Eurobird 2 at 25.5°E

[Zorch]

Hi again aceb william et al,

@william

Great results mate... especially with a 1m dish... I suspect your southerly location helps you a bit...

@aceb

Yes... I got a stronger signal quality this morning also...

TM 5402 HD CI+ Super+
Signal Strength 96%
Signal Quality 59%

As a matter of interest... when I moved the dish to Eurobird 2 this morning... I always tweak the dish using 11.039V [1534] and I was amazed to see how high the signal quality went to...

TM 5402 HD CI+ Super+
Signal Strength 96%
Signal Quality 89%

Best Wishes,
Zorch

 

[aceb]

Same here, I peak the radio stations which are usually S81/Q100 then back off west until I loose 1% signal then nudge back, it just helps lower the signal from 26E slightly, it still makes blindscanning impossible without logging much of 26E.

Looks like we are using the same dish/LNB combo William, I wonder if you've tried adjusting the position of the Black Ultra in the bracket? Mine seems ever so critical on 26E, more so than most other satellites.

 

[Zorch]

Hi again aceb,

Do you not have the ability to set your 'Blind Scan' parameters on your receiver...?

Eurobird 2 uses 10.700 GHz - 11.700 GHz

Badr 4 does not use this frequency range
Astra 3A/3B uses small parts of this frequency range
Astra 1N/2D/Eurobird 1 uses parts of this frequency range

'Blind Scan' (TM 5402 HD CI+ Super+) allows you to set the frequency range required... but occasionally 2-3 low frequency Astra 2D TP's will also scan in... maybe that is what is blocking Al Sabah (10.996V)

Best Wishes,
Zorch

 

[william-1]

Set up with my own guide for maximum signals >>
Part-1
1/ Pole must be dead vertical in 360 degrees ( use a spirit level ),
2/ Dish mounted dead central on the motor spigot,
3/ Motor set at the correct Elevation for your location for maximum signal at your reference satellite,
4/ Motor at zero on the scale when aimed at your reference satellite,
5/ Dish Declination set for maximum signal at your reference satellite,
6/ Lnb set in the correct position for max signal(Move Lnb fully forward & Back while viewing a meter for max signals)
7/ Site dish so that you have an unobstructed view of the Satellite Arc,
8/ Tighten all bolts when you have achieved maximum signal on all Satellites in your Satellite Arc.

Part-2
A normal motorised dish installation is very straight forward for receiving the major satellites 42 east,39 east,28.2 east,19.2 east,13 east 5 east 1 west 5 west & 30 west,
But the feed hunter is looking for feeds that are sometimes very weak signals so the dish/motor set up is more critical than a normal installation,

I have found this method to be the most successful after you have established that the pole is dead vertical,
The dish is mounted dead central on the motor spigot,
Your motor elevation is set for your location (use as a guide only) & maximum signal was achieved on your reference satellite by altering the the dish declination & USALS settings of Longitude & Latitude then check out the Lnb position in the Lnb holder is giving you the best possible signal by moving the Lnb fully forward & back to achieve this whilst viewing a signal meter we then move on to stage two,

As the scales for the motor elevation & dish declination are just a guide & not an accurate measuring scale so with the Longitude & Latitude can be altered slightly to improve your dishes ability to track the arc more accurately as with all guides you may find a slight variation on my finding will enable you to track the arc more accurately,

To improve your motor's capability to track the Clarke Belt / Geostationary Satellite's on the Arc make sure that the Motor has been clamped in the correct position to make tracking the arc accurately possible,
Try this to find out if your dish is set up correctly:-
Go to 30 west or the furthest West your dish will travel now while viewing a signal meter lightly flex the dish back at the top if the signal goes up or down make a note of this now do the same with the bottom of the dish & make a note of what happens,
Now go to 36 east or the furthest East your dish can travel & flex the dish as above,

If your findings are that the signal gets better on the East satellites when the dish was flexed back & the signal gets better on the West satellites when the dish was flexed forward then the motor is fixed to the wrong place on the mast to correct this change your USALS @ your reference satellite from say 0.07 Longitude to 0.4 Longitude now slacken off the motor fixing bolts & move the motor a few mm either way to achieve maximum signal,

Now check you East & West satellites again for maximum signal if it is better then tighten up your Motor at the new position if not then change your USALS to 0.0 Longitude now slacken off the motor fixing bolts & move the motor a few mm either way to achieve maximum signal,
Then check your East & West Satellites again for maximum signal.

