Astra 1N tests - latest chat

[BLUEPLATINUM]

I am hoping 1N is going to be "good news" in Gran Canaria. At present we need minimum 2.4m offset or 3.2m prime focus to receive 2D. Maybe we can get the 1N UK spot beam with say a 1.8 offset - this would be achievable for many people who cannot install a "big dish".

 

[Analoguesat]

I am hoping 1N is going to be "good news" in Gran Canaria. At present we need minimum 2.4m offset or 3.2m prime focus to receive 2D. Maybe we can get the 1N UK spot beam with say a 1.8 offset - this would be achievable for many people who cannot install a "big dish".

Thats getting folks hopes up under false pretences - spend hundreds of €'s and lose their access next year or the year after when 1N is turned off..

 

[Huevos]

Thats getting folks hopes up under false pretences - spend hundreds of €'s and lose their access next year or the year after when 1N is turned off..

How can you know that? It's pretty much what was prophesied for 1N and turned out not to be true. Anyway, most expats here are in their seventies and eighties and are more bothered what is going to work next week, not next year. Also if you warn them about something that might be the case next year or the year after they will still have the dish installed, they will just go to an installer that is a bit more reassuring.

 

[Analoguesat]

We have been over this and Im not arguing about it this time of night Huevos.

You have your opinions about the likely relative performances of 1N / 2E / 2F & 2G and I have mine. We are going to have to agree to disagree on whats likely to happen.

All I will say is that 1N was never designed for use at 28E & is not optimised for UK use so its no surprise at all that its doing better than expected in some directions. Ask the Cypriots if they think its doing well out their way tho!

 

[Huevos]

Ask the Cypriots if they think its doing well out their way tho!

Reception of 2D in Cyprus is just a fluke. It's almost Middle East (over 4º off axis) and there are lots of places much closer that have no reception (southern Italy for example). TBH I think the aerial on that craft must be broken, maybe distorted, causing all sorts of hot spots, cold spots and side lobes. Canaries are a fluke too (also 4º off axis). Anyway my point with 1N and the subsequent craft is power output is the same (1N = 2E = 130W) and the antenna is going to be similar (at least in diameter) and right now I'd need to lose about 9dB before having any trouble with losing lock from that craft using my current 2D antenna. Anyway, this is just my opinion, unsupported by hard facts, and truth be known, when those craft launch we'll probably have to meet somewhere in the middle from our current predictions.

 

[M60]

Someone over on DS has made comments about some Spanish forum claiming 1KR is moving to 28.2E and 1N moving to 19.2E during February. I can't see why SES would move 1N with 1KR when it's on an interim mission 28.2-wise and only has 32 TP's and therefore not in a position to totally back up capacity at 28.2E as SES have obviously long wanted.

 

[Huevos]

Spanish forum claiming 1KR is moving to 28.2E and 1N moving to 19.2E during February.

So they'd need to unload 32 transponders before they move it. What are they going to do with them... or is 1N going to switch off the transponders that have just been lite up on there, move to 19E, replace 1KR so it can be free to move to 28E?

Anyway I doubt that beam would any more difficult to receive than 1N. People with a 1m dish in the UK couldn't receive it when it was transmitting, but the UK is 2.2º off axis from where that beam was directed. If you are following the 1N Eastern Europe thread you will see only 2 people are receiving 1N from east of the 1.5º line, one using a 1.2m dish and the other a 1.8m.

 

[Beef]

We know the following will be moving to Astra 1N so far:

1)The C5 family of channels currently on the 12422H widebeam
C5 x4 regions
Fiver USA / +1
5* / +1

2) currently on 11973V widebeam
ITV1 Central South
ITV1 Central East
ITV1 +1 West

3) currently on 12607V Eurobird widebeam
C4 HD.

At some point the remaining ITV widebeam channels will be swapped over (12402V)

C5 on 2D 10773H will probably move off 2D at some point - although this isnt confirmed.

C5HD will be moved onto the 1N uk beam at some point as we believe it will be going fta once the current encryption agreement with Sky expire.

Thanks. Great info.

 

[Dan Dan]

Thats getting folks hopes up under false pretences - spend hundreds of €'s and lose their access next year or the year after when 1N is turned off..

i would not worry about ppl who have space next to their swimming pool and open top merc paying for a 1.8m dish,as those on budget live in small apartments.i have been selling access to ITV and c5 for last few years and only stopped selling it when SES said 1n was operational...

 

[Dan Dan]

Someone over on DS has made comments about some Spanish forum claiming 1KR is moving to 28.2E and 1N moving to 19.2E during February. I can't see why SES would move 1N with 1KR when it's on an interim mission 28.2-wise and only has 32 TP's and therefore not in a position to totally back up capacity at 28.2E as SES have obviously long wanted.

have you got link,as i want to trace back to spanish forum..

