Pointing to Astra 2D from Munich

Hi,

greedy first post, I know, but I need help.

I am having trouble finding Astra 2D with my nice new dish (80cm(, I have it set to an elevation of ~32 deg, and I can find Hotbird (at 13 deg E) and Astra 1E (at 19.2 E) and I get a beautiful picture and almost 100 signal and signal quality for both.

Do I need to set the elevation higher or lower for Astra 2D, or is my dish too small? I saw on Toytown site it mentions an elevation of ~34, but I can find nothing when I set it to that.

The dish isn't the best, and the elevation scale could be wrong. If all else fails I will have to contact Bavarian Satellite.

Also, am I right in assuming a sat-finder (like those cheapo Conrad things) will do me no good in trying to find Astra 2D?

Many thanks!

Those Cheapy Sat. finder things will help.. It's better then nothing.
They will not however tell you which Sat. you are locked onto.

Astra 2 is located at: 28.2 E

Just take your time, and I'm assuming your installing a skybox watch
the Lock/Quality Bars on the Service menu..

There are also programs freely Avail. on the net that will calculate everything your need to aim a dish at a certain Sat.

Thanks!
I know it's at 28.2E, it's the elevation I am confused about
I was also under the impression the sat finder won't work because Astra2 doesn't send out an analog signal, which is what the sat finder needs.

elevation changes the further south-east you are in Europe. I think for Munich it is about 32 degrees.

of course some older cheapo crappy LNBs have problems picking up the weak BBC signals. if this is the case, BavSat can sort you out with the right equipment.

Knowing elevation and azimuth, however accurately you calculate them will help diddly squat. You also need to be sure your compass is accurate, which most are not , particularly in or near buildings, plus, of course you need to compensate for magnetic deviation. Elevation assumes that not only is your mast is vertical, but so is your wall and building. Very few are.

However, if you can get Hotbird and Astra1, then you can't be far off. Simply peak the dish on Astra1, lock the elevation, then turn the dish eastwards (left from behind the dish) to find Astra2. You need to move it 9degrees of azimuth, or around 4-6 inches at the end of the arm. The elevation of Astra2 is close to (but not the same as Astra1), close enough for you to at least get SOME signal, which you can then home into and peak later by adjusting elevation, skew and cross-polarisation.

You may need A LOT of patience.

Oh, and if your dish really is only 80cm it's too small for BBC and ITV channels, to name but seven.

And if that doesn't work, as Owain suggests, call a professional (or Darkknight)

YL6

Thanks for the reply.
I spent a good while again today fiddling about, but no luck.

Would I even be able to get a tiny amount of singal for one of the BBC transponders on Astra2D with an 80cm dish? Because at the moment I get bugger all (and excellent signal quality for astra1 and hotbird)

Oh well, stuck with shite german TV it seems.

@YL6

You do it your way.. I'll do it mine

In the end both will work... (Well atleast I know mine will) as I haven't seen your setups

YL6 is right.. call a professional or Darknight..

The pros are not cheap but you get a full warranty, where as DK is cheap, prbly a curry and a few beers, but no warranty..

I know that the affore mentioned copany know what they are doing as their installer installed my dish... I even get all the german channels and english from the one dish.

G

As for your question about azemuth/elevation...

Click on your location here...

Thanks again for the replies.

Would I be mistaken in assuming you work for said company Grinner?

I've seen that applet on lyngsat, I just wish they could have made it even smaller!

Luap, if oyu only have an 80cm dish (missed that point in the original post), i assume you have a Sky subscription, or it wouldn't really be worth pointing your dish at 28,2, since you can't pick up any Beeb or ITV channels and C4 and five are conditional access so you need some sort of card for them.

If this is so, think about the length of time you are paying for your subscription whilst not being able to receive a picture. Then weigh that cost against installation from someone who knows what they are doing. Maybe you would be better calling in the profis straight away.

