Help Please

no1birdman

Hi, just bought a aldi 39 pound free to air sat,now i am 63 years old and have managed to put it on a wall and get a few channels in daytime but very bad at night.It should it says be on astra/euro1 but how do u know, I cannot pick up the bbc, itv etc, only,ptv global,jazeechild,movie4men 1/2,cbsreality,olive,horror,gay network,wonderful,thane direct,dm digital,cnbc,sunlife,travel,elite tv2,food network,blue kiss,wedding,essex babes,livexxx babes,hiayet,russia today,pcn chinese,abu dhabi, god, mta muslim. Used a metre found good signal but where from, it is bolted head height and facing south easterly and tilted up a bit. Thank You.

craoltoir

The english language channels are on ASTRA 2 (28.2 Degrees East). If the dish/lnb is aligned properly you should have no problem getting BBC's/Itv's. Most receivers have a blind search facility to tune in the channels.

no1birdman

Hi, what will i be on now then, and what movements do i need to make, up/ down or r/l. Thanks

Carter P Fly

get a compass and point it to 28.2 degrees East. If you dont have a compass get soemone with an Iphone or android to download a free compass app.

One you have it pointed in teh right direction move up down etc until you get the strongest signal you can.

Peter Rhea

Those channels you list are carried on the Eurobird 1 satellite @ 28.5 east, which is grouped with the Astra 2 sats. @ 28.2, so your alignment isn't too bad. Your dish will see these sats. as one position. The frequencies etc. for all the Astra 2/Eurobird 1 channels are here.

What kind of meter are you using for alignment? Something at least as accurate as the receiver's strength/quality display is preferable.

Check this site for elevation & lnb skew figures.

no1birdman

Hi, thanks A compass and sat finder came with it, the compass is on a ruler thing with a piece of string, never seen one like it , it points different everytime u pick it up and put it down, I got a good signal with the finder that came with it, There is no euro 2 on the drop down list on the receiver so it says use astro1/euro so i am on that, how do i tune in to astra 2 if not on list and which way do i turn dish.

Peter Rhea

No need to turn the dish as those channels you have are coming from the 28E orbital position.

I'm not familiar with that receiver but there must be an option to scan automatically or else manually enter transponder parameters.

Johnboy1951

Are all the channels you are receiving Horizontally polarised (H)?

If so turn the LNB in its clamp to pick up the Vertically polarised signals also.

no1birdman

Hi, yes I scan on auto with network off, if i scan with it on i get a few extra chanels but week. I do not know what it means if they are horz or vert chanels but just looked at the end of the arm where the cable enters and there is a scale on there, it is set on 0, so do i adjust that now, Thanks.

Peter Rhea

Those channels are a mix of H & V pol.

no1birdman

Hi, just turned the thing at the end to aprox 15 deg facing it. to the r, picked uo aprox 100 channels now but no itv or bbc, do i turn it the other way to pick thease up.Thanks

Peter Rhea

If you mean you skewed the lnb by 15 degrees in this direction & you're on the island of Ireland, then leave it (or make small adjustments) as this should be more or less the correct setting. Turning it the other way won't gain you extra channels.

Can you list a few of the new channels picked up?

no1birdman

I am in stoke on trent england, got true movies,.tiny pop,kix,pop girl,chart show,flave,ideal world,propeller,my channel,pcychic tv, and a few more i could list if needed.But no bbc itv etc

montgolfiere

What actual size are these dishes?... Maybe they are actually a little on the small side and poor quality to enable 'Good' Reception??? Just a thought??!!!

no1birdman

hi, 60cm

Peter Rhea

The skew figure for Stoke would be about 13-14 degrees clockwise when viewed from in front of the dish.

If the receiver doesn't have the correct preset details for the channels you require, you can use the link in post #5 to find them & enter manually.

no1birdman

Hi, so I might be on the right channel, i do not know how to enter the codes it looks very confusing, is there not a easy way, Thanks

Peter Rhea

The most hassle-free way to receive these channels is with a Freesat branded receiver.

Otherwise . . . well at least your lnb is working in the lower frequency band where they are located & is receiving both polarities.

polyfusion

It might be possible that the dish is slightly out of alignment, favouring 28.5E (Eurobird). It could be that the dish is pointing more towards 29E, whereas you would need the dish more at about 28.4E to get 28.5E and 28.2E reliably.

To that end, if you imagine standing behind the dish, I would swing it slightly to the right and see if that improves things, just move the position of the LNB 2 or 3 cms, but not so far that you loose the channels you already have.

