ASTRA 2D BBC & ITV RECEPTION

[meatball]

i know of people 100 kms south of Rome, getting Astra 2D with a prodelin 2.40 mts..i was wondering if other people more south of it were able to get Astra 2D.
thank u anyway for your reply ugania
Tony

hi,
meatball here,
would you have information on people 100km south of rome receiving astra 2d.

many thanks meatball.

gerardwalsh2000@yahoo.com

 

[Leee]

I've replaced my Arcon Sweety this weekend with a 1m Gibertini number coupled with an Invacom quad 0,3db LNB in preparation for Sky+.

Strength @ 100% / Quality @ 80% on the default transponder. The weather's been chronic since I put it in and I only had issues with the signal because I had a slab of beer in the way of the dish.

I've drunk the beer and the picture improved dramatically

Mucho respect to the wife who said "we hardly use the balcony so get a nice big dish"

PS: I'll be have a plug at the following and see what my quality is for 2D
Services - 401 - Select - MANUAL TUNING - use 10.773 - H -22.0 - 5/6 - Find Channels - Select and observe

 

[Leee]

update: it's crappy weather, my signal quality drops to zero, strength is 100%
No break-up on BBC nor ITV, Hallmark etc.

It'll do for me

 

[Expat]

Here is a report I received from the Azores!
Azores - Faial
Nokia 9600s
1.8m Prime Focus dish
LNB Unicom 0.3db
Posted 13-12-03

I'm using Nokia 9600s, 1.8 prime focus w/ Unicom .3db LNB. I receive BBC1,2,3,4 although 3 and 4 are on tes3 and ETV channels. I think I have the pids set wrong for 3 and 4 as I do not get them in their correct places. Also get Sky News, BBC 24 News, Reality TV, Cbeebies, CBBC, BBC 3, BBC 4 and a whole lot of shopping and travel channels, oh also ETV5.

 

[josephine]

Thanks for the info. I've been trying to find a bigger dish. Installers have either said they can't get them or have quoted exorbitant prices (from €450 to €700)- but I don't need it installed as it's on my balcony and I can do it myself. Can you - or any other reader - suggest a dish supplier? Or anything else for that matter to solve this problem without spending huge (for me) sums?.

I live in Bologna and I can watch the 2d channels most of the time with a 125 cm dish. Often the signal becomes disturbed after 11 at night and when the dish is very wet.I think that a 150 cm offset dish could solve all problems.

 

[ugania]

Thanks for the info. I've been trying to find a bigger dish. Installers have either said they can't get them or have quoted exorbitant prices (from €450 to €700)- but I don't need it installed as it's on my balcony and I can do it myself. Can you - or any other reader - suggest a dish supplier? Or anything else for that matter to solve this problem without spending huge (for me) sums?.

Hi! If you live near Bologna,you could go to Radio ricambi,Via Zago 12,the street on the nort-east side of Mascarella bridge in Bologna or call 051 250046, the web address is www.radiricambi.it , I bought there my 125 emmeesse dish but they have them in smaller and bigger sizes.

 

[ugania]

Anybody knows the tecnical reason why in winter I can watch all 2d channels 24/7 (if the dish is dry) while in the warm season I have problems at night after 11 (CET) for a few hours ? And why for es :ITV London is stronger than other ITV channels in the north and BBC 1 London is usually strong but weaker than es: BBC 1 North West ? Isn't it a contradiction? Bologna,Italy 125 cm.

 

[philip24]

Ugania, should the website address be: http://www.radioricambi.it/

The difference between the different regional downlink strengths could be due to the polarisation. Why the H+V have different strengths, I can't explain.

 

[geoffreys]

Ugania, should the website address be: http://www.radioricambi.it/

The difference between the different regional downlink strengths could be due to the polarisation. Why the H+V have different strengths, I can't explain.

As I understand it, the various transponders on any given satellite beam are
NOT all having the same ERP (Effective Radiated Power); this because of
various technical differences, such as antenna gain at different transponder
frequencies. Regards reception of signals from the satellite/s in Winter cf.
warm summer you find temperature inversions occurring, especially in the
tropics or in hot climate areas, after sundown. This effects the strength of the signal (reduces it) as seen by your dish. All the foregoing is more
noticeable in fringe reception areas. As I have discovered the hard way the
solution is a more expensive larger dish than perhaps normally used where
you are located. Rule of thumb: go for one size (at least) larger. If 2.4m
dish widely used in your location then YOU go for a 2.8 or 3.0m. That of
course assumes same LNB/LNB Skew and equally good dish alignment.
Geoff
Cyprus

 

[barney]

Ciao Ugania,
i notice the same problem on 2a north beam, I have less signal than this summer. i know the opposite. (3mt dish Abruzzo)
Bye

 

[PGH]

Location: 62 deg 40 min N, 17 deg 40 min E – central Sweden
Equipment: 1.4 m Luxor offset dish with MTI AP8-TW lnb (0.6 dB noise figure) feeding a Nokia Mediamaster 9450 (Not exactly the best combination for DX ing!)

