Astra 1N chat - January 2012

[Pietclock]

But it still would cover all of France, most parts of south-west England, Switzerland and maybe southwest Germany with a decent signal, considering the overspill to the east now as it is pointed at the UK...

 

[Analoguesat]

But it still would cover all of France, most parts of south-west England, Switzerland and maybe southwest Germany with a decent signal, considering the overspill to the east now as it is pointed at the UK...

The operators cannot completely eliminate overspill, but look at the steep 1N dropoff to the north east reported by numerous Nordic members. And the steeper south east drop off which has eliminated reception of the uk spot in much of eastern Europe & the eastern Mediterranean.

 

[andrewcrawford]

satbeams still has that original footprint and not hte one that on ses

 

[dvdfilm]

satbeams still has that original footprint and not hte one that on ses

yes,even considering the original footprint map the signal in spain seems better

 

[terryashbyash]

Guys, I have an observation regarding particular transponder – 10.729 seems to be much stronger comparing to other from 1N. Difference in signal strength is approximately 10% more. This is the only frequency, which I am able to receive 24/7. Did any of you notice that too?

I wonder if frequency problems exist with our set ups, possibly lnb frequency responses. From my recollection of rf calibration as frequencies move into the microwave region even kinks in cables can cause problems and I suspect my cheapo lnb has a low frequency roll off as lower frequencies on 1N are quite weak but itv 11.050 and C5 10963 are perfect all day. I would however not like to pay for the cables we used in our lab for home use, might need a new mortgage

 

[DishDick]

Yes kinks in cables can cause problems. Don´t forget other external problems such as DECT phones, illegal microwave transmission systems and I think even airport radar (if you live close enough).

 

[DannySTHLM]

I would say that reception in stockholm is about the same for me with astra 1n and astra 2d.
All channels on 28° working on my 180cm prodelin (almost same dish as the channelmaster)
ITV 3 for example is slightly better but on the other side the signal seems to be easier interfered by heavy rain or snow.
It will be interesting to se the change on the bbc channels on friday.

 

[Satellite74]

The operators cannot completely eliminate overspill, but look at the steep 1N dropoff to the north east reported by numerous Nordic members. And the steeper south east drop off which has eliminated reception of the uk spot in much of eastern Europe & the eastern Mediterranean.

Could anybody please say a bit more about that...

I'm in Hanover, northern central Germany, and based on geography, perhaps the signal dropp-off with 2F might not be as steep as towards the beam's western and (north)eastern edges... (at least I hope and pray it won't be :-worship)

As 1N an 2F are very similar in design, isn't it also true that 1N also has much greater signal strength than 2D?

I'm thinking maybe the adverse effects of a tighter UK spot beam on 2F for us here in this area might be outweighed by an overall stronger signal?

 

[Analoguesat]

Could anybody please say a bit more about that...

I'm in Hanover, northern central Germany, and based on geography, perhaps the signal dropp-off with 2F might not be as steep as towards the beam's western and (north)eastern edges... (at least I hope and pray it won't be :-worship)

As 1N an 2F are very similar in design, isn't it also true that 1N also has much greater signal strength than 2D?

I'm thinking maybe the adverse effects of a tighter UK spot beam on 2F might be outweighed by a stronger signal for us here in this area?

Impossible to say at the moment. Anything we say is pure guesswork (although I reckon many of our guesses about 1N were reasonably accurate before she went into service)

Make the most of the 1N coverage and hopefully the 2F coverage will be similarly favourable to much of western Europe.

 

[skomedal]

Recorded the following BBC signal strengths transmitted from 2D tuesday 1530 cet :-

BBC1HD sig 68 qual 81
BBCHD sig 68 qual 81
BBC4 sig 60 qual 74
BBC2 UK sig 61 qual73

Will check these again at same time tomorrow when they have hopefully gone to 1N

Central southern norway

Regards

 

[DannySTHLM]

Signal strengths for me in stockholm right now:

BBC HD: s82 q82
BBC1 HD: s84 q82
BBC2: s86 q87
BBC3: s86 q87
BBC4: s85 q87

And that is with a 80 meter cable.
It will be very interesting if they go up or down tomorrow.

 

[Satellite74]

Impossible to say at the moment. Anything we say is pure guesswork (although I reckon many of our guesses about 1N were reasonably accurate before she went into service)

Make the most of the 1N coverage and hopefully the 2F coverage will be similarly favourable to much of western Europe.

that doesn't sound very optimistic

I know there was a lot of doomsaying going on in the run-up to 1N... but in the end, when 1N was developed, it wasn't meant to end up serving a stint as backup for UK TV before assuming its final orbital position...

Although there's apparently no info anywhere on the web at this time about the 2F UK or European beams, I just came across a speculative 2F Africa beam... (sorry if this is old news to everybody on this thread)

_http://www.satbeams.com/satellites?id=2489

_http://www.satlaunch.net/2011/05/astra-2f-coverage-maps.html

...which seems to focus smack bang on the desired areas of service, with minimal overspill...

 

[Pietclock]

I think a good guess about 2F would be -its coverage will be similar to 2D, maybe a bit weaker and a sharper drop off to th north and east... but of course that's a guess

 

[BLUEPLATINUM]

BBC web page is now confirming their channels are being transmitted from 1N (even though they aren't just yet, LOL) -http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/info/sat_frequencies.shtml

 

[Satellite74]

BBC web page is now confirming their channels are being transmitted from 1N (even though they aren't just yet, LOL) -http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/info/sat_frequencies.shtml

well they better get on that, either way... I have had bad artefacts on BBC Four on 2D for the last two days... it really sucked the fun out of "Horizon" with Brian Cox tonight... been looking forward to it all week 'O'

 

[Analoguesat]

that doesn't sound very optimistic

What do you expect? Satellite beam shaping technology has increased in accuracy immensely in the last decade. My own feeling is that the Nordic countries & Southern Spain / Portugal will really suffer when the new series 2 birds come on line.

A recent BBC programme starring Astra 2F in the workshops had a quick clip of the beam shaping computer technology - just a few seconds and they were changing the shape of the beam usingt he software. Very clever.

 

[Satellite74]

What do you expect? Satellite beam shaping technology has increased in accuracy immensely in the last decade. My own feeling is that the Nordic countries & Southern Spain / Portugal will really suffer when the new series 2 birds come on line.

that is probably very true. But here in northern central Germany, I thought perhaps with a big enough dish, reception might still be possible. Because the satellite beam will come from a southeasterly direction, like the one from 2D and 1N, which means at least Northwestern Germany will still (theoretically) be in its path, which leaves me hoping they still won't be able to create a signal drop-off as steep as to the beam's western and eastern edges...

but who knows...

 

[dvdfilm]

ready for the switchover,after years of Astra 2D service.the start of a new era.

 

[Hughes]

Looking forward to seeing BBC3 and 4 for the first time! Have really enjoyed Film4 and 4+1 since they moved over to Astra 1N

 

[lanab]

Check the levels on 10714H and 10891H if you can get a lock, those two are weak in Stockholm, i can't get lock on those two, the other transponders from 1N i can get lock on today.

Signal strengths for me in stockholm right now:

BBC HD: s82 q82
BBC1 HD: s84 q82
BBC2: s86 q87
BBC3: s86 q87
BBC4: s85 q87

And that is with a 80 meter cable.
It will be very interesting if they go up or down tomorrow.