Advice Needed Astra 2e from the french riviera

[4wd]

What does 'action' imply (which channels \ transponders)?

And at what levels ?

 

[PaulR]

Then, most likely, this is 1m offset antenna.

More likely smaller than that. Surely 90 - 95cm, especially if the 105cm incorporates the rolled edge.

 

[Stuggy]

Just bought an Opticum Quad LNB - LQP-04H to have something new to play with. I am not sure between the 142x130 dish or the Gilbertini 125. I will try the new LNB and fine tune and see where that gets me. I'm fairly sure I will need one of those dishes since I am getting zero BBC etc. I did get one or two HD channels but not ones that I am interested much in. I have a humax box that shows signal levels but not sure actual numbers. I will fire it up and post some info from a few of the channels that I can get.

 

[dmaavrigdo]

I'm fringe and probably wouldn't get much at all if my dish was fixed on the chimney. I take my box and tv up to the balcony and make tiny adjustments while watching desired channel.
When it is cloudy I have to move the lnb a few mm east or west to chose channel 5 or bbc.

 

[Stuggy]

Fired it up and made a few notes. In Freesat mode the first channel that has a picture on it is 140 then 145 (Pick+1). 175 Smithsonian HD the bars are maximum. Pick+1 strength about 85 and quality about 75. I obviously have huge gaps as far as what channels I can actually see. The non freesat scan got 108 tv and 2 radio channels but they are not all viewable. After I get the LNB I will try and fine tune then it seems I have to pick a new dish.

 

[Analoguesat]

You need fto work out which beams you are getting / missing

Go to this page and work through the channels you have access to & write down the beams you have. At a guess you are missing some of the uk beam stuff

FlySat Astra 2E/2F/2G @ 28.2° East

 

[4wd]

Does the (forthcoming big) dish really need to be on the chimney ? The wind can be destructive in Alpes Maritimes, chimney (the usual old french halfcracked bricks and bad cement?) + mount system must be very solid, also it's a pain to get on the roof the many times needed to do all the adjustments. If any possibility exists at ground level with clear sight towards 28e, think about it.

In my case up it the mountains, for 28e I had zero choice but the chimney, needed max height available to clear trees and hills, otherwise it would never have been placed there. "50" x better to have one's dish(es) fully serviceable without ladders, climbing activity, cracked tiles, ...or broken bones.

 

[Stuggy]

I think the chimney is the best spot. There aren't any great spots in the garden and there are the aesthetics of having a dish sitting in the garden.

So, today I went up and put on the new LNB with the existing dish. I got some nice improvements. I still need a new dish but got most channels but not much HD. BBC non HD was breaking up a bit. Channel 5 HD came in with good strength and normal quality on signal level screen.

 

[dmaavrigdo]

I think the chimney is the best spot. There aren't any great spots in the garden and there are the aesthetics of having a dish sitting in the garden.

So, today I went up and put on the new LNB with the existing dish. I got some nice improvements. I still need a new dish but got most channels but not much HD. BBC non HD was breaking up a bit. Channel 5 HD came in with good strength and normal quality on signal level screen.

Rotate the dish so that the LNB moves 1 cm to the east BBC will improve.

 

[sonnetpete]

It is possible to paint the dish to disguise it's appearance.....

and there are the aesthetics of having a dish sitting in the garden

I can see your aesthetical viewpoint but a ground mounted dish is surely preferable to a chimney landing on your bed...

 

[Stuggy]

Rotate the dish so that the LNB moves 1 cm to the east BBC will improve.

Thanks for the info. I will try that. My main goal is BBC, ITV in HD. I mainly watch some sport.

 

[Tururu]

A couple of points : It may be worth trying an Inverto Black Ultra instead of the existing LNB. This will allow you to experiment with the LNB to dish centre distance, due to it's extended neck. Also, is the dish mounted directly to the chimney stack or to your terrestrial aerial mount? If you did want to go up a size or two with the dish, how it is mounted is a major consideration.

The 125cm Gibertini really delivers what it promises, on antennas other than size, real performance depends on it later.
Normally 150cm is better than 125cm, also more expensive.

Last year I bought second hand a Gibertini 125cm steel and remove the very bad 130cm Gibertini, they stopped selling it years ago (it does not concentrate the signal on the LNB/poorly designed).
The mount with a LNB Rover of 2 outputs that brought and very well.
I changed it for an Inverto Black Ultra of 0'2dB and improved the levels in general, but when you have a lot of signal difference between 2 tp/next frequencies, at the ends of the beam, normal for Madrid, UK beam frequencies and beam frequencies for Europe, you go blind.
The old LNB Rover works better.
It is noted with 11053H, to a lesser extent with 11068V.

