Second Dish - Worth it?

Schorpio

Hi all,

Like most, we currently have a dish pointed at 28e. This is what everyone in the family uses, and I don't want to upset that ecosystem.

Instead, I'm considering getting a ground (or ground level accessible) dish for messing around with. I know there are a few on here with multi-dish setups, so my query is, is it worth it beyond a novelty factor? I presume there isn't much English-langauge content, or FTA sporting rights floating around out there? I'm also considering a motorised setup, but I'm complete green when it comes to setting those up.

This second dish would feed a small engima2 box, which would be accessible around the house via the network.

Gerry Wicklow

I use four LNBs fiited to the one dish and fed into a multiswitch. This means all connected devices have access to all LNBs. Terrestrial is also 'piggy-backed' onto this. I have it configured for 28, 19, 13 and 9 (Saorsat). I'm not a sports fan so can't comment on whats available there. I've never been a fan of motorised dishes 1) because of cost, 2) because you are limited to only watching/recording one satellite at a time and 3) because there is a notable delay when switching as the dish rotates. Using a multiswitch changes between satellites seamlessly as easily and quickly as going BBC1 to BBC2.

Ger Roe

I have a second dish (80cm) on a motor and I occasionally swing it around.

Not as much as I used to.... I have used it in the past to view NASA TV in HD (now available on HD webstream), I have also used it for feed tracking when elections or big news stories are being covered (see reporters on location setting up and linking back to base). I used to see the Reuters TV stream, where they fed back from press conferences about major events. At the time of general elections here, you can often pick up feeds from the various count centers around the country and see reporters preparing to go live on the network.

There isn't much FTA english language programming on other satellites, that you can't get on satellite, or web here.

For foreign language TV, it is an interesting aspect to see news reports from other countries - even if you don't understand the language, you can appreciate that there is a different presentation style and editorial focus from the items they cover. Local Arabic TV stations will have far more to show on Syria, Afghanistan and other conflicts than we will see here - some of the news reportage content can also be very violent and graphic.

Two of the most random items I have come across were 24hr cover from a static camera aimed at a beach in California and a camera focused on a clock on an office wall somewhere that occasionally switched to show high altitude scenes filmed by drones - there was some military aspect to it, but I never found out exactly what it was about, or exactly where it was.

The radio station selection on other satellites can sometimes be interesting (from a nerdy perspective). You can find in-store radio stations on some of the more obscure (cheaper carriage cost) satellites, along with American and British armed forces radio services, I have also come across a sports feed service sending soccer match reports out to their network of subscribed radio stations - you could hear the report segments being sent down the satellite line and then if you tuned into a local station doing a sports programme, you could hear it being used in a report - the presenter would link 'live' to the same reporter recorded piece that you heard being distributed earlier.

If you were going to experiment, I would recommend a motor. The time it takes to locate and fix onto a new dish position manually, would put you off. Once a motor is set up correctly, it will automatically find any satellite position that is available to you on the viewable arc (USALS system selected on your receiver). If you have a technical interest, it's a good learning experience and a sense of achievement when you can receive TV signals that you don't understand, from a range of other satellites. 😀

Schorpio

Cheers both.

I have considered going down the multi-swtich route. This is probably my preferred 'forever' solution, but there would be quite a bit involved logistically. (Some of the existing cabling is routed externally.)

At the moment, I'm just looking for something to play around with, so the more I can get the better (albeit slowly with a motor!). Does a motor require a dedicated power source, or can it feed off the LNB power?

Ger Roe

The motor is powered off the receiver, through the LNB cable (enters and exits motor first and then on to LNB)

I suppose it depends on what you want out of the experience, technical experimentation, or viewable services. My experience with using the motor is that personally, I would have no need for permanent multi LNB setup - nothing FTA there that I would be interested in having immediate access to. The experience of installing and setting up the motor was the fun part for me.

