Help with dish install

lk555

hello,i hav a Ross freeview SD satellite kit and cant pick up the uk english channels.All im getting is foreign channels like africa ones and european ones.In the menu i picked no 22 Astra/euro1 and aligned the dish to it and picked it up no problem.why cant i get the viewfree english channels?

watty

You are pointing at the wrong satellite.

steveon

I had to rectify the bar on two of them dishes already, as the angle doesnt go far enough down in order to align it to Astra 28. They are a useless dish better off replacing it with a sky dish.

lk555

so what satellite do i hav to pick on the list then.and is it higher or lower elvation and left or right from the current one im on.

St Senan

Here you go http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl-rawdjA0Y&feature=player_embedded
You would be better of in the long run to get a Freesat system installed instead of DIY free to air satellite system.

lk555

thanks for the video was kinda helpfull,but how do i tell my receiver to look for astra Astra 28 when it not on the list of satellites on the receiver.there is Astra/euro1,astra 1c and other different ones.has anyone got a ross receiver or knows what i on about

St Senan

Astra/Eurobird 1 is what you are looking for

lk555

when u say astra eurobird 1 that must be Astra/euro1 as its list on the receiver but as i say above i have try this satelite many times and only get foreign channels

St Senan

lk555 wrote: »

when u say astra eurobird 1 that must be Astra/euro1 as its list on the receiver but as i say above i have try this satelite many times and only get foreign channels

Your dish is pointing at the wrong satellite.

lk555

not being smart but i kinda get that!.2m im goin to point it at eurobird 1 which is listed on its own and see what i can get

St Senan

lk555 wrote: »

not being smart but i kinda get that!.2m im goin to point it at eurobird 1 which is listed on its own and see what i can get

But what you dont Get is unless you have a Professional satellite meter you wont Know what satellite to point your dish at. What you need to do is have Astra/Eurobird1 listed on your tv screen and have your tv screen in clear View when you move your dish then when or if you see some sort Signal or a channel in english you will know that you have the correct satellite. Its pot luck you might get the right satellite at your first attempt or you could spend hours or even days trying to find it.

These DIY satellite Kits that are widely sold cheap nowadays are basically not Good Quality and what people dont realise is that these Free to Air satellite boxes need to be retuned reguarly every couple of months.

watty

lk555 wrote: »

when u say astra eurobird 1 that must be Astra/euro1 as its list on the receiver but as i say above i have try this satelite many times and only get foreign channels

Yes, you have the correct selection on the receiver. But if the dish is physically aimed at the wrong satellite (you can pick up about 20) then you get the wrong channels.

If you give us a list of the channels found we can tell you if dish needs to move east or west. As you move East the elevation of dish is lower. As you move west, you need to raise elevation (while east of South). Highest elevation is at exactly true south, typically a Satellite position of 5W to 8W in Ireland.

You may be on 19E (lots of German) or 13E (Arabic and Italian). Both those satellite positions have many languages and 100s of free channels (I counted 44 languages on 13E once) , The channels you want are on 28E (further East). But if you have lots of Greek you are on 39E, or Turkish is 42E and need to move West.

If you are really pointing South West instead of South East you can get loads of Spanish (30W).

Note the Satellite "angles" are NOT the direction from south of your dish as you are in Ireland. Those are the angles from centre of earth at Equator toward the Satellite, East or West of Greenwich.

The actual East/West angle (azimuth) of your dish and Elevation (up / down) of your dish depends on which satellite you want to receive and exactly where you live.

This program calculates it. http://www.smw.se/FreeSoftware.htm

However the easiest solution is to write a list of the channels found and the Gurus here will know which satellite you are pointed at and tell you approximately how much to move the dish east/west and up/down for the UK channels.

You DO need to select 28 degrees Astra/Euro to get a sensible list of default frequencies for scan to search. That's the only thing the satellite selection does unless you have a perfectly aligned motorised system.

lk555

scaller i hav my tv outside so i can view whats going on.without a meter any other way would be pointless.thanks for ur help

watty ur last post is excellant exactly what i was lookin for.il get the list of channels and someone can tell me were to move from there.thank u so far watty

Cantona's Collars

If you have mostly German tv then you found 19.2(Astra 1) If you're facing the front of the dish move it to your right about 4 inches or so - not very technical I know but it's the simplest method for you,a bit of moving slowly left and right slightly and down very slowly should pick up the correct satellite.
As I said not the most technical way of doing it but considering you have no meter it's possibly the best way for you.Hope this helps.If you get really stuck Scaller will point you in the right direction of a professional to do it for you.

lk555

DSC00256.JPGhere some pics of the channels im getting and the sat im on in the receiver

Attachment not found.DSC002589.JPG

St Senan

You are on Sirius/Astra 4a at 4.8 east, You are way off, Stand behind the dish slightly loosen the bolts and move your dish slowly left and gradually down as Watty pointed out that their is roughly 20 satellites receivable.

lk555

right slowly left(east) and lover sat.il try that now and c what i get thanks

watty

There are 6 or 7 satellite positions you can receive between where you are (4.8E) and 28.2E where you need to go. About 10 degree lower elevation and nearly 1/4 of a right angle east (about 20 degrees).

When you find something do a line with CD pen or soft pencil across the mounts so you can re-find that as a start position if you get "lost".

lk555

and i leave the reciever on astra/euro1 all the time ya

snaps

go to dishpointer.com and try and use that to align your dish. It will use google maps when you zoom in on your house. Apply where you dish is on your house and make sure you select astra 2/Eurobird at 28.2/28.5 east and it will draw a line where you dish has to point. You can align then using landmarks.

watty

In practice in most back yards though, Dishpointer is only slightly more useful as a compass beside a steel Gas tank.

