BBC and ITV in Costa Blanca Driving me MAD

[thegadgitman]

Since I changed the feedhorn and LNB I do get BBC and ITV untill about 11pm in Benidorm. Not a great problem as I go to work at 9pm. I did get the invacom Quad LNB and port 2 is by far the best I loose about 2% of the signal quality on the other ports. I also changed the feedhorn and this made a Great difference. So I have managed to get the Fortecstar dish working. Although as said before it was a pig to fine tune. Just changed recivers over to my Kaon as this works well on low signals, so maybe I may get another hour out of the dish on my nights off.

Still for the price I paid for everything I am quite happy, as it would have cost well over double if I had gone to an installer here. I also know others that have paid through the nose for their systems have been sold the same dish.

Some guys cashing in on the British tv viewers ! ! !

Once again thank to everyone here that helped me.

 

[lezb]

Thanks for an intresting read guys am on the blanca myself in Oliva must be one of the worst reception areas in Spain for the old BBC/ITV syndrome 2 months ago a client supplied a 1.8 offset and no matter what I tried not glimmer of a signal in the lower bands.The client changed it out * a place in Gandia for a prime foc us same size same price 330 euros did not even fix the base just used as a support to do a quick check with a rough alignment on my signal meter.Set * best signal set up skew little more than a guess went down and tuned in on my Illusion sat box and bingo up came the BBC/ITV channels that had alluded for best part of the previous day.Fixed down fine tuned and then hung on the clients sky box scanned and I asked the client to let me know what time they lost BBC * night.22 hrs but changing to Channel Isles they retained a picture till after 23hrs.As for the offset not a clue as to the probs.Just my two penneth for what its worth.Again thanks to all that contributed I learned a lot.
lezb

 

[hoppo1]

What lnb did you have on the offset?

 

[lezb]

LNB INVACOM UNIVERSAL 0,3 dB.
EL ROLLS - ROYCE DE LOS LNBs

The gear was client supplied and the above was cut and paste from the wholesaler,s site 26 euros +itv.Just checked out the price of the offset again and noted that the price has been increased to 370 euros+iva some increase but hell its Christmas everyone jumps on the band waggon.Still the price of the prime focus has remained the same at 330 euros.thanks for your interest.
lezb

 

[pete_l]

OK THAT DID IT. Got an Invacom and feed and that sorted the problem. What a PIG of a dish to fine tune ! ! ! !

How I wish I had internet access at my place in Spain. I was out there at exactly
the same time, with the same dish you have (Fortec 2.4m). I took my Pace digibox
with me and spent many days over my 5 week stay trying desperately to get any
kind of reception.
The annoying thing was I also had a SS2 card in my PC. Using that I could see
signals from Sky One coming in peaking at about 11dB SNR, so I knew I was pointed at
the right place ..... but for the life of me I couldn't get a squeak out of BBC/ITV on it or
anything at all from the digibox - just continuous "no satellite signal" messages.

I was beginning to think, like you, that there was some sort of problem with my LNB
even though I had swapped the one that came with my Fortec dish for a known good 'un
I brought as a spare.

I'll also try the fishing line idea to check that the dish is square/focussed. I did notice
that tightening up the bolts holding the dish onto the mount gave me an extra 2dB SNR.

So here's the stupid question section of the posting.
Given that I should toss the generic LNB and get an Invacom C120 and a feedhorn,
are there any other things I should know before I go back out there in January?
(this is one of those "I don't know what I don't know" kind of situations)

any suggestions are gratefully received
Pete

 

[dxsat]

Make sure you get the Invacom adjustable feedhorn for prime focus dishes.
The big problem with the FortecStar dish you have is the setup process.
Mine came with really terrible instructions, with no indication of the sequence to use. The petals are very thin and bend under their own weight. The critical time is lifting the assembed petals onto the support frame. If you rest it at any point onto the ground, the petals will distort and the dish will never work properly. This is what happended to mine, it was probably my own fault. I thought I was getting a bargain, but it turned out nothing of the sort.

 

[iceman]

The big problem with the FortecStar dish you have is the setup process.
Mine came with really terrible instructions, with no indication of the sequence to use. The petals are very thin and bend under their own weight. The critical time is lifting the assembed petals onto the support frame. If you rest it at any point onto the ground, the petals will distort and the dish will never work properly. .

My advice is this....To avoid any distortion in the petals the dish must be assembled on the mount in a horizontal position,then lift the dish up to the correct angle when all the petals are in place and nuts/bolts tightened..
This way the weight distribution is even and prevents the petals bending out of shape from the weight of the dish..You will need a helping hand from someone for this method..
I have installed few of these dishes this way..

 

[pete_l]

Make sure you get the Invacom adjustable feedhorn for prime focus dishes.

Noted, thanks.

The big problem with the FortecStar dish you have is the setup process. Mine came with really terrible instructions, with no indication of the sequence to use.

Yes, I agree about the instructions. Since I was assembling it on my own I built the frame
frst then added the petals one at a time (making sure to add them so the whole mess
balanced) rather than building the dish and then attaching it. Getting some of the
bolt-holes to match up was a bit of a struggle. I also had some bolts left over afterwards
which was a bit worrying - the bill-of-materials listed the number I got, but I couldn't find
any spare holes to screw them into.

