Variety of questions for Berlin, Germany...

[Unionberlin]

Hello everyone,

I have read through the past posts on the forum with great interest, love the professional support you guys give.

Here is my specific problem. I live in Berlin and have just installed a satellite system after the nice cable company cut us off.

The dish is 1 metre with a He@d 3500 receiver and three heads, one to Astra 1, one to Hotbird 6 and one to Astra 2 28.2.

Problem 1:
I want to watch BBC1 and BBC2 on the system but cannot get a signal when searching for the various frequencies detailed on the BBC website. I receive ITV, channel 4, Five, Sky News and the Sky channels without a problem (apart from the fact they are locked, see the other problem below). The signal strength is constantly around 90%. I suspect the dish is too small or is misaligned (was all installed by some, lets say “very semi-professional” friends of ours). Why can I access the Astra 28.2 satellite but not for all channels, surely a satellite is a satellite? All frequencies on the Astra2 channels are above 11200 Mhz, meaning any search below this has a 0% signal strength…

Problem 2:
I will want Setanta Sports and some Sky packages at some point in the future (not to mention ITV and C4, both of which are locked). How would I go about getting a card that works on my receiver? Would I have to get my parents to register it in England? If my receiver doesn’t work, can they bring over a Sky box of some sort with a card so that I can just connect the cable from the satellite? Can I use a Freeview card on this receiver or does it have to be linked to a Sky receiver in England?

Also, if I do need a Sky box, will I then be able to access the other two LNBs on Astra 1 and Hotbird? Do Sky boxes have a manual antenna search program like my existing receiver?

Many, many thanks in advance for any help!
Mark

 

[JTA]

All of the FTA channels of BBC/ITV/c4 are on the Astra 2D satellite which you are apparently unable to recieve in Berlin. Have a look at it's footprint : http_//www.lyngsat-maps.com/maps/astra2d.html
Berlin seems to be at the edge, so I'd go for a 1 meter dish (or bigger) if you want to receieve the FTA channels.
some of the ITV-c4 channels are on the other Astra 2 satellites (so NO : one satellite is NOT the same as another satellite, even if they occupy the same orbital position. All depends on the frequency & footprint used) and are encrypted, so you will need a Sky card to view these channels.
any sky box will work if it has a valid sky card inserted. What you can or cannot receive depends of course on the subscription which has been activated on that card. An FTV card will give you ITV/c4/five/sky3 only. For a subscription, you will need a valid adress in the UK. For Setanta, you again need a valid Sky card (may be FTV) and a valid adress in the UK.
a sky digibox will NOT be able to access the other LNB's on Astra1 and Hotbird. In your case you might consider a more versatile receiver capable of receiving multiple satellites, with a Dragon/T-rex CAM to access your Sky card. Or a dreambox (best choice, but needs more maintenance).

 

[Robbo]

Also, I don't know the dish size for Berlin, but if it were possible to get Astra 2D with a 1m dish, you would want that LNB at the focal point. You may still get Hotbird with it like that, or it may push it too far over.

If you got someone in the UK to subscribe for you, yes you would be able to use it there.
However you would probably need them to get a 2nd hand one from ebay, or a non-subsidised one, as new subscriptions and installs with a subsidised box require a telephone line for the first year. I think Sky call a subscription for an existing box a 'second hand contract'.

No, the Sky box would not work a Diseqc switch, so the easiest way to do it would be to fit a twin LNB at the 28E position, and run the Sky box off the spare output.

 

[Unionberlin]

Thanks everyone for the answers and info...unfortunately I think the 1 meter dish is about the limit for our house as anything bigger would be unsafe. I have read about perfect reception in Hamburg with a 65cm dish and seen other maps where a 1 metre dish should work...Could it be a case of an alignment issue with 2D and what is the best way of testing this?

@Robbo...regarding the dual LNB idea. This means that there is a head on the satellite with two wires coming out of it, one which leads to my Head receiver and one to an additional Sky box?

@Both Robbo and JTA...am not clear with the Freeview concept in the UK. Can you just get a Freeview card on its own (and will it work on my existing receiver), or do you absolutely need another box?

Thanks again
Mark

 

[rolfw]

From looking at the reception reports, you would need a 1.5m dish for Astra 2D reception (the satellite transmitting BBC and ITV).

There is no card for Freeview or Freesat, the latter being the satellite version, they are transmitted Free To Air.

To receive multiple satellites on one dish, you require an LNB for each satellite (a monobloc for two adjacent satellites).

 

[Robbo]

@Robbo...regarding the dual LNB idea. This means that there is a head on the satellite with two wires coming out of it, one which leads to my Head receiver and one to an additional Sky box?

Kind of yes, except that to run two receivers, you use a TWIN lnb. ( a dual LNB is something different).

And as rolf says to pick-up more than one satellite, you need a multi-head, or multi-feed or whatever else you want to call it arrangement.

 

[Unionberlin]

Thanks again.

The way it is now is as follows...there are three heads on the dish all leading to a splitter which then has one cable running down to the receiver in the living room. One head has been trained to Astra 1, one to Hotbird and one to Astra 28,2.

