Astra 2F: Iberia & Balearics Discussion

Analoguesat

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davidcmadrid said:
Im looking for it but cant find the source , do you know if both H and V are recievable 24 hours a day ?
nunoartur - top post - astra2.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=portu&action=display&thread=2258&page=2


not much detail listed
 

Analoguesat

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normcatalunya said:
Hi ...
We live in a place called ORCAU -25655- Catalunya- Spain.....
N 42 10
E 01 00

No Astra 2F reception with......

Humax HDCI 2000
100cm Offset Parabolica
Invacom Quad...

I am waiting to try out a new LNB (INVERTO BLACK ULTRA HIGH-GAIN QUATTRO)
but doubt that will make up the signal strength thats missing!!!
I am thinking of getting a 150cm dish ( 180cm very expensive) but not sure of the results it will give...

Any advice welcomed please

Norm
An interesting location. Look at page 2 of the map linked in my sig.

In Tortosa a 1.9m dish is working. The same distance north in Carcassonne a 90cm works. Its going to be a case of try it and see unless we get a few more reports from that area..

Unless you cant live without Channel 5 & its sister stations Id advise waiting until 2E goes into service next summer as the reception parameters are bound to be very slightly different.
 

normcatalunya

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Acuario said:
..humm - I'm on the Costa Dorada - Costa Brava is a bit further north but as far as I'm aware this is the furthest positive reported recption to the south of Barcelona.
Hi <span>Acuario</span>

Would like to to have a chat..we live in North Catalunya and I need new dish.! Can you let me have an addresss for PM ing you please..
Regards
Norm
 

Analoguesat

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We dont really like email addresses on the main forum, but Ive enabled normcatalunya's pm's so you can contact him Acuario

:)
 

Acuario

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I've been keeping a close eye on the reception throughout the day.
On my Iris 9600 I've only lost the BBC test channels, everything else has been ok all day, including the HD channels.
On an Optex ORD-8952 I lost everything on 10994 (the 5's) all day. Now they are showing weak signal (18:00h). 4Seven was ok
On a Lidl Silvercrest SL-65 the 5's came up with weak signal during the day but the rest were ok.

So, receiver sensitivity is critical. I don't have a SKY digibox at the moment as it's out on loan but I'll try it out when I can.

The jury is still out.......
 

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Analoguesat said:
We dont really like email addresses on the main forum, but Ive enabled normcatalunya's pm's so you can contact him Acuario

:)
Yes, I did look and couldn't see any way other than leave the address... I'll pm him.
 

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Analoguesat said:
nunoartur - top post - astra2.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=portu&action=display&thread=2258&page=2


not much detail listed
I've asked him for further details regarding this report. I hope he delivers and in case he does, that's quite an achievment and very good news for all of us in the Lisbon area ....
 

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kota said:
I've asked him for further details regarding this report. I hope he delivers and in case he does, that's quite an achievment and very good news for all of us in the Lisbon area ....
Yes indeed as there are negative reports for dishes up to 2.1m in the same area :)
 

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Acuario, what feed horn are you using? There are a few different ones for that dish and some are a lot better than others. The adjustable ones are about the worst in my experience, and the latest Famaval one about the best.
 

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I've asked him for further details regarding this report. I hope he delivers and in case he does, that's quite an achievment and very good news for all of us in the Lisbon area ....
Yes indeed as there are negative reports for dishes up to 2.1m in the same area :)

This would be excellent news to end the year....
But let's wait for more details/confirmation or additional reports.
An installer in the area that I contacted mentioned that he was not getting the 2F transponders on his 2.4m dish.
 

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Huevos said:
Acuario, what feed horn are you using? There are a few different ones for that dish and some are a lot better than others. The adjustable ones are about the worst in my experience, and the latest Famaval one about the best.
It's an Invacom Adjustable feed horn ADF-120. The LNB is an Invacom TWF-031 universal twin.
 

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Acuario said:
It's an Invacom Adjustable feed horn ADF-120.
You need to use the proper feedhorn. The bore on the Invacom feedhorn is smaller (the standard bug plug doesn't fit) and in my experience performance in low band is much better with the proper matched feed. Best feedhorn of all is the new one from Famaval with 5 concentric rings. If you need help sourcing one send me a PM.