From the LNB Opticum Quad of 0'1dB, no idea of quality.
The Opticum Red Robust version of unicable 0'1dB 4SCR+2Legacy (also the version of 3Legacy), work very well with the frequencies mentioned.
Without forgetting the quality of the tuner that has the receiver, with good weather, all good, but now with lower levels (cloudy / raining), only works on those frequencies well the new tuner that brings the VU+Ultimo4K (chip 45308 and DVB -S2X) that improves 3% the signal / SNR and almost 10% the quality/AGC, the same tuner with chip 45208 and DVB-S2 pixelating, the VU+Duo2 and the DreamBox800S-HD are blind.
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La Gibertini de 125cm rinde de verdad lo que promete, en antenas aparte del tamaño, depende el rendimiento real luego.
Normalmente 150cm es mejor que 125cm, tambien mas cara.

El año pasado compre de segunda mano una Gibertini de 125cm de acero y quite la Gibertini de 130cm muy mala, la dejaron de vender hace años (no concentra la señal sobre el LNB/mal diseñada).
La monte con un LNB Rover de 2 salidas que traia y muy bien.
Lo cambie por un Inverto Black Ultra de 0'2dB y mejoraron los niveles en general, pero cuando tienes mucha diferencia de señal entre 2 tp/frecuencias proximas, en los extremos del haz, lo normal por Madrid, frecuencias del haz UK y frecuencias haz para Europa, te quedas ciego.
Funciona mejor el viejo LNB Rover.
Se nota con 11053H, en menor medida con 11068V.

Del LNB Opticum Quad de 0'1dB, ni idea de la calidad.
La version Opticum Red Robust de 0'1dB unicable 4SCR + 2Legacy (tambien la version de 3Legacy), funcionan muy bien con las frecuencias comentadas.
Sin olvidar la calidad del tuner que tenga el receptor, con buen tiempo, todos bien, pero ahora con niveles mas bajos (nublado/lloviendo), solo funciona en esas frecuencias bien los nuevos tuner que trae el VU+Ultimo4K (chip 45308 y DVB-S2X) que mejora 3% la señal/SNR y casi 10% la calidad/AGC, el mismo tuner con chip 45208 y DVB-S2 pixelando, el VU+Duo2 y la DreamBox800S-HD estan ciegos.

 

[daro2096]

I have heard of people in Spain being able to pull in the UK beam channels with a 2.4m dish but that was a while ago so may be out of date now.

 

[Stuggy]

I ordered a bigger dish today. I went with the same dish that 4wd had mentioned in the thread. I will do an update after I receive it and have a chance to get things set up.

 

[Tururu]

@Stuggy
What out of curiosity?

AC138W Acier
Dimensions extérieures : 142 X 130 cm
Dimensions réflecteur : 136 X 124 cm
eficiencia > xx%
gain 10.95 GHz xx dB
gain 42.8dB a 12.7Ghz.
Cross-polarisation > 30 dB

Gibertini 125.
Dimensions extérieures :133.5 x 124.5 cm
Dimensions réflecteur: 130.5 x 121.0 cm
eficiencia > 70%
gain 41.3 dB a 10.95 GHz min.
gain 42.30 dB a 12.75 GHz
Cross-polarisation > 24 dB

@daro2096
It is correct, I live in a point of maximum signal outside the beam uk, more to the north and south of Madrid you need more antenna., In Barcelona partners with 180cm very badly.
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Es correcto, vivo en un punto de maxima señal fuera del haz uk, mas al norte y al sur de Madrid necesitas mas antena., en Barcelona compañeros con 180cm muy mal.

 

[Stuggy]

I got the AC138W Acier

 

[woborny]

I have heard of people in Spain being able to pull in the UK beam channels with a 2.4m dish but that was a while ago so may be out of date now.

Depends where you are in Spain.
Here (valencia), i get most UK beam SD channels on my 80x85 cm dish (the quest SDs not though - thats too weak for the dish!)
But in some other areas of Spain a 4 or 5m dish is needed...

 

[Stuggy]

I got the dish yesterday. It is 134x122. I installed it yesterday and today. Hopefully later today I can work on aiming it to see what signal I get. I am supposed to set lnb skew at -13 so I will try that too.

 

[RimaNTSS]

It is 134x122.

Is that working area or including edges?

 

[Stuggy]

I think working area. I'll check again when I go back up.