weak signal on english tv channels in S france.

[sonnetpete]

.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 ??

That dish is very low, personally I'd raise it up quite a bit, though I guess it depends on the height of your ground mount. Don't know about planning permission, I've been here over 13 years now and never had the Maire round (though a new one was elected this year). Anyway, I've got five dishes, the motorised one in the photo is 1.2M and no-one has moaned yet. It may help that I have no near neighbours to object.....

 

[PaulR]

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.

Whoops. yes. Well spotted. It's worth bearing in mind that the further south one goes the more more that a dish has to look higher in the sky. This means that those trees have to be pretty damn tall to interfere.

 

[hayley]

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

To ..sonnetpete-paulr-peapod1-Topper-clown man -Tivu-& others at the start of this Post !..many thanks for your time & patience!!your suggestions ref the trees position is correct they are not blocking out the signal ,looking hard at the signal path re:topper i felt that we were on the wrong Sat ?? as Tivu suggested ! a nudge to the East should do ? We were on the wrong Position ?? now found bbc itv c4,et cetc ..at last !!
Its a very fine line on being on the signal or off!! also with the .1.1mt dish we expected a higher picture quality than the 72% we are getting, intensity is 100% the readings are the same for the 80cm dish ?? Any suggestions here ?? or is it "that's the best you are going to get !!............Tried to make a donation the other day ,as we live in France Pay pal decides we wish to donate in euros !! we want to donate in £s.!! i can get around this but when going through the PP payment it asks for the email address? so does the payment go to>> theteam etc etc Office, or does it credit VIA the individual whose post i click on to ??? Hugs to you all ....................Hayley & jewells

 

[hayley]

That dish is very low, personally I'd raise it up quite a bit, though I guess it depends on the height of your ground mount. Don't know about planning permission, I've been here over 13 years now and never had the Maire round (though a new one was elected this year). Anyway, I've got five dishes, the motorised one in the photo is 1.2M and no-one has moaned yet. It may help that I have no near neighbours to object.....

Oh !! the joys of living in France ,permission here to put up an entrance gate & also changing small window ?? re the Ground clearance i can increase it appx 12inchs ?would that help ?? also the bamboos are 10mtr away & 5 mtr high !the fir trees are 20mtr away ,10mt high as i am now getting a signal (see my post today ) would going higher give me more strength in Quality ?? your pics were very helpful !!
thanks ..Hayley /Jewells

 

[Lazarus]

Well done on finding the Satellite and don't worry about the readings: Metering on Receivers is very crude indeed and when you have a strong signal, something called Automatic Gain Control kicks in. This helps to stop overloading the Tuner but can also have the effect of seeming to limit or even reduce the Signal Strength and Quality Readings. The latter are merely indications and are of limited use. What really matters is if the Channels are fully locked and remain so during inclement weather.

One final point, don't forget to rotate the LNB in the holder to achieve the optimum "skew" >> Looking from the LNB towards the dish, it should probably be rotated clockwise a few degrees. This will ensure you get best results on both Horizontally and Polarised Channels.

 

[hayley]

Well done on finding the Satellite and don't worry about the readings: Metering on Receivers is very crude indeed and when you have a strong signal, something called Automatic Gain Control kicks in. This helps to stop overloading the Tuner but can also have the effect of seeming to limit or even reduce the Signal Strength and Quality Readings. The latter are merely indications and are of limited use. What really matters is if the Channels are fully locked and remain so during inclement weather.

One final point, don't forget to rotate the LNB in the holder to achieve the optimum "skew" >> Looking from the LNB towards the dish, it should probably be rotated clockwise a few degrees. This will ensure you get best results on both Horizontally and Polarised Channels.

hello Thanks for your prompt reply! Yes its Now the weather!! due to the sat changes that will make the difference if we get a signal in the rain ? light showers have not been a problem! the general feeling was that if we upgraded ! as we have! it would secure a picture in heavy rain ?? were we daydreaming !!........yes the LNB is adjusted to appx 17dgs ,,thanks you advised this to us when my Man !! joined 8yrs ago ??
Big Thanks ....Hayley /jewells

 

[Lazarus]

Well only time will tell as regards the heavy rain, but I should rather think that you'll be fine: The increase in size is a worthwhile one and ought to make all the difference.

