Upgrading My Satellite Service:- Help?

netwhizkid

I currently have Sky but I bought a copy of "What Satellite" the other day and it has confirmed my suspicion that there are loads of worthwhile TV Channels out there worth picking up. This has convinced me that I should get these channels. I currently have a 80cms Dish aligned to Telecom 2D @ 8° West for Skydsl one-way Satellite broadband. This dish is staying where it is for the foreseeable future until DSL or Community Group Broadband arrives here.

This is what I had in mind

I was thinking if I was to replace my existing Sky Dish 60cms with either a 80cms or 1 metre dish and have it aligned to 19° East in the middle and use one of these gadgets which from what I've read in the Magazine should allow me to grab for Satellites of the one dish, I would be hoping for to get the Astras & Eurobird1 at 28°East as I do with my Sky box. I am also hoping to get Astra 1B and the others off 19.2°East and Hotbird off 13°East. Could I receive these Three Satellites of the one-dish?

I have a Sky-digibox in my living room and am planning if I can to get a Digital Satellite Receiver that will support both FTA and Common Interface that would allow me to in the future maybe subscribe to the likes of ART Sports etc.

My plan is to route Hotbird, Astra 19.2°East & Astra 28°East into the Digital Satellite Receiver. I know I can buy Receiver’s with two Inputs but is it possible to get Receiver’s with 3 or 4 inputs? I guess I could also use a 2 Way Diseq Switch, but that would involve switching & getting up from the armchair :rolleyes:

Anyway that is my plan, I also have ideas about mounting a Dual output LNB for the Sky Digital Satellite and running a Cable to the Kitchen and rigging up a Sky Digibox with a BBC FTV Card later on.

Anyway they are my ideas; I would like to know what is the opinion of the board on them.

Ideally I want to minimise the Amount of Dishes I have as I have little Backyard Room and there is a big hedge then blocking the whole lot, So I shall have to mount them on the one Remaining corner of the House where there is no dish up yet. I might also just remove the Sky Dish and put the set-up in the old sky dish position. As I would have a spare LNB slot on the multi arm any Ideas for another Satellite to align to would be handy.

Any Ideas are very welcome. I hope to move on this rig soon as my Terrestrial set-up will soon be eliminated when the turbines start turning.

byte

Yup, that works fine. I have a Traix TD78 (I think that's the model) and 3 LNB's for Hotbird, Astra1, and Astra2/Ebird. What you shoudl do is use a quad LNB for the Astra2, so you can have your Sky box connected permanently to it, and for the box you plan putting in your kitchen.

Then, connect Astra1 LNB, Hobird LNB and one of the Astra2 outputs to a 4way DiSEqC switch, which in turn can be connected to a proper digital satellite receiver. You'll then need to configure the settings of the receiver to make it understand what bird is where. It'd probably be a good idea to get a receiver with 2 Common Interfaces (for smartcards in the future) and perhaps an inbuilt PVR for recording.

That multiLNB holder in your link is specifically for Triax TD series dishes, which IMHO are the best dishes to use. You could use a 1metre, though the 80cm should suffice.

HTH

gamblor101

Hi,

I'm looking for advice along similar lines. I'm living just south of Drogheda and I have a Triax TD88 dish with one of those multi LNB holders on it. I was hoping to pick up the Hotbirds @ 13E and the Astras @ 19.2 and 28.2. However, the installer was having a hard time picking up the 3rd satellite. He'd could get 13E and 19E but not 28E. He also tried the other way picking up 28E and 19E but not 13E.

So my questions are these

1) Am I too far north to get reception on all 3 satellites?
2) If it should be possible could anyone suggest a method to tune all 3 in or an installer that can do it?

carbsy

gamblor101: it sounds like the 3 way adapter you are using is spaced incorrectly as you can get any 2 from 3.Have you tried another 3 way bracket?

gamblor101

@carbsy
The multiblock LNB holder allows you to move the LNBs left & right on the bracket.

watty

The 19E should be close to arm (on east side of it) and the 28E near west end of arm and 13E just beside 19E on the east side

Align 19E first and then do NOT move the dish. The LNB bar needs to tilt "uphill" twoard the 28.2E LNB, it must be higher for best signal

I drilled a new hole on my Triax arm so I could put the 19E and 13E either side of the arm. Otherwise the arm is not long enough for 28E.


http://homepage.eircom.net/~watty/satellite/sathowto-p6.htm


Obviously the picture simply shows the spacing, Grey is 28E and 19E is middle. I have a new Triax dish and arm now.

