fail to find BBC's

[gorila22]

Hello everyone,

I have an annoying problem: can not view BBC 1,2,34 FTA's. I have Interstar 8005 CI+, 80cm, MR, dual LNB. I live in Belgium. Dish pointed ~20e.

Steps I have taken:

1. When I search 10773 frequency on astra2ABD I find only 8 channles (no BBCs). My strengh and my power are in high 70s when i am about to search so they should be found.

2. I uploaded channels list (statcodx) for this fr with bbc's 1,2,3,4. When i go to any BBC FTA channel it says scrammbled. Although the signal is ~70 strong.

3. I checked the PIDs with the latest info and VPID, APID and PCRs match on the all BBC FTAs stored on my channel list.

Can somebody help me with this????? I am so desperate.

A general question:

Can I watch Astra1's and Astra 2ABD at once with my system. I just want to get Dutch channels (already descrambled by my receiver) + BBC's FTA. Right now my dish is pointed to ~20e and i can watch most dutch channels (from astr1) and only some channels (bbc world) on astra 2abd.


THANK YOU
SIMON

 

[Jaffer]

You should try to scan again manually with 10773 H 22000 5/6 Good Luck!

 

[lazydave]

Your dish is big enough, at least.
BBC should definitely NOT show up as scrambled.
And you dish+lnb (including the effect (+/-3 degrees ?) of the LNB mount should be "looking" ~30 deg east of south, not 20. 20 corresponds to Astra1.
So you might actually be looking at 10773H on Astra 1 @ 19E, which is a transponder used for broadband by T-online in Germany. What do you get if you scan 10788V or 10803 H ?

...But if that's not the case and you are aimed more-or-less at the right spot ;) :

A high signal "strength" just tells you that you are pointing at something that is transmitting. That doesn't mean that it's the right thing. It's the other bar, i.e. signal "quality" that really matters. What is the signal quality on 10773 H ? It sounds like your alignment is a bit marginal; you wouldn't notice that at all on Astra 2A/2B, but you definitely would on Astra 2D.

Next you should check your LNB skew settings. If the LNB isn't correctly rotated, you will lose some of the already weak signals or you might only get one of the polarities, e.g. all V but no H transponders.

 

[philip24]

BBC World isn't on Astra 2@28.2 East. When you say a dual LNB, is it the combined 2 LNB in one with one cable going to the receiver?

 

[gorila22]

Thanx guys:
OK:
- There is 1 cable from 2 LNB
- Quality is also very high: 73

 

[gorila22]

10788 does not pick up at all (strengh is 70, quality 28) - when i scan its empty

I tried scanning 10773 H 22000 5/6 manually and it was no luck (just this transponder you mean?)

10733 produces high strengh (78) and quality (73) (it pics up something like ITV, Bsky not sure exactly - its at home so i can tell you now, but I am not able to see any of them - scramblled)

Any more ideas???

 

[lazydave]

This sounds very strange... A few questions:

What are the names of the 8 channels that your receiver does find when you scan 10773 H?

Can you confirm that you get other Astra2A/B (non-Astra 2D) FTA channels which you can watch? If so, give some examples.

Are you using a universal LNB (i.e. labeled "universal" or input frequency settings 9.75/10.6 GHz)? In your receiver's setup menu, are the LNB settings set to universal (or 9.75 / 10.6 GHz)?

 

[gorila22]

thanks guys. i will confirm on friday the channel names.

Yes I am using universal monoblock LNB (9.75/10.6 GHz) and setup is correct.

How can I verify that I am watching Astra 2AB and Astra 2D chanell? In my sattelite list i have only Astra 2ABD.

 

[GotMyBusPass]

@ gorila22

Hi, I was under the impression that monobloc LNB's were meant for Hotbird and Astra 1 and hence had a 6degree separation. If this is the case and you are trying for Astra 1 & Astra2 the other half of the monobloc might only be picking up a side-lobe from the Astra 2 cluster at 28east and hence you not being able to pick up the channels that you are searching for.
GMBP

 

[gorila22]

Thank you guys for all the remarks:

Gotmybuspass: it seems to be most logical explanation you gave. what do i do if i want to watch astra 1 and 2. (dutch tv + bbc's)? get another LNB? However why then i get very strong quality (73) on 10733, but no BBC channels found?

Lazydave: on 10733 i pick up channels like: BySky, INT plus some MS_data blah blah blah????? They are not viewable. On Astra 2ABD I can watch chanels like Tango TV (FTA).

Can somebody explain why people have monoblock LNBs, some have 2 separate ones. Whats the difference? Thanks. What do i do in my situation?

 

[rolfw]

I always prefer the separate LNB setup, you can then choose which satellites to line up on, also if there is a problem, there is only one LNB to replace.

 

[GotMyBusPass]

@ gorila22

Hi, you can get adjustable twin (and multiple) lnb holders and this way you adjust the lnb's for maximum signal level for the satellites that you wish to view. I would imagine that a separation of 9 degrees ie Astra 1 & Astra2 would be the maximum for your size dish ( my opinion only). With two separate LNB's you would need a DiSEqC switch along the line to convert two sets of signals/co-ax cable to a single input to your receiver..
GMBP
PS you might like to look at http://www.astra2d.co.uk/. As stated before a monobloc was designed for the 6degree separation between Hotbird and Astra1 as two separate lnb's would be too far apart to receive from those two satellites.
GMBP

 

[lazydave]

I guess you mean 10773 H and not 10733 H. Anyway,
I'm pretty sure I know what's going on ... the question is why.

