Help! Bad reception in Oslo, Norway

D

dibun

Member
My Satellite Setup
Satellite: Eurobird 1 & Astra 2A/2B/2D at 28.2°E
Antenna: Offset antenna 72x65 cm with single LNB
Receiver: Dreambox 500HD
My Location
Oslo, Norway
I have a Offset antenna 72x65 cm with single LNB running with dreambox. The reception is generally ok in winter as the tree in front has no leaves but in summer I have almost nothing. Still in winter the maximum signal I have is 50% to 60%. Recently the building guys have covered the balcony with glass forcing me to move the antenna by 20cm and then my signal is more degraded.

So my question is there any way to boost the signal with bigger dish or different LNB? How about flat dish are they better than same size dish?

Thx in advance.
 
If the line of sight to the satellite is totally or partially obscured by a tree, then your only option is to trim the tree, or move the dish.
 
Triming the tree is not a option. But is 72x65 cm a good enough size or I should use a bigger one? 60% in winter when there is no leaves still it is less.
 
Are you saying you can get 2D in Oslo with a 70 cm dish??
For 2D at your position, most people find that you will need something like 150cm-180cm dish for reliable signal.
Although most people will struggle to fit this on a balcony (except for some of our friends in Sweden...)

But 2D or not 2D - if tree in the way then as rolfw says, only reliable option is to trim tree.
Larger Dish may improve strength, but you mileage may vary (as you can see from moving the dish 20 cm).
If you're happy with your current channel selection, see if you can find a larger dish.
Nothing beats a larger dish. And preferably an SMC dish (glass-fibre reinforced plastic).
You can try fiddling with LNB positioning/skew/model etc; but bigger dish outweighs anything else.
 
Yes until I moved the dish I can receive all channels and even 3D. I bought the dish from clasohlson. Why SMC dish is btter than metal? Do you have any experiance with flat dish as those are discreate.
 
Ehm, can you confirm that you get BBC1,2,3,4,Ch4,Ch5 and ITV1-4?
Those channels are all on Astra 2D, which is much weaker than the others at 28.2E for reception Oslo.
Now, You and I at about the same roll-off point for signal strength from Astra 2D (I'm in Eastern Denmark).
I have tried 90, 120, and 180 cm dishes - and only the 180 gives watchable results.
Most people in the near vicinity seems to have similar experiences (note that reception in Stockholm is a signal anomaly).
So considering you're behind a tree makes reception of 2D on Olso on a 70 cm Clas Olsson dish no mean feat.

In any case: SMC dishes are more rigid than (most) metal dishes (they don't flex or bend).
They are also more expensive, tend to weigh much more, and a bit more fiddly to mount.
Most people seem to get best results with Channel Master/Andrew/ASC/Skyview SMC dishes. There are other manufacturers, though, I can't say which one's are better or worse.
Check our the "member's installations" part of the forum for examples. (They're the ones with clear support ribs molded into the back of the dish, if you look at the pics on this site.)

Don't get me wrong: Metal dishes are also good - but you need one that comes in one piece and is high-precision. Avoid the ones assembled from petals (e.g. Fortec Star 180), they are made of thin steel, the assembly means they don't perform anywhere near a good one-piece SMC or spun aluminium, the mount is terrible, the whole thing rusts fast in Scanwegian weather, and you'll just end up being frustrated. I know, because I started with one of those...

I don't have any experience with flat dishes, but AFAIK, they don't come in sizes or effeciencies anywhere near what is needed for fringe reception, so they are not really of interest.

But yes, they do look more discrete. :)
 
Thx for the post. I don't have BBC1,2,3,4 in my channel list but I do have Channel 4 (SNR 64%, 10.35db), Ch5 is not coming. I cant see ITV1-4 but ITV1 Anglia W is coming, ITV2 HD is coming, ITV1+1 is fine, ITV3HD and ITV4HD is also fine. I do also receive BBC news
 
None of those are on Astra 2D, which you won't get without a much bigger dish. They are Encrypted with either FTV or Subs status. I take it you are using a BSkyB Card of some sort in your Dreambox?

But, if what you do get suffices, then all is well.
 
Tivù said:
None of those are on Astra 2D, which you won't get without a much bigger dish.

But, if what you do get suffices, then all is well.
Click to expand...

I was thinking to buy a sat finder. I found some on ebay in the range of 100 to 140 pounds. I dont know if they are good enough or not. Can you suggest any good sat finder in that price range?
 
dibun said:
I was thinking to buy a sat finder. I found some on ebay in the range of 100 to 140 pounds. I dont know if they are good enough or not. Can you suggest any good sat finder in that price range?
Click to expand...

Acquiring a Sat Finder however good quality is not going to overcome the simple fact that you will not and cannot get Astra 2D without a much bigger dish.

All you are getting is Astra 2A, 2B and Eurobird 1 and that will remain the case however accurately you might align your current dish.
 
Most of the channels I watch is on 2A,2B and Eurobird 1 so I think for now it is ok but I will be looking for bigger dish since it will also gain more signal for 2A,2B and Eurobird. Sometimes some channels with horizontal polarization is difficult to get.
 