It's possible that the channel list is populated with invalid audio and video PIDs, as there was a big BBC shake up several months back, and the ITV channels a few months before that, so an autoscan would be necessary to get them all in.

What model receiver is it? I have the loan of an Aldi Tevion receiver with me at the moment, and can point you towards menus/selections if you're still stuck.

no1birdman

Hi, thanks, i go on asra1/ero and do a scan with network off, is that ok, can not see astra2 on the list, do u meen move all the dish to the right or move the little thing on the end of the dish, i set it looking at it from the front aprox13/14 deg,Thanks

polyfusion

Yes, move the whole dish to the right, but make sure that you have a channel on, and make sure that you don't loose it. If you begin to loose the channel, move it back to where it was originally. If you're getting channels like True Movies, etc, you're in the right area, just need to fine tune to get the rest of them. People usually get the BBCs first though, and often have trouble with Eurobird channels, as the transponders they're on are relatively weaker, which makes me think that the dish is more aligned to 29E.

When altering the skew (the rotation of the LNB), it's best to go to one of the transponder scan pages with signal quality displayed, and see how the level increases/decreases as you rotate the LNB. This will give you an idea of what position is best - don't rely on the markings on the LNB holder to tell you, much more informative to see the actual levels being received at the LNB.

I'll check the scan settings later, but from what I remember, they sound correct.

no1birdman

Hi, thanks it looks difficult to move it such a tiny amount but will have a go and see. should i get more chanels when on the other settings. Thanks, what is the transponder setting on and do i do this before or after moveing the dish, Thanks

polyfusion

The model I have here is 28208ALD, so if your model is different, there may be differences in menu structure, options etc.

About moving the dish, it shouldn't be difficult, just loosen the bolts/nuts holding it to the wall bracket, and swivel the dish slightly, retighten.

To find the transponder number, just look at one of the channels you have, eg, CNBC is on transponder 11261 H 27500, so if you have that channel on, press "INFO" on the remote, you will see this information at the bottom of the screen, and on the Aldi receiver I have here, it will also show you the signal level as a percentage. What sort of level do you see?

That information usually disappears after a short time, there may be time-out settings for that info display, but don't worry about that, if you use the remote, press "MENU", select "INSTALLATION", then "MANUAL SEARCH", make sure that "ASTRA 2A" is selected in the top item, move to "TRANSPONDER", press "OK" on the remote, and scroll through the list to find "11261 H 27500". Once selected (press "OK" on the remote), you will see the "Signal" and "Quality" levels at the bottom. By watching the "Quality" and rotating the LNB, or by moving the dish in very slight directions up/down/left/right, you can maximise the signal quality to get the best position for the dish. Then tighten up the bolts/nuts.

If you can get these as good as you can, there is a good chance that the other transponders will begin coming in. For example, some of the Channel 4 channels are on "10714 H 22000", so find that transponder and check the levels. Some of the BBC channels are on "10773 H 22000", so do the same with for that. All the UK channels and their frequencies, etc., can be found on sites like here - http://www.flysat.com/28east.php

Once you get to a stage when you are getting the BBC channels and still getting the Eurobird channels (CNBC, CBS reality, etc), you can then perform an autoscan to find channels that have updated frequencies since the firmware was put onto your receiver. You can also try a blind scan; this will add any missing transponders and associated channels to the list.

You'll then be left with a load of channels you will no doubt want to delete (duplicates, and other junk), and you can do this through the channel manager. Once in the channel manager, you will see hints at the bottom, informing you what buttons need to be pressed to delete channels, etc.

no1birdman

Hi, the signal strengh is 70 and the quality is 30 on that channel . Mine is not that model no.On the list of sats there is no astra2. So when it stops raining I will try turning it at the end first and see what happens. Do i need to be on astra 2. Thanks

polyfusion

You don't need to be on Astra 2. These receivers often have a list of satellites, and the corresponding transponders and channels pre-programmed into them at the time of manufacture, to help get the buyer up and running quickly with valid details. With these FTA receivers, if there are any changes, you need to rescan the relevant transponder (or the whole satellite if you don't know the details - on the sat sites linked earlier in the thread) to get the channels back.

Someone mentioned a Freesat receiver, these boxes will automatically update frequencies as they change, but unless you want to fork out for another receiver, it's best you get to learn how to get the most of what you have.

What satellite (name) did you scan then to get the channels you're getting already? How many transponders are on the list? Can you see the transponders I listed above for the BBC and C4 channels?

