Astra 2F: Iberia & Balearics Discussion

[robt23]

Read between the lines.

That article clears up some points and others not.

Politics - we are all in politics , we just don't know it......

 

[davidcmadrid]

I found this 1.8m off-set from Fte , check -out the gain , not bad for steel construction and beats the CM by 1 db !! Very crucial in fringe areas.

This is all on paper of course but worth a thought.

Has anyone installed one of these yet and how are they on price ?

fte-off-set-180.jpg

I am quite happy with the FTE brand i have their 1.55 x 1.6m dish and from watching the installer it had good focus ( moving lnb up and down the holder produced visible results unlike the smaller cms which are reputed to be a bit " mushy " in the focus ) and was well constructed. Have not done or seem many side by side comparisons but i never felt let down with what i paid for it. But it is heavy and my dish has a monster wall mount.

 

[davidcmadrid]

There is a Channel Master 1.8 on "the bay" at the moment - very cheap too at £395 but it is in the UK - but may well be worth considereing if you can get it to Spain - may even be worth sending over by courier at that price.....

I imagine the packaging is crucial in this instance so you dont get a slightly bent or warped dish.

 

[wod]

the cm dishes won't warp but pack well to avoid the fibreglass surface getting damaged.

 

[robt23]

I am undecided on the Prodlein 180 offset in fiberglass ( same specs as the ch for around 40 % less in euros ) ; or the fte 180 offset which is not fiberglass but still a damn good dish - weighs 30 kg less too !

However, would that Prodlein pull in 2f in Granada ?

 

[Huevos]

would that Prodlein pull in 2f in Granada ?

Will any 1.8m dish pull in 2F in Granada? Reports are thin on the ground and I haven't seen a positive one yet. 1.8m in Jaén is borderline.

 

[joddle]

I am undecided on the Prodlein 180 offset in fiberglass ( same specs as the ch for around 40 % less in euros ) ; or the fte 180 offset which is not fiberglass but still a damn good dish - weighs 30 kg less too !

However, would that Prodlein pull in 2f in Granada ?

I;m really surprised you are considering buying any borderline dish at all at the moment - we still don't know if 2e will be the same, or better or even worse than 2f; so whats the point in a heavy investment now for someting which is marginal at best for your location when it may be no good at all or even completely unesassary in a few months time? As you know good dishes don't come cheap and it would be a terrible waste if you then find you need 2.4m or 3m or even bigger later on!.

 

[robt23]

I;m really surprised you are considering buying any borderline dish at all at the moment - we still don't know if 2e will be the same, or better or even worse than 2f;

Considering the options , although not buying a great on offer dish is difficult .

 

[joddle]

Considering the options , although not buying a great on offer dish is difficult .

But maybe they are on offer because they are not sellling !! and why would that be?

 

[rasd]

Hello,

I confirm you I cannot receive anything from Astra 2F in Dílar, Granada.

I´m using a Gibertini 150cm.

 

[robt23]

Hello,

I confirm you I cannot receive anything from Astra 2F in Dílar, Granada.

I´m using a Gibertini 150cm.

Hi rasd,

Dissappointing to say the least - damn.........would you/ could you get access to a 180 cm dish and try that ?

I am reasonably optimistic that you could pull in the 2f on those dishes. Very , very fine tuning required.

 

[Huevos]

Dissappointing to say the least - damn.........would you/ could you get access to a 180 cm dish and try that ?

I am reasonably optimistic that you could pull in the 2f on those dishes. Very , very fine tuning required.

TBH, I doubt it from the reports. In Jaén 1.8m is under-size and just about works. And anything that needs "very very fine tuning" is just another way to say the dish is too small. It's extremely frustrating and when you are paying upwards of 500€ for a dish you want it to work 24/7. Maybe a 2.4m would work in Granada, but if it does it would be a case of only just. and you are looking over 1000€ retail (dish + LNB + feedhorn + groundstand) to find out.

 

[rasd]

No, I don´t have. I´m expecting like all of us what will be going with Astra 2E. But I think like Huevos, a 180cm dish won´t be enough for Astra 2F.

Regards.

Hi rasd,

Dissappointing to say the least - damn.........would you/ could you get access to a 180 cm dish and try that ?

I am reasonably optimistic that you could pull in the 2f on those dishes. Very , very fine tuning required.

 

[robt23]

No, I don´t have. I´m expecting like all of us what will be going with Astra 2E. But I think like Huevos, a 180cm dish won´t be enough for Astra 2F.

Hi again rasd, did you install the dish yourself with the aid of your receiver or was it " professionally " installed ?

- If installed by a pro , what was the db reading on the sat meter ( this would be very helpful ) - 1, 2, 3 db etc ?

