weak signal on english tv channels in S france.

[hayley]

Aluminium any time... as it's lighter and rust proof. It might be more prone to deformations but it's not something I worry about.

Measurements are/should be taken horizontally, unless you live in Spain.

many thanks ...hayley

 

[Pollux83]

My turn to chip in... I live in eastern Var, very close to the border with the Alpes-Maritimes. Many Brits (including me) have had to upgrade to 120 cm dishes and, for the present at least, these appear to be adequate. Reception will fail in bad weather but we haven't had much of that recently!
I have recommended to quite a few folk (and helped to install) the steel 120 cm dish from the 2galli site mentioned earlier and it has proved to be satisfactory. The only problem we have had is that several dishes have been dented in transit, though none of them were damaged enough to present problems. The worst had a big dent and should have been refused at delivery, but a neighbour accepted the delivery without checking it.
The dish being steel, I found that we could push the dent out (putting the dish on a duvet and pinging the dent out with my foot!) and the dish works fine. That wouldn't have been possible with an aluminium dish, I suspect, so my preference would be for steel...

 

[hayley]

My turn to chip in... I live in eastern Var, very close to the border with the Alpes-Maritimes. Many Brits (including me) have had to upgrade to 120 cm dishes and, for the present at least, these appear to be adequate. Reception will fail in bad weather but we haven't had much of that recently!
I have recommended to quite a few folk (and helped to install) the steel 120 cm dish from the 2galli site mentioned earlier and it has proved to be satisfactory. The only problem we have had is that several dishes have been dented in transit, though none of them were damaged enough to present problems. The worst had a big dent and should have been refused at delivery, but a neighbour accepted the delivery without checking it.
The dish being steel, I found that we could push the dent out (putting the dish on a duvet and pinging the dent out with my foot!) and the dish works fine. That wouldn't have been possible with an aluminium dish, I suspect, so my preference would be for steel...

Thank you ! We have found that French delivery services are Indifferent to handling ?
Steel is our preference as you can repair it easier! the 1.20cm is on the shopping list..Hayley

 

[hexah]

Thank you ! We have found that French delivery services are Indifferent to handling ?
Steel is our preference as you can repair it easier! the 1.20cm is on the shopping list..Hayley

Let us know if the 120cm works fine without going off in bad weather.

 

[hayley]

Let us know if the 120cm works fine without going off in bad weather.

Hello ! yes i will do that ,currently with the 80cm dish after re-tuning we know have a 70%ish quality & 100% intensity,....hayley

 

[hayley]

Hello ! yes i will do that ,currently with the 80cm dish after re-tuning we know have a 70%ish quality & 100% intensity,....hayley

Hello Again ! At Last !!We have just fitted to the Ground post a Triax 1.10mtr dish ,used our settings that we done with the 80cm dish that is fitted on the side of our house 5mtr up !!But after all day of adjusting the dish angle ,re-tuning the sat box receiver,checking connections all we get is film on 4+1 ..showing signal strength100%, Intensity 79%. BUT no pictures at all ?? we have not been able to get the other BBC channels also ? from the 80cm dish connection(disconnected) we have added appx 7mtrs of cable to the ground fixing !
On all the channels we have tuned into the we are getting a No Signal screen ! & on the tech page set up the signal strength 0%, & the Intensity 10% the LNB has appx 17dgs skew, azimuth appx 140, elevation is different than the 80cm dish (appx 33dgs) on the 110cm its more to 40dgs if i go lower there is no signal ?We use a Konig sat finder for the signals ....when re-connecting to the 80cm all is fine as usual !! Any help & Advise greatly Appreciated ,My husbands knees are getting very tender ??...........Hayley

 

[Lazarus]

I suspect you are on the wrong Satellite .......................... Positions are only around 3 deg apart in general so it is very easy indeed to get a signal that isn't the one you wanted. Indications showing but without Video/Audio is a classic sign.

The likely suspects are Astra 3 at 23.5 deg or Astra 1 at 19.2E, so the next step is to nudge the dish a couple or three degrees further East until you next get a Signal Indication, then check again if Video/Audio are present. If not, one more gentle shove eastwards should do it.

 

[hayley]

I suspect you are on the wrong Satellite .......................... Positions are only around 3 deg apart in general so it is very easy indeed to get a signal that isn't the one you wanted. Indications showing but without Video/Audio is a classic sign.

The likely suspects are Astra 3 at 23.5 deg or Astra 1 at 19.2E, so the next step is to nudge the dish a couple or three degrees further East until you next get a Signal Indication, then check again if Video/Audio are present. If not, one more gentle shove eastwards should do it.

Thank you very very much for your prompt Helpful reply,back on the case Monday am will keep you posted ...hayley

 

[hayley]

Thank you very very much for your prompt Helpful reply,back on the case Monday am will keep you posted ...hayley

Good Morning Tivu......Followed your advice! we are only getting a slight increase in the signal quality ! BUT !! the path Now is through a large bamboo clump & Fir trees behind that!! distance 10/50mtrs whatever we do No Improvement,am i right in thinking that the trees are the problem ??............Hayley

 

[Lazarus]

Could be - but doesn't the smaller dish have the same view?

