Astra 2D reception in the Middle East

P

Pete C

Member
My Satellite Setup
None as yet
My Location
Bahrain
Hi everyone,

This question may have been asked before but I am new to this forum so please bear with me.
I am living in Bahrain and have heard rumours that some people are receiving Sky digital over here. If they are I assume it is from the Astra 2 satellites. I am not so much bothered about Sky but would be interested in the BBC and ITV channels from these satellites.
Could anyone please tell me if they are receiving these signals in this part of the world now, and if so what size dish would I need?

Thanks in anticipation.:)
 
Lokk at www.astra2d.com for reception reports.
It doesn't look good for your part of the world though.
2D (ITV and BBC) have a narrow footprint. It is possible to recieve transmissions outside the main footprint but with increasing bigger dishes. The reports nearest to you: Jordan 7m, Egypt 3,6m and up.
So in one word: You won't be able to get 2D
 
Pete C said:
Hi everyone,

This question may have been asked before but I am new to this forum so please bear with me.
I am living in Bahrain and have heard rumours that some people are receiving Sky digital over here. If they are I assume it is from the Astra 2 satellites. I am not so much bothered about Sky but would be interested in the BBC and ITV channels from these satellites.
Could anyone please tell me if they are receiving these signals in this part of the world now, and if so what size dish would I need?

Thanks in anticipation.:)
Click to expand...

You can effectively forget anything transmitting on 2D (BBC / ITV for starters).

Your best bet is to either investigate the channels on Nilesat / Arabsat (or move back to north west Europe. :D)
 
Thanks for the replies guys, I must admit I thought I was being a tad optimistic but we live in hope, Nilesat/Arabsat it will have to be.
 
Pete C said:
Hi everyone,

This question may have been asked before but I am new to this forum so please bear with me.
I am living in Bahrain and have heard rumours that some people are receiving Sky digital over here. If they are I assume it is from the Astra 2 satellites. I am not so much bothered about Sky but would be interested in the BBC and ITV channels from these satellites.
Could anyone please tell me if they are receiving these signals in this part of the world now, and if so what size dish would I need?

Thanks in anticipation.:)
Click to expand...

Hi there,
I used to live in Bahrain and still have some friends there. They tell me they know of one guy who gets the 2A and 2B satellites OK using a 5.5m dish, but cannot receive ANY 2D channels. He lives near the port area - I guess if you have a drive around it should not be difficult to spot his dish. Regret I have no further info about this individual (such as name/address) - so don't ask me!
But rumour has it he works for BAHTELCO and is English.
Geoff
Cyprus
 
For 2D in Bahrain you are looking at something substantially bigger than 7m.
(we know 7m is reported to work in Jordan) However, in the absence of any accurate test reports on silly sized dishes in the UAE, any suggestions for dish sizes is just theoretical guesswork with no guarantee of success.
 
Analoguesat said:
For 2D in Bahrain you are looking at something substantially bigger than 7m.
(we know 7m is reported to work in Jordan) However, in the absence of any accurate test reports on silly sized dishes in the UAE, any suggestions for dish sizes is just theoretical guesswork with no guarantee of success.
Click to expand...

Yes, that is right. Bahrain is not part of the UAE by the way, I think for UAE you would need even bigger dishes (whether for 2A/2B, or 2D) than required in Bahrain. We do know it is possible to receive 2A/2B, but I think all reports suggest 2D reception would be impractical, as I think most would agree that a 7m dish is impractical - even if you could source one and fund it!
Geoff
 
geoffreys, thanks for your information, I have a "friend of a friend" who works for Batelco so I will chase that lead up. I see that you can receive the BBCi channels on Astra 2B so I would be interested in those. I get BBC Prime on my Orbit system at the moment but the evening programmes after the kids have gone to bed are invariably cooking, gardening or DIY so some variety would be most welcome!
 
Pete C said:
geoffreys, thanks for your information, I have a "friend of a friend" who works for Batelco so I will chase that lead up. I see that you can receive the BBCi channels on Astra 2B so I would be interested in those. I get BBC Prime on my Orbit system at the moment but the evening programmes after the kids have gone to bed are invariably cooking, gardening or DIY so some variety would be most welcome!
Click to expand...

Dont kid yourself about the BBCi channels they arent normally on air! :D

They only spring to life when theres a big event on.
 
on the dreambox i receive signals from astra..channels like channel 5..a few music channels and attheraces..and some uk people tv...but thats it...the dish doesnt look too big too..does anyone know if i get a big dish is it possible to receive more???
 
IF you get a big enough dish then yes it will be possible to receive more. Look at post #5. According to that a 5.5m dish will give you some of the Astra 2A & 2B channels. Be warned - you arent going to get the BBC / ITV / other 2D channels without something much, much bigger
 
Thanks for the reply,

And sorry because I have no idea about the technical side of things, if I get a bigger dish...it needs to be pointing at the same direction right? I'm not lookin for the 2D channels..just really interested in the others if possible.

And I know this is not the thread..but do you know if it's possible to receive sky italia? At the moment I have reception for the channels on hotbird but not the special beam.

Thanks again.
 
Half the Sky Italia package is on the Hotbird 2 super beam, so no probably not..

Astras 2A & 2B have north & south beams. You probably wouldnt get anything on the north beam
 
Slingbox (180 pound), A friend in the Uk that can connect up Digital FTA system (100 pound). Connect it to the internet in the UK and watch anywhere in the world. Picture is OK and is watchable. Needs to be broadband or ADSL though.
 
Yes I've tested one, but only OK if you don't mind watching your TV on the equivalent of a 12" tv. ;)
 
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