BSB dishes / squarials that are still in place

[streetlighter]

Spotted this one when out working in sunny Crewe

 

[streetlighter]

Think this is the last picture i have one this topic. You have to zoom in a bit but there is a Squarial and a BSB minidish plus under them is a mounting brackket for one minus the dish.

 

[timo_w2s]

Here are my two BSB dishes. Both were proudly on display on top of the kitchen cupboards until recently. Those who noticed them (they where quite high up) were impressed I could receive satellite TV in the kitchen... not sure what they thought I could get, cooking channels?

The round dish was used for several years to pick up Swedish channels from Sirius 1 in Finland in the early 90s. The signal was nice and strong but as they used the opposite polarity to BSB I had to modify the LNB by opening up the plastic front feedhorn cover and sticking a carefully moulded lump of blutack inside. Since they used circular L & R polarity you couldn't just rotate the LNB like you can with linear H & V.

The Squarial is new and has never been used outside (except for the odd test). It arrived damaged in the post and has a bad crack in one corner (crushed by the look of it) but as it was shipped to Finland from the UK and it only cost me £5 I didn't bother sending it back.

 

[Studio Muppet]

This one on a house in Bristol BS2.

I love BSB stuff. Galaxy seemed like an excellent channel. I hear they are going to demolish Marco Polo House soon :-downt

 

[2cvbloke]

You might want to edit the image (blank out street names, door number etc.), I don't think the people in that house would like having their home address posted on a forum...

 

[Analoguesat]

Ive edited the image

 

[Studio Muppet]

Thanks Analogue Sat! Sorry, I should have given a little more thought before posting a pic with such detail. !


I was so shocked to discover the dish on a lunchtime walk the other month.

 

[Analoguesat]

No problem SM - all safely edited before any damage done


Once you start looking its surprising just how many squarials and minidishes are still in place

 

[A nonymous]

Think i can go one better than that


This is a picture of the components in a BSB SMATV system that i decommissioned a few months ago


The dish 60cm fibreglass BSB channel master dish is now in use @28.2e on the back of my house after a lick of paint


I'll try to get a picture of a full working system on Monday as the next block i'm installing the new system in has the same old setup which is still running


By the way the old components bar the dish are up for grabs to anybody that wants them. They all still power up but i have no idea if they still work or if they are of any use now


:-beer


Nano

 

[Studio Muppet]

Think i can go one better than that


This is a picture of the components in a BSB SMATV system that i decommissioned a few months ago

Wow! So this was the sort of system that would distribute BSB around a block of flats or such like? Was this just left in situ unused since the BSB service closedown? Sorry for my lack of knowledge I'm new to this. 2


I wonder how long they broadcast that 'transmissions have now ceased on the Marcopolo satellites' caption. I loved the fact that they were our (UK) own satellites _band3


BTW, I recognise that Televes brand from holidays in Spain; a lot of the dishes are Televes over there.

 

[Analoguesat]

Wow! So this was the sort of system that would distribute BSB around a block of flats or such like? Was this just left in situ unused since the BSB service closedown? Sorry for my lack of knowledge I'm new to this. 2


I loved the fact that they were our (UK) own satellites _band3

UK bird Hylas 1 launches next year. Shes going to 33.5W

 

[Studio Muppet]

UK bird Hylas 1 launches next year. Shes going to 33.5W

_http://www.avanti-communications.com/download/HYLAS_Factsheet.pdf


Excellent! Maybe another service to choose from?

 

[skydish]

Can anything be picked up with the old BSB squarials? I'm guessing that the BSB mini dishes could be used for 28.2E with a universal LNB fitted?

 

[Analoguesat]

_http://www.avanti-communications.com/download/HYLAS_Factsheet.pdf

Excellent! Maybe another service to choose from?

All of the transmissions will be Ka band & mainly data so dont expect loads of new tv channels

Can anything be picked up with the old BSB squarials? I'm guessing that the BSB mini dishes could be used for 28.2E with a universal LNB fitted?

Barely - the lnb local oscillator frequency is non standard at 10700 and they are circular polarised.

The dishes have non standard lnb collar clamps - very thin. If you could find one to fit then yes it should work on high enough power transmissions.

 

[2cvbloke]

The dishes have non standard lnb collar clamps - very thin. If you could find one to fit then yes it should work on high enough power transmissions.

My BSB minidish doesn't even have a clamp, it had the LNB screwed directly onto the arm!!!

But, 2 zip-ties and a boxy Universal LNB later and it was working fine, thoung I have yet to actually find a use for it...

 

[timo_w2s]

Mto the arm!!!

y BSB minidish doesn't even have a clamp, it had the LNB screwed directly on

But, 2 zip-ties and a boxy Universal LNB later and it was working fine, thoung I have yet to actually find a use for it...

I had the same BSB dish and did a similar thing with a standard LNB and polarizer plus pipe clamps although I don't think I ever really used it much like that as it kept falling apart because the LNB side was almost as heavy as the dish itself... 2

 

[michaelmachine]

i have picked up hrt1 on hotbird with a squarial blind searched with a fortecstar beta

 

[driver]

hi all,now you get carried away..there is a sqaurial fitted behind sainsburys .
the building is recent.they are used as data links and audio piped music and adverts.lol
cheers

 

[Analoguesat]

Heres another pic from Galashiels - mentioned previously, this one is up on the chimneys of the Harrow Inn

Almost as many dishes as Ive got here!!

 

[DishDick]

Hmmm. Takes me back. I loved BSB. The quality and the look of the Philips BSB reciever - so much better than anything else available at the time. Having proper now and next info (in those days). That lovely stylish BSB squarial. Quality DMAC picture, digital sound. I loved my system. Remember going to the What Sat show in London with my Dad. We both were impressed with BSB and ordered a system each the same day. Got to enjoy it for about a week. Then it ws announced they were going to "merge" with Sky. I knew they would disappear so took advantage of the fact that we bought on interest free credit and cancelled during the cooling of period. Was sad to see it go, but glad not to waste about 500 pounds (alot of money at that time). Got an Amstrad IRD 400 (think it was) reliable but no pride in ownership of that. Sad, shame we lost BSB. Better stop now or I will get political.