy gear. Meters: Satlook Digital NIT, Promax HD Ranger+ spectrum analyser.
My Location
Berkshire
You can use a standard A-B switch with a press button to change between the two, but it will reduce your signal slightly, a minidish is absolute minimum size for Astra 19.2. You will also find the channels you can receive limited to only the two symbol rates available on the digibox.
 

El Matarfie

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So I can use a minidish for Astra 1 - that's great! Will having two dishes - and the act of switching between them - cause any weird behaviour in my Sky Digibox? Also will I have to alter any of the settings on the Digibox's menu before it will be able to "see" the Astra 1 satellites (prior to actually tuning in any channels that is)?

Thanks again.
 

rolfw

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My Satellite Setup
Technomate 5402 HD M2 Ci, DM7000s, Transparent 80cm Dish, Moteck SG2100 DiseqC motor, lots of legacy gear. Meters: Satlook Digital NIT, Promax HD Ranger+ spectrum analyser.
My Location
Berkshire
You can use the add channels function to ad the 19.2 East channels, but it only takes around 50. It also has the habit of forgetting them occasionally. :)
 

El Matarfie

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LAST MINUTE EMERGENCY REQEST!

I've yet to take delivery of my new goodies for getting tuned into 19.2E. But there is a programme on tomorrow morning that I'm absolutely desperate to tape (Monday 27th September 2004)! The channel is the German entertainment station WDR-Fernsehen:

Trp 71 (27500, 3/4) ASTRA-1H
11.8365 GHz / H 19.2°E

The programme is Rockpalast (http://www.wdr.de/tv/): it is broadcast from 01.15 - 03.00 (in the AM!) European time, so presumably 00.15 - 02.00 GMT.

I live in Essex in the UK. If anyone could help me, please click on my username and send me an email. Please, please, please. I've been trying to alter my profile options to allow people to email me, but it doesn't seem to be working. In which case my email address is el_matarife_2004@yahoo.co.uk. I totally don't expect anyone to reply to me - but this really is a last-minute desperate request from a die-hard music fan!

Many thanks in advance for anyone who can help,

Jamie

EDIT - Am willing to repay anyone with cash, party favours, spare body parts - anything really! Thanks. J.
 
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