Advice Needed Sensitive receivers. I have used a Konig receiver for many years. They appear to have vanished.

[mad mac]

I live in Northern Sweden, on the Norwegian border. On maps of astra coverage, i am several kilometers north of the blue line. 1 or 2 mm tilt vertical or horizontal, and I lose every thing. Heavy rain or snow, bye bye.

I have tried many rx in the last 10 years, but nothing appears to have the sensitivity of the Konig. I have a 5 meter dish, which is a pain. I either watch TV in the Mornings, or in the evening. It can see the satelite wobbling. It has become more acute with the change to HD. My 2,5 meter dish sees almost nothing that i want to watch. The Konig does blind scan. Shows sig strength and sig quality. I had a Humax. it said no signal. I have bought a few receivers, but nothing.
The simple solution is a VPN, but my Jodrell bank set up amuses my neighbors. And keeps me busy, as in winter, the frozen ground moves the 2 tons of concrete, and I have to go out and tweak it.

 

[Channel Hopper]

Have you tried a GTMedia Combo ?

 

[mad mac]

GTMedia Combo

I think i did 2years ago,just not good enough. I also tried a Nedis,which Iam told is Konigs new name..Iread so many strange receivers names here I thought it was worth an ask.

 

[7mdish]

Not sure what you want to get, you mentioned Astra, which one? But you told that you have a 5m dish.....
It seems a little bit strange that you do not receive Astra (all Astras) with a so large dish.... please correct me if I wrong.

 

[mad mac]

Not sure what you want to get, you mentioned Astra, which one? But you told that you have a 5m dish.....
It seems a little bit strange that you do not receive Astra (all Astras) with a so large dish.... please correct me if I wrong.

OK. when i first came here, i had loads of signal. I guess 2d, 2E. 2F....Lots of UK TV. More sig strength than Stockholm. ( 1.6meter offset dish)) About 8 / 9 ago , they all vanished. Nothing. I read some where that SKY had a new satelite. I then found a 2,5.meter, prime focus. no channel 5, and weak BBC. I cannot recall what i did and did not have .I was then offered the 5 meter. Stupid, mad, but a challenge. Depending on the position of the LNB, many 28.2 channels. THe dish is 75 meters from my house. I tried fibre, but fibre LNBs are not good as a plain one.
So a super rx needed. Astra 2F 2G wanted. A couple of Konigs have died this last 10 years. I bought 1 spare, but want to be ahead of the game. And many here seem to know more about sat kit than i can imagine.

 

[Lazarus]

My Sky box F3 was very sensitive indeed - I swore at it and it died.

 

[statalite]

Maybe someone experienced in electronics repair could fix the Konig receiver's?

 

[dreambox1959]

do you have a polar mount or a fixed ?
a 5m dish is more dificult to set than an 1.6M
your mount has to be very strong !!
koenig receiver was old maybe octagon sf8008 (classic or supreme) can be more efficient (4k and dolby ac3 ac4)

i see some koenig receiver on amazon UK

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Konig-Satellite-Receiver-HDMI-Output/dp/B003XIIX8W

 

[7mdish]

do you have a polar mount or a fixed ?
a 5m dish is more dificult to set than an 1.6M
your mount has to be very strong !!

Agree. You are a very lucky man having a so large dish, but you must make a proper installation (it means very strong, as mentioned).
Your problem is not the receiver but the dish, probably not installed correctly.
It is almost impossible that you do not get 28E satellite with such a beast.
If you tell us more details about your setup you could help us to analyse and solve your problem.
Which dish? Which installation type (fixed or motorised)? Which feedhorn and LNB?
Believe me, a new receiver like Octagon or similar would be enough with a so massive antenna.

 

[mad mac]

Sorry. a polar mount or fixed. ? I just have a two output Inverto LNB, with the biggest flange i could find. Probably too small. It sits on a huge pole.solid steel, about a foot across. It is also bolted to an old wooden house. ( house from 1800s, solid timber). I guess it is not a perfect parabola. To move it, i had to split the dish.! I re riveted it as well as i could. ran strings across it, and they all crossed in the centre. My location is almost at a null signal area, on the northern border of Sweden and Norway. No side lobes.
At the moment I have more channels than i can ever watch. I am just worried in case my Konig dies.
Some one suggested an Octogon SF 8008. i will have to look at it and see if it possibly works.
I see a konig is on Amazon. I may just splash out.
Out of interest, i have tried transmitting the signal from the old wooden house to my new house. Just not enough transmit power. I did think of investing loads of money on a professional fibre transmitter, but 4 or 5 k GBP, is just silly.
I used to design radar seekers for guided missiles. And other stuff. But I no longer have access to fancy radio diagnosis equipment. A power supply, a scope , even an old analogue Avo, and good soldering irons.

If the dish was close to the house, wonderfuBut thanks for the interst.l. no cable probs. But i had to locate it where it is not subject to wind, or the sight line blocked by huge trees. Fir pine and birch.

