Hispasat 30 West, Europe Beam

[leecovuk]

Hello,

I have had a dish installed for Hispasat 30 degrees West.
I live in Coventry in the midlands of England.

I am getting high signal quality and strength on some transponders, but I find that I cannot get a usable signal on all the transponders listed on the Europe beam at the page below :-

http://www.lyngsat.com/hispa.html

Should I be able to? Is it likely that the installer hasn't correctly aligned the LNB and/or dish?

I think the dish is 80cm (on an existing pole) and I assume it is a universal LNB. I would need to double check those two points, however.

Many thanks for any advice,
Lee

 

[rolfw]

With an 80cm you should, it is a good strong satellite for the midlands, I wonder if the LNB skew is slightly out.

 

[leecovuk]

Thanks Rolf.

That would cause my situation, then?
He did do the install after dark using a torch !

Are there any specific transponders I should try out to test for a possible LNB skew issue?


Lee

 

[rolfw]

It is normally easy to spot on the dish, looking from behind the LNB, towards the dish, the LNB should be at about 25 past the hour.

 

[leecovuk]

ok, I won't be able to see in detail from the ground.
Your hunch is it is worth getting him to check it then, assuming I should be able to get all the Europe beam transponders ?

Lee

 

[rolfw]

Yes, you should get good signal readings on all active European beam transponders.

As a matter of interest, which transponders are you not receiving?

Some receivers have problems with very low symbol rates, also many of the transponders are inactive, unless they have a feed on them.

 

[leecovuk]

Hello again Rolf and thanks.

I've just done some tests, shown below. I've picked those transponders from the lyngsat page I linked to above, which states they are all Europe beam.
I've had to kind of guess which figure is strength and which is quality, because my receiver (old ADT PIXX) is a little cryptic in that regard.
Thanks for any further thoughts.

Lee

11474 H tp 85 SR: 3400 - 88% strength, 88-90% quality fluctuating, lock ok

11512 V tp 81 SR: 1010 - 44% strength, 0-20% quality fluctuating, cannot lock

11532 H tp 86 SR: 3000 - 87/88% strength, 69-71% quality fluctuating, lock ok

11535 V tp 81 SR: 24500 - 43/44% strength, 0-40% quality rapidly fluctuating, cannot lock

11577 V tp 82 SR: 27500 - 88% strength, 87/88% quality fluctuating, lock ok

11615 H tp 87 SR: 27500 - 87% strength, 56-62% quality rapidly fluctuating, lock ok

 

[rolfw]

Try moving your digital phone Lee, if you have one that is.

 

[leecovuk]

Digital phone? Is that a joke which has flown right over my head?
I have a mobile phone but it is and has been switched off. My landline phone is just an old corded standard phone.

 

[rolfw]

OK, just that the Intermediate Frequency for those channels is smack on the Frequency of a DECT phone.

 

[leecovuk]

oh ok;
in case it's relevant the dish is not mounted near me, but on a pole on my block of flats. (2/3 storey building).
The dish is probably vaguely near the wall of somebody else's flat.
There is then a single coax run of some distance from the external diseqc switch to my flat. I would guess that run is around 30 feet.
I have been receiving Astra 1, Astra 2 and Hotbird via that same coax run for a couple of years from my other dish, and reception there generally seems fine.
I have however had intermittent trouble receiving a usable signal on one Astra2 frequency, namely 12560 V.
Both my dishes are mounted on the same pole.

I asked the installer of the Hispasat dish to check the alignment of the old dish and LNBs (which he also did originally) whilst he was installing the new set up, and he said they were still bang on with everything securely mounted.
Of course if he is not checking the alignment properly he may well think all is well when it isn't.
Do you think the Hispasat LNB is indeed in need of more careful alignment?
Is there a certain technique I might tactfully tell him on how to correctly align things? ! He generally does fairly standard Sky Digital install jobs.

Thanks again,
Lee

 

[rolfw]

Not a dissimilar IF frequency, but if it is someone else's phone, there probably isn't much you can do.

 

[leecovuk]

ok;
I'm not sure what to do now ... I don't want to complain and get the installer guy out if I'm not pretty sure he has done something wrong.
So you feel the LNB alignment is probably not the issue?
I can test and give details of more transponders if that helps.

Lee

 

[rolfw]

Get as much information as you can, it could of course still be problems with the alignment.

 

[leecovuk]

ok;
in terms of finding out more I can only really test and list the details here should that be of any use to you or anyone else.
It sounds then I should just work on the basis that I am not receiving all that I think I should be, and get the installer to check it out.

Lee

 

[rolfw]

Yes, you can at least give him the frequencies which cannot be received, then he can check them at the dish.

 

[leecovuk]

thanks, yes, good idea.
I have no idea what tool(s) he or most installers use when installing a dish and LNB; do they typically have means to test individual transponders? I don't know how he/they actually line up a dish and LNB.

Anyway, I can certainly tell him the problematic ones, as you say, if only to show I have looked into it carefully before contacting him again.

 

[rolfw]

Not sure what he'll use, but many meters can check individual frequencies.

 

[leecovuk]

ok;
thanks for talking this through with me.
I'll get the guy out to re-check the install.
Who knows maybe this time he'll do it in daylight ... might help !

Lee

 

[baddbboy]

i live in toronto, canada and i was trying to search for the hispanic 30*W and i dont know what kind of dish i need to get that signal or what kind of LnB or i cannot get none in here, aniway any sugestions.