Astra 28.2 Freesat in Czechia

T

TonyCZ

New Member
My Satellite Setup
Famaval 2.3 Humax freesat box and LG smart TV tuners.
My Location
Czechia
In the North of Czechia with a Famaval 2.3 dish. Humax box and LG smart TV tuners. I've lost 90% of channels during the day but gained BBC HD in the evening. Anyone else in this part of the world having problems?
 
Thanks Danny10 unfortunately nothing much recently. Only lost programs this last month or so.
 
Unfortunately its because of the equinox and the earth's tilt to the northern hemisphe.affecting the footprint.
Uk spotbeam satellite channels become weaker as we head towards the summer with.Mid June the weakest time, and sadly there's nothing we can do to stop it ...
 
I usually lose BBC and ITV progammes for a couple of hours in the morning and evening around equinox but this is almost permanent. Permanently lost all channel 4, Film4, E4, etc. Still sometimes get BBC2 and ITV2 but not ITV. Just don't know if I should get alignment or LNB checked or if there is a general change and I need to get petals for the dish.
 
ITV HD are the weakest transponders and are the first to suffer now the equinox is here. You're well out the UK spotbeam footprint. I would test your signal strength in the evening when the signal becomes stronger. Normally between 7-10pm is the strongest period for a stable signal so make a few notes of what you're getting.
Interesting that a lot of other people are suffering from early uk spotbeam signal loss so I wouldn't mess with your alignment. Maybe just check your cables for water damage and corrosion, plus your LNB for insects.
Sometimes the satellites will drift and can lower the signal. Don't forget Astra 2E is 28.5 and the other 2 are 28.2 so this can affect the footprint ...
 
the daily high or low varies over time.
It can be strong in the morning & weak in the evening (frustrating as that 's when you want to watch)
Signal strength at reception varies with weather too :high clouds with sand from N-Africa are an obstacle for off-footprint reception.
Wimbledon is usually nerve-racking,it comes on & off during matches.
 
It is a bit odd so I will check signal strength later. We have had a good signal for years and could always get programs like E4 Film 4 etc. We could rarely get BBC either 1 or two. But always ITV 1 and most of the plus1 programs. Now it's just BBC 2 sometimes in the evening. No ITV progs at all.
I don't suspect insects as I put a cap on the LNB after a problem with a spider. The Dish may need a tweek but I don't think so because the mount is tied back to the building with wires. Could be the LNB/water ingress as its all about 15 years old.
 
Sinus said:
Sometimes the satellites will drift and can lower the signal. Don't forget Astra 2E is 28.5 and the other 2 are 28.2 so this can affect the footprint ...
Click to expand...
I was told that the dish does not need any adjustments as 28.5 and 28.2 would be found automatically. That may well be true within the spotbeam but does the dish need any adjustment for 28.5 outside the beam
 
TonyCZ said:
I was told that the dish does not need any adjustments as 28.5 and 28.2 would be found automatically. That may well be true within the spotbeam but does the dish need any adjustment for 28.5 outside the beam
Click to expand...
The size of the dish is also the problem as larger dishes have a smaller beamwidth and need to be much more precisely aligned to the satellite.

Also, this past year BBC and Sky, and more recently ITV and Channel 4, have been changing their broadcasting standards to DVB-S2 and switching to different modes that require more signal to lock.
 
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timo_w2s said:
The size of the dish is also the problem as larger dishes have a smaller beamwidth and need to be much more precisely aligned to the satellite.

Also, this past year BBC and Sky, and more recently ITV and Channel 4, have been changing their broadcasting standards to DVB-S2 and switching to different modes that require more signal to lock.
Click to expand...
So This is according to the screen. Don't know how accurate it is or how it relates to different programs
 

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Don't forget that ITVHD and Channel 4HD have changed transponders this year and switched to DVB-S2 so a higher signal is needed for a stable lock.
Its impossible for your dish to be properly focused on both 28.2 & 28.5 where you are, so you need to compromise between the two. You could increase your signal strength by aligning your dish more to 28.2 or a slight nudge to 28.5, and it is literally a nudge by a few millimetres. I would check out Lyngsat and choose either 28.2 or 28.5 to focus on. All you can just wait until the signal levels increase after the Summer solstice on June 21st ...
 
12275V doesn't exist but it may be pulling in 12285V which just has a bunch of encrypted Sky Cinema channels on the 2F European beam, it's stronger on the western side of Europe.

11082H is on 2G European beam with FTA channels like Now 80s, 70s, Rewind and Blaze and is strong across most of Europe.

You need to look at the signal levels of some channels on the UK spot beams, like 10818V (BBC), 10847V (BBC), 10936V (Ch4), 11305H (Ch5) 11344H (ITV), 11386H (ITV), 11386V (ITV), to get a better idea on how weak the signals are.

Full list is here:
 
Thanks Guys. Sounds like I need to get the dish and LNB checked first.
 
I would check the 10818V frequency, which is BBC4, BBC1 London as they're quite strong all year round.
In my case I have stronger signals in the early evening and weakest in the mid afternoons.
Astra 2E at 28.5 is the strongest satellite in my area as it's at a lower frequency and has the majority of the BBCHD, ITVHD and Channel 4HD channels available. If I was having trouble and desperate to watch then I'd probably sacrifice Astra F and G at 28.2 and refocus my dish at 28.5. But if I was you, I'd just check your cables and connectors, maybe check your LNB skew and just wait it out ...
 
Tune your antenna to A2F according to 11305 H 27500..that's the TP with the lowest FEC and it works 24/7 on your Famaval..
 
Also, make sure you've got the right settings for each frequency (FEC, symbol rate, etc). A lot has changed in the last 12 months. Best place to check is with the LyngSat link above.
 
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