Advice Needed 16 east footprint vs reality

[ozumo]

Where are you located?

North east England. No loss of signal when it rained just now.

 

[cwsat]

Really don’t get why I can’t get lock on it then.

A mate of mine said just get a 1M dish but this Gilbertini is a highly rated dish, it has a good quality LNB on it, it should be coming in on it.

It is bugging me why 19.2 is down on strength / quality.

 

[cwsat]

Just send your motorised dish to 16 e and look at its general shape in relation to elevation and skew. If you’re showing poor reception on anything west of 19e and it’s properly adjusted you could indeed be running into an obstacle. Any chance of RF sources of interference in that general direction.

It is not motorised. I used to have a motorised 1M orbital dish but sold it a couple of years ago to a mate.

 

[Mickha]

You don't need a 1M dish.
A lot depends on the transponders, and the signal strength, they're broadcasting at, the satellite footprint, the LNB skew, rotation, the dish angle, and whether anything is impeding the line of sight, for quality between 13E and 19.2E.
Forget signal strength, it's quality you need.
Have you checked your meter? Many channels change frequency, polarity and symbol rate.
I can't think of many things, to stop you getting a stronger signal quality, off 16E, apart from what I mentioned above, dish angle, LNB skew, amnd clear line of sight. Try tilting the dish slightly, on 19.2E, and checking if the quality improves, when using a motor this is done automatically, but a fixed dish requires gentle manipulation.

 

[cwsat]

You don't need a 1M dish.
A lot depends on the transponders, and the signal strength, they're broadcasting at, the satellite footprint, the LNB skew, rotation, the dish angle, and whether anything is impeding the line of sight, for quality between 13E and 19.2E.
Forget signal strength, it's quality you need.
Have you checked your meter? Many channels change frequency, polarity and symbol rate.
I can't think of many things, to stop you getting a stronger signal quality, off 16E, apart from what I mentioned above, dish angle, LNB skew, amnd clear line of sight. Try tilting the dish slightly, on 19.2E, and checking if the quality improves, when using a motor this is done automatically, but a fixed dish requires gentle manipulation.

The meter doesn’t have the latest transponders so I have added them manually.

I have tried gently nudging the dish from 13 and 19.2e.

I have tried various skew angles at 16e.

My friend suggested moving the lnb in its collar, see if it makes a difference.

 

[cwsat]

I have had a good go at improving Astra 1 and can't get an improvement over 78% quality which is strange.

I need to get the dish properly mounted I think. I set the elevation for Astra 1 via the meter and on the dish it is nearer 30 degrees yet for my location it should be 26.5.

 

[Magmax]

I would definitly recomend bigger dish-

 

[ozumo]

I have had a good go at improving Astra 1 and can't get an improvement over 78% quality which is strange.

I need to get the dish properly mounted I think. I set the elevation for Astra 1 via the meter and on the dish it is nearer 30 degrees yet for my location it should be 26.5.

If you put your hand over the bottom of the dish face is there a reduction in signal quality?

The numbers on the bracket are only useful as a starting point, always use signal readings to peak the dish.

 

[cwsat]

If you put your hand over the bottom of the dish face is there a reduction in signal quality?

The numbers on the bracket are only useful as a starting point, always use signal readings to peak the dish.

No reduction in quality.

Today I have been messing about with the TD64cm and have had very strong results from 11627V 22000 CNN 91% strength 86% quality but still only 45% strength 22% from 16e.

Back on the 85cm, Thor comes in pretty strong 12418V / 28000 89% strength 85% quality.

I got a BBC Feed moving round from Thor to Hotbird which was very strong 10992V.

13 and 19.2 I have managed to pick the quality up on those significantly but still no 16e and I can’t get 23.5e either.

They both perform incredibly similar.

 

[ozumo]

No reduction in quality.

Indicates the dish needs to be mounted higher as the bottom of the dish isn't receiving signal.

