Zone 2 Sky Dish

Yo Buddy. You still alive?

Before anyone chews me a new one I did do some searches and reading here before I decided to ask this.

Bought a "Sky Dish" Zone 2. From Powercity "EL60DDPQ(S) QUAD LNB
Specifications
Sky Dish With Quad Lnb
Multi Room Viewing
Perfect For Astra 28.2 "

i didn't know about zones and was told it was a good dish for what I needed.

Should this work from near Newry/Warrenpoint? (Zone 3?)
I tired to get a signal at the weekend but no luck and it was only after going thoroughly through the dish manual I came across the "Zone 2" part. I was trying this manually from the ground btw.

fj1200

What do you mean 'manually from the ground'?

Tom Slick

Most of the island of Ireland is (Sky) zone 2. The exeptions are parts of the west, which require an 80cm dish for 28.2 E.

watty

Also solid non-sky dishes are superior.

Sky Dish Issues:

• The Perforated dish is for cheap manufacturing & shipping,
• Doesn't reduce wind loading
• Probably doesn't work well for Ka-Band (holes too big/rough)
• Bolts/adjustment rusts so moving or realigning is a disaster
• Poorly coated, so rusts badly (a coat or two of hammerite, paint back then front so no drips at front helps extend by 6 years++ )
• Only works properly with Sky type LNBs (oval shape focus rings inside case)
• Too small in South West, West and North West.
• No good for multifeed or motorised.

payaso

Hi am new to Boards apologies if this post is in the wrong location.
I live in west cork beside the sea, I have a sky zone 2 dish on which I can pick up astra 1 & astra 2 when I move it horizontally from left to right.
Therefore is it possible to get astra 1 & 2 simultaneously if I mount a secound LNB & a diseq switch to the dish.

watty

No. It's too small. Even when you are on Astra 19E some channels will be weak and lost in rain.
Your dish is almost too small even for Sky (OK Astra 2D, poorer Astra 2A, 2B and poorer still for Eurobird).

You need Solid Triax.
Like in the picture here http://www.techtir.ie/tv-radio/satellite-distribution

payaso

Thanks Watty,

Would an 80cm solid Triax dish do, I want to get Astra 2 FTA (BBC, ITV,etc) & Astra 1 (19.2E).
Do I have to replace the sky LNB with a new generic one.

watty

80cm would be fine in Waterford, probably even in Nenagh, though not as much rain margin. I'd go for 90/95cm Triax in West Cork

While the "shape" of it is designed for horizontal oval of the Sky dish, it would work, but with much higher noise level than a non-Sky LNB as it would "see" past sides of Triax dish picking up local thermal noise and not "see" all the signal in the vertical direction.

Likely the Sky LNB mount is likely not suitable to fit on a Triax multi-LNB bar.

You also need a Diseqc or Multiswitch and a non-Sky Satellite receiver.

You always have less signal with LNBs offset on a multifeed bracket on a dish.

payaso

Assuming I am using the larger 90- 95cm dish with a twin LNB mount with two LNB's to a diseqc switch wired to a suitable non sky receiver.

Is it difficult to tune in both satelites(Astra 19.2E & 28.2E)

Is it a matter of aligning one satelite & the other will do so automatically (given that I will be reprogrammed the receiver setup for diseqc & astra 1 & 2)

Sorry for the many questions & thanks for your advice

watty

Get a 4 way Diseqc switch.
Get a 20 degree Triax multifeed bar

You align dish without bar on a suitable satellite, say 16E without the bar and without the Diseqc

Then you DON'T move dish.

put LNB on West side of arm on the bar near middle and adjust E/W position on bar for good signal on 19E.

put 2nd LNB on far west end of bar and adjust E/W and bar slant for 28E.

Put 28E on port 1 of Diseqc
19E on port2 of Diseqc
Setup install menus of sat receiver to match.

If you want a PVR, you are better with a Multiswitch than Diseqc and then you have spare outlets for a second receiver.

You have two spare in on Diseqc or Multiswitch for other LNBs later.

28E, ---- 19E -- 13E - 9E

Dish pointed at 16E. Without changing hole in bar you need to point dish at 19E or 23.5E or 28E will be too far.

You can see where I drilled a new hole off to side of existing centre hole (now under the 19E bracket)

See http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=69277691#post69277691
and
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056104446


The Triax bar need mounted upside down to get enough tilt in Ireland.

Top view. Get the curve the right way round!

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bar Dish




yth