Thanks Paul, time to rephrase what I wrote.
On my Technomate, 28.2 and 28.5 are together when looking at the signal strength (which makes sense). I was able to find the transponder 11222H and had a decent signal. On most other transponders I wasn't getting a signal.
I just purchased the Technomate, so I assumed the transponder list is pretty close. I've just downloaded the latest channel list I could find on alsat (Jan 2008) and will load that.
My process for adjusting was to find the 11222H transponder, then move to another transponder (the one I saw listed for the first couple of BBC channels) and then moved the dish around a bit to try to get a signal.
At the local shop there is a vision 115cm steel dish for 30 euros. The Gilbertini's run 60 euros for the 100cm and 145 euros for the 125cm. From earlier reading, I had the feeling that the Gilbertini was a higher quality dish, but it seems that Robbo and a few others still say it is a cheap dish (not professional quality). Now I am thinking the cheapy 115cm would be the best thing to try next. Any thoughts are welcome.
Thanks everyone for your help. It is very much appreciated and I'm going to get there.