- Finally, what make / model is your reciever ? are you getting any indication of quality ? normally in percent but some can be changed to db which is the most accurate way of measuring a transponders strength.

Receivers can vary greatly in sensitivity and selectability, a good one is also fundamental in focusing on weak signals.

Your Lnb is the best in the situation we find ourselves in because it is good in the lower range of frequencies which is where the PSB channels are on. That lnb is also very good at seperating strong signals from weak ones.

I wonder if Inverto will start on a Black Ultra with 0.1 db noise factor, even better. Although db noise figures on some lnbs tend to be misleading, as manufacturers tend to quote abit over in order to sell their product.

A very good sat cable is required not all are the same. I have found over the years that Lasa and Bieffie sat cables are top. I have Lasa , all copper , excellent sheilding with 1.1 mm core . Even at 90 deg , there is no or little loss in db.

These small observations are important to me in fine tuning , even though you can not seem to get a lock on your 1.5m gib.

The 2e footprint looks practically identical to the 2f one and so if you are / can receive 2f now , you should be able to get the 2e.

I am damn sure and is starting to happen now with installers increasing prices as are the larger sized dishes .

This is very similar to the stock markets - do i hang on to my shares and wait for the price to go just abit higher and risk the stocks going down, or sell now !

No doubt if i was able to get a reasonable signal , say 11 db being optimistic on 1.8 m dish, the dishes popularity would rocket and so too the euros !!

Dish quality is of great importance here and the Channel Master would be the one to get - although Prodelin seems to have the same characteristics as a CH.

The 1.8 m ch seems to have the same strength as a normal 2.4 m and of course this comes at a price !

 

[Huevos]

The 2e footprint looks practically identical to the 2f one and so if you are / can receive 2f now , you should be able to get the 2e.

Even if those reflectors are identical the footprint won't be. Not exactly anyway. The reflector and emissor are not solidly connected to one another so when they open the distance between them will be different. Even if this only amounts to a few tenths of a millimetre it will still change the beam pattern to some degree.

 

[robt23]

Even if those reflectors are identical the footprint won't be. Not exactly anyway. The reflector and emissor are not solidly connected to one another so when they open the distance between them will be different. Even if this only amounts to a few tenths of a millimetre it will still change the beam pattern to some degree.

Yes, but as i said they are practically identical and if you can receive 2f , you should be able to lock 2e.

This is the reason and it is a practical one as to finding someone / somewhere in my area with access to a 1.8 m dish - any make will do, i just want to see the readings of the sat meter.

I also want to know how ( with sat meter / without ) and who installed ( pro / amateur ) his dish ( rasd ) ; plus the readings from the sat meter ( preferably ) or what the quality from the receiver and what receiver - in % ( db better ).

This will give me a resonable idea on my situation. I am not physically able to install but would be guiding the Spanish installer as he's only used to the strong 19.2 e signal from canal digital.

 

[joddle]

Yes, but as i said they are practically identical and if you can receive 2f , you should be able to lock 2e.

I would not bet on that at all !! - Looking at the 2f footprint you could never have predicted the black hole around Barcelona especially having seen how 1N performed - in fact looking at the published footprint you would predict that Northern Spain would (even should!) be stronger than Valencia - but in fact the opposite is actually true.

Even a very minute diffference in the transmitter reflector in 2E or its orientation could mean that Valencia may be out in the cold this summer and Barcelona could be in on 80cm dishes! Predicting null areas is not a simple science - if indeed a science at all - more of a black art based on a great deal of luck !!!!

 

[robt23]

I would not bet on that at all !!

I would have preferred more input but since information is thin on the ground as to reception in and around the Granada area ( with the exception of rasd ) ; i am quietly confident that 2e is not going to be too different than 2f for me .

Lets see shall we .

 

[nml]

I would have preferred more input but since information is thin on the ground as to reception in and around the Granada area ( with the exception of rasd ) ; i am quietly confident that 2e is not going to be too different than 2f for me .

Lets see shall we .

If you read the postings in all sections you will see that I have done a number of reports on reception Nr Granada and since then I have done a number of tests on different dishes with a professional meter and they all point to the same conclusion using the calculation kindly provided by Huevos, that circa a 3 mtr dish will be required if? 2e is the same as 2f .
So my advice would be to wait and see and hope that 2e will be different.

But if you would like to buy a 1.8mtr I will gladly test it for you.

Regards nml

 

[spain-boy]

If this is the wrong place for this enquiry - I appologise - but not understanding this forum .
I will be going to my holiday home in north east spain at the weekend first time since aug last year,
and I have no idea if there will be any signal on my skybox which was aimed at Astra 2 which I understand has been changed .
If I wont receive any signal , what will I need to do ? Thanks .