Difficulty getting German on Astra 1

G

geoffkent

Member
My Satellite Setup
Two receivers:
* Technisat Digicorder S2
* Fuba ODE 150S
Dish and LNBs unknown
My Location
France
Hi there,
Just moved into this apartment (France) and it looks like I'm not receiving any Astra 1 channels above 12GHz. Receiver is a Technisat Digicorder. Ideally, I'd like to receive them all - that is, from 10.7 - 12.7 GHz.

Is the problem caused by the LNB's bandwidth? I can't get to the LNB to give you any more information - it's on the roof. Replacing the LNB, however, would mean getting the owner involved, finding someone to go up on the roof to do the job, paying bills, ...

Alternatively, I can get most of the missing channels (the one's I need, at least) through my second receiver, which is an old analog Fuba. To go for this second option, I need you to tell me what kind of adapter I need to split the input into two cables.

Here's what didn't work, probably because you just cant' do that:

A Dune R08W13 2-way Splitter 5 - 2250MHZ
One input, two outputs, with power pass back
from the outputs to the input.

Thanks for your help.
Geoff
 
does either of your receivers have "antenna in" and "antenna out" jacks (or "RF in/RFout")? If so, you should be able to simply hook them up in series without a splitter, as long as you're only using one receiver at a time. Sounds like there is still an old LNB mounted on the dish. You would simply need to install a "universal LNB" - how hard is it to physically access the dish?
If you have a balcony that faces 19° east, you could also install a "digidish", a small 33-cm dish that should get a good Astra signal where you are. Another option would be a flat dish. Both of these would be relatively easy to install, and if installed correctly, could be made nearly invisble to passers-by, in case your landlord is a contrary soul....
 
Yep, sounds like an old 9.75Ghz LNb meaning you should only be able to receive up to 11.895 which when down converted falls just under the top end of the tuner range.
 
Thanks guys, that tells me what i want to know - the LNB is old and needs updating. The landlady is cooperative so I think I'll be ok. No RF OUT on either of the receivers, so the LNB option seems to be the way to go.
Thanks for your help.
Geoff
 
geoffkent said:
Thanks guys, that tells me what i want to know - the LNB is old and needs updating. The landlady is cooperative so I think I'll be ok. No RF OUT on either of the receivers, so the LNB option seems to be the way to go.
Thanks for your help.
Geoff
Click to expand...
until you sort out your LNB problems, a simple "3-way splitter" should do the trick, German Ebay has them for under 5 euros.
 
Thanks, I have a splitter - see my original post - but it changes the channels I receive when both receivers are connected - even if the inactive rx is switched off. I don't know much about this but suspect the horizontal/vertical signal gets screwed up. Do I need a particular type of splitter to overcome this problem?
Geoff
 
I take it that you are not getting HORIZONTAL polarisation with the splitter in place? Horizontal requires the higher voltage for it to be switched in. The problem is I believe that one the diodes in the DC pass splitter is dropping enough voltage accross it, to stop the LNB getting a high enough voltage.

You may be able to be able to overcome this by selecting horizontal on both receivers with both switched on.


A cheap and dirty temporary solution would be a manual A-B switch, instead of the splitter.
 
Thanks, a switch would be fine. I took a look on eBay but didn't find exactly what I wanted. Found some VHF coax splitter switches but nothing for UHF. Any ideas?
 
geoffkent said:
Thanks, a switch would be fine. I took a look on eBay but didn't find exactly what I wanted. Found some VHF coax splitter switches but nothing for UHF. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Scroll about a quarter of the way down this page to the A/B Switch

_http://www.satellitesuperstore.com/accessories.htm

I use a couple of these switches and they are very good. Clunky, with no perceptible insertion loss, and not at all expensive.
 
Magic - many thanks! It costs about 5 pounds but they want 15 pounds to ship it to France, so I'll try to find one here or in Germany instead. At least now I know what I'm looking for.
Very happy, thanks.
 
geoffkent said:
Magic - many thanks! It costs about 5 pounds but they want 15 pounds to ship it to France, so I'll try to find one here or in Germany instead. At least now I know what I'm looking for.
Very happy, thanks.
Click to expand...

Good idea - they've changed their p&p arrangements since I bought mine. UK list prices are now included, but of course I didn't check the extortion system for sending outside the UK!

Anyway, I imagine most decent Satellite shops/suppliers will either stock them or be able to get them.
 
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