Astra 2F: Western Europe Discussion

@ Alec & Caseyjay : If you look back at post #36 you'll see the results I got using an Optex dish slightly smaller than the ones you both have. Granted, I'm a lot further north than either of you, hence the better reception. I'd guess that a 1m dish will be fine in your locations unless you have really heavy rain and even then it might be ok.

2 Galli has been an excellent firm to deal with and I always recommend him to anyone living here needing better quality dishes and other more specialised satellite spares.
 
sonnetpete said:
@ Alec & Caseyjay : If you look back at post #36 you'll see the results I got using an Optex dish slightly smaller than the ones you both have. Granted, I'm a lot further north than either of you, hence the better reception. I'd guess that a 1m dish will be fine in your locations unless you have really heavy rain and even then it might be ok.

2 Galli has been an excellent firm to deal with and I always recommend him to anyone living here needing better quality dishes and other more specialised satellite spares.
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many thanks for prompt replies - I had found 2galli on google but great to get a recommendation up front. Will get one ordered...

Meanwhile, has anyone tried tvcatchup.com? I have a VPN server so might work, but from my experience of iplayer on the Humax (picture quality poor), it might be a poor substitute..
 
caseyjay said:
many thanks for prompt replies - I had found 2galli on google but great to get a recommendation up front. Will get one ordered...

Meanwhile, has anyone tried tvcatchup.com? I have a VPN server so might work, but from my experience of iplayer on the Humax (picture quality poor), it might be a poor substitute..
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I installed a 1M dish from 2 Galli just before Christmas and they are very good. On Astra2F today 11023 H 23000, 2/3 DVB-S2 8PSK I have S90% Q70% which drops to S80% and Q50% in the evening and watchable.
I have tried various online TV options including tvcatchup but found it poor. I too have a VPN and the best option was using a DD-WRT router for iplayer which worked really well but you need a good connection from the Humax to your router. ITV player works fine here without a VPN!
 
I'm in Toulouse so a bit further north than you and I have a 90cm Visiosat dish I bought from 2Galli 4 years ago with an Inverto Black Ultra Quattro LNB and a 15m cable run. I'm getting consistently S80% Q60% day and night on all channels on a Humax FoxSat HD. I use DD-WRT router as well for VPN connected the Humax box and all the on demand services are working well although you notice pretty significant buffering on the VPN and at peak times it is sometimes too slow to work properly.
 
eubster said:
I use DD-WRT router as well for VPN connected the Humax box and all the on demand services are working well although you notice pretty significant buffering on the VPN and at peak times it is sometimes too slow to work properly.
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any tips on the best 2-router config setup for DD-WRT? I had it working once but upset my home networking (obviously IP/subnet/Router setup issues). I have an SFR Neufbox (192.168.1.1) and want to connect the 2nd router running DD-WRT/OpenVPN to it but get lost in Repeater/Client/Bridge modes....tried the forum but no joy..
 
Reception 40 km East of Hanover (Edemissen, 1,5 meter Gilbertini dish, LNB Ivacom black ultra in focus):

11023 none

10964 CH5 , maximum SNR 9 dB , no reception between 19:00h and 23:00

Signal seems to have a 24 hours field strength cycle.

Received ASTRA 2D before with an 80 cm dish. Will try to get a bigger dish. I think at least 1,8 meter required.
 
small addition to my previous post, 11023 BBC HD (8901) reception possible at SNR 8,5 dB. Will probably disappear during prime time like CH5. Will get a Kathrein MSK 200 next week, to confirm the dreambox SNR "measurement".
 
caseyjay said:
any tips on the best 2-router config setup for DD-WRT? I had it working once but upset my home networking (obviously IP/subnet/Router setup issues). I have an SFR Neufbox (192.168.1.1) and want to connect the 2nd router running DD-WRT/OpenVPN to it but get lost in Repeater/Client/Bridge modes....tried the forum but no joy..
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I have an Orange LiveBox (192.168.0.1) connected to a Cisco RVS4000 (192.168.1.1) connected to a Belkin Pre-N Wireless Router (in access point mode - 192.168.1.x) which is wirelessly bridged to the DD-WRT router (a Linksys E2000) in repeater bridge mode. You don't want to know why it's so complicated, but basically you could do the same from your NeufBox directly to the DD-WRT router using the tutorial in the DD-WRt wiki hxxp://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Repeater_Bridge...That's exactly how I did it.

My Humax is connected by cable to the DD-WRT router. Hope that helps.
 
Checked today 12 noon, 10964 and 11053 with Kathrein MSK 200 measuring system (see constellation diagram attached). At my location the 150 cm dish is at the limit.

Freesat receiver at 12 noon good reception (CH5 and BBC 1 HD).

In the evenings mostly no reception.






View attachment astra2f_conv.pdfView attachment astra2fbbc_conv.pdf
 
Pouring down in Frankfurt today and the SNR has gone from 82-72 % this morning on 11023. Really heavy rain could therefore destroy the signal at the 19:00-22:00 slot as the SNR falls to about 69% during this time in good cold weather...... interesting to see what happens tonight....Channel 4hd also down by about 12% SNR and channel 5 is about 15% down...although Sky news is too at 67% and not on the spot....all stil viewable of course but worryingly a big dip in SNR. This is the first proper rain we ve had since about October its just been snow which hasnt affected the signal too much!!!!!! the ITV regions which have transferred are all at about 80% SNR still....
 
