Satelite Set Up Assistance - Please

[jackwinguk]

Hiya all, hope there is someone out there who can help my hubby.

We purchased a satelite system from Aldi at the weekend and from all the reports, was favourable. Our problem is we can get the strength of signal but absolutely no quality. We have visited several websites to try to find a clue, checked that there are no huge buildings/tree's etc in the way, (we are testing this out in our garden at present) but the hubby is getting more and more fustrated with the lack of progress.

Any help would be gratefully received.

rgds

Jacky

 

[Hoits]

Persevre, It took me some time to get the hang of it, the trick seems to be that the Quality does not respond in real time, but lags several seconds behind the satelite dish movements, so you need to move it to the right place, then wait, until you see it refresh on the TV Screen.

Dave

 

[jaffasdad]

Hi Jacky'

I bought the same system and have spent the last couple of days getting used to it. I have fixed the dish to my jockey wheel using 2 exhaust clamps. At first I had the same problem as you but have just 'found' over 200 TV and 40 radio channels.

Use the little meter to find the satellite, then disconnect it and use the TV screen to fine tune. Take it slowly because, as Dave says, it takes time for the quality display to catch up. Because of the situation of the dish I can look at the TV screen while making the fine adjustments.

When you have achieved over 40% quality, do an Auto Scan. I've picked up all the channels I would wish to watch/listen to.

If you want any more help I'm happy to share my experiences but don't profess to be any sort of expert. I log on most days.

Have you found a use for the short piece of wire sheathed in white plastic? I'm at a loss to see what to use it for.

Good luck.

 

[Surfer]

I am surprised no one has recommended http://www.satelliteforcaravans.co.uk/ as thsi is an excellent site for sat set up info.

 

[Daveg1]

Hi Jacky'

I bought the same system and have spent the last couple of days getting used to it. I have fixed the dish to my jockey wheel using 2 exhaust clamps. At first I had the same problem as you but have just 'found' over 200 TV and 40 radio channels.

Use the little meter to find the satellite, then disconnect it and use the TV screen to fine tune. Take it slowly because, as Dave says, it takes time for the quality display to catch up. Because of the situation of the dish I can look at the TV screen while making the fine adjustments.

When you have achieved over 40% quality, do an Auto Scan. I've picked up all the channels I would wish to watch/listen to.

If you want any more help I'm happy to share my experiences but don't profess to be any sort of expert. I log on most days.

Have you found a use for the short piece of wire sheathed in white plastic? I'm at a loss to see what to use it for.

Good luck.

The short flat piece of wire is where you may need/wish to pass the cable thru' a window opening. It enables you to close the window. Well thought out little kit isn't it?

Dave

 

[jaffasdad]

The short flat piece of wire is where you may need/wish to pass the cable thru' a window opening. It enables you to close the window. Well thought out little kit isn't it?

Dave

I think the kit is great and very well thought-out but I found the instructions rather unclear. They could have been written by a committee!

 

[Douglas_374404558]

HI! Jacky try moving you elevation up/down very slightly just move 2/3mm at a time then as said by others very slowly give the decoder time to register the movement 20secs or so OR turn everything off for 5mins (have a ***/cup of T then start again sometimes the decoder locks onto the sat and won,t do anything else Patiance is the hardest thing ( if you can buy a sat finder i find it easier to get the sat .any more problems get back in touch on here plenty of people to help you out.again once you take your time you will get it everytime

cheers Duggie

 

[jackwinguk]

Hi Jacky'

I bought the same system and have spent the last couple of days getting used to it. I have fixed the dish to my jockey wheel using 2 exhaust clamps. At first I had the same problem as you but have just 'found' over 200 TV and 40 radio channels.

Use the little meter to find the satellite, then disconnect it and use the TV screen to fine tune. Take it slowly because, as Dave says, it takes time for the quality display to catch up. Because of the situation of the dish I can look at the TV screen while making the fine adjustments.

When you have achieved over 40% quality, do an Auto Scan. I've picked up all the channels I would wish to watch/listen to.

If you want any more help I'm happy to share my experiences but don't profess to be any sort of expert. I log on most days.

Have you found a use for the short piece of wire sheathed in white plastic? I'm at a loss to see what to use it for.

Good luck.

Snap, we wondered if it's for using through the window of the caravan.....but if anyone else has any bright ideas....please share them, we'd welcome any help....Thank you

 

[JohnKS]

We find ours a pain in the neck to set up and only use it in extreme emergencies which isn't very often. If you have satellite at home, connect the box and then set the satallite to Astra 28 East and allow the programmes to load. When setting up on site get a satellite finder and just point the dish until you get power.Don't alter the satellit! It does work but if you can get Freeview then stick with that. It is much less exasperating!!!!!!

 

[jaffasdad]

Snap, we wondered if it's for using through the window of the caravan.....but if anyone else has any bright ideas....please share them, we'd welcome any help....Thank you

How have you got on with setting up the system?

 

[Woody3]

If you have signal but no quality you are on the wrong satellite, simple as that.

To find the sat you should point the dish around 144deg, OR point it SE and then nudge it a bit at a time until you get a signal. Astra 28.2E will be the first sat you find. When you have signal nudge the dish up and down until you find the peak.

Not that the Rx will work with 40% signal and 70% quality, but not (very well at least) the other way round.