Note at least 80cm dish needed.

gamblor101

Thanks for that watty.
Was thinking the same thing about the initial alignment but it is always nice to hear someelse confirm it. The trick with the new hole has also been noted.

watty

Also if bar is assembled up side down (hole should be on bottom, not top of rail) you can't tilt it up enough at Sky end to get Sky at all!

swoofer

@watty, hope you read this as I just bought that triax multi block to hold 4 lnb's to go with a Triax 1.1m, here in west of ireland but reading your post am I right in assuming I have to drill another hole in arm to give more space for 28east?? The intructions that came with multi block covers europe, sweden, finland, norway and denmark!! And no mention of 28east!! I noted about the screw hole being at bottom. Have you a picture and could you give measurements ie distance between lnb's. And of course the tilt upwards for 28east, is it all the way ie the bar rests on other side of central holder??

Hope you read this and reply as otherwise I could be in for a long haul.

here is a pic of my gadget

byte

What birds do you want to receive?

I have the same setup, didn't drill anymore holes, but I did have to turn the metal bar upside down so I could tilt it further (not like it shows in the manual).

I'm receiving 13E, 16E, 19E and 28E, without any modifications. Using 2 Inverto LNB's for 13 and 19 due to smaller feedhorn than some others, letting them get close to eachother.

swoofer

Thanks for reply, I want to get same as you have, I want an octo for 28east, got spare boxes so I am going to use them in hse I am moving to, then singles for the rest with a diseq switch. What are the gaps you used and the tilt of course. And the elevation of dish, all will help me not make a pigs ear of it. I hope the tilt is all the way and it rests on bottom of holder.

Where did you get the inverto's? I have 3 cambridge and a nokia spare. Is 13 e that close??

Thank you.

gbcullen

byte

http://www.bytelive.com/photo/albums/userpics/P9080229.bmp

The 3 LNB's (13,16,19) are touching each other.

On the right side of centre (looking at pic) there is 16 as near centre as possible, with 13 beside it. On other side is Hotbird near centre, touching the 16 LNB, with 28 out on its own! The angle of the arm isn't fully tilted to one side, but not far off!

I had worked on 16E alignment first, as this is much weaker than the others (as well as being the most important for Digitalb), then the rest were pretty easy.

swoofer

Brillliant, I am just off to work so can ponder all day, what a nice location for a dish easy to work on, that is a great help to me. What is the elevation on the dish, it looks pretty straight. I can use your photo as a big starting point.

Thanks very much, will let you know how I get on. Are the lnb's u used very slim or thin if you know what I mean? And did you get them from fleabay?

gbcullen

byte

The Inverto's in general are rather slim, and L shaped. Obviously the neck is standard size. I got them at work, though ebay etc would have them too. Otherwise, maybe consider the Alps LNB's with their narrow cone-shaped cap.

Not sure of elevation, it's nearly straight. I'll take a closer inspection tomorrow if I get a chance.

Reyman

Is it possible to get just Astra 2 (28E) and Hotbird (19E) using two LNBs with a 60-65cm triax dish?

pelisor2000

Reyman wrote: »

Is it possible to get just Astra 2 (28E) and Hotbird (19E) using two LNBs with a 60-65cm triax dish?

i do astra28+astra19+hotbirt13 in 80cm dish.65 is to small for good signal!

jr1000

I was told that these decode sky tv on the cable but does it decodde the it on the satelite?

jr1000

i mean do i need two decoder to run more than one lnb or will the breambox work on the 2

byte

Read the rules!

No hacking discussion. I haven't a clue what your second post is about.