Sky+ and Hotbird on a static dish?

[chew6acca]

I have a WinTV Nova S2 HD card for my PC - supports 4 diseqs.

I am going to get a 1m static dish, but I want to know what else to get.

I would like to get the maximum number of HD channels.

I would like to be able to change to Sky+ in the future without replacing the dish.

Apart from Astra and Hotbird what can I aim for?

Does Sky+ use 2 of the diseqs?

Thanks!

 

[satelliteman]

Hi,

Sky Plus requires 2 feeds from a twin or quad LNb.

Take a look at _http://www.flysat.com/hdtv.php for a list of satellites with Hd content.

Astra1, Astra2/Eb1, Hotbird 13e and Eurobird 9 - easily achievable on a fixed dish.

DiSEqC switch required. If you have a Sky+ receiver, I would feed it direct from a quad on the dish.
You could also take an output of the quad for 28e to one port of the DiSEqC switch. This will give you a 28e feed to your pc.

SM

 

[chew6acca]

Thanks SM,

So a single quad can get Astra1, Astra2/Eb1, Hotbird 13e and Eurobird 9 and also allow me to reuse for Sky+ at a later date?

If I was going for other satellites would I need to have seperate LNBs?

For example :

National Geographic Channel HD UK A.Bird 1 12.5 W 11185 V 13657 2/3 FTA A.Bird-1 Europe

MelodyZen TV HD E.Bird 3 33 E 11056 V 18447 1/2 FTA Spot C

Are more FTA HD channels coming on Astra, Hot/Eurobird soon?

The PC card has DiSEqC 1.0 support - does that mean I still need a switch? I am getting an installer to do the work but he usually just does vanilla sky installs.

Thanks again!

 

[Robbo]

Thanks SM,

So a single quad can get Astra1, Astra2/Eb1, Hotbird 13e and Eurobird 9 and also allow me to reuse for Sky+ at a later date?

No, a quad LNB will only get you one satellite, you need additional LNBs for others.

With a 1m dish, Sky (28E) plus 13E(Hotbird) and Astra1(19E) is easily possible.

Here's one I'm working on at the moment (88cm dish):-

left to right, 28E,23.5,19E,13E and 9E (9E doesn't work very well, but worth a try anyway, but might on a 1m).

On the left had side I have put a twin LNB for Sky+, but it could just as easily be a quad, there is plenty of space,

 

[satelliteman]

Cable two of the feeds from the quad LNb to your Sky+ receiver.

Cable one feed from the quad LNb to port 1 of the DiSEqC switch.

Say for example: cable a feed from 19e, 13e and 9e to port 2, 3 and 4 of the DiSEqC switch.

Then the output of the switch to your pc.

Your pc with DiSeQC 1.0 will be able to switch to any of the LNb's.

Hope this makes sense.

Would you agree a sensible set up Robbo?

SM

 

[Robbo]

Yep, sounds good, satmadman.

and if 9E is not strong enough, stick the quad (28E) on a minidish instead.

 

[chew6acca]

Thanks Robbo,

So the twin is for Sky+ ? Does the twin pick up the same signal on each LNB and double the output power?

Does a quad just duplicate a signal to four cables?


If you have a dish with multiple LNBs, the NOVA-HD-S2 supports DiSEqC 1.0, allowing it to switch between as many as four different satellite LNB feeds from one dish.

Does that mean I could have one twin for Sky and two other LNBs?

 

[Robbo]

A twin, quad, octo LNB, they are all the same thing but with more outputs, just for one satellite. Two outputs for a Sky+ (twin tuner) or two separate receivers. A quad for two Sky+ boxes or one sky+ and two other tuners etc etc. An octo is for 8 tuners and so on. All outputs are the same and used one per tuner.

As above, a twin LNB is generally for a Sky+ receiver. However, if you had a standard Sky box, and a PC sat card for example, one feed would go straight to the Sky box, and the other to a Disecq switch. The other two LNBs (13E,19E) would go to the other inputs of the switch, leaving one spare input on a Diseqc 4x1, which you could feed 9E if you got a good signal or 23.5E,even 16E if you can get the LNBs close enough.