I also enjoy the James Bond experience of moving the dish ..... I am sure the neighbours think I am up to something.

bassy

52.e loads of football premier league Spanish french etc all fta and some English tv channels with latest movies etc

Ger Roe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118864047#Comment_118864047

I didn't think we could go that low on the arc at this latitude. The lowest I have received from with my dish in Wicklow is 39 east - don't think my receiver even has 52 degrees on the default list.

Update ... just swung the dish around and the furthest east on the default satellite list is actually 42 East - Turksat. Did a scan and pulled in 130 FTA Turkish channels.

I haven't done this in a while and forgot how much geeky fun it is.

bassy

well i,ve been using 52.e for nearly 2 yrs now.

location here is kilkenny with a 1.2m dish but i would say a 80cm will work on 52.e with a good clear line to the east.

Ger Roe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118885635#Comment_118885635

Interesting... I will give it a try at some stage. Thanks for the info.

Schorpio

Update time!

Picked up an 80cm dish,a single lnb, and also a combined dual lnb/diseqc switch with a fixed 6 degree offset. Currently set up with the combined lnb receiving 13e and 19e. SNR is about 50% on 13e, and 65% on 19e.

The SNR for 13e seems low (considering the primary focus on the dish is pointed that way), but not too bothered as I'll probably go fiddling with it again soon. I can get the SNR up using the single LNB, but with the dual it's tricky, as anything you do to improve one sat can compromise the other.

One question I have for you all is - whats the best way to start when aligning a dish? Currently I'm using an app on my phone, but it can leave you way off. Last night for example, I locked on to 4.8e, not 13e.....

Gerry Wicklow

You can get a basic meter for under €20 in many DIY shops. Make very small movements when aligning the LNBs. 1mm makes a difference. You may also need to tilt the arm holding the LNBs so that is not horizontal.

Schorpio

Cheers Gerry.

I have a basic meter (one of the shrill ones), and I find it next to useless tbh. There is actually a Signal Finder app for enigma2 receivers which is mega useful in this regard. It connects to your box and shows near-instant rises/drops in SNR. However, naturally you already need to be locked on to a service to use it.

What I'm wondering is, how do you align (roughly) to a satellite in the sky when you stick the dish on the pole? Is there any trick/knack to it? I would image that the basic meters don't really help here (you could be locking on to 10e not 13e for example)? The built-in phone compass doesn't seem to have enough accuracy either.

Gerry Wicklow

One trick is to enter your address into this site https://www.dishpointer.com/ and select the required satellite such as 28.2E Astra. Click on the green dot and drag it to your dish location. Take note of a handy landmark the line intersects, such as a tree or neighbours chimney or whatever.

When using a cheapo meter, lock onto a signal and turn the meter down to 1/2 way. Tweak the dish for max signal and turn down the meter if needed. Rinse and repeat until you can get no more increase.

I'm working on the assumption that we are all running on tight budgets 😉

jimmyjim11

i use dmsatfinder on play store

c2r

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118851664#Comment_118851664

Hi Gerry,

What size dish are you using and what's your prime focus? I'm up in South Down - see https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058258632/saorview-reception-near-ardglass/p1

Long story, but I've got a multiswitch lying around (I had Astra 1 and 2 at my old house as couldn't get Freeview reception) so could potentially go satellite if I can't get RTE from Kippur....

Cheers

Chris

Gerry Wicklow

I'm using 90cm centred roughly on 19E to get the spread from 9-28. Some things to remember, Saorsat only carries RTÉ and TG4. It also blocks some content and sports. I suggest you thoroughly exhaust any Saorview options first before considering Saorsat unless you are just doing it for anorak purposes. 😉

JDxtra

I've two dishes, one for 28.2 only and the other for 9.0, 13.0, 16.0, 19.2 & 23.5. These (and Saorview) are all connected to the same GigaBlue Enigma2 box.

The foreign sats are for fun/hobby only. Occasionally you find interesting things, like at the moment all the Discovery owned channels are FTA in HD and English on 9.0.

Gerry Wicklow

Guess who just swapped out his faulty Ka band LNB for a Ku 😉