Costa Blanca, 2E/2F, seasonal signal fluctuation.

[Huevos]

closest approach, I believe, was sometime this week just gone.

No. Closest approach (perihelion) is the 3rd January, and aphelion is the 4th July. So today we are further from the sun than at any other instance in the orbit.

 

[Archive4]

No. Closest approach (perihelion) is the 3rd January, and aphelion is the 4th July. So today we are further from the sun than at any other instance in the orbit.

OK I give up on sat theory, going back to x-stream services, ISDN and ADSL, at least I know how they all work!

 

[PaulR]

No. Closest approach (perihelion) is the 3rd January, and aphelion is the 4th July. So today we are further from the sun than at any other instance in the orbit.

Ah, wan't listening closely enough.. Just knew the dates didn't line up.

 

[briangw]

Did anybody see a significant drop in signal yesterday, and today ?

I checked everything at my end, and all looked OK. I was expecting (hoping!) to see some reports confirming my experience but as no-one else seems to have commented on it, I might have to delve a bit deeper.

 

[Huevos]

Did anybody see a significant drop in signal yesterday, and today ?

Last 24 hours (today).


Previous 24 hours (yesterday).


Previous 24 hours (day before yesterday).

 

[Huevos]

BTW, if you want more graphs go to the following link and just change the number of days ago at the end of the link. I've just thrown that together but it seems to work fine. But obviously won't work for any day that is missing data.

http://satellites-xml.org/signal-graphs/days-ago-graph.php?daysAgo=5

 

[briangw]

Thanks for those graphs, Huevos. My reading is that there has been about a 0.5dB drop over the last two days.

5 days ago I swapped our Smart Quatro LNBF for a Gilbertini Feedhorn/Inv C120 QTH on our 1.8 Prodelin, resulting in about a 10% improvement. This essentially gave us 24 hours of good solid signal across all frequencies except the BBC HDs, which we could just about pick up in the evenings as it did it's daily wobble back into us. It was in fact slightly better than we were getting previously on our 1.25m with 1N.

We had 3 days of this - brill. But now we are back to the levels of the Smart Quatro LNBF, which is a bit disappointing. Do we know of any reason for this ? or is it just one of those wobbles ?

 

[Huevos]

Is it one of these? If so why are you using a Gibertini feedhorn?

 

[briangw]

Is it one of these? If so why are you using a Gibertini feedhorn?

Well mine has a different base, and it looks a bit cleaner, but yes I think it is one of those.

The Gilbertini is a general purpose feedhorn for offset dishes, so I thought I would give it a shot as I had heard some good things about it.

I am aware that, in theory, the Raven/CM/Andrews feedhorn is probably the best for this dish. But its 3 times the price, and when I asked for advice I didnt get any specific help on this aspect of my configuration, so it could have been an expense I didnt need to make.

I still have the option to resell the Gilbertini and buy the Raven. It is a work in progress. I may still yet try and adapt the Smart Quatro for C120 fit also.

 

[Huevos]

I still have the option to resell the Gilbertini and buy the Raven.

Why not use the feedhorn that is made for that dish?

 

[briangw]

Why not use the feedhorn that is made for that dish?

To my knowledge there isnt one. I asked both the supplier and the manufacturer and received no help. There is none listed on the web site.

 

[Huevos]

Well I'm confused now because the one in the picture is not a Raven/CM. Or maybe it could be, but it is nothing like any feed I've ever seen on a CM dish.

 

[briangw]

Well I'm confused now because the one in the picture is not a Raven/CM. Or maybe it could be, but it is nothing like any feed I've ever seen on a CM dish.

Was it just a plain looking aluminium(ish) job with a white cap ? In which case it could have been a Gilbertini.

The signal seems to have picked up slightly last night and this morning.

Just had another look at that photo and the bottom bar and LNB support are different to mine. Although it could just be an older version.

If there is anybody else out there who has any experience of feedhorns on Prodelin 1.8, I would be happy to hear their observations.

If anyone was reading my previous thread (Best 1.8 for Spain etc), I have 19 apartments (22 connections) up and running now on a Triax Cascade system (see attached). Results so far are satisfactory, but hoping for a few more tweaks on the LNB/feedhorn for a more rock solid signal.

 

[Huevos]

Was it just a plain looking aluminium(ish) job with a white cap ? In which case it could have been a Gilbertini.

No, it's nothing like a Gibertini or CM feedhorn.

 

[Huevos]

The signal seems to have picked up slightly last night and this morning.

If you can see that minor change the dish is way too small.

 

[briangw]

If you can see that minor change the dish is way too small.

I know my dish size is the minimum required here, but it is the standard size being installed locally. What I was reporting was that I could see generally a 2 or 3% increase in signal quality on my receiver diagnostics across all frequencies.

 

[mickwig]

Thanks for those graphs, Huevos. My reading is that there has been about a 0.5dB drop over the last two days.

5 days ago I swapped our Smart Quatro LNBF for a Gilbertini Feedhorn/Inv C120 QTH on our 1.8 Prodelin, resulting in about a 10% improvement. This essentially gave us 24 hours of good solid signal across all frequencies except the BBC HDs, which we could just about pick up in the evenings as it did it's daily wobble back into us. It was in fact slightly better than we were getting previously on our 1.25m with 1N.

We had 3 days of this - brill. But now we are back to the levels of the Smart Quatro LNBF, which is a bit disappointing. Do we know of any reason for this ? or is it just one of those wobbles ?

I have been recording the SQ and SS of 2F for over 1 and 1/2 years and I can confirm that on my end the signal was up 10% to 15% for the last few days. I think the day before yesterday it went back to its normal low summer value.

Looking at spreadsheet I would say that you can not test components over a period of several days and then go back to the original component. You can never be sure that the sats stay the same. The values can be stabil for a few days, but they can also vary on a daily basis.

 

[Huevos]

How have you monitored this for a year and a half, the satellite only came online in February?

 

[mickwig]

How have you monitored this for a year and a half, the satellite only came online in February?

2E has been up since September 2013, 2F since Dezember 2012. I have got my 240 CM since August 2013 and before that I was monitoring 2F with a 180 CM which was set up in May 2013.

Although 2E is slightly further east the changes in signal are corresponding most of the time. The dish is set up for 2F (11023). 2E is stronger here than 2F, but it wobbles out of range now and then due to its position.

 

[Archive4]

2E has been up since September 2013, 2F since Dezember 2012. I have got my 240 CM since August 2013 and before that I was monitoring 2F with a 180 CM which was set up in May 2013.

Although 2E is slightly further east the changes in signal are corresponding most of the time. The dish is set up for 2F (11023). 2E is stronger here than 2F, but it wobbles out of range now and then due to its position.

I may have slept for a few winter months, but I thought 2e went live early 2014 (febish), how can you measure anything before that? Even Huevos can´t do that!