Tp 45 and 47 (Horizontally polarised. Nothing from the vertical transponders) give excellent reception except in conditions of heavy rain approaching from the south. Due to the low sighting angle from here, this is also a problem with reception of signals aimed at Sweden! Strangely, the Astra 2A south beam gives nothing although, according to Astra’s footprint, its signal strength here should be considerably greater.
Boy! This is some side-lobe!

 

[ugania]

Ugania, should the website address be: http://www.radioricambi.it/

The difference between the different regional downlink strengths could be due to the polarisation. Why the H+V have different strengths, I can't explain.

I'm sorry,you are absolutely right about the website address,the problem is that in this period a lot of friends give us a lot of bottles of wine as a present and I have a limited space where to store them. Thank you

 

[PGH]

Looking at the Boeing specs for Astra 2D seems to offer an explanation for the difference in strengths between the horizontal and vertical polarised signals. I quote:

Antennas:
80" (2.03 m) diameter shaped surface reflector
Precision antenna pointing system maintains accuracy of better than 0.10 degrees
Two shaped surfaces:
· One for vertical linear polarization for communication
· One for horizontal linear polarization for communications plus tracking



Presumably the horizontal surface received a bump at some stage!

 

[Maxi 1]

Location: 62 deg 40 min N, 17 deg 40 min E – central Sweden
Equipment: 1.4 m Luxor offset dish with MTI AP8-TW lnb (0.6 dB noise figure) feeding a Nokia Mediamaster 9450 (Not exactly the best combination for DX ing!)

Tp 45 and 47 (Horizontally polarised. Nothing from the vertical transponders) give excellent reception except in conditions of heavy rain approaching from the south. Due to the low sighting angle from here, this is also a problem with reception of signals aimed at Sweden! Strangely, the Astra 2A south beam gives nothing although, according to Astra’s footprint, its signal strength here should be considerably greater.
Boy! This is some side-lobe!

High PGH can you please tell us the name of the nearest town to you?

I am having problems with a hill full of trees beside the house. Mounting a large dish on the roof is not possible.

has anyone had success in the Gothenburg area (Astra 2d)?

Maxi 1

 

[PGH]

High PGH can you please tell us the name of the nearest town to you?

I am having problems with a hill full of trees beside the house. Mounting a large dish on the roof is not possible.

has anyone had success in the Gothenburg area (Astra 2d)?

Maxi 1

The nearest town to me is Sundsvall, which is on the Swedish east coast about 350 km north of Stockholm. I'm too far from Gothenburg to give you any indication of reception there but have a look at the reception reports from:
http://www.astra2d.co.uk/sweden.htm

 

[Michel-Ange BOUCHET]

Location : 43° 27' N, 3° 36' E - Mèze (between Béziers and Montpellier) Southern France.
Equipement Visiosat bisat dish with 2 lnbs (0.4 decibel noise figure) feeding a Philips DSB 1100 FTA.
Receive BBC channels. Signal: 75%

 

[PaulR]

Equipement Visiosat bisat dish

What size is this satellite dish?

PaulR

 

[rolfw]

That's a 75cm PaulR.

Technical Specifications
Antenna Width 75cm
Antenna Height 64cm
Dish SMC
Arm Aluminium
Az/El Mount Steel
F.D Ratio 0.65
Beam Width (-3dB max.) 2.1° at 11.325 GHz
Efficiency 70%
Gain (d at 11,33 GHz 37.5
Gain (d at 12,63 GHz 38
Figure of merit (dBK, LNB 1,0 d at 11,33 16.1
Figure of merit (dBK, LNB 1,0 d at 12,63 16.7
Mounting on tube Ø 40 to 60 mm
Elevation 0° - 55°
Azimut 0° - 360°
Weight 7 Kg
Frequency range 10,70 - 12,75 GHz

 

[Leee]

Update: Zurich Switzerland
Sky+ V2 with Invacom Quad connected to Gilbertini 100cm dish

Normal Strength/Quality
90%/90% & 90%/90%

Manual tune to BBC transponder
80%/70% & 90%/80%

This compares to 90%/90% and 90%/no reading on Pace 2200

 

[jts72]

Hi,

Can anyone please tell me where I could buy a 1,8 m or bigger dish in Italy (at a reasonable price) ?

Many Thanks.