A paper band on pole. mark where it overlaps. Take off and divide it into 20 sections to overlap and each one is 18 degrees. tape back on pole. He knows he is at 5E, so if he aligns one mark at current place the next mark is 23 approx. Search just past that...

lk555

dishpointer does help a little bit.i am out in the country too.by selecting hotbird1 on my receiver and aligning my dish i hav pick up that sat.hotbird is 13E so im getting there slowly.what i need to know now from ye all is if i select astra/euro1 on my receiver will that be right to pick up astra28 when i come to it?

watty

yes

Loads of Italian and a gazillion other languages on HB13.

snaps

lk555 wrote: »

dishpointer does help a little bit.i am out in the country too.by selecting hotbird1 on my receiver and aligning my dish i hav pick up that sat.hotbird is 13E so im getting there slowly.what i need to know now from ye all is if i select astra/euro1 on my receiver will that be right to pick up astra28 when i come to it?

Yes Astra 2 and Eurobird 1 are in the same position (Astra is 28.2 and Eurobird is 28.5). Keep moving your dish left (From looking behind it) and lower the elevation very slightly. The next satellite you will get is Astra 1, which is full of german FTA channels)

lk555

i have astra 1 which is full of german FTA channels but i aslo have some english news channels like sky one int and bbc world news which is cool.with astra 1 i am so close to astra/euro1 the one i need but i cant seem to pick it up.i think why is because there is 2 trees in the direction of it how lucky for me.would the last meter or so of the top of 2 trees be enough to block the signal?

watty

The elevation needed for Freesat/Sky/Astra/Eurobird @28.2 is about 22.5 Degrees

So make a large square. Must be square. Fold in half. Now you have a 45 degree triangle. Fold again, to make a pointier triangle.

Hold base level (short side vertical) and sight along longest edge toward South West (this is 22.5 degree elevation). If you see trees you need to consult a man with chain saw or move dish elsewhere. If you see sky, then you just need to try harder to align the dish. It's not easy without proper test gear and experience.

Because the dish arm focus is offset (see how LNB points up?) the dish may appear almost vertical (zero elevation) when its got a 22.5 degree elevation.

snaps

If you have Astra1, the dish elevation needs to be lowered slightly and another tweak to the left (If your looking at the dish from behind) Also if you do find Astra2, the lnb will have to be slighlty skewed (Twisted in the holder), again if your looking from behind the dish the bit where the cable comes out of the lnb should be at about 5 o'clock and not 6 o'clock.

A rough note on the trees, if you can see the sun at 11 am then there should be a clear line of sight to the Astra 2 bird. This is only a rough guide.

lk555

thanks people for ur ongoing help.it has to be the trees now id say.i live near a forest but havin that said i am able to pick up astra 1 with 78% quality.snaps i hav used the sun to help wit direction before but at 11am it may be in the right direction but its high is bout 36 deg.its at bout 9:10am that its high is 21 deg.and at 9 10 i can see the sun clearly but if say the sun stayed at 21 deg and came along to where astra 2 is it would be slightly blocked by the 2 trees that i was on about.il try few more times anyway

Cantona's Collars

St Senan

OR http://www.goldenpages.ie/

steveon

I will repost this as no1 seems to be reading it. The ROSS dishes are fine for everything except Astra 28. The elevation required is too low for the dish as standard, that is probably why they sold them off so cheaply.

I had to already modify 2 of them by re-drilling a new hole to allow a lower elevation of the dish. Either that or you will need to prob drop the holding bracket on the wall...

They are even worse than Lidl dishes in my opinion...have seen them rust after a month.

watty

Yes, because 28.2E was meant for Central Europe. We should only be using Satellites between about 13E and 18W over the Hiberno-British Isles. Elevation is about 22 degrees in the West.

Sky/Astra fault and they had to pay millions in compensation to Eutelsat. It's crazy that the main sat service for UK/Ireland is on a Satellite nearly 10 degrees FURTHER East than all the rest of Western Europe uses.

Elevations (Country Location, Satellite, Elevation):
Spain 30W: 36
France 5W: 34
Germany 19E : 33.5
Italy 13E : 42
Egypt 26E: 57
Germany 23.5E: 33
Israel 4W: 31
Czech 4W: 30.5
Czech 28.2E: 34

Sky/Freesat
Ireland 28.2E: 20 (Extreme North West)
Ireland 28.2E: 23 (South East)
UK Marches 28E: 24
UK extreme SE 28E: 25
Scotland: 18 (Extreme North West)

Saorsat
Ireland 9E: 28 (Midwest)

So you can see the Ross dish is fine EVERYWHERE, except in Ireland/UK for Sky/Freesat. Almost no one apart from UK/Ireland needs less than 30 degrees for regular TV (Very far north is another story, 12 degrees and massive dishes Siberia, Northern Norway, Finland and Sweden, Ross dish too small there!).

While the dish isn't great the real problem was Sky/Astra "breaking the rules" and pinching a "slot" for Eastern Europe
East Europe approx 35.5 Elevation!

Some Internet/VSAT
Avanti Hylass @ 33W ? approx: 25
Tooway @13E approx: 27
Tooway @9E approx: 28
Schools @ 27.5W: approx 27

Take Dish off and either bend pole slightly to South East or redrill so it can tilt lower.

lk555

there is 2 bolt for adjusting the elevation on these dishs,if u take them out u can lower the elevation to 21 deg.(for testing only)but without taking out these i still hav enough to spare anyway taking into account that astra1 is at 24.9 deg and astra 2 at 21.5 deg.thats only 3.4 deg lower so lucky for me i had that to spare without removing bolts.what an unfair product tho.but anyway if it is safe to do so i may cut the tops off these 2 trees