Help!!!!!

enrique66_35

Hi all, long time reader first time poster! Bought an amstrad drx100(i think) reciever off ebay with a triax elliptical dish, single thompson LNB and cable etc... and all was going will got it set up began trying to allign using a compass and cannot find the Astra 2 satellite. I've tried starting southerly and moving east and starting due east and moving southerly with no success. I have picked up a signal with network id 013e and transport stream 1450 a couple of times but i dont know what that is. Can anyone suggest where I might be going wrong? I mounted the dish on the side of the house and my neighbours house is about 10 feet away but only about 3 - 4 above the level of the dish.. possible obstruction? Should I buy a signal meter or am i just doing it all wrong? Any advice suggestions would be greatly appreciated after 10+ hours of fruitless dish fiddling!

watty

Move very slowly!

Be patient.

If you find a satellite mark east west. Then as you go further east the dish needs to drop slightly, as you move west toward outh the dish needs to rise.

A very cheap signal meter will do. Or non-Sky box. Problem with Sky box is that once it has seen the "wrong" satellite you may need to reset it by unplug power after moving the dish away, or it will not "see" a "new" position.

Sky (Astra2 / Eurobirds) is 28.2E, which is bearing of 137.32 (almost exactly South East) and Elevation of 22 degrees (not dish "visible"angle as it is offset), BUT only from Limerick.

As you go East to Dublin the angle is more southerly (slightly) as you go north the elevation angle is slightly less

www.smw.se has one free download. A calculator. Remember all of Ireland is "minus" on Longitude (about 4 or 5 in Dublin and 9 or 10 in West). Limerick is on the 52N Latitude line (east west) approx.

eirman

Thanks for pointing out that very useful calculator Watty.

How important is the polarisation value ? .... I presume the polarisation is the angle that the LNB is rotated on its holder. Is a negative value clockwise or anti clockwise when looking at the dish from the viewpoint of the satellite ?

watty

Start with LNB "horizontal" when you have the best Signal / quality, adjust it in a step either way (clicks inside case fro Sky LNB, or rotate in holder non-Sky dish), wait and see if quality is better. Adjust for best "Quality". Unless you are on a wierd satellite with only one polarity, it won't affect level much.

It likely slightly clockwise (looking at front of dish) as the satellites are further east of south, and slightly anticlockwise as satellites are west of south. But the Sky mini-dish LNB may have a slightly pre-squewed polarisation.

enrique66_35

First off thanks for all your help Watty. Moved the dish last night away from the obstruction of my neighbours house and onto the garden wall beside the existing sky installed dish and hey presto after 20mins of adjustment I got Astra 2. Much pleasesd! Thanks Again.