Skylink on Astra 3A 23.5ºE in Cork City.

Dave147

Hi all, in a bit of a predicament. Basically I have a 1.2m dish on the roof of my third storey apartment, however I'm having an awful lot of trouble getting channel TV Markiza at 12.565 27500 H, I just can't tune it in. Guy who installed dish reckons it's due to the lnb and he's getting a 0.2db one tomorrow, I'm just not very optimistic.

I'm hoping someone here has some knowledge in this area and can give me some piece of mind, I have a Technomate receiver with a Cryptoworks cam. Not sure what make the dish is.

Feel free to ask any questions, just please help!

snaps

Dave147 wrote: »

Hi all, in a bit of a predicament. Basically I have a 1.2m dish on the roof of my third storey apartment, however I'm having an awful lot of trouble getting channel TV Markiza at 12.565 27500 H, I just can't tune it in. Guy who installed dish reckons it's due to the lnb and he's getting a 0.2db one tomorrow, I'm just not very optimistic.

I'm hoping someone here has some knowledge in this area and can give me some piece of mind, I have a Technomate receiver with a Cryptoworks cam. Not sure what make the dish is.

Feel free to ask any questions, just please help!

I can recieve that channel here in Mayo on a 1.1m (I have a titanium .2lnb), now it is one of the weaker transponders on this satellite. The czechlink channels are much stronger than the Skylink ones. Ive just checked and it is right on the threshold for signal (But still coming in), but its lashing rain and wind here.

Skylink transponder: http://www.ses-astra.com/business/en/support/media-library/Footprint-Graphics/Footprint-Graphics-23-5-East/astra-3A-Horizontal.php

Czechlink transponder: http://www.ses-astra.com/medialib/content/Footprint_Graphics/Footprint_Graphics_23.5_East/0_astra_3b_pan_european_beam_pe2_downlink_L.jpg

Dave147

Maybe it is the lnb so, I can tune in tv joj and all the Nova channels with the sky lnb, do you think the 0.2lnb will make a big difference?

snaps

Dave147 wrote: »

Maybe it is the lnb so, I can tune in tv joj and all the Nova channels with the sky lnb, do you think the 0.2lnb will make a big difference?

SKY LNB? Theres your problem to start with, if you can get hold of a titanium .2lnb. They are the best 40mm LNB's i have used. Even compared to .1lnbs i have they out perform them. I see a huge difference between a titanium lnb and a different make .2lnb (Especially on weaker sats like 26 east), but then saying that i used to use cambridge gold .3lnbs and they were great as well.

Sky Lnb's are really only meant for sky dishes.

Dave147

Right, well I got hold of a .1lnb and a .3lnb today and still no joy. So am I in big trouble or is it possible that only the .2lnb will work?

I absolutely have to get this channel, even if it means switching to the Thor satellite.

Woooo 2,000 posts

snaps

I find the Thor version of that channel even weaker. Are you sure your dish is correctly aligned? Like i said, I am getting it here on a 1.1m dish on 23.5 east. Are you giving the lnb a twist (Skew)? Also the weather is very bad here tonight and like i said my signal is right on the margin of it not staying stable.

pelisor2000

Dave147 wrote: »

Hi all, in a bit of a predicament. Basically I have a 1.2m dish on the roof of my third storey apartment, however I'm having an awful lot of trouble getting channel TV Markiza at 12.565 27500 H, I just can't tune it in. Guy who installed dish reckons it's due to the lnb and he's getting a 0.2db one tomorrow, I'm just not very optimistic.

I'm hoping someone here has some knowledge in this area and can give me some piece of mind, I have a Technomate receiver with a Cryptoworks cam. Not sure what make the dish is.

Feel free to ask any questions, just please help!

http://flysat.com/astra23-beam.php
to get signal for SKYLINK (12.565 and 12.525) i install 1.5 m dish but the signal is droping in the rain.....if it easy for you just change tu UPC on 1w much better signal.

Dave147

Well it's not easy to switch to UPC, it would mean buying another card and possibly another receiver. However I would do it, but I want to explore all avenues on Astra 3A first.. Fingers firmly crossed that the .2 LNB will do the trick!

snaps

pelisor2000 wrote: »

http://flysat.com/astra23-beam.php
to get signal for SKYLINK (12.565 and 12.525) i install 1.5 m dish but the signal is droping in the rain.....if it easy for you just change tu UPC on 1w much better signal.

Thats not correct, the futher east you are the better the signal, The Thor K1 beam really drops away past Dublin. Last night i couldnt lock onto the Thor UPC transponder but i could the Astra 23.5 transponder, so it is possible. The dish may need a tweak and the lnb a slight clock wise skew (Lnb needs to be twisted slightly clockwise when looking at the dish from the front) cable coming out of LNB needs to be at about 7pm. If this is not done the stronger transponders will still come in and the weakest ones wont.

My friends with same setup in Dublin can get K1 beam no problem, but this far west some K1 beams are a zero.

The OP is in the South West, Cork.

watty

If you can't get stuff with a working 0.8dB LNB a 0.2dB LNB makes no difference.
There is virtually no improvement below 0.7dB NF. Variations in performance are usually other factors. The only significant thing if an LNB isn't faulty is Dish size and Alignment.

Also past the edge of the "proper" footprint of a beam you get "Fresnel" zones, peaks and troughs of signal, as you move further from beam.

This is different Fresnel issue to the one of receiving a signal through a gap between trees or tall buildings.

All optical effects (0.5 micrometer waves) occur at a much larger size with Satellite Microwaves (2cm wavelength). So simply using a larger dish if you are in the "black region" a Trough, may not work at all.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnel_diffraction

Fresnel Zone of Viewing satellite via gap in Trees or tall buildings is a different issue:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnel_zone