Signal strength v Signal quality - help a newbie please

MIsterKew

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I am currently trying to install a satellite set up on a shoe string in the south of Crete.

I have blagged a 1.8 metre parabolic (centre feed?) dish and obtained a sky digibox from the UK.( with a blue sky card with the yellow house on it)

I can get 100% on the signal strength meter in the recievers setup menu, but cannot get any signal quality at all.

I have tried changing the default transponder from the north to south beam (and back again).

I am not absolutely certain the the LNB is at the correct focal length, as the support arms were disconnected when the dish was blagged.

I am trying to get Sky from Astra 2 at 28.2 - just to keep up with good ol blighty from time to time.

Am i missing something totally straightforward, could it be a problem with the digibox? would pointing at the wrong satellite give me this result? wouldan incorrect focal length cause this?

any hep or advice gratefully recieved....
 

rolfw

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You can get a signal strength reading by pointing at Astra 19.2E, does it tell you a transport stream number?
 

MIsterKew

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rolfw said:
You can get a signal strength reading by pointing at Astra 19.2E, does it tell you a transport stream number?

NO, I cannot get a "lock on". and therefore no stream or ID reading.

I have tried a variety of "default" transponders since yesterday, but am still unable to get any quality at all, I presume if I can get some signal quality, it may then proceed to lock on to the transonder in question?

so I am still stuck, unfortunately.
 

Lancelot

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Silly Q but are you 100% certain that you are on 28.2 ?

Have you got any other means other than a digi-box to scan the sat, like an ordinary fta reciever as that will eliminate this.

Just nice to be sure before you start tearing ya hair out. :)


L.
 

MIsterKew

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NO, I am not 100% certain unforunately...

I have an old analogue reciever, could that be used in someway to confirm which satellite I am currently pointing at?

I have used both the sky digibox setup menu and also a satelllite finder to get this far but cannot find much info as to where to point it. I am in southern Crete remember, and as such right on the edge or even outside the footprints (depending on who you believe)

I have used SMW link3 to get the settings I am using.
 

PaulR

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Well if you get ANY analogue signals with your analogue receiver then you are definitely not on 28.2E as there are no analogue transmission there at all!

PaulR
 

MIsterKew

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well thats a start I suppose... Ill try it Monday afternoon,thanks
 

spiney

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Sky digiboxes should get “default” transponder, even on quite low signal strength, so it sounds like either that’s wrongly set, or you’re getting wrong satellite. This more likely, there’s lots of satellites, and it’s very easy to do! At approximate bearing, try very slowly “sweeping” dish horizontally, to find each different signal, give digibox time to “lock in” to each, hopefully signal quality will “appear” on one of them.

You can try “installer menu”, and reset everything to “default”, can’t do any harm. On remote control, select services, then v. quickly enter “4 0 1 select”, menu should come up, doesn’t always work first time.

Signal strength is exactly that. Quality measures error correction, how hard receiver is working to “clean up” received bitstream, depends on signal to noise ratio. If high signal strength, but nothing on quality, almost certainly it’s the wrong satellite
 
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