 

[chew6acca]

Thanks guys,

is Sky+ on Astra 1 or 2?

If 9e is very weak is 12.5W a realistic possibility?

Can you split the signal away from the LNB?

 

[satelliteman]

Thanks guys,

is Sky+ on Astra 1 or 2? Astra2

If 9e is very weak is 12.5W a realistic possibility? Not possible on a fixed dish with 28e as the spacing is too far apart

Can you split the signal away from the LNB? In short, No

Hope this helps

SM

 

[Robbo]

9E, may be OK, on a 1m, as it is not a weak satellite when on the focus. The bracket I'm using gets progressively worse at the ends, as the bar is straight, but needs to curve up a bit on both sides. It was too late last night to mess with in any further, but I'm sure I could get it better if I tried a bit more. Not worth it though, as it is getting installed elsewhere in a couple of days.

 

[chew6acca]

Thanks for the answers guys - a couple more questions for you...

I am looking at a Triax TD110 with a Triax Multiblock lnb holder.

The lnb holder has a maximum span of 20 degrees. All the pictures show two lnbs either side of the central support.

Can I move the central support to one side so that the 9E lnb is near the centre of the dish and the other three (13E, 19E & 28E) are on the other side of the central support ?

Does the Triax Multiblock lnb holder have the necessary curve and 'adjustability' to do the job? Does it hold any type of LNB?

Is there anything else I should be aware of before purchasing?

I know it is slightly larger than the official guidelines but it will be at the back of the house above a flat roof so won't be too noticable (I hope).

Thanks.

 

[Robbo]

It is not necessary to place two LNBs on either side.

Yes, I don't see why you could not move the cetral support,but you would need to drill another hole through it where it pivots.

Yes, the Triax multi-block does hold any standard LNB. It was designed for the Alps narrow feedhorn LNBs in mind, but these are mostly not necessary on the Triax TD110,because of its size. I have managed 13E,16E, and 19E, on a 1m dish experimentally, using ordinary LNBs, nevr got round to finishing it off though.

No, I don't think that the Triax multiblock has enough adjustability to do the job. You will find that the 9E LNB is too low, and so is the 28E one.( with the most central LNB in the right place) A little bit of modification will be necessary to raise the height of the 9E LNB a bit.


Incidentently the Triax TD110 I have is actually only 1m wide, I assume that they are all like that. Ok, the vertical dimension is taller than 1m, but who's going to know.

 

[chew6acca]

I see. I had assumed the satellites would on the same plane.

Can you recommend another multiblock holder that would work with that dish?

 

[Robbo]

No, as far as I know, only the Triax multiblock will fit on the Triax.

The 1m orbital dishes also have brackets for them, and appear to have more flexibility in terms of positioning, and I believe that it is possible to have the focal LNB independent of the others, unlike on the Triax, but alas I have yet to try them out, they are 3-9 degrees I believe.

 

[chew6acca]

So there isn't an off the shelf multiblock holder that will give me the four satellites from 9E to 28E ? Is it such an unusual thing to try to do?

I think I will try to modify the Triax holder.

 

[Robbo]

Yes, there might be, I have only ever used the Triax, or pieces of scrap metal or lumps of wood that I have lying around, but others may have come accross one that works well.

 

[rolfw]

A Raven Gemini 90cm with East and West offset brackets would do the job, although they are quite difficult to get hold of nowadays.

 

[Robbo]

Ok, I have just been out in the rain, my I add. I have tried a Triax multiblock on my TD110, - 19E in the centre, 28E and 9E about half inch from each end of the bracket. Hissing it down, getting all available transponders on all satellites. Also plenty of room for 23.5E, and 13E if required. I have used an Inverto twin in the centre and LOL, Sky minidish LNBs on the ends, all working fine.

 

[chew6acca]

wow - what dedication! Thanks. You are either very helpful, slightly insane, or both.

I will order the dish etc this week.

Did you have to modify the holder or the LNBs to get them all to work simultaneously? Is the arm strong enough to take a quad at the 28e end?

Thanks again!

edit - just read the other thread - where someone mentions a a 4 degree separation monoblock LNB.

Does this allow you to send the signal from two satellites as one input to the diseq switch?