Luap,

if you are in Munich your 80cm dish definately will not work for BBC/ITV channels in any way, weak or otherwise. It should be more than fine, however, for many other channels such as Sky News (channel 501 on the digibox), for which it is more than large enough. If you are using a Digibox then you won't have any channel numbers until you are on-satellite and have waited 2-3 minutes for the channel download... If you have channel numbers available to you, then yo must be already on the correct satellite.

YL6

I think an 85cm dish is the bare minimum you will get away with it you want BBC. This is what I have and, coupled wth a 0.3dB LNB, I still occasionally lose BBC2 in crappy weather. I aligned the dish myself by pointing it in vaguely the right direction (using a cheap compass) and with an elevation (according to the scale) in the mid 30°s (the mast is not vertical though) and just buggered around for 20 minutes or so using the signal strength indicators in system setup. There's probably still a little room for improvement but I can't be arsed. You know you're getting close when the time and date appear (watch out though, I picked up some Italian satellite that also came up with time and date - check with add channels), from then on its just a bit of fine positional tuning to get the best signal.

But as everyone else said, save yourself a lot of time and bother by getting the professionals in.

I have personally gone thru all variations; cheapo (actually not THAT cheap, just the cheapest i could find back then) German installer ho set up my dish. One week later, storm, dish shredded to buggery. Man comes back and re-fits (AND RE-CHARGES!). Another storm, dish gone belly-up. Decide to save myslef the €€€€€ and try fiddling with the thing for weeks trying to optimise the picture, some channels worked, some didn't, constantly losing my picture etc.

Then i thought to myself, i pay f*ck loads each month for a subscription to Sky and here i am buggering about losing half the channels i pay for. Then i phoned Bavaria Satellite and have never benn without a picture since. They are fast, flexible and offer very good post-installation service.

Think about it. And think how much money you spend on other things and the cost of a decent installation pales into comparison.

Seeing as I don't have my sky subscription yet, I am not losing any money.
I've spent about €150 on the dish, a nice 0.3db LBA, cables which i put together myself and a FTA receiver. That's not really very much, and i get everything BUT BBC at the moment
I DO plan on calling Bav Sat to get it sorted once I get a relative or friend to set up a subscription for me, and probably will get them to install a 100cm dish for me too.

Laup, stop wasting you money... Please... It can slowly get out of hand..
Its not just the buying of the wrong kit, its the fuel and time wasted..
The 0.3 db LNB is probably an Invacom LNB.. These are not too good. BIG TITS .(OOps meant Beg Tets )probably has the same one...
They are very "Noisy" in the frequency range where the BEEB and ITV transmit..

You have spent money on an 80 dish, which theoretically isnt big enough for BBC etc, but I can probably make it work 85% of the time... Depending on where you are, geographically.

I do have a spare Spectrum analizer that is available for hire, but working it is another thing...

You have bought a Free to air receiver which is no good for Sky unless it say "Sky digibox" on it..

Make sure your friend organises the correct card for you..

I hope this helps

geoff

I know full well you can any old FTA reciever will not work for Sky, what I wanted to do FOR NOW is just to get a dish setup and see if I can manage to get any picture at all, which I managed easily. Not bad for someone with nowt experience.

Secondly, as I said before, it's now pointing at Astra 19.2, and it works great. Works great for Hotbird 13deg too. The FTA reciever works for both too.
I bought a cheap shite deal for a dish, because I don't REALLY need it and wanted to see how far I could get with an 80cm dish. Nice to hear that a professional, which I never claimed to be, can get it working 85% of the time. And you can be sure that IF I plan on getting Sky I will get a professional to set up my dish for me.
And also, I think I can manage to get the correct sky card organised , along with the correct SKY digibox. thanks.

I do appreciate the help, don't get me wrong. I simply asked about the correct elevation and get all this dribble about wasting my money. Personally, I don't think €150 is that much, and I can easily get someone to take the equipment off my hands if I don't need it anymore or decide to replace it.

