Astra 3A, UK Reception and Dish Size Map

Thanks for the information everyone....We are in Cawston, edge of Rugby.
Strange how it changes so much each day, or hour. At present it's working fine, as Markíza is not dropping a single pixel...at 19.15 tonight... but from experience in an hour that could all change.... Just as the G/F tries to watch her soap... LOL. Some channels are never a problem, others very flaky, will investigate a ground mounted 1.2+ dish. I think I can escape the "shadow" of the neighbouring properties.
 
9designs said:
Thanks for the information everyone....We are in Cawston, edge of Rugby.
Strange how it changes so much each day, or hour. At present it's working fine, as Markíza is not dropping a single pixel...at 19.15 tonight... but from experience in an hour that could all change.... Just as the G/F tries to watch her soap... LOL. Some channels are never a problem, others very flaky, will investigate a ground mounted 1.2+ dish. I think I can escape the "shadow" of the neighbouring properties.
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Yup thats expected as well :D

The satellites move around a little in a a box about 50 miles on a side. Thie of course means the coverage footprint moves a few miles over the course of a day. In Germany this is undetectable, but on the fringes it can be seen as drop out of some channels at the same time every night if your dish is undersized.

The signal strengths will vary minutely on each different frequency - again in the centre of the coverage area it wont be noticable.
 
What 1m dish have you got out of interest? Some perform better than others. A decent 120cm coupled with a Black Ultra LNb should certainly improve reception.
 
Not the best all rounder, but that's just my opinion ;)
 
as the channels are most important, see if there is a place in the garden to put a 1.5 I would say go for, as the size difference to 1m will surely improve reception greatly.
 
Just a suggestion, but try replacing the LNB with an Inverto Black Ultra on the current setup and see if it helps push some signal levels up a bit. OK it might not be ideal but it may bring in some channels for a bit longer and a lot less money and hassle of setting up a bigger dish in a new location. If that doesn't help you've still got a decent LNB to try on a bigger dish.
 
I'd been thinking about this, as the last few evening since my last post it's worked pretty much OK. Perhaps someone bumped in to the satellite moved the foot print :D ... LOL
So replacing my INVACOM 0.3dB QUAD with a 0.1 Black Ultra, is 0.2 db enough of a change ?
 
The headline Noise Figures tend to apply only to a small part of Ku band, so you cannot rely on that as the sole predictor of performance.

Empirical data is best ........... ie "Suck it and see"!!


But the Black Ultra does have an excellent reputation.
 
Interesting to see some recent discussions on 3A and CS Link.

Has the beam changed since Rolf's map on Page 1? Looking it the Astra site the "European beam" has all the Czech/Slovak channels, which makes the UK fringe reception at best. Seems 1.2M is still the recommended size for getting the TP on 12525V based on forum experience, which seems to match the Astra plot. (EDIT, Astra Plot: _http://www.ses-astra.com/business/en/satellite-fleet/satellite-list/astra3b/index.php)
 
I've been playing around with 3A today...in Milton Keynes I can get 60% SS and 50% PQ on Astra 3a (on the Czech Link channels -12525V) using an Inverto Black Quattro 0.2db LNB on a Triax 110. But it's a real pain tweaking the dish to get the best signal even with a Horizon meter.
 
Hi im a newbie!!! In birmingham with 1 m motorised dish any new news on astra 3 reception here?? Will 1.2 be enough??
 
adrian gibbs said:
Hi im a newbie!!! In birmingham with 1 m motorised dish any new news on astra 3 reception here?? Will 1.2 be enough??
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Which channels are you after?

If you want CS Link/Sky Link - the HD channels are on the Europe beam so 1m will be easily enough.
 
I am after skylink channels. Believ most of them on 12.525 v
 
12525 is a CS Link TP.

SkyLink is scatterred across a variety of other TPs.

See _http://www.flysat.com/astra23.php
 
adrian gibbs said:
I am after skylink channels. Believ most of them on 12.525 v
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What kind of signal do you get with a 1m? With my 1m, I get all the channels in the daytime but breakups at night sometimes - depends on the weather etc.

1.2m might still not be big enough for you for un-interrupted 24/7 viewing.
 
At the moment about 60%! Just had new td110 triax fitted. After alighnment by global satellites got all the channels!!!! Top man! thanks salim!!!!
 
Lost signal last night but back to 65% this morning! Is it worth trying an inverto ultra lnb? At mo im using a technomate. Thanks for all your help
 
adrian gibbs said:
Lost signal last night but back to 65% this morning! Is it worth trying an inverto ultra lnb? At mo im using a technomate. Thanks for all your help
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This is normal for fringe reception, signal quality will vary throughout the day. I can pick up the 3A horizontals for a few hours in the moring (06:00 - 09:00 GMT). In the early evening both H and V come in but for a shorter period. I'm using a 1M dish by the way.
 
But will a black ultra help? They supposed to help with fringe reception?
 
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