Recieving 2 Satellites on One Dish

[erik1]

Hi,

I'm sure this question has been asked before, but I've had touble finding any useful info regarding it.

I'm in central Europe and have a 110cm dish. When I aim at Thor (1°W) I get it very strong. Also when I aim the dish at Amos (4°W) it's a little more difficult to find, but once I get it, the signal is strong. But getting the 2 together has eluded me so far! Are the Satellites TOO close together?

Any tricks or tips? (Yes, I have a LNB holder that allows 2 LNBs to slide along them)

Thanks for the input!

 

[rolfw]

Yes, 3 degrees is too close, 6 degrees is about the minimum you can do with two LNBs on a standard dish.

 

[PaulR]

I would have thought that if you have slim LNBs it might be possible with a 110cm dish?

The LNBs will be spaced further apart than on a 60 or even 80cm dish and also the beamwidth will be narrower which means that there will be less chance of cosatellite interference.

If you've already got the gear give it a go. Point at 4W and put 1W on the side LNB.

PaulR

 

[erik1]

Yes! I "split it down the middle" and got both 1°W and 4°W on one dish! When I pointed the dish at 4°W and tried to get 1°W on the side, it didn't work (and same vice-versa). But when I pointed the dish BETWEEN the 2 satellites and split the LNBs down the middle it worked! The LNBs are butted right up against each other, but it does work.

Thanks for the input RolfW, but I guess even old dogs can still learn new tricks ;) Never say no until you try....

 

[ikuwara2000]

Erick1, is this what u want??? http://www.pauxis.com/manage/product/product-c/PX-9922.htm

 

[erik1]

ikuwara200: no, i have 2 seperate Invacom LNBs. I've never saw a LNB like you showed there. Is it fixed at 5° seperation? or can it be adjusted?

 

[rolfw]

Glad you got it sorted Erik1, surprised that it worked, but then that is what the hobby is about, making things work which shouldn't on paper.

 

[erik1]

Thanks. Yea, it was very tricky getting the dish and LNBs set up to recieve the 2 SATs at once, but so far it seems to work ok. At first I had some pictures freezing, but now that seems to have stopped.

I have a Samsung 9500 that shows channel reception in "Yellow" bars and "White" bars. The "Yellow" bars (Signal Strength?) read at about 50% but the "White" bars (Signal Quality?) read only 1 or 2 bars (about 5-10%) during partly-cloudy weather. However, like I said, the picture is clear on all channels. I'm waiting for some rain and fog to see how the picture quality is then. One follow up question:

DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT IS THE MINIMUM SIGNAL STRENGTH/QUALITY NEEDED TO VIEW A CHANNEL IS??

Anyway, I suppose the set-up I have just barely works and wouldn't reccomend going for 2 SATs that are only 3° apart, but it does work for me non-the-less and I'm happy for that . I originally wanted to go for Thor and Sirius (6° apart) but couldn't get Sirius due to obsticals Amos doesn't have much, but at least a few Russian/Ukrainian channels....