As for the LNB, it was part of a bundle, but good to know that it's not so hot for BBC and ITV.

Whilst moving my sun lounger on the balcony my fat arse knocked my satelite dish off kilter (not by much at all really) but enough for my Sky screen to tell me that there was now 'No Signal received' I've shifted it back (it's rather big and heavy) into what i assume to be the right position - 28 degrees (ish) east - but the message remains the same.

How precise does one have to be with the beasty - and does the signal kick-in immediately once you hit the right spot in space?

Brasil tonight...help!!

Contact Bavaria Satellite.

"ish" is not good enough, and no it doesn't

Live in Heidenheim (BW). No problem with an 80cm dish and a mid price LNB. Installing was a bit of a problem, compass a must, as is a bit of patience!

Get all the normal channels BBC1234 ITV1234, also a lot of freeveiw or whatever they are called

so good being able to watch the footie with English commentary, come on England.

Hi all

Im trying to point my dish to Astra to recieve Sky. Failed attempt yesterday. I was pointing at 180 azimuth...I had a better chance of getting signals from aliens.
So with Google earth, a protractor and information from websites, I have now a picture showing the direction the dish should point to.
Based on my coords in Munich, I got an azimuth of 158 degrees for Sky and elevation of 32 degrees.

In the pic attached, I have marked it with green ( the point where the green,yellow lines converge is where my dish is) .
Can someone confirm if this is right?



Topics merged by admin

PM Grinner!

If you get a picture.. its right.. If you dont... it aint!

I wish I could be more helpful bit I cant...

Your calculations look fine. You probably are working on an accuracy of around +/5% if you are using Google earth as a basis. You need an accuracy of around +/-0.1% of you want a picture. Alternatively use professional alignment equipment. Alternatively use a professional with professional equipment
It also looks like the south west corner of your building might be presenting somewhat of a challenge

Second attempt at it failed! Am I reacting normally when I begin to doubt the wires and the receiver?

Have you thought about doubting the ability of the installer?

Hmm yeah... I started to blame the tools!

What "tools" are you using? Did you try with the dish in front of the house or from the point where your lines start? Whereabout in Munich are you?

The dish is installed on a "vordach". Yes, it is at the point where the lines start.
But anyway, I think I will call in BAvaria Satellite for the installation.

looks to me like its already installed

Call in the experts i did and they had it done in no time,Bavaria Satellite.they did my dish and no problems you cannot beat experts and their service.

It was mentioned earlier in this thread that Invecom LNBs are noisy in the frequency range for BBC etc.
Can anyone recommend a good LNB (manufacturer name, model and price) that would improve my SAT reception during poor weather?

what I meant was I already have the dish placed on the vordach. Just that its not aligned right.

After reading down the emails i am more than doing my head in.
I am in Hamburg and want so much to get English TV. After i took advice from a so called profi i bought a satbox ,digital a 80cm dish and the bit. But cant find any thing. I am totaly new to this sat stuff. I have always had Cable. What i dont understand is in April on a camp site in northen Germany i met a guy from England who had a small dish on the top of his caravan and he had all the English channels so with a 80Cm dish i was thinking i would be fine.
But i dont know simply what i am doing. How can i find out the angels i need to set the dish at. And can any one get any english TV.The sat box says Astra 28 is pre set i have a electric motor for the dish which is ment to be Pre set for Astra 28 but i just dont know what i am doing. I am a yorkshire lad and i miss my English tv. Can any one tell me where i can find the angle infomation and a rough idea how to set the thing up.
Thanks

if you really have no clue how to install a satellite why are you even bothering to waste your time? Simply bite the bullet and pay pay for a professional installation. It saves a lot of blood and tears for us "Fachidioten".

You clearly don't know what you're doing.. you should call an Satellite installation guy, cause you're a long way off from fixing this yourself..

He who sets a dish at angels shall reap the wrath of the righteous.

