Astra 1, 2 & 3 on one dish

[Quinten]

Hi all,

Just registered, so be gentle ;)

I've just got myself into the 21st century by buying a nice new TV which does the whole HD pretty nicely. So obviously I want to get the best out of it and upgrade my receivers to HD as well. My current setup consists of the following:

Triax 64cm dish with a dual LNB holder and two twin LNBs. One for Astra 1 on 19.2, feeding a Dreambox DM7000S and a Strong SRT 6850 (both with Canal Digitaal subscriptions), and the other to Astra 2 on 28.2, feeding 2 (out of subscription) Sky receivers with Freesat from Sky cards.

So far so good.

As said above, I would now like to look ahead to the future, and reduce the amount of boxes I have at home. So, I would like to reduce the receiver count to two twin HD/PVR receivers (one for Canal Digitaal, one for Freesat), and add Astra 3 at 23.5 to the equation.

Speaking to an installer, he recommended that I should replace the dish for a 70cm example, and looking at the footprint for Astra 3 even that seems on the small side. But I have also seen references to the Technisat Multytenne (45cm dish) which is able to receive Astra 3 as high up as Birmingham (I'm in Aylesbury, Bucks). So I'm not sure if replacing the dish is required or not.

Also, looking at LNB holders, the Inverto multiconnect kit seems ideal, but as I have a Triax already, the multiholder from them should fit the bill too, right?

And lastly, is anyone able to recommend a decent installer in the Bucks region?

Thanks for listening!

Q.

 

[Quinten]

Not sure if it helps, but I managed to dig up an old (very old, pre-dual lnb install) picture showing the location of my dish. May help with any advice

Q.

 

[Topper]

Welcome to the forum Quinten

My current setup consists of the following:

Triax 64cm dish with a dual LNB holder and two twin LNBs. One for Astra 1 on 19.2, feeding a Dreambox DM7000S and a Strong SRT 6850 (both with Canal Digitaal subscriptions), and the other to Astra 2 on 28.2, feeding 2 (out of subscription) Sky receivers with Freesat from Sky cards.

The photo supplied looks like a bigger dish than 64 cm more like 80 or 90 cm but that may be an optical illusion

As said above, I would now like to look ahead to the future, and reduce the amount of boxes I have at home. So, I would like to reduce the receiver count to two twin HD/PVR receivers (one for Canal Digitaal, one for Freesat), and add Astra 3 at 23.5 to the equation.

Speaking to an installer, he recommended that I should replace the dish for a 70cm example, and looking at the footprint for Astra 3 even that seems on the small side. But I have also seen references to the Technisat Multytenne (45cm dish) which is able to receive Astra 3 as high up as Birmingham (I'm in Aylesbury, Bucks). So I'm not sure if replacing the dish is required or not.

Also, looking at LNB holders, the Inverto multiconnect kit seems ideal, but as I have a Triax already, the multiholder from them should fit the bill too, right?

If you already possess this arm then why not try it and see I would suggest that there is little or no performance differences between a 64 and 70cm but I am sure a member installer will have more reliable info on that

And lastly, is anyone able to recommend a decent installer in the Bucks region?


Q.

I recommend you post a request in the installer required section
http://www.satellites.co.uk/forums/members-who-install-satellite-systems/

 

[Quinten]

Welcome to the forum Quinten

Thanks!

The photo supplied looks like a bigger dish than 64 cm more like 80 or 80 cm but that may be an optical illusion

I've had the tape measure out, and from top to bottom was about 70 cm, so it seems to fall between the TD64 and the TD78. It's 10 years old though, so maybe a previous generation TD size?

If you already possess this arm then why not try it and see I would suggest that there is little or no performance differences between a 64 and 70cm but I am sure an member installer will have more reliable info on that

Fingers crossed

I recommend you post a request in the installer required section
Members who install satellite systems

Will do once I know what I want and how I want it

 

[Quinten]

I think I'm pretty much settled on the Triax multiblock holder (since it should just fit on my current dish), and since I've already got 2x quad LNB's currently, I just need to buy another quad LNB.

Which leads me to the next question. Do I need 4x Diseqc 4/1 switches if I want to drive 2x twin receivers? I've also come accross some Johansson 5/2 Diseqc switches, would 2 of them do as well instead of the 4x 4/1 ones? Any particular Diseqc switch anyone can recommend?

Ta!

Q.

 

[Robbo]

Yes, you need FOUR 4x1 Diseqc switches.

No, the 5x2 switches are no good, it is for only two sats.


Also to get all transponders on 23.5E, a dish larger than 60-70cm is needed. Can get them all my my TD110, but not sure how much smaller than that would work.

 

[Huevos]

looking at the footprint for Astra 3 even that seems on the small side. But I have also seen references to the Technisat Multytenne (45cm dish) which is able to receive Astra 3 as high up as Birmingham (I'm in Aylesbury, Bucks). So I'm not sure if replacing the dish is required or not.

The 45cm dish is receiving Astra 1G, not 3A. Both are at 23.5E. Astra 3B which will replace these two satellites was scheduled for launch Q4 2009, postponed to Q1 2010. I'd wait and see what dish you need once the new satellite is up there.