Do you have the ability to find a location for the dish that is guaranteed to have a clear line of sight?

 

[hayley]

Could be - but doesn't the smaller dish have the same view?

Do you have the ability to find a location for the dish that is guaranteed to have a clear line of sight?

Hello Again ..the 80cm dish is on the side of the house 5mtrs up off the ground clear position !! the new dish is mounted on the ground 4mtrs away !! set in a big concrete hole with a steel angle iron set in !! as the dish is big we felt it safer this way !& better access ? we thought the new position would have the same line of sight ....it does not ,wise after the event & 300ltrs of concrete ?& 2 days of hole digging ?My man is losing the will to live !!........................a new position is possible !! we live in a old French stone farmhouse & traditionally they surround the Houses with Trees !! to protect from the strong sun & winds etc , enjoying the experience !! but time consuming !! can you recommend a reliable basic price satellite finder ? we have the "Konig" audible one , from viewing the web there seems to be ones that tell you what satellite you are on ,...Again thanks for you time & advise

 

[Clown man]

Before giving up and the hassle of relocating your dish........I would double check all new parts are proven to be ok....is the LNB new?...maybe its faulty..?.is the new added cable OK..?..anything is possible.....even with brand-new parts......

 

[hayley]

Before giving up and the hassle of relocating your dish........I would double check all new parts are proven to be ok....is the LNB new?...maybe its faulty..?.is the new added cable OK..?..anything is possible.....even with brand-new parts......

hello ...yes !! all new & checked ?? hayley

 

[sonnetpete]

Like you Hayley, my farmhouse is almost surrounded by trees. I've just been experimenting with a small dish for Astra 2 on a ground stand and can still get a good signal even with it apparently blocked by trees (see photo)


The angle you think the dish is looking at is actually quite a bit higher, due to the angle of the arm and LNB. What height is your ground stand? If there is a line of sight issue is it possible to raise the mount?

 

[sonnetpete]

.....and additionly. I've moved the small test dish and mounted it under my motorised dish. You can see how far off the ground (roughly 2 metres) it is, how much it appears to be blocked, both by the trees and the corner of the sun lounge and finally proof from my meter of the results.

 

[PaulR]

How far from the dish and how high are these trees and bamboo clump?

Dihpointer gives an elevation of 33.4° for Astra 28 for you. If we take that as being 30° for conveniuence then a 3-4-5 triangle means that if the dish is 30m from the trees then they would have to be 40m high in order to be obstructive. That's at ground level so don't forget to take away the height of the dish above ground level from the height of the tres. Also, the 3.4° difference works in your favour giving a bit more height to play with.

 

[Topper]

An example of signal path may help you to visualize the signal path better

 

[peapod1]

...a 3-4-5 triangle means that if the dish is 30m from the trees then they would have to be 40m high in order to be obstructive.

I think you may have got that the wrong way round Paul. 40m high trees at 30m from the dish would represent 60 degrees. Should read 30m high at 40m distance for 30 degree elevation.

I found dishpointer very useful for setting azimuth by following indicated line of sight to a point on the visible horizon, and then aligning dish arm directly at it. Then fine tuned using signal strength meters in receiver. Just for info I have solid reception at all hours on SD channels in the western Var with a 1m Gibertini.

 

[hayley]

.....and additionly. I've moved the small test dish and mounted it under my motorised dish. You can see how far off the ground (roughly 2 metres) it is, how much it appears to be blocked, both by the trees and the corner of the sun lounge and finally proof from my meter of the results.

View attachment 69796 View attachment 69797 View attachment 69798

A very big thanks for your 2 replies & pics ! we will sort out the dimensions etc etc this week !pending the showers due ? we are going to check the new cable as my Man thinks we cannot be totally wrong in what we have done ! your position info is uplifting ?...the dish is just about 2 inch off the ground ? we kept it low as we believe that the Marie !! require planning approval over 1mt ?? & the dish is screened !! but in the view of distance neighbours ?? we will check out the ground mount fixing if all does not work ?? will reply when able !!.......big thanks ..Hayley

...a 3-4-5 triangle means that if the dish is 30m from the trees then they would have to be 40m high in order to be obstructive.

I think you may have got that the wrong way round Paul. 40m high trees at 30m from the dish would represent 60 degrees. Should read 30m high at 40m distance for 30 degree elevation.

I found dishpointer very useful for setting azimuth by following indicated line of sight to a point on the visible horizon, and then aligning dish arm directly at it. Then fine tuned using signal strength meters in receiver. Just for info I have solid reception at all hours on SD channels in the western Var with a 1m Gibertini.

thanks for the info re dishpointer will check that out ,please view my reply to sonnetpete, for other info ...many thanks ..Hayley

 

[hayley]

An example of signal path may help you to visualize the signal path better

View attachment 69802

Hello .Hayleys man here !!.The sat pic path is extremely helpful !! we have had very little problems over 10yrs ! & then Bang !! you are in the dark ,So we learn all the time from each other !! I'll report back this week ............many thanks .....Jewells/Hayley