 

[hayley]

Well only time will tell as regards the heavy rain, but I should rather think that you'll be fine: The increase in size is a worthwhile one and ought to make all the difference.

Thank you ...hayley

 

[Lazarus]

You've nothing Toulouse ........................ (Gosh I wish I hadn't said that ;))

 

[sonnetpete]

You've nothing Toulouse ........................ (Gosh I wish I hadn't said that ;))

Be assured.....you aren't the only one.....

 

[Topper]

Thank you ...hayley

Glad you were successful in finding your desired satellite

 

[Clown man]

Great stuff...heyley and mr hayley........Signal strength should be ignored...It just means your receiver is connected to your dish / LNB.......concentrate on improving the signal Quality on your weakest channels..............a cheap rain hood will help on rainy days and Mondays :-) ...(carpenters fans will know what i mean....).........http://www.amazon.de/Unbekannt-Wett...415727595&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=LNB+schaultz+..

 

[peapod1]

[QUOTE............a cheap rain hood will help on rainy days ..[/QUOTE]

Nah. Just take a pair of scissors to the top half of a 1L plastic milk bottle from Carrefour or Auchan, and wire it onto the lnb . Take care not to obscure the full view of the dish from the lnb though

 

[hayley]

Great stuff...heyley and mr hayley........Signal strength should be ignored...It just means your receiver is connected to your dish / LNB.......concentrate on improving the signal Quality on your weakest channels..............a cheap rain hood will help on rainy days and Mondays ...(carpenters fans will know what i mean....).........http://www.amazon.de/Unbekannt-Wetterschutzhaube-LNB-Protector-Sat/dp/B004HM2VM2/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415727595&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=LNB schaultz ..

hello & Thanks !! i never thought i would hear of something like this ? just viewed the German site !! this we will look into ...hayley

 

[hayley]

[QUOTE............a cheap rain hood will help on rainy days ..

Nah. Just take a pair of scissors to the top half of a 1L plastic milk bottle from Carrefour or Auchan, and wire it onto the lnb . Take care not to obscure the full view of the dish from the lnb though[/QUOTE]
hello & Thanks !! i never thought i would hear of something like this ? just viewed the German site !! this we will look into .My man is smiling at the thought that he can Create a Cover ..hayley

 

[sonnetpete]

Or, a used 33cl bottle of water from Super U, a pair of scissors and voila....

 

[peapod1]

Or, a used 33cl bottle of water from Super U, a pair of scissors and voila....

View attachment 69932

Ca marche! Looks good to me, assuming the lnb can still see the entire dish all the way to the rim.

 

[sonnetpete]

Ca marche! Looks good to me, assuming the lnb can still see the entire dish all the way to the rim.

You could probably cut a couple of ribs off without affecting the rain protection. That's on 5W for French tv so it gets minimal use..

 

[hayley]

Ca marche! Looks good to me, assuming the lnb can still see the entire dish all the way to the rim.

Hello peapod1..So the lnb HAS to SEE see the entire dish all the way to the rim.Yes ?
if so The full cover type that Clown Man suggested ?at the right price is a good way to go !!...many thanks again ..hayley

 

[PaulR]

...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 ??...

Just noticed this bit. The 1m limit is the size of the dish, not its height above ground (actually I thought it was 90cm but maybe this is old news?). In the UK the limit is measured along the longest axis but France may work on the effective size, i.e. the horizontal axis.

Putting the dish at ground level will just make life too easy if they come round with a tape measure! At least at a height it's difficult to tell the difference between a 1m and a 1.2m at first glance.