"BySky" is a broadband internet provider using 10773 H at 19 E ( doh!)Somehow it would appear you are receiving a mixture of 19E and 28E on the same LNB ( doh!!!!); needless to say, that shouldn't happen. Since 10773 H on Astra 2D is a lot weaker than the same transponder on 19E in Belgium, there could be just enough interference from 19E to throw things off.

Is your dish dented or warped? Is the LNB pointed at the "center" of the dish (if not a monoblock)?

 

[rolfw]

No, I think that only one side of the LNB is being used, from what I've read above there is no evidence of any reception on 28.2E, I reckon everything is from Astra19.2.

 

[lazydave]

No, I think that only one side of the LNB is being used, from what I've read above there is no evidence of any reception on 28.2E, I reckon everything is from Astra19.2.

Good point... I was thinking that Tango, which he does receive, was on 28.2 E, but it's only on 19.2E

Lazydave: on 10733 i pick up channels like: BySky, INT plus some MS_data blah blah blah????? They are not viewable. On Astra 2ABD I can watch chanels like Tango TV (FTA).

I'm going to be brave and suggest that you set your receiver to delete all your channel entries and rescan everything using automatic scanning. You shouldn't need to manually enter frequencies. As Rolf points out, you'll find that you don't get any Astra 2 (28.2 E) channels at all.

Once you're convinced that that is the case, then you can decide whether you want to get an extra dish for 28.2 E.

 

[gorila22]

Thank you so much for these suggesions guys. I will try things out.

1st: erasing the channels
2nd: equipment upgrade

However 1: how do i know if i use both LNB in the monoblock?

However 2: i do not want to get an extra dish (no place) - I like suggestion of aquiring extra LNB on the same dish with the DiSEqC switch. Does that mean i can then view Astra 1, Hotbird and Astra 2? How about the elevation if i have only 1 dish.

good discussion!
Simon

 

[philip24]

I guess you can get Hotbird and Astra 1@19.2 East with the monobloc ( 6 degrees spacing). To get Astra 2@28.2 East you would need another separate universal LNB. plus a bracket capable of coping with the 2 pieces.

As rolfw, says, it's probably better to put 3 individual LNBs.

 

[lazydave]

However 1: how do i know if i use both LNB in the monoblock?

A monoblock is basically two LNB's with a fixed angular separation and a diseqc switch in a single box. Some receivers have a special option for monoblocks, but others just expect you to choose which diseqc input you want (1 or 2) when you set things up or scan for channels etc...

However 2: i do not want to get an extra dish (no place) - I like suggestion of aquiring extra LNB on the same dish with the DiSEqC switch. Does that mean i can then view Astra 1, Hotbird and Astra 2? How about the elevation if i have only 1 dish.

The problem is that BBC on Astra 2D has a narrow footprint and you're on the edge of the footprint in belgium. Your 80 cm would be fine if you pointed it directly at Astra 2 instead of Astra 1, but you'll lose some signal with "off-centre" LNBs, the bigger the angle difference from the "centre", the greater the loss will be. You can get, for example, an adjustable LNB mount in the form of a kind of "rail" which you can mount where your current LNB holder for your monoblock is now, so that you could get the 10 - 11 degree spread between the two satellite groups, but assuming that you point your dish halfway in-between them, you're still talking about 5 - 5.5 degrees from centre and your BBC reception will most likely be marginal.

Re: elevation... The rail I referred to above will have to sit at an angle on the mount so that you can maintain the correct elevation for each sat. In Brussels, that would be azimuth: ~19.1 degrees east of south, elevation: ~30.1 degrees for Astra 1, and ~29.7 degrees east of south, elevation: ~27.6 degrees.

If the problem is space for the dish, and you're not a high-speed channel zapper , then I would suggest investing in a diseqc motor (polar mount). It doesn't take up much space. Then you only need one LNB and dish, the motor will point the satellite at whatever you want, and if you change your mind about which satellites you want to watch, you can just programme in new ones with having to crawl up on the roof everytime.

 

[gorila22]

Thank you everybody - knowledge is power and as Lenin told "to learn, learn and once more learn".

One more question: if i delete all the channels and decide to have fresh scan for BBC's - how do i know that i am pointing at astra2??? Is the quality of the first frequency (10744) a good incdicator or i have to rely on blind judgement of degrees and position (i have no compass or sat. finders). Trial and error is always an option however as we have discovered I failed quite badly in this so far.

thank you

i will inform everyone on monday the 7th whether i was succesful

simon

 

[gorila22]

Hi everyone,

I finally found BBC's - no problem, just had to change the position and elevation of my disk and look in astra2abd. The quality of the sygnal is 53. Funny, when I looked for astra1 channels on this position it gave me exactly the same channels as asta 2! The same happened before with astra1 position looking for astra2 channels. I guess i will be investing in the motor now (interstar HH??? DiSEqC 1.2)

Thanks for your replies
Simon