Once you have established that you are tracking the Arc more accurately you can fine tune your dish / motor set up by changing USALS by 0.3 to 0.6 from your current best setting then slacken off the motor fixing bolts & move the motor a few mm either way to achieve maximum signal,


Settings for my location should be Longitude 0.07 East & Latitude 51.7 North but I track the arc more accurately with Longitude 0.4 East & Latitude 51.7 North as I said scales are just a guide line & you must use your own common sense & judgement when setting up a motorised satellite system to track the arc as accurately as possible,

After completing these fine tuning adjustments your 90 to 100cm dish will now pull in the weaker signals on 10 east,16 east ect & probably work better than a 120cm dish that has not been set as precisely as this,
Happy Feed Hunting

 

[aceb]

I can, the question is why didn't I? 25.5E profile edited accordingly, I'll give it a go later on! Just realised the problem is Astra at 28, the stronger signals are weak but still lock. I guess wider acceptance is one draw back of a smaller dish.

 

[Zorch]

Hi again aceb,

I also use my TM 5400 (SD Model) receiver to 'Blind Scan' Eurobird 2... this receiver has much more flexibility when using 'Blind Scan' than my TM 5402 HD

The TM 5400 (SD Model) can 'Blind Scan' using the following parameters...

TP Range Search
S/R Search
Fast
Detail
7.5M Over
7.5M Under
3.7M Under

Because this satellite does not carry any DVB-S2 TP's (except for Data/Internet) and because there is very little chance of locking onto the 3 TP's on Eurobird 2 that use 27500 symbol rates... all I do is set the 'Blind Scan' to search for TP's with symbol rates '7.5M Under' and using the frequency range of 10.700 GHz - 11.700 GHz (as shown in picture below)... thus eliminating anything from Badr 4 and being 99.9% sure of eliminating anything from Astra 3A/3B and Astra 1N/2D/Eurobird 1

If I do find something new/interesting from the 'Blind Scan'... I then manually add the frequency/channel/feed information into my TM 5402 HD

Best Wishes,
Zorch

 

[aceb]

Unfortunately setting the max SR is something I can't do, I'm using EBS written for PC cards using the STV0903nn chipset and this one feature it doesn't have although minimum SR can be set. I'm not sure if the reason is technical or commercial as there's a pro version about so maybe that has it but IMO it's desirable for blindscanning for the very reasons we're discussing.

 

[Zorch]

Hi again aceb et al,

I have managed to get a lock on Al Sabah TV (10.996V) again this morning... I simply selected the channel (black screen) and just waited... and after about 3-4 minutes the channel appeared... so Flysat are wrong... it hasn't left the satellite... still receiving ok (07:25am)

10.996V [2532] 3/4 DVB-S QPSK [Super Beam]

Al Sabah TV (Kuwait) [VPID 0308/APID 0256/PPID 8190] FTA

TM 5402 HD CI+ Super+
Signal Strength 96%
Signal Quality 48%

I have attached some pictures below...

Best Wishes,
Zorch

 

[william-1]

Locked onto this one within 2 sec with AZBox P+

10.996V [2532] 3/4 DVB-S QPSK [Super Beam]

Al Sabah TV (Kuwait) [VPID 0308/APID 0256/PPID 8190] FTA
100cm
Signal strength 68%
Signal Quality 37%

 

[Zorch]

Hi william-1,

My signal has just disappeared... what's the weather like there...?

