Setting up Dish for Astra2

astar

I'm having problems setting up a satellite dish. First I picked up the satellite with German/Polish/Spanish etc channels - I think it's Astra 19.2E. So I moved the dish slightly east to look for 28.2E. I got loud signal indication but no quality.
I tuned in the receiver elsewhere and brought it back to try again. I got Channel 4, ITV and many other channels, but there was no signal for some channels like BBC1, BBC2, BBC Alba etc. Eventually I got the BBC's by pulling down the dish to the lowest elevation angle. It seems that the dish needs to be pointed even lower still, but it can't be done because the bolt is already at the extreme top of the slot. The dish itself is now about vertical.
So then I had all the stations, BUT this was with a short run of cable and the TV in view of the ladder.
Then I put the TV back in its own place and attached the real cable which is much longer. Now there was no signal at all for any channel.

I may have to get a professional to finish this but I'm just wondering:

- Is the fact that I got ITV & C4 but was having difficulty getting BBC's a sign that the dish was not aligned correctly?

- Is it normal for the elevation setting to be at an extreme, or should there be room to adjust it either side?

- Is there a stronger signal from the Astra 19.2E than from the 28.2E,
as I had no problems picking up the 19.2E channels earlier?

- Is the cable run too long (about 100m)? Unfortunately it can't be closer to the house because of trees in the way.
(I did get the German channels earlier with that lenght of cable).

astar

As I mentioned above, the dish is now about vertical, ie the lowest possible elevation angle. Is that normal?
I ran out of time today to find some other way of mounting the bracket so that I could lower the angle even more. But if I am able to do that, it looks like the dish would be pointing down instead of towards the sky.

dowtchaboy

Astar - wonder if you had amazingly bad luck with your timing? Just happens that 2 days ago all the BBC channels changed frequency - if you had tuned in your receiver somewhere else as you say - maybe you have the 'old' frequencies?
There's a sticky at the top of the other boards.ie satellite forum about this - maybe you just need to retune!

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056059955

astar

Thanks. Good suggestion, but no, that's not the reason because I tuned in the receiver at another house on Wednesday, so it was after the BBC changeover on Monday.
But I am surprised that it is these particular channels that are affected in my case.

astar

dowtchaboy, many thanks for your message, but I don't think that is the problem. I think it's just a co-incidence.

I actually got the BBC channels yesterday by pointing the dish as low as possible, ie with the bolt at the very top of the slot.
If it was not at that extreme setting those channels got pixellated and disappeared, but others like ITV & C4 and Arabic stations stayed.

So I tightened up the nuts when I had the BBC channels and then removed my short test cable and inserted the long cable to the TV indoors.

However when I connected up to TV and receiver indoors, I had no signal for any channels.

I may have moved the dish when changing over the cables but I don't think so because the nuts were all tightened up first. Anyway, I'll try it again when I have time.

The cable run to the house is very long, but that shouldn't be a problem,
because I was able to get the satellite with German stations using that long cable. Or is the Astra 28.2 E "weaker" than other satellites?

logger

Just a possibility, but can the dish be mounted two ways in the bracket? You say that it is at lowest possible elevation angle, m'mm think there may be something wrong here. I Have done it before when assembling a T90, mounted the reflector upside down.

If you can take apart the bracket that controls the angle apart and reverse the dish on it may sort your problem. Look up the elevation angle you need on dishpointer.com, then that is what you should need to set on the dish.

If this is not the problem, then is the pole you are mounting the dish on vertical, have you checked it out with a spirit level?

astar

logger, you could be right. Maybe it is mounted wrong. I have to check that when I go back there, but it might be next week. The dish was already installed before I came along. It's not on a pole, but on the side of a (metal) shed.

The leaflet mentions to set the elevation angle according to the markings on the bracket, but there are actually no markings on the bracket.
The elevation angle should be 20 degrees.

watty

Some dishes are for mainland Europe market and amazingly can't do "only" 20 degrees.

Ross?


Some motors also only do +/- 45 degrees. Which will not work in most of Ireland to get 42E. Again for Mainland europe.