 

[DianneT]

All the people we know who have this system in a case have not found it satisfactory. But any one who has, like us bought a dish and tripod and take their sky box with them, get good sky and no problems once you get on the right satelite. We bring ours abroad in we are in Europe and at the moment in S. Austria getting all Sky programmes BBC news and many many more.

 

[trickydicky]

Ive got one of these satellite systems,and to begin with its very frustrating but persevere because once you get the knack its a piece of cake.

If your trying it in the garden have a look at your sky dish so you will be able to see the general direction and elevation because that is pointed to the astra satellite at 28 degrees.When im setting it up I start by pointing the dish due south (have you got a compass?)and then move it ever so SLOWLY to the left.You will find the astra satelite at 19 degrees first.You dont want this one,its all foreign language.Continue to move it further to the left and you will then find the astra satellite at 28 degrees which is the one you want.Have you got a strength meter on the set up menu in your digital receiver which measures the signal strength and quality?.When you hit a satellite both readings will shoot up. Ours is 95 and 82% usually.You can try adjusting the elevation but Ive found that if you set it up just off vertical pointing upwards its OK.Its important that the dish remains still,otherwise you lose the signal when its windy,mine is clamped to the jockey wheel on a fixed pole.

Hope this helps,cheers R

 

[DeliDave]

Re Diannes post,we used to take our old sky box but found that for initial setup once it had found a satellite it locked there and had to be rebooted to move.We use the Maplins HD box which is OK when going past satellites ,we pretuned it with QVC as our startup channel as its on 24/7 and usually get a pic very quickly.Have to give credit to Sir Roger for tuition,many thanks

 

[empee]

Something I've noticed on all posts regarding satellite set up is the continued reference to having the dish on a pole or a tripod as if this is relevant to signal strength.

My understanding is that the Astra satellite that we're all looking for is pretty high up in the sky, not low on the horizon so surely there would be very few instances where raising the dish a few feet will make any difference at all to the signal strength or quality (I don't think being closer to the satellite counts!)

We have a Maplin suitcase kit with a 38cm dish which we used on the ground in Bordeaux earlier this year with excellent results. This is obviously a bit further south - would the satellite have been so much higher in the sky down there? Surely a tripod or a pole makes the dish more susceptible to wind?

 

[Lutz]

The problem with having the dish very low down is that there is more likelihood of something getting in the the way of direct line of sight with the satellite. Usually it's trees. Last year in Scotland I had to raise the pole with the dish to about 10ft. to clear a large rock next to the caravan. Reception didn't suffer despite some horrible windy weather.

 

[trickydicky]

Something I've noticed on all posts regarding satellite set up is the continued reference to having the dish on a pole or a tripod as if this is relevant to signal strength.

My understanding is that the Astra satellite that we're all looking for is pretty high up in the sky, not low on the horizon so surely there would be very few instances where raising the dish a few feet will make any difference at all to the signal strength or quality (I don't think being closer to the satellite counts!)

We have a Maplin suitcase kit with a 38cm dish which we used on the ground in Bordeaux earlier this year with excellent results. This is obviously a bit further south - would the satellite have been so much higher in the sky down there? Surely a tripod or a pole makes the dish more susceptible to wind?

Ive had the satellite dish on the ground,on a coffee table in the awning,on top of the car,fixed on a short and long pole to the jockey wheel in fact all over the place.It doesnt matter where it is as long as youve got line of sight to the satellite and the dish remains still.

Problems arise when youve parked the caravan and found that 28 degrees is to the back of the van,and then you need to use a pole to get line of sight over the top of the van.

Maxview do one of those kits that go into the roof of the van at about

 

[MagsAlan]

well, ive had a go at setting my maplins system up and im just about ready to throw the whole blinking lot in the bin. Ive found Astra 28East (or so it says) but other than sky news, there are only french german and austrian channels coming up on the scan. Can anybody tell me where im going wrong please

 

[Lutz]

If you're getting predominantly French and German channels it sounds as though you've found Astra all right, but the wrong one, 19.2

 

[MagsAlan]

If you're getting predominantly French and German channels it sounds as though you've found Astra all right, but the wrong one, 19.2

 

[Lutz]

The message is wrong then. There aren't any German or French channels at 28.2

 

[MagsAlan]

ok. thank you. Not quite sure what to do now. there was something in the instructions about inputing the number of the satellite that you want, would you happen to know what the correct number for astra 28.2 is? I have looked on the satellite for caravans site but couldn't see it.

 

[Lutz]

ok. thank you. Not quite sure what to do now. there was something in the instructions about inputing the number of the satellite that you want, would you happen to know what the correct number for astra 28.2 is? I have looked on the satellite for caravans site but couldn't see it.

I'm sorry but I don't know what they mean by the 'number' of the satellite. Satellites don't have numbers, unless the particular Maplins receiver that you use has assigned them.

 

[MagsAlan]

I'm sorry but I don't know what they mean by the 'number' of the satellite. Satellites don't have numbers, unless the particular Maplins receiver that you use has assigned them.

well thank you anyway. The book says that hotbird is no 339 but it doesnt tell me any others. It looks like i might have to pay maplins a visit. Interestingly, my neighbour got the same system but his receiver is a box that plugs directly into the scart socket. We were able to find the correct satellite with his, so maybe my receiver thats at fault.

 

[eckiew]

Hi Jacky

Go to

http://www.ses-astra.com/consumer/en/how-to-receive-astra/installation-assistant/index.php
and there is good information on how to get Astra with angles, direction etc from where you are in the country.

Alex