 

[Mickha]

23.5E is as strong as 19.2E and 13E, providing you have the correct transponder. It doesn't make a lot of sense, unless there are some trees around, or you've moved it back behind the wall, as the furthe East/West you go, from your true south, the lower the satellite position.
Obviously you can manipulate the dish, as you can get 0.8W, and other satellites, and the LNB has to be at the correct focal point.
The only thing, I can think of, is that the meter might need updating. I wish you could try the dish with a receiver, for 16E and 23.5E, and just use the basic satellite meter, if needed, just to rule out the meter.

 

[cwsat]

23.5E is as strong as 19.2E and 13E, providing you have the correct transponder. It doesn't make a lot of sense, unless there are some trees around, or you've moved it back behind the wall, as the furthe East/West you go, from your true south, the lower the satellite position.
Obviously you can manipulate the dish, as you can get 0.8W, and other satellites, and the LNB has to be at the correct focal point.
The only thing, I can think of, is that the meter might need updating. I wish you could try the dish with a receiver, for 16E and 23.5E, and just use the basic satellite meter, if needed, just to rule out the meter.

The meter is massively out of date so I have manually added the strongest TP's. For 23.5e I added 12012V / 29900 manually and the results are very similar to 16e. 40-45% strength and 20-25% quality.

I need to mount the dish properly as the camping tripod will not hold up in strong winds.

I can put the dish on the side of the house but only just above wall level - unless I get something like a zone 2 minidish.

My other option is a T&K bracket with a pole mounted on the side of the conservatory - that would get good clearance and the dish is the same colour as the conservatory.

 

[Mickha]

If I remember correctly, you tried getting 16E, on the other side of the wall, and couldn't. Did you try getting 23.5E, on the other side of the wall?
I still think the wall, might be the problem, but if you raised the dish, 2-3 feet, then it shouldn't affect it, providing the bottom of the dish is about 3M from the wall.

 

[ozumo]

The meter is massively out of date

What brand/model meter are you using?

 

[cwsat]

If I remember correctly, you tried getting 16E, on the other side of the wall, and couldn't. Did you try getting 23.5E, on the other side of the wall?
I still think the wall, might be the problem, but if you raised the dish, 2-3 feet, then it shouldn't affect it, providing the bottom of the dish is about 3M from the wall.

I took the dish out into the back garden on it's tripod - still nothing but I didn't try 23.5 there.

The other side of the wall is a drop and then a road.

The measurements are the wall is 190cm high.

The LNB is 260cm from the wall - in the heading it is pointing, which is to Astra 1.

The dish is 150cm off the ground, that's the top of the dish to the ground. The dish is 90cm in height - 85cm wide.

 

[cwsat]

What brand/model meter are you using?

Satlink WS6906.

 

[Mickha]

It's the bottom of the dish that's important, in measurements, for how far that is from the wall, and from the ground.

 

[cwsat]

It's the bottom of the dish that's important, in measurements, for how far that is from the wall, and from the ground.

310cm.

 

[ozumo]

Satlink WS6906.

I think that model is DVB-S only? If so DVB-S2 transponders won't lock, a quick look on Lyngsat suggests most 16°E TPs are S2. 12699 H 9880 is listed as DVB-S, it's not as strong as others but I'm receiving it with the zone 2.

 

[cwsat]

I think that model is DVB-S only? If so DVB-S2 transponders won't lock, a quick look on Lyngsat suggests most 16°E TPs are S2. 12699 H 9880 is listed as DVB-S, it's not as strong as others but I'm receiving it with the zone 2.

It's on Amazon currently, i'll check the stats.

Is 23.5e the same?

SATLINK WS-6908 DVB-S FTA Digital Signal Meter Satellite TV Receiver 3.5Inch LCD Support QPSK: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

Free delivery and returns on eligible orders. Buy SATLINK WS-6908 DVB-S FTA Digital Signal Meter Satellite TV Receiver 3.5Inch LCD Support QPSK at Amazon UK.

www.amazon.co.uk

Comment on the link above says it can pick up S2.

Is their a TP I can try on 19.2 where the dish is parked now to check?