Maybe it doesn't have all the transponders stored, in which case you should try doing a blind scan to see if they can be found.

You could also create a new satellite, call it what you want, and do a blind scan on it too. The blind scan will find whatever transponders are available, dependent on how well your dish is aligned, and add whatever channels if can find from those transponders.

Also, 30 quality is on the low side. By getting better alignment of the dish, and skew of the LNB, you should see the strength increase to 90% and above, and the quality increase above 60% for the Eurobird channels, and around 90% for the Astra (BBC/C4/ITV/etc) channels. High quality will make the signal more stable in conditions which may cause the signal to reduce below thresholds which cause the picture to pixelate or disappear, like rain or wind.

no1birdman

hi, astra/euro1 it was no 22 sat on the pre installed sats list.

polyfusion

That's ok then, that's the list you should be autoscanning as it will have the transponders you want to scan. Did you try looking at the BBC and C4 transponders to see what signal levels you are getting?

no1birdman

Hi, first let me say I realy appreciate the help given, been a bit disabled i find things a bit hard to grasp quickly so what seems easy to most takes a bit of time to register in my head, not always been so, Anyway can not find the bbc transponders yet , where should i look for them, Do i do a search with the network set to on. Thanks

Peter Rhea

no1birdman wrote: »

Do i do a search with the network set to on.

Does the manual say what network on/off actually does?

no1birdman

Hi, yes it says it searches for the transponders on that sat, but the book says search with it off, Thanks

Peter Rhea

no1birdman wrote: »

Hi, the signal strengh is 70 and the quality is 30 on that channel .

Which 'channel' was this, did you manage to improve the quality?

no1birdman

cnbc, adjusted the little thing on the end could not improve quality only by 1, up down did not improve, side/side no improvement, scaned no more channels, still no bbc etc but the channels like horror and movies for men are good picture but they say only 30 quality. Thanks

Liameter

The LNB "skew" (rotational position) should be adjusted to obtain maximum "signal quality".

no1birdman

None of them went up by more than1m singal strengh went to 71 quality went to 31, best i could get, did not move sat more than 1 in side to side or up and down more than 1 in.Would it help if the sat was positioned higher up on a pole as I have it about 8ft off the ground on my bungalow wall. Thanks

Liameter

The satellite cluster is about 24,000 miles away so another foot closer won't help at all - unless the dish is aimed at an obstruction such as a tree.

Did you adjust the LNB skew?

no1birdman

yes no difference

Liameter

That's extremely weird. So turning the LNB in its holder does not change the "signal quality" indication at all? It ought to decrease as you turn the LNB clockwise or anticlockwise from its optimum position.

no1birdman

Hi, I ment it did not go up anymore, that was the best I could get

polyfusion

Have you tried scanning individual transponders, for example 10773 H 22000 which should get you some BBC channels?

no1birdman

No, how do i do that please.

polyfusion

On the Aldi box I have, I do the following:

• Press "MENU" on remote
• Select "Installation" from menu
• Select "Manual scan" on next menu

On the next screen there are a number of changeable fields.

• You need to make sure you have the Astra/Eurobird satellite selected (or whatever satellite you've been scanning to get the few channels you already have).
• Select the relevant transponder, for example, the one I gave in my previous post.
• Then press whatever button is required to scan (IIRC, on the box I have, it's the BLUE button. There are hints at the bottom on the screen that tell you what buttons are required to be pressed to carry out various actions)

Then exit out of the menus to see if there are any new channels present.

no1birdman

Hi, there are no manual scan, it goes menu, instalation, pick sat, auto scan with network off, now if i select network on it scans everey transponder i think.Thanks.

polyfusion

Is there a "Manual-*anything*", maybe "manual search", or just "Manual"?

An option like "Blind scan" or "Blind search" should search for transponders and add any missing ones, then add all the channels it can find from those transponders.

no1birdman

hi, it says if u scan it with network on it will look for new and additional transponders, shall i try that one. and also it says in the book there is a blind scan, which one shall i try first as i have no idea where the blind scan is yet but do no where the network is.

polyfusion

Try both, order doesn't really matter. If you have problems, these boxes can usually be reset to factory settings.

What model number is on it? I can try to find a manual online, find it hard to believe that there is no option to do a single transponder scan.

no1birdman

hi, model sdsatkit-al, I will have a go. Thanks

no1birdman

Done it, got all channels, did a blind scan of all the transponders,Thank you very much for all the help given I would not have been able to set it up without you. Thank You Again