 

[satelliteman]

Reception of Astra3 in Aylesbury would require at least a 1Mtr. Gibertini 1.04cm or Td110cm would suit, there are offset brackets available for both dish types.

 

[Quinten]

Yes, you need FOUR 4x1 Diseqc switches.

Thanks, at least that part has become clear now

The 45cm dish is receiving Astra 1G, not 3A. Both are at 23.5E. Astra 3B which will replace these two satellites was scheduled for launch Q4 2009, postponed to Q1 2010. I'd wait and see what dish you need once the new satellite is up there.

Ahhh! I hadn't realised that. I'm only after the Canal Digitaal packages on 23.5E, which are on Astra 1G, so maybe this whole big dish thing isn't required then?

Reception of Astra3 in Aylesbury would require at least a 1Mtr. Gibertini 1.04cm or Td110cm would suit, there are offset brackets available for both dish types.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Michael1973]

Quiton.

For Astra 19.2, 23.5 and 28.2 I would go for a minimum of a Triax 78cm dish with a Multiblock holder and 4 LNB's from Alps. I am using this dish here in Eindhoven in the Netherlands with excellent results on all of the three mentioned satellites and also the Hotbird satellite on 13 degrees east even in poor weather conditions. If you go with a Technisat Multytenne you won't have much of a bad weather reserve and you'll lose the signal during heavy rain.

Michael

 

[satelliteman]

Think the important factor is whether original poster wants to receive Astra3 from 23°E as this will govern what size dish is required.

 

[Quinten]

Thanks Michael and Paul (and others of course).

To confirm, when I said Astra 3, I actually meant, the Astra 1G transponder on 23.5 as it contains the Canal Digitaal regional channels. And checking _www.ses-astra.com/business/en/satellite-fleet/satellite-list/astra1g/index.php the footprint it shows that 60cm is sufficient.

 

[satelliteman]

Ah ok, worth checking as it was mentioned in post #1

As said above, I would now like to look ahead to the future, and reduce the amount of boxes I have at home. So, I would like to reduce the receiver count to two twin HD/PVR receivers (one for Canal Digitaal, one for Freesat), and add Astra 3 at 23.5 to the equation.

 

[Michael1973]

Quiten,

The same goes for Canaal Digitaal channels on the Astra 1G on 23.5e excellent reception with my Triax 78cm (Multiblock holder 4 LNB's) even in poor weather. A 60cm may be sufficient under normal circumstances but I'm not sure how much bad weather reserve you'll have.

Michael

 

[Quinten]

Ah ok, worth checking as it was mentioned in post #1

My apologies for that, as mentioned above, I had not realised that Canal Digitaal uses 1G, instead of 3. Should have studied Lyngsat a bit better

Quiten,

The same goes for Canaal Digitaal channels on the Astra 1G on 23.5e excellent reception with my Triax 78cm (Multiblock holder 4 LNB's) even in poor weather. A 60cm may be sufficient under normal circumstances but I'm not sure how much bad weather reserve you'll have.

Michael

I don't have problems with bad weather in my current setup (unless it is really, really bad), so I'll give it a try first without upgrading the dish. Thanks for the advice though!

 

[Quinten]

Update

I've bit the bullet and bought the Triax TD multi LNB bracket, 2x 4/1 Diseqc switches (am going to start with just the single twin receiver first) and a twin LNB. Should all be here next week, and then it's just a matter of pencelling in a weekend to do the upgrade

 

[Michael1973]

Quinten,

Are you still using the 64cm dish or are you gonna go for a larger one?

 

[Quinten]

I'm going to try it first with my current one, and see if I can get a satisfactory signal out of it. If it fails, then it will be a bigger dish, but it also means I would have to get it installed as I'm not confident enough to 'start from scratch' again.

 

[Michael1973]

Well, I'm interested in your results with a 64cm dish. Keep me posted.

 

[Quinten]

Update

Took the advice from satelliteman and bought a Triax TD88 to replace the TD64 and attempted today to install it all. How hard can it be? ;)

As it turns out, very hard

Replacing the dish was an easy enough job, but even after making sure the elevation of the TD88 matched the elevation of the TD64, no sign of a usable signal. And try as I may, no amount of turning, tilting and swearing changed it. I gave up and phoned a local installer but with it being Saturday, the earliest they could come was Monday. I made the appointment and continued with installing the diseqc switches as I had left them out for the installation initially. I then connected it all up and cleared the tools and ladder away, leaving the alignment to the installer on Monday.

But, just for sh*ts and giggles, I installed the diseqc config in my Dreambox and to my great surprise, I had a lock on 23.5E and 28.2E with no BERs! 19.2E was all over the shop though, so out came the ladder again, and I got back to turning and twisting...

And now they work all 3

It's by no means perfect, but I can receive the channels that I wanted, and I still receive the channels that we had before. I'll probably still get someone professional to align it better, as it's quite a faff getting up and down the ladder each time to check the signal bars on the TV.