If your budget is tight, I would dare say that you would get most bang for the buck by getting a 100 cm metal dish (if you can live with the thing sitting on your balcony). 120 cm if you can fit / afford it. (A second-hand SMC dish is as good or better.)
Since you're not going to struggle with Astra 2D, and your TV is near the balcony, use the signal meter on the Dreambox to adjust the azimuth first (east-west direction) then the elevation (up-down). Don't bother with the sat-meter until you go for 150+ sized dish and 2D reception.
Third optimizing step is to swap you LNB for an Inverto black ultra quad, this currently seems to handle the horizontals from Astra best for us here in the Nordics. (and is relatively low cost.)
Fourth option is a hack-saw, and a 3 am excursion to your neighbours lot to "clear some branches".
 
Good one about the fourth option :) and indeed I bought a hack saw but never went to cut it. In winter with no leaves it works perfectly and only in summer the problem starts. Not much shops sells dish here but I found a online store. _www.makromedia.no/login.php?sess=1503081612&abt=15&caller=nav

Can you suggest one dish from that link? I read somewhere that not all LNB's can fit any dish properly and use the LNB on a dish that is designed for, is it true? Can I use Inverto black ultra quad on any dish? If I buy Inverto black ultra quad can I use 1 output only for vertical and other only horizontal so that corssover won't happen.

Unparsed URL [Admin]
 
I preferred the fourth option and indeed I bought a saw but never went to cut the branches. Not many shops sell dish here but I found a online shop _http://www.makromedia.no/login.php?sess=1503081612&abt=15&caller=nav It will be great if you can check the link and let me know which dish is best. I read somewhere that not all LNB's will fit all dish and it was recommended to use the LNB that is meant for the particular dish. So if I buy Inverto black ultra quad will it fit any dish? Can I use one output of Inverto black ultra quad, only for vertical and other one for horizontal so to eliminate crossover?

[nolink]Admin[/nolink]
 
st1 said:
If your budget is tight, I would dare say that you would get most bang for the buck by getting a 100 cm metal dish (if you can live with the thing sitting on your balcony). 120 cm if you can fit / afford it. (A second-hand SMC dish is as good or better.)
Since you're not going to struggle with Astra 2D, and your TV is near the balcony, use the signal meter on the Dreambox to adjust the azimuth first (east-west direction) then the elevation (up-down). Don't bother with the sat-meter until you go for 150+ sized dish and 2D reception.
Third optimizing step is to swap you LNB for an Inverto black ultra quad, this currently seems to handle the horizontals from Astra best for us here in the Nordics. (and is relatively low cost.)
Fourth option is a hack-saw, and a 3 am excursion to your neighbours lot to "clear some branches".
Click to expand...

Do I need Inverto black ultra quad? or just Inverto Black Ultra single universal is fine?
 
On that website you point to, the 100cm dish for 995 should do the job. You can probably find a second hand one on ebay or what the nowegian equivalent is called, in DK I see one at 600 DKK, you can probably get something similar in Norway.

I'd say the single will work about the same as the Quad - the quad is just very versatile and costs only slightly more.

I don't think the polarisation cross over is an issue at all. Never come across this before.

The thing with matching dishes and LNBs is mostly LNBs that are made for oval dishes (rather than round). This shape of the dish needs to match the shape of the feedhorn (encapsulated in the plastic housing of the LNB). Note that the shape of the dish means as seen from the LNB. (The ones Viasat and Canal D currently give away are not round when seen from LNB. They are oval in the horizontal direction, to the feedhorn that come with them are also oval.)

Another point of matching LNB with dish is ensuring the LNB sees the whole of the dish, but not more. This is expressed as the F/D of the dish, and the LNB needs to match this. The inverto is made for "round" offset dishes with L/D of about 0.60. The 100 cm on that website has and F/D of 0.66, and the 85 has a F/D of 0.6. This is common to most round offset dishes and LNBs.

So you should be ok with a Inverto BU single, and a dish as those you talk about.
 
Will this _http://www.makromedia.no/login.php?sess=3069412915&abt=15&caller=nav work with Inverto?
 
Just now I have fitted the Inverto on the old dish and instantly I got 10 to 20 % higher signal than my old LNB. That is quite a jump :)
 
Hi. I live outside Oslo and have a 62-70 cm Canal Digital dish with an old 0,1dB lnb on it. I'm recieving Eurobird/Astra 2A/Astra 2B with an acceptable quality, 50-95%. Some channels drop out when it rains, so I want to boost the signal a bit.

Is the Inverto "the best" LNB? It says it has 0,2dB, while some other LNBs have 0,1dB. Is the dB irrelevant in this scenario? What about the dish and the shape you are talking about? It should be vertical oval?
 
teveto said:
Hi. I live outside Oslo and have a 62-70 cm Canal Digital dish with an old 0,1dB lnb on it. I'm recieving Eurobird/Astra 2A/Astra 2B with an acceptable quality, 50-95%. Some channels drop out when it rains, so I want to boost the signal a bit.

Is the Inverto "the best" LNB? It says it has 0,2dB, while some other LNBs have 0,1dB. Is the dB irrelevant in this scenario? What about the dish and the shape you are talking about? It should be vertical oval?
Click to expand...

Whilsty the lnb swap is the cheap option there is no substitute for a bigger dish - more metal are collecting incoming signal = better signal at your receiver.

Dont get hung up on lnb dB figures - the quoted figures are laboratory bench figures and are only across a narrow band of frequencies as measured with test equipment. Performance will vary acroos the frequency band, and from lnb to lnb.
 
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