This means that apart from all 2D channels, if I get a non-subsidised Sky box with card then ITV, Channel 4, Five and so on (all FTA but locked for me on Astra 2 satellite) will then be available by plugging the aforementioned lead into the box?

PS. Have heard that Sky Sports News is FTA...is this right?

 

[Unionberlin]

More news...more ideas!

Have just seen the MUTV thread where the channel has been moved to EuroBird 1 (28.5E) 11307V. I can pick this up perfectly...does this mean that the alignment on the head to Astra 28.2 is simply wrong and I may be able to pick up 2D by tweaking the head?

Can the same head pick up both Astra 2 and EuroBird1 adequately or should these be separate

 

[JTA]

all of the 28E satellites (Astra2 + Eurobird) are on the same position (well, mostly) so tweaking won't really help. Rolfw seems to suggest that you need a 1.5 meter dish to receive Astra2D in Berlin. There are some ITV/c4/Five channels which are not on 2D so a Sky FTV card would open them for you ...... until they are moved to the 2D satellite, which is the ultimate purpose of Freesat.
Freesat is a collection of FTA channels with a dedicated channel end epg software setup. You do not need a freesat receiver to get the FTA channels (if you can receive them, that is), you just don't get the epg or the channel list.
a non-subsidised Sky box will NOT work with your setup. You have 3 LNB heads connected to a disecq switch. You need a receiver which is capable of controlling this disecq switch, and a sky box cannot do this.

 

[rolfw]

You're losing me a bit here, can you take some pictures of the dish please?

Sky sports news is not available without a subscription by satellite, a Sky digibox will not work with a DiSEqC switch.

 

[dxsat]

The short answer to the original question is that you're asking too much from a multi- sat system. Such set- ups are always a compromise, and receiving Astra 2D on the fringes of Europe always requires a dedicated set up, particularly if you're thinking of a Sky receiver.
You need to treat Astra 2 and Sky, and the other two satellites completely separately, 2 dishes, 2 receivers, 2 cable feeds.

 

[wod]

sounds like the problem is the lnb being offset on the dish for 28e you need to have this as the center lnb and see if you get the bbc and itv channels on astra 2d on the 1metre dish

if you then want 19e or 13e in your location you can get away with a 60cm dish for them in addition to the dish for 28e

it will be much easier to have separate system for sky 28e and european channels on another dish e.g 80cm dish with monoblock if you want 13&19e

 

[Unionberlin]

You're losing me a bit here, can you take some pictures of the dish please?

Sky sports news is not available without a subscription by satellite, a Sky digibox will not work with a DiSEqC switch.

Went up on the roof this afternoon (first time its stopped raining for a week) and shot a short vid...
[tube]BHBtbSenxEY[/tube]


Make sure to watch to the end, the last 20 seconds are just for you...;)

Any other info needed then let me know.

Cheers
Mark

 

[Unionberlin]

Anyone have any other tips? I went out on the roof one-handed to film that video!

 

[Robbo]

Nice video

OK, LNB wise, you have 28E on the focus, then comes 19E and then 13E.

So basically you have the dish optimised for 28E, so the main reason you can't pick up what you want is dish size I suspect.

 

[rolfw]

Hi Mark, sorry, didn't see the post with the video. !

LOL, yes, Reading nearly merged into Oxford at one time, how things change.

As Robbo says, it really is a dish size problem and although Astra 28.2 is the main focus, there will simply not be enough signal for the 2D channels.

As a side point, I believe that the bottom of the LNB pulls down to cover the connectors and weatherproofs them.

 

[Robbo]

One thing, I have just noticed is that the Skew for the 28E LNB appears to be set at zero. I would have expected it to be rotated anticlockwise a bit a least. I normally do it with a meter, so can get it spot on, it does make a lot of difference on a weak signal.

 

[Turok]

Hi there!
good idea,interactive television here on board

for berlin,and the bbc channels,you need a good 1,80m dish 1,50 is defently to small!

 

[Unionberlin]

Best option for me would then be as follows...

1) Adjust the skew first...
2) If (when) this doesnt work, then use the dish in the video as the Astra2 satellite running through a single line to a new Sky box registered with my folks as detailed above.
3) Buy another smaller dish (60 - 80 cm would work for Hotbird and Astra I think) and wire up that through the Disecq to my existing receiver with two LNBs.

Any tips on checking skew without a meter? Just a case of one person turning the LNB and another yelling at them to stop?

Shame about BBC though

 

[Robbo]

I have noticed that it is quite difficult to get the Skew spot on without a meter.

Using my receiver, I can twist the LNB all over the place without getting much of a change in signal quality. However using a meter the slightest rotation is detected.

However, on a weak signal I think that you may be able to manage it by looking a a receiver signal quality screen, as I have done this on a weak satellite for me (7W).


Unless you are going to change the dish for a bigger one though, I can't see the point of changing your current arrangement. Taking off the other LNBs won't effect the signal on 28E at all, as all LNBs are not shadowing the dish as it is an offset one. This of course assumes that you have adequate signal on the other two LNBs