Well as predicted cloud and rain here (after a long time without rain) and the SNR is taking a nosedive as we approach key viewing time. BBC1Wales HD SNR on VU+ is now 60% (during Pointless!!!) and the rain isnt that bad. If it pours down signal will go I am sure as once we get to about 45% on the VU its ta ta. Weather reserve on the 80cm in Frankfurt is pretty low and reminds me a bit of how 2D was.. I am pretty sure I need a new dish to guarantee reception 24/7 when it pours down...............SNR on BBC1 HD NI still on 1N is the same as this morning about 78%........CH4 HD and channel 5 both hovering at 70% SNR.... as i said before 19:00-22:00 is a time when the SNR takes a big dip......I reckon 120cm is the safest bet for guaranteed reception but will live with this til summer.......
 
Ok we have a new map to populate - lets see what the new beam is looking like.

To begin with we will start with Sky News SD on Sky EPG 501, Freesat epg 202 & frequency 12207V 27500 2/3

Cartoonito or Fox SD Sky UK epgs 619 & 188 (12110H 27500 2/3)

As before we want positive & negative reports, dish sizes receiver &and lnb info

For this your location is vital - please give your nearest town

An idea of the reception would be very useful - for example

no problems, good signal 24/7
no signal since the move
poor in the evening good in the morning


http://tinyurl.com/b8ufqgy
 
At last better weather has coincided with enough time/energy to install the 100 cm Gibertini and spend several hours tweaking it. Easy to align on the main channels but it sure is pernickety when trying to get 2F, particularly when tightening after horizontal adjustment. I've got permanent dents in my knees from the ladder rungs :-deadhorse .

Results: sadly, virtually no improvement. On the Topfield 4/seven still viewable during the daytime (93%/50-60%), fades rapidly in the evening. C5 93%/ 0 - 30% (at best). Not really any better than the old 80 cm.

On the Humax - rock solid 100%/100% on BBC HD (etc.) but still "no or bad signal" on all the 2F channels - occasionally a few pixels on 4/seven and very distorted picture on 4HD, always nothing on 5. Tried a direct (new, high quality) cable from the LNB to the Humax - still trying to puzzle out why it was slightly worse quality (10-20% lower) than the old, fairly thin cable with one join connected to the same quad LNB.
My friend down the road is still getting all the 2F channels on a 70 cm dish and skybox - although none of her neighbours can. Could she be in a micro-sweet spot?

I don't know what else to try - apart from Internet TV...
 
Try filmon.com

Or if you use firefox or chrome install the hola unblocker extension ;)
 
Before and after the launch of 2F, I plotted the (albeit) basic quantities of Signal Strength and Signal Quality reported by my Technisat HDFS.

Prior to 2F migration, I got all channels with at least 8dB quality 24/7, except during thunderstorms.

Since migration, I've collected a bunch of points in and around the threshold quality value, which in my case is 2.6dB for HDTV/8-PSK and 2.1dB for SDTV/QPSK.

For a strength of 52, I've always gotten a signal out. For 51, I might, or might not.

The noise floor appears to be around 41..44 - i.e. I can not get a reading lower than that, when scanning a unused frequency.

Even when I "buried the needle", I still didn't get more than 10dB quality.

In the evening, the 2F transponders drop into the mid-40's. Apparently, still above the noise floor, but not demodulatable.

I was wondering if I could somehow relate the observations into an antenna gain increase required, in order to secure my signal reception. For example, between 50-60 I see a slope of about 1dB/%; so if I increase my antenna gain by 3dB, might I gain 3% in my SS???

Finally, the Sky News on 2F Pan-Euro appears as at [77; 8,2]
 

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European beam reception from Astra2 forum:

12207 V. 5,8 dB Quality. 73%
12110 H 7,7 dB. Quality 90%

Gibertini 100, Openbox 820 and Gibertini 100 in Nuernberg Germany
 
Analoguesat said:
Try filmon.com

Or if you use firefox or chrome install the hola unblocker extension ;)
Click to expand...
Great tip - thanks Analoguesat!

Must be coincidence but reception is a lot better this morning - 60%-ish quality on C5 and 88% (!!) on 4/seven (Topfield), occasional viewable picture on 4/seven and (briefly) 4HD (Humax) although zilch on the 5s
 
Analoguesat said:
Ok we have a new map to populate - lets see what the new beam is looking like.

To begin with we will start with Sky News SD on Sky EPG 501, Freesat epg 202 & frequency 12207V 27500 2/3
Click to expand...
Quillan, SW France: Sky News rock solid 100%/90% on Humax HDR, 99%/95% Topfield 4000 PVR. 100 cm Gibertini, MTI Highline quad
 
12207 V, 12 dB, 75%, 24/7 reception

Gilbertini 150cm, Inverto Black Ultra

Location: Edemissen, North Germany
 
Both frequencies good reception, 24/7. Drizzle right now:

12207V - 50%
12110H - 64%

Multytenne 45cm, Samsung TV with satellite tuner.

Location: Ede, The Netherlands
 
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