FreeSat in Switzerland?

F

FreeSatBob

Member
My Satellite Setup
Phonotrend SDR 5800
MS XP
My Location
East Switzerland
I am in East Switzerland and am able to recieve channels from Astra 28.3 but only a handfull actually display (and those are just absolute trash) and none of the BBC or English language channels.

What am I doing wrong?

I'm using a cheap Phonotrend SDR 5800 and I havent bought a smartcard for it. I have a 80cm dish.

Also I can get the Hotbird 13E but pretty much the same situation; no English.

Getting information from the local shops around here is just about impossible as no one seems to know anything.

Thanks
 
Welcome to the forum FreeSatBob

Well an 80cm dish in Eastern Switzerland is unlikely to pull in a lot of Astra 2D transmissions, if you were in the west there would not be a problem, see reports by clicking here I can only therefore suggest that you try to fine tune your setup by altering alignment or lnb skew to see if it can be improved, if not then you will need to get a larger diameter dish.
 
Topper said:
Welcome to the forum FreeSatBob

Well an 80cm dish in Eastern Switzerland is unlikely to pull in a lot of Astra 2D transmissions, if you were in the west there would not be a problem, see reports by clicking here I can only therefore suggest that you try to fine tune your setup by altering alignment or lnb skew to see if it can be improved, if not then you will need to get a larger diameter dish.
Click to expand...

Thanks Topper,

I'm a newbie to this, is it possible then that just because I can get some channels it doesn't mean others won't come in well?

Some channels read 80+ percent and still show a black screen.

It seems like everyone else does not have a problem with a 80cm dish, the posters you pointed out and lots of my neighbors. But then again my neighbors may not be looking at Astra BBC channels. The package I bought was specifically for Astra and Hotbird. But if a larger dish is what it takes I guess that's what I'll have to do.

I will try to tweak the lnb skew tomarrow if the rain/snow slows down a bit.

I'll never buy another Phonotrend product. The instructions are very thin, to say the least, and they want you call them for advice so they can make more money in a pay call. In fact they say to set aside 20 CHF for it and reason that it is cheaper then hiring a pro. Right.
 
Lets go back to first principles. What channels are you actually getting - list half a dozen or so.
 
FreeSatBob said:
I'm a newbie to this, is it possible then that just because I can get some channels it doesn't mean others won't come in well?

Some channels read 80+ percent and still show a black screen
Click to expand...
There is more than one satellite transmitting channels at 28E and there are different coverage patterns from each of them. This is of no importance in the UK as this where they are aimed at but for Switzerland it's crucial as 2D very quickly falls off in strength as you go into Europe.

This means that an 80cm dish in Switzerland will get some channels but not others as they are too weak. Unfortunately the FTA channels are nearly all on 2D and therefore need a larger dish to get them.

FreeSatBob said:
It seems like everyone else does not have a problem with a 80cm dish, the posters you pointed out and lots of my neighbors. But then again my neighbors may not be looking at Astra BBC channels. The package I bought was specifically for Astra and Hotbird. But if a larger dish is what it takes I guess that's what I'll have to do.
Click to expand...
Ahh, there's Astra and there's Astra.

As they say Astra and Hotbird they almost certainly mean Astra 1 at 19E. Although, as at 28E, there are a cluster of satellites doing the transmitting, none of them have a tight beam just aimed at the UK.

I'm surprised that an 80cm dish won't get the BBC at least some of the time. As Topper says, adjustment may be needed.

One final thought. You ARE pointing at Astra 2 not Astra 1? Can you give the names of some of the channels that you can identify? There are not a lot of non-English channels on Astra 2.

BTW, the black screen is probably a scrambled channel.
 
PaulR said:
As they say Astra and Hotbird they almost certainly mean Astra 1 at 19E. Although, as at 28E, there are a cluster of satellites doing the transmitting, none of them have a tight beam just aimed at the UK.
Click to expand...

Aha, I think I'm starting to get the picture now (and I don't mean video)

PaulR said:
One final thought. You ARE pointing at Astra 2 not Astra 1? Can you give the names of some of the channels that you can identify? There are not a lot of non-English channels on Astra 2.

BTW, the black screen is probably a scrambled channel.
Click to expand...

Well the menu choice says Astra 2 when I scanned the channels so that's the only reason I thought I was receiving it.
Also a menu showed the black screen channels as open and 80+ percent.

I'll check with this new knowledge and get back with you.

Thanks much
 
FreeSatBob said:
Well the menu choice says Astra 2 when I scanned the channels so that's the only reason I thought I was receiving it.
Also a menu showed the black screen channels as open and 80+ percent.
Click to expand...

Ignore what the menus say - the same frequency parameters are reused numerous times around the satellite arc. At a guess you are lined up on 19E instead of 28E - thats the most common one to hit by mistake.
 
Sorry guys but 80cm are sufficient for full 2D in (North)Eastern CH but the alignment should be done by the stronger Verticals and exact LNB-skew. If we speak of extreme Southeast maybe the situation is a bit worse.
 
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