LNB should be fine if it is working like a new one.
 

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davidcmadrid

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10964 H etc Unstable depending on hour of day
11023 H no reception.
 

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Huevos said:
You need to use the proper feedhorn. The bore on the Invacom feedhorn is smaller (the standard bug plug doesn't fit) and in my experience performance in low band is much better with the proper matched feed. Best feedhorn of all is the new one from Famaval with 5 concentric rings. If you need help sourcing one send me a PM.

LNB should be fine if it is working like a new one.
I was mistaken with the feedhorn - I'm not used to prime focus dishes.. The feedhorn came with no packing, instructions etc..

It has 5 concentric rings and a plastic cap in the middle with 2 small holes. I guess this should stay in place! So I'm guessing it is a Famaval one not an Invacom one.
Is there a 'perfect' distance from the centre of the dish? The shaft is quite long so it can be moved in/out. I tried to adjust it for best signal but would be interested to know more.
 

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Acuario said:
Is there a 'perfect' distance from the centre of the dish? The shaft is quite long so it can be moved in/out. I tried to adjust it for best signal but would be interested to know more.
From memory it is about 73cm, but just lock a transponder and experiment with the distance.
 

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Acuario, where in Alicante are you planning on buying the 1.9 ?
 

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Already bought one from the Famaval distributor in Benidorm. They have 1.4, 1.9 and 2.4 dishes.
 

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Analoguesat said:
nunoartur - top post - astra2.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=portu&action=display&thread=2258&page=2


not much detail listed
After being asked to post further details in how his mate was getting 2F in Seixal 17 kms south of Lisbon with a 2.30m dish, he decided to edit the original post and deleted the report. To be quite honest I never quite believed it so it's back to square one as to which dish size is needed to get 2F in Lisbon ...
 

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kota said:
it's back to square one as to which dish size is needed to get 2F in Lisbon ...
A Very large one I think....
 

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I hope the new year came in with not too much of a headache , because the Astra 2f will ! Atleast in my case.

I haven`t posted here in a long time and the Astra 2f situation has made my fingers go to the keyboard.

I have lived in Granada , southern Spain for the past 18 years. I think in 2000 there was a change of satellites from Astra 19.2e to 28.2 a. Then the other sats from 28.2 followed.

I was without Sky for around a year , I just couldn`t live without it - i missed Sky. Relied on my video tapes ( back in the day ) , seems like soooooo....long ago.

Well, the same thing is happening all over again , but this time I fear dire consequences for the folk , like me, in Southern Spain, in particular.

In 2001 I bought and fitted a generic 1.35H x 1.25W off--set dish with 0.6 echostar lnb which was ok except in the rain. I upgraded to invacom, single feed which improved the reception alittle. It wasn`t till I bought the invacom quad that I noticed a good improvement. In 2009 - I think, I switched to the Inverto quad ultra - really good results as the invacom was losing some efficiency due to age and I strongly think heat !

Now , Astra 2f has effectively killed my hopes of seeing British tv in good quality. Having a cronic back condition has limited my ability to fix the dish abit , although , it has been rock solid for over a decade.

I haven`t watched tv in afew months so I was suprised when I turned on channel 5 and it was blank. I have read from another source that Astra 2f is 0.06 degrees west of Astra 1N and has a slight declination.

It might pay ( perhaps ) to focus on Astra 1N when trying to get a fix on Astra 2f.

Astra 2f is a spot beam and 1N isn`t ( but with a stronger signal ) the lnb`s ability to seperate weak signals from stronger ones - and home in ( is critical ) .

The decoders sensitivity has a part too in this too along with good cable.

I wonder if there are installers in southern Spain who could fiddle with that data. very possibly a milimeter to the right , with a slight declination could get Astra 2f.

Times like these when I wish I could carry out some tests. All is not lost , lets try and hit that 2f whilst maintaining just enough snr on 1N.

Goodluck ! :-bigsmile
 
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