Pete

 

[thegadgitman]

The way I assembled the Fortec star 2.4 dish (And it was perfectly in line when finished) was to find a nice flat surface bigger than the dish and placed a cardboard box in the center. I placed each of the petal centers on the box and bolted them together, this held the center of the dish up as I was assembling and I did not get any distotrion and all petals fitted perfectly. Then I placed on the suport ring. Assambled the stand and had 2 people lift the dish into position while I bolted it onto the stand. At no time did the dish stand on its edge under its own weight. I then purchased a feed horn that has an outer diameter of 7.5cm on the scalar rings (I had a 5cm one before and that was a pig) and the 4 output Incacom c120 LNB (Much better then the single) and used output 2. I am using the Pace DS430N receiver and now have BBC and ITV (No BBC2 thought) till about 11pm back about 3.30am. This is great for me as I go to work 9pm till 2.30am anyway.

Total price of the setup was less than 500Euros. Which is great for this area as installers are charging well over 1100Euors here for the same thing.

But it is still a pig to tune. Even if you get a strong signal for something like Reality TV, this does not mean that BBC will come in straight away. There is a lot of fine tuning to do. It is like finding another satellite within another satellites signal. So a lot of fiddling is needed with the dish. Moving it just 2mm will lose the signal, it is that sensative.

Good luck to anyone else trying to set up a Fortec Star dish. ! ! ! ! !

 

[sat man]

Hi,
New to this thing etc.etc. BUT the bottom line in my experience is the dish. Without a shadow of doubt the Portuguese 2.4 M is the king when it comes to pulling in those 2D signals along with a Invacom twin, 2600 or 430N and decent quality cable too. I have worked on loads of other 2.4's over the years and apart from a channel master 2.4 offset (loads of money !!) no other dish really comes close.
Hope this helps.

 

[maurice594]

Hi to all, not been on for some time due to no internet, I have a 1.8 Channel Master with Invacom Quad and live in Murcia area, I have no problems at all with any programs except in really bad weather ( about 2 weeks in the year ). I cannot understand why people in the north of me (with 2.4 dishes)have trouble with the BBC. When I arrived some 5 years ago I had 1.2 Channel Master and received all S*y channels with Pan DSB30, then 1 day all froze, changed to Grundig and still runnig them but have upgraded to 1.8.

 

[thegadgitman]

I know the Murcia are is next on from Alicante. Although you do not say which part of Murcia as it is quite big. You could actually be about 90+ miles away from where I am in Benidorm. The Benidorm area is a Nightmare for signal. The satellite footprint has a weak spot in this area. So hence a 2.4+ is needed, and the BBC2,3 chanels only viewable for a couple of hours a day on a 2.4. But not on my dish. So hope that clears that up. Murcia has a much stronger signal than Alicante so hence dish sizes.

 

[sydeccles]

I have a 2.4 Fortec Star (I know that they are not the best).

According to this forum, the best option for this dish is to fit it with an Invacom Quad C120 LNB and adjustable Feed Horn.

Consequently I have invested in the Invacom Quad C120 LNB plus an Invacom adjustable Feed Horn.

I also have a mounting bracket with a 23mm to 40mm collar/adapter
Photos
_http://sadoun.com/Sat/Products/Fortec-Star/Dishes/LNBF-Collar-II.htm

_http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150156299642&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:GB:1123#ebayphotohosting

The Fortec Spec states a focal length of 915, can anyone tell me what the Focal length with the Invacom C120.

Many thanks

 

[irart]

Don't know if you have seen this - _http://www.astra2d.com/footprint.htm ,scroll down and see why in Mercia it is easier to get a signal than in Alicante.

 

[oggie101]

hi gadgitman i am thinking of getting one of the fortecstar dishes as the price is important did the invacom lnb and feedhorn solve your problem

 

[PaulR]

DON'T BUY A FORTECSTAR DISH.

Their 2.4m dish is made of very thin metal which doesn't hold its shape well. It will perform about as well as a good 1.5m dish.

 

[thegadgitman]

The Fortec Star dish is not the bestin the world, but I get the channels I want on it, however itv and bbc dissapear about 9pm at night, can be anoying but I work at 9pm so no problems for me. I am however thinking of getting rid of the dish so I can have a more stable picture during rain.

 

[pipino]

i´m in costa blanca right on the dark spot (javea)and i use 1.50 Gibertini dish with impressive results

 

[sydeccles]

20 minutes south of Alicante Airport.

2.4 Fortec Star
Invacom Quad C120 Feed Horn
Took a LOT of care with the assemble.

I no problems get most stuff 24/7 apart from BBC 2 / 3&4

Would I buy another....yes
Syd

 

[rowifi]

Hi - I'm on a mission to install a sat system in the Alicante area, and want to try to get it 'right first time'. Still a long way to go in fully comprehending it all. Reading as many posts as I can.

For starters, if I get the seeming praised Invacom QDF-031 is this 'only' for a prime focus dish?
Assuming an offset focus is better ( is it? ) then is this LNB still optimal or is there a different part number.
Rob