More channels found

[Ken Barlow]

I have a 80cm dish,and a Echostar DSB-2200 reciever,and a Sky digibox.On the the dish there is a quad lnb setup.Two lnb`s,one is aimed at Hotbird 13E,which go`s to the Echostar box,and the other lnb is aimed at Astra 28.2 for freesat channels on the digibox.I assumed that I wouldnt be able to get anymore channels on the Echostar other than the FTA ones from Hotbird13E,but when I was messing around in the Echostar settings the other day,I realised that you can change the lnb`s to other sattelites,scan them for more channels,then recive them.Not quite sure how this works,but Ive tried with a few other ones now,like Thor,Sirius etc,and got more channels.So first question is how is this possible?Is it that the dish is actually pointed at a whole bunch of sat`s,and you can choose which one without moving dish?Secondly,what other sats are worth watching with FTA stuff,without moving the dish,as there is virtually nothing worth watching on Hotbird 13E FTA!

 

[Lazarus]

I'm afraid you have misled yourself!

You can only get Channels from the Satellite cluster you're aligned to.

But, since Transponder frequencies are repeated across the arc, if you scan another stored Satellite, you will get some Channels - but they are nevertheless Channels (in your case) from Hotbird.

Remember, if you scan another "Satellite", all you are doing is scanning another Data Table - The "Satellite" label is irrelevant. Your Receiver has no idea where the Satellites are or where your Dish is pointing.

Please list a few examples of Channels you got when scanning the Thor and Sirius tables - or, just check them against the full Hotbird listing here:

_http://www.flysat.com/hotbird.php

PS: When you say "change the LNBs to other Satellites", I am assuming you didn't physically touch the LNB at all? (Because it is possible to effectively receive other strong Satellites within a few degrees if you do, but it is a tricky business and requires precision: Some people use several LNBs on a specially made arm and can get a handful of Satellites with only one Dish position)

 

[Ken Barlow]

Tivu
I have not physically touched either of the 2 lnbs,only changed in the menu,heres a screenshot of what I mean.
When I scan Sirius for example,the top 3 channels it finds are,TVE Internacion,Canal 24 Horas,Ava Music.
If these are Hotbird channels ,why dont they show up under the Hotbird tab?

 

[Lazarus]

Tivu
I have not physically touched either of the 2 lnbs,only changed in the menu,heres a screenshot of what I mean.
When I scan Sirius for example,the top 3 channels it finds are,TVE Internacion,Canal 24 Horas,Ava Music.
If these are Hotbird channels ,why dont they show up under the Hotbird tab?

They are Hotbird Channels.

They don't show up under the Hotbird tab because your Hotbird TP listing is out of date.

Look at the link in my previous Post and you'll see those Channels are on 11727 V 27500 3/4

Then either scan that TP on your Hotbird list, or if it isn't there, add it and scan it.

If you go to the equivalent flysat page for Sirius, you will see that there is a TP with similar parameters (Frequency 11727 Symbol Rate 27500) which carries Encrypted Viasat Channels.

_http://www.flysat.com/sirius4.php

So, if you were actually getting Sirius when you scan that list, you'd get a signal showing, but no Channels at all (due to the Encryption).

As I said before, your Receiver doesn't know where you've aligned your Dish/LNBs to, and each stored "Satellite" is just a simple Data Table.

You cannot get Sirius with your Dish/LNBs set up as they are right now. All you will get is Hotbird.

It is a very common misconception that you've fallen foul of!

Hands up any Member who wasn't fooled by this when getting to grips with the hobby?

 

[Lazarus]

(Fed up of editing previous Post!)

1. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that most Receivers come with some pre-stored TP listings, yet they are invariably out of date.

This matters little if the particular Receiver has a Blind or Auto Scan feature, but if it doesn't then you need from time to time to check sites like flysat, lyngsat or kingofsat to obtain up to date listings and then edit your Receiver's lists accordingly.

2. It is precisely because for most practical purposes you cannot get reception from any other Satellite position than the one you are aligned to that makes it possible for Operators to maximise capacity by using the same or similar frequencies etc even on adjacent Satellite positions

 

[Lazarus]

Just examined your screenshot and the specific answer to why those Channels don't show up under Hotbird is that your LNB setting for Hotbird is wrong.

It is set to Standard, but should be set to Universal.

In practical terms, this means that it is in fact possible that your stored TP list for Hotbird is more or less correct, but the incorrect LNB setting means that not all TPs will be seen by the LNB.

Universal setting for a Universal LNB means that both Horizontal and Vertical Polarities are detected as well as Low and High Band signals. (And also accounts for the fact that the difference in Polarity between the 11727 TPs on Sirius and Hotbird is effectively ignored ).

Standard setting is not compatible with getting full results from a Universal LNB.

So, just change the Standard LNB setting you have on Hotbird to the Universal LNBF one that you've already got for Astra 2.

 

[Ken Barlow]

Tivu
When I change the lnb setting to universal,then scan,it finds no channels and Hotbird doesnt work at all.But actually,the setting is not universal lnb,its universal lnbf,there is no universal lnb setting.So maybe I need to change the tp settings somewhere?
As this box has 2 dish inputs,can I have another dish pointing at a different satellite on the same box?If so,which other sat has any FTA stuff worth watching?And do I need a large dish,or can I use a sky minidish for example?

 

[Lazarus]

Tivu
When I change the lnb setting to universal,then scan,it finds no channels and Hotbird doesnt work at all.But actually,the setting is not universal lnb,its universal lnbf,there is no universal lnb setting.So maybe I need to change the tp settings somewhere?
As this box has 2 dish inputs,can I have another dish pointing at a different satellite on the same box?If so,which other sat has any FTA stuff worth watching?And do I need a large dish,or can I use a sky minidish for example?

LNBF is fine (The F refers to integrated Feedhorn and is often not mentioned as most are this type nowadays).

2 Dish inputs? I'm not familiar with that Box, so can only assume that either it is a twin tuner Box (so each Tuner requires its own feed from the LN or what you've actually got is LNB In and LNB Loop Through.

But I don't know, so best to wait for an Echostar afficionado to reply