Signal strength 75%, quality 0%

[sat_newby]

Hi all,
am totally new to the world of satellite TV and have hit a problem attempting to set up a (very basic) system at home.

I moved into my current house around 4.5 years ago and the previous occupant left behind what appears to be a Sky mini dish (static mount). I've never wanted Sky so installed a terrestrial aerial and have been happily watching Freeview for a few years.

For various reasons I've decided to upgrade to Freesat and have purchased a Foxsat-HDR, assuming I'd be able to plug into the old Sky dish via the existing cabling, which I left in place, and get up and running very quickly.

Unfortunately, when I attempt to set up the receiver I can't get a channel listing and the postcode validation step consistently fails, whatever postcode I use.

Having done a bit of reading around I understand that the postcode validation is done against a file that is received from the satellite, therefore I need to get a good signal before this will work.

Looking at the tuning menu I noticed that I've got a signal strength of 75-80% but a quality of 0. I did some further reading up and most solutions to this sort of problem suggest checking the alignment of the dish. Having looked up details on dishpointer.com I checked the East/West alignment with a compass and it seems to be spot on.

Would be grateful if someone could advise what other areas I can check before calling in a professional installer. I assume it's worth checking cables and connections etc but don't want to spend time up a ladder only for someone to say these won't affect the signal quality if the strength is so high. Is it really worth checking the elevation and LNB skew angle and if so how accurate do these need to be?

One other point to mention...am planning to change the LNB from a single to a quad so I can a) make use of the PVR features of the receiver and b) run cables to more receivers in other rooms. Am therefore happy to replace this if the 0 signal quality may be down to a faulty LNB. Any gotchas to watch out for when replacing the LNB would be much appreciated. The current LNB is a Cambridge Industries GEO UNIVERSAL G96.

Thanks,
R

 

[Robbo]

Hi, the dish may have been set up or moved to a different satellite, maybe 19E or 13E. A compass reading will not tell you which satelite the dish is pointing at.

If you are able to monitor signal quality, I would suggest you try swiveling the dish round a bit. When moving the dish east, you have to tweak it down a touch as you go, when moving west, up a touch. (assuming that the dish is already on an eastern satellite). Adjust by looking at the quality screen, or get a sat finder meter.

To get a signal of sorts, the LNB skew doesn't need to be accurate at all. And with a minidish, as long as its within a degree or two, it will get a signal (weak if not optimised)

 

[sat_newby]

Hi all.

Went out on Saturday and acquired a very basic sat finder meter. Got it connected up and swung the dish through the available arc whilst watching the needle and listening to the tone.

Moving further towards the East reduced signal strength a little, moving further towards the South reduced it by a lot. In the end the strongest signal was pretty muh in the original position.

Still reading 75% signal strength but 0% quality. Guess the next step is to do the same thing but with a TV hooked up where I can see it so I can monitor quality whilst moving the dish.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
R

 

[satelliteman]

Don't forget to adjust the dish elevation after each sweep. (dish El will be almost vertical).

 

[Robbo]

Moving further towards the East reduced signal strength a little, moving further towards the South reduced it by a lot. In the end the strongest signal was pretty muh in the original position.


R

Signal level will go down as you move away from current position, assuming its aligned on a satellite.

I suggest you get a marker pen, and mark both elevation and azimuth of current postion, and try again. This time don't be afraid to lose the signal, it will usually go down before it comes up again, as you'll find the 'gaps' between the satellites.

Also, just in case you did not know, when entering a postcode for Freesat, you have to put a space in.