 

[EnoSat]

Each dish should come with the original feedhorn.

 

[mad mac]

Each dish should come with the original feedhorn.

I was offerd it for free a huge proffessional dish with 4 long arms and a lnb mount,1ft in diamtr'r,,Lots of fun

 

[a33]

Is this a picture of your setup?

Bargain Second-Hand Big Dishes For Sale

Can a mod or admin create a "Bargain Second Hand Small Dishes For Sale" topic and move all these recent nano, micro, mini and small dish related posts to it. There should be a definition of dish size for inclusion in this topic, lets say 1.8m and above in 'ere and anything less goes in the...

www.satellites.co.uk

I was wondering about your LNB+feedhorn as well, if the feedhorn f/D matches that of the dish.

A long cable would attenuate the signal strength, but not the signal quality, and that is the important one.

Greetz,
A33

 

[mad mac]

The big dish

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[mad mac]

Is this a picture of your setup?

Bargain Second-Hand Big Dishes For Sale

Can a mod or admin create a "Bargain Second Hand Small Dishes For Sale" topic and move all these recent nano, micro, mini and small dish related posts to it. There should be a definition of dish size for inclusion in this topic, lets say 1.8m and above in 'ere and anything less goes in the...

www.satellites.co.uk

I was wondering about your LNB+feedhorn as well, if the feedhorn f/D matches that of the dish.

A long cable would attenuate the signal strength, but not the signal quality, and that is the important one.

Greetz,
A33

 

[mad mac]

I managed to buy the Konig from aamazon. Some one left a link. Thank you. I am afraid I only gót the basics when i collected the dish. A couple of friends dropped in. One saw my 2,5. His firm were winding down their sat business, and instead of paying money to be rid of this bit of kit, were happy that i turned up with friends and removed it for free. I am certain it is not perfectly paraboilic. But it ws too big to pass under many bridges on the 600 km drive home. So i had to split it. The engineering that went into this is amazing. Each leaf was designed to be adjustable in the centre. Well beyond my physical abiities and knowledge. It amuses my neighbors.
Thank you all for help and ideas.

 

[a33]

Each leaf was designed to be adjustable in the centre.

You mean that each leaf is fixed at the rim, and the "depth" of the leaf at the center of the parabola can be adjusted?
Interesting!

When you do decide that you want to do more effort to check the right parabolic/paraboloid form, please come back to us.
For a paraboloid dish, every point on the dish surface, and the width and focal length of the dish, are mathematically connected to each other.

See for instance Calculating focal length of a PrimeFocus dish that has a hole in the middle

But I understand that it is not an easy job with such a big parabola, and you are not 20 years old anymore....


Also I'd like to see a photo of the LNB+feedhorn you now use. Though I must confess, that's not my expertise. But others might have some useful information.
For best quality satellite signal, dish surface (bigger is better) and matching LNB-feedhorn (located at the focal point) are the first things I would look at...


Greetz,
A33

 

[Channel Hopper]

The big dish

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That is a very nice reflector, I would suggest it is not quite 5m in diameter, nearer 4.8m in effective parabola.

As above the feedarms look to have been designed as a Cassegrain, though if you have no secondary lens you will be struggling with any current feed integrated LNB (LNBF) and should look for a scalar feed that can allow a C120 flanged device to bolt to it.

The smallest degradation at the focal point could be the reason for the losses (including boresight offset, myopia/hyperopia or simply moisture on/in the cap).

 

[mad mac]

You would probably be horrified at my methods to get it working. History. I did some work with dishes as an apprentice at the GEC, but was not taken with it. Standing about in all weathers adjusting things for backscatter, side lobes etc was boring. I ended up as an RF engineer. Designing radars and other silly stuff. Mainly at high frequencies. up to 18 Ghz. Any way fitting it and getting it working was a challenge. The LnB is fitted to a great big LNB holder. No pic right then. any way , i fitted the LnB, to a metal plate, split in the middle to attach the LNB. I then fitted 4 m6 rods to the holder. With 4 holes in the plate, i can move the <LnB back and forward so i find the focal point. My first try, i had one of the Astra sats, but none of the channels i wanted. So crawled the LnB up the rods towards the dish. Finally I found one of the strong 2F , 2G signals. I then spend several days, standing on scaffolding, with a Konig and a small TV, fiddling mm by mm, until I found them all. I then locked it all in place.
What this dish cost to make and set up, is probably beyond belief. aluminium leafs, rivited together on galvanised arms. The centre at the back is 2 to 3ft in diameter, with a 13 mm locking screw, for each leaf. Sadly i had to dismantle it all the take it down and transport it. A huge bottle jack to alter the vertical alignment. A plate on the support pole, with screws either side to set the horizontal alignment.
I guess my main problem is the size of the LnB flange. I guess a 6 inch one would not look out of place. mine is about 2 inches. But I am 76. I guess who has my house after i am gone will want shot of the eyesore.

 

[Lazarus]

You're not the only ex-GEC Apprentice around these parts - MCSL mid 70s