Leaden skies and rain here... any pictures of Al Sabah TV from your AZ Premium Plus box...?

Best Wishes,
Zorch

 

[william-1]

Hi Zorch Cloudy with the Sun breaking through here minus 7C outside.
Al Sabah TV working ok on AZBox

 

[aceb]

Nicely spotted Zorch! Also got it here, I don't know if this is an indication of conditions or a change in the transponder level but good to see it back.

 

[Zorch]

Hi again aceb,

I have got a theory as to why reception of this TP/channel has been so very difficult... I have just moved my dish to Eurobird 2 and peaked my signal again on 11.039V as I normally do... then I went to Al Sabah TV and there was no signal lock... so I thought it's gone again... so I went into the menu and moved the dish a couple of nudges to the West... and hey presto... there it was... signal strength 95% signal quality 52%

I think that the TP/channel may have swapped beam at sometime... from 'Super Beam' to 'Fixed Beam' or vice versa... and now there seems to be a distinct positional difference between the two beams... be it ever-so slight... but on a beam that is as tight as this one seems to be... it can make a big difference between locking the signal or getting nothing...

Best Wishes,
Zorch

 

[aceb]

Interesting theory Zorch, it might explain why the radio bouquet is so much stronger too. How's your geometry, a nudge on my motor is roughly 0.1°, how far is that distance wise 22000 miles up?

 

[Zorch]

How's your geometry, a nudge on my motor is roughly 0.1°, how far is that distance wise 22000 miles up?

Hi again aceb,

I'm not sure about that mate... I use a 36v motor on my Fibo and my commands to the motor are all done manually by using the DiSEqC 1.2 East-West positioner (Move/Fine Move) in the Technomate 5402 HD's menu which then goes to the motor via an Aston DS 200 Interface...

So who knows...?

Best Wishes,
Zorch

 

[Zorch]

Hi again aceb et al,

I found this by searching for 'TV Satellites' on the n2yo website... it may be a bit far-fetched but...

Could Al Sabah TV actually be on this satellite...?

Inmarsat 4-F2 at 25.1°E

http://www.n2yo.com/?s=28899

It fits the bill position wise... and it says "The satellites in this category have the following common characteristics: are geostationary, are known to broadcast TV signals and are currently in service."

http://www.n2yo.com/satellites/?c=34&srt=11&dir=0

Best Wishes,
Zorch

 

[hvdh]

Could Al Sabah TV actually be on this satellite...?

Inmarsat 4-F2 at 25.1°E

Don't think so, the Inmarsat 3/4 series has only L and C band on board.

Differences in optimal antenna pointing is often caused by the strong neighbouring satellites on 23.5 and 28.2 East.
Moving the antenna slightly away from the disturbing satellite, will move its signal completely out of your antenna's main "lobe", while hardly weakening your wanted signal in the middle of the main lobe.

 

[Zorch]

Hi hvdh,

Thanks for the explanation mate... it makes more sense than my theories...

Best Wishes,
Zorch

 

[Zorch]

Hi again all,

I've got all these mentioned so far on 25.5 but I'm also getting a bit of a mystery only in Crazyscan, 11167H 1000 5/6 shows quite clearly although TSReader reports it blank but I can't lock it using DVB Dream. It could be the low SR confusing the software but would appreciate it if someone else can check too.

I put this TP frequency into my TM 5402 HD at the time you reported it (well over a week ago now) ...and I've been regularly scanning the satellite... but I've seen no activity at all... until this morning... suddenly it's a very strong signal with a good lock... but nothing from a TP scan... so must be for Data/Internet ?

PS
Nearly forgot... a couple of nudges to the East were needed to maximise the signal...

I have attached a picture below...

Best Wishes,
Zorch

 

[Zorch]

Hi again all,

Very strange... have a look at the transponders listed on Flysat for Astra 1N [1N Pan European-1 Beam]

http://www.flysat.com/28east.php

A couple of these look very familiar...

Best Wishes,
Zorch