what's the smallest dish for astra 2 in hamburg??

alanremote

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Hi everyone. I've lived in Hamburg for 6 years,. I survived for 4 long years with only german telly. I finally got a dish installed to receive the free channels carried by sky on the astra 2 satellite and was a happy puppy. The dish was a big one, 1m, and all was great. Sadly I had to move. My new place has a balcony with a clear view of where the dish should point, but I am not really allowed to install a dish here.
My questions are:
1. if i buy the best receiver and lnb, what is the smallest dish I could get away with?
2. If I bought one of the 'invisible' dishes, like as a flat panel, or transparent, or something like a 'satboy', would they be good enough to do the job?

Any recommendations from more experienced sat users would be great. I am a relative newbie to this technology and any help would be much appreciated. I am really desperate to get my english telly back!

Thanks

Alan
 

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Hi Alan, welcome to the forum.

Unfortunately for the Astra 2D channels, BBC etc, you probably need a dish of pretty much the size of the one at your last house. You may be able to get away with a good quality 85cm, but I haven't seen any reports for Hamburg, only for Hanover, which is possibly slightly further into the footprint.

If you are happy with the other Sky channels, the subscription ones, then one of the discreet dishes would probably do the job.

The other alternative is a friend in the UK with a Slingbox and a good broadband connection.
 

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Hi,
Could you not sling something over the dish like a patio chair cover or something? Or would it still be too noticeable.

Robbo:)
 

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Hey guys, thanks a lot for the information. funny that you mention the slingbox. i bought one because the sat system i originally got installed in hamburg is still up and running in my ex girlfriend's flat and i thought a slingbox would be a good compromise to get uk tv while i figure out if i can do the sat thing in my new place. up to now i haven't been able to get it to work (i am working on it!) Thing is, it is a bit limiting as you cannot record anything and have to watch on the computer instead of my large and rather sexy telly.
As for the idea of concealing the dish, well, that prompts me to pose another stupid newbie question:
If i did conceal it would that affect the reception? For example with some kind of material?
I feel so dumb having to ask these q s, but I am getting desperate for a solution. The new series of Doctor Who has already started! I'm missing Gavin and Stacy!

Seriously, the Beeb is a great antidote for homesickness.

So, please tell me if something like net curtain material as concealer would work. I'm sure I could find something tasteful....

Once again thanks for your help!
 

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I would have thought plastic sheeting or a plastic cover of some sort would be OK.

Net curtain material? mmm I don't know, it may take on moisture, then block the signal.

It is well known that reception is possible through glass as well, incidently.

As for Doctor Who, it is getting stranger all the time, but I still love it :)
 

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A garden furniture cover such as this one from Argos:-

Something like this will do the job with no signal loss, the more expensive ones have PVC which does have an effect. Your dish will look like a stored garden table.
 

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HB13DISH

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As Robbo mentioned about reception through glass, perhaps you can try a bigger dish like 1.0m-1.2m inside your house (hope that you are allowed to have it inside). The bigger dish might compensate for the attenuation of the signal by the glass. Worth a try. :)
 

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okay, this leads me stumbling into newbie question number 3. i know from teaching english at the airbus site here that the nose cones and parts of the vertical tail plane of their planes are fibreglass as this material allows radar and radio signals to get through....does that mean the this material and other plastics (not PVC) are 'invisible' to satellite signals?

covering the dish from view with fibreglass is an option, even if i have to rip the body job from one of the souped up opel mantas parked outside!

To have it indoors is not possible as a metre diameter dish at the window would cast me into darkness.

I would like to thank you for the suggestions and the reception maps. you have been very patient and generous with your help....please, don't stop!
 

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alanremote said:
To have it indoors is not possible as a metre diameter dish at the window would cast me into darkness.

I would like to thank you for the suggestions and the reception maps. you have been very patient and generous with your help....please, don't stop!

You can get transparent dishes, but only up to 85cm I believe.

I think snaps patio table cover would look less obvious than a bit of an old GM:-rofl2
 

alanremote

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ok, thanks Robbo. I have been looking at these 'invisible' or flat mini dishes online, like the cubsat 70. They often talk about having the reception of bigger standard dishes. Is that all hogwash? Or can anyone of them be recommended? They are expensive, but if it solves my problem......
 

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Hello Alan,

actually I have the same questions as I would like to have astra 2 also from Hamburg.

I have discussed with ppl from Conrad and initally they suggest to have 1 m dish but they also said that a good quality 85 cm dish of Fuba can have the same effect. I would like to have a confirmation of this statement. Looking to the map sent by Analoquesat seems that 85 cm is Ok. does anyone has the experience of using 85 cm dish receiving astra 2?
 

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Welcome to the forum ardianto

ardianto said:
does anyone has the experience of using 85 cm dish receiving astra 2?

There are three Astra satellites at 28.2 East and one Eurobird at 28.5. They transmit all the channels commonly referred to as Astra 2. They are deemed to be co-located, but each satellite can have more than one footprint. Any channels from Astra 2D are tightly focussed on the UK as per here and whilst Analoguesat is correct in suggesting that you may be OK, you are looking at a theoretical footprint and thus quite rightly asking for confirmation from someone else, but with fringe reception a few Km distance can make a big difference, for example certain parts of Spain are OK with a 90 cm others need twice that size. It really is a case of suck it and see with fringe reception unless you get someone in the same village or town who can confirm. For the sake of a small difference in cost it would be better in the absence of confirmation to buy slightly bigger as this would also minimise rain fade, where the signals are attenuated by heavy cloud and rain effectively cutting off the signal.
 

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Topper,

thanks for the suggestion to really look for the confirmation. You're right that 100 cm and 85 cm dishes are not much different in price. My concern is more to the dish's weight as I plan to fix it to the side wall.

My position is at 53°32'N 9°49'E.
 

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An 80cm dish is ok for Hamburg for 2D reception but nothing less than that. Be careful about drilling into walls to mount the dish unless you have got specific permission to do this from your landlord. You can mount the dish on a free-standing pole (weight the base with a paving slab) which are available to buy for 20-40 Euros. This way you are not damaging the building and your landlord cannot prohibit your sat dish.
 

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Thank you for the reply. Only astra 2D is Ok for me as long as I can watch "Britains Got Talent 2009" and Susan Boyle :)
 

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how about one of them fraccaro penta dishes as they have a different shape people might not notice it on your balcony ?
 
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