 

[andrewcrawford]

Someone over on DS has made comments about some Spanish forum claiming 1KR is moving to 28.2E and 1N moving to 19.2E during February. I can't see why SES would move 1N with 1KR when it's on an interim mission 28.2-wise and only has 32 TP's and therefore not in a position to totally back up capacity at 28.2E as SES have obviously long wanted.

I very very very very much doubt it, if they had planned that they would have stuck 1n straight to 19.2 and then moved 1kr to 28.2, if they tried to do it now how are they going to keep the current transpodners it up on 1n aive? (dnt know much about hte older birds) as far as i can tell the old bird dnt have c band? if so they have channels go off air fora month before goign live again, the other option is make all teh channesl at 19.2 east dead before moving 1n bacjk

 

[Analoguesat]

Getting back to 1N apparently 7720 on 10964 now has 7 day epg for C5 +1 starting from 7am Tuesday.

 

[Analoguesat]

have you got link,as i want to trace back to spanish forum..

-http://nowsat.info/foro/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2257#p12482

-http://nowsat.info/?p=1828

Seems unlikely to me - where will the 26 tp's currently on 1KR go?

 

[timo_w2s]

Seems unlikely to me - where will the 26 tp's currently on 1KR go?

I agree, I don't think it'll happen either, but isn't 2C pretty empty? Would the 1KR "Polish" spot work better for the UK? Perhaps they've decided it's more suitable than the 1N "UK" spot.

 

[M60]

-http://nowsat.info/foro/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2257#p12482

-http://nowsat.info/?p=1828

Seems unlikely to me - where will the 26 tp's currently on 1KR go?

Umm.... I'm very dubious too, likewise where are they going to 'park' all the current 1KR Txp's prior to 1N's arrival?? Now if someone had have said that they'd planned to put 1N straight to 19.2E and move 1KR to 28.2E for extra spotbeam capacity (be it on an interim basis or not) that would make much more sense to me but we certainly wouldn't be in this position now as if that would have happened then 1KR would probably only now be close to arriving!

Here's the translated text:

"The Master" has a friend related SESAstra and discuss these changes:
The 1KR will be 28.2 ° E in January 2012
The 1N is going to 19.2E in February 2012

2C will be 31.5 ° E in May 2012
​

Make of it what you want but I don't think this on the cards somehow. 1KR can't back the whole 28.2E fleet and if anything were to happen to 2A, B or D then they are safe at present with full redundancy for these ageing birds!

 

[iggy]

I agree, I don't think it'll happen either, but isn't 2C pretty empty? Would the 1KR "Polish" spot work better for the UK? Perhaps they've decided it's more suitable than the 1N "UK" spot.

From the other hand, the current 1N UK spot beam is much wider then 2D's, maybe they figured that signal unexpectedly leaks through much bigger hole and decided to tighten it by swapping satellites? It's all rumors, but at the same time the question is why the current test phase lasts so long?

 

[Analoguesat]

It would have to work like this:

Transfer all the 19E 1KR traffic to 2C

Move 1KR to 28E

Transfer the 1N tp's to 1KR

Move 1N to 19E

Transfer the 2C tp's to 1N

Move 2C back to 31E

Its just about possible - Astra 1KR downlinks in the 10700 to 11700 range. However lets get 1N in service before worrying about what shenanigans SES are up to next!

 

[C0re]

I agree, I don't think it'll happen either, but isn't 2C pretty empty? Would the 1KR "Polish" spot work better for the UK? Perhaps they've decided it's more suitable than the 1N "UK" spot.

Last week four frequencies used by Digital+ (Spain) moved from the Astra 1KR to the Astra 2C. So not that empty any more. The reason of the this move is to lengthen the expected lifetime of the Astra 1KR by shutting down some transponders to safe some fuel, according to SES.

_http://en.kingofsat.net/sat-astra2c.php

 

[welshman234]

if I remember rightly the Polish spot required a dish size of 60cms in the middle of Poland and I remember reports of it being unreceivable in Berlin on a 1.2 m dish. Yet it could easily be received North and South of the beam center. Poland is a relatively easy country to direct a spotbeam compared to the UK as its a rather more uniform shape. It seems to me that these newer spotbeams restrict viewing East and perhaps West rather than North and South. But I think its daft to shuffle 1N again.......I dont see it happening

 

[Analoguesat]

Last week four frequencies used by Digital+ (Spain) moved from the Astra 1KR to the Astra 2C. So not that empty any more. The reason of the this move is to lengthen the expected lifetime of the Astra 1KR by shutting down some transponders to safe some fuel, according to SES.

=http://en.kingofsat.net/sat-astra2c.php

That would seem more logical - Astra 1KR must be at about half life now, and as the batteries and solar panels degrade the operators often shut down a few transponders to lessen the electrical loadings on the satellites.