Clearly not a real "Yorkshire lad" or he'd know what he's doing (or know someone else who would do it for nowt), and certainly would not admit so many failings in one post.

If you're doubting the receiver and cables, try pointing at an easier satellite, like Astra 1 at 19.2 degrees. It's the one with all the German channels. You should be able to absolutely get it, even if your dish is the size of a Smart hubcap. If you do, well, you know all is working properly and your problem is in just aiming the dish at the English location.

Also, even though there may be problems getting BBC on Astra2D clearly or at all with a given dish size and LNB (we have a cheapo Skymaster low noise .3db one that gets it crystal clear), there are other channels on Astra2 (same satellite, 28.2) that have a footprint that covers all of Germany. It's just the 2D transponder that's so precisely aimed at GB. If your equipment is working you should have no problem getting stuff like shopping channels (example: QVC is on Astra2B and can be easily received clear down in Italy with a dinky 50cm dish). If you hit Astra2 at all, you'll know it, whether or not your dish is big enough to specifically get BBC. You can see what's available at http://www.ses-astra.com/backoffice/findAC...el_en/index.php by choosing the advanced search and looking for all free channels. There's a lot of stuff that's not on 2D...

Hey dbunny thanks a ton. Thats was a big help and as you said i found Astra 1 really easy. every thing is clear as bell so it is good to know the sat box and stuff is okay.The big problem for me was getting the EL but i found astra 1 quick after that. Its just knowing where to start.But at least i have that.
I had another good tip from Grinner toFind some one who has Sky.. Take yor receiver to their place.. tune the channels in, then disconnect and take it to your place...This will give you a good starting point.. seems like a go way to go.Sat just new to me.Just got to lean its the only way i guess.i´ll just keep at it.
Thanks for the web address i am going to give it ago now
Tanks

One thing that makes channels like BBC hard to find on Astra 2 is the fact that it's a digital broadcast. With Astra 1 and an analogue box, you can start to see the picture when you're getting close, but with the digital boxes you really have to be spot on before you'll get a clear picture. Are there any analog channels on Astra 2 at all?

Is it possible to receive bbc1 ect using a palcom dsl 5s receiver?

your link doesn't work but yes, you can use any digital satellite receiver (DVB-S) to pick up the free-to-air channels (all BBC channels are FTA), provided you point your dish in the right direction and have a suitable digital compatible LNB (as already pointed out in the thread, not all LNBs are suitable for BBC due to the frequency) . You only need a digibox or freesat box for the free-to-view channels. Premium channels only work with digiboxes.

I never heard of a channel called "bbc1 ect", but that Palcom receiver will work fine for all BBC, ITV and Channel 4 TV channels as well as many more less well known ones (except HD), including radio, assuming connected to a correctly sized dish, correctly installed and aligned. Being at the cheaper end of the market you may need to twiddle some programming parameters to receive everything correctly, but your bigger challenge will be getting the dish right.

Cheers YL6, I've got a 1m dish, south facing balcony and no obstructions, i can get bbc world service and a ton of dodgy arab porn chanells but no "bbc1 ect" yet.

If i had the coin i'd get SP to do it but i'm skint so i'll have to perservere.

Cheers again.

if you can receive BBC World your dish is pointing at the wrong satellite.

took the words out of my keyboard...

Be sure which BBC you are getting.
BBC News 24 and the BBC's World service radio program are broadcast from Astra 2A which is in the same part of the sky as the satellite you want for "BBC ect". If you are receiving Astra 2A then your dish may be pointing in the right direction. If not then http://www.dishpointer.com/ might help you pick out some landmarks to help align the dish.

he said he could pick up BBC World, so I assume he means the TV channel "BBC World News" as they now call it and not the BBC World Service radio channel. BBC World News TV channel is not available on Astra 2 but on Astra 1 and hotbird.

Actually I've got both bbc wn and bbc wns, seems i've found every sat in the sky except astra 2d.

Looks like i'll have to save my pennies and get the pro's in

Thanks for the advice/help.