satellite finding?

[Andrew_5105555]

I have bought a new van and the seller gave me a satellite system it says on the lnb lidl so i pressume it is the lidl system,i set it up the dish on stand on my garage roof with a clear view on a sunny day,connected the compass and aligned the gauge to london as the closest city then turned the dish so the compass pointed to astra satellite.When i connected up and went to a astra channel the signal strength was only 11% if i unplug the lead from the dish it stays a 11% the book says i should get around 60% if i unplug the lead from the dish it stays at 11% so i think i am getting no signal.

It also comes with a satellite finder how do i use this and what could i be doing wrong,sorry if i sound a bit thick but i can't make head nor tail of it thanks andrew.

 

[thehoods]

Hi Andrew.

Afraid I can't help as such, but I know that people that have had problems with their satellite systems they are directed to the follwoing web site: http://www.satelliteforcaravans.co.uk/

Hope this is of some help.

Phil.

 

[SirRogerFFS]

Look here Andrew old boy,heres what you do the arm you lnb is attached to you must have this more or less horizontal if you have the tyype with compass that sits at the back of the dish set for astra 28 a copuple of notches to the right of Astar old boy should give you some sort of signal then move it around to fine tune it .

I hope this helps .

Good Luck Sir Roger

 

[mistermac]

Hi Andrew

Make sure your co-ax connections are sound and there are no shorts (both ends).

Second, your box of tricks should have an audible signal strength meter built into it. Use that to fine-tune the dish.

Third, make sure you're pointing at the correct satellite!

Finally, heed the other advice on here - that the dish should be approximately vertical.

You can buy a satellite finder if you need one (best place is e-bay where you can pick one up for between

 

[Andrew_5105555]

Hi mark,

does the dish need to be vertical or horizontal,i have a sat finder with it how does this work it does not have any instructions cheers andrew.

 

[Lutz]

The dish itself should be roughly vertical but the actual angle depends on the offest of the arm carrying the LNB.

This installation guide tells you the angle of the beam at your particular location:

http://www.ses-astra.com/consumer/en/how-to-receive-astra/installation-assistant/index.php

 

[RichardJ]

Hi Mate

If I remember correctly the settings are prrox 23 degrees on the vertical and 2 degrees off south, the sats are in orbit above the med.

Hope this helps.

 

[Lutz]

You won't find anything there, Richard. The satellite is approx. 25

 

[MikeJE]

Lutz,

Many thanks for the lead to the Astra web site. I have made some notes for our trip to France at the end of this month. Very handy info.

Mike E

 

[SirRogerFFS]

Hello Again Andrew Old Boy forgot to mention like the other chappy fellows did you must set the receiver also to pick up astra 28.

Then follow the instuction as supplied to you above good luck , they do work well when you get the hang of setting them up.

Dont forget there another7 sat programmmed to your system

I hope this helps .

Regards Sir Roger

 

[JeremyClarksson]

I always use the sat finder between the cable and the LNB, make sure the output marked LNB is connected to the LNB - sounds obvious I know but I have spent several minutes cussing because of this mistake in the past.

I find using the sat finder a lot easier than the the tone or signal indicator on the box.

As said in England the dish should be roughly vertical,as you go more north the LNB will be lower and more south higher.

I then find south and aim the dish at 4 oclock (6 oclock being south, 12 oclock being north).

Turn the gain/volume control on the sat finder until you are just getting a tone.

Move the dish very slowly towards south and the tone should increase straight away, you can then fine tune (up/down, L/R)to get the strongest signal and you will probably need to turn the gain control down during this.

This should get you the strongest signal on Astra28/Eurobird which are the UK sats.

If you find you are getting mainly foreign broadcasts you have turned the dish too far south and are getting Astra19 or Hotbird13 (numbers indicate degrees E of S) and you will need to move the dish back towards the East or start again.

Also make sure there are no obstructions from the dish in this direction,i.e. a 6 ft hedge 6 ft away will obstruct but 15 ft away should be fine.

 

[whitetop]

Assuming Sky or Sky+ set up..........

Set dish vertical.....Aim South.

Switch on box and go to services then 4 then 6

Turn tiny amounts to the East and watch the readings

Get 0002 and 07d4........on your away.

You can fine tune the vertical and horizontal, if you want, but I have found that this is usually not needed.

Sat finders are, in my experience....not needed.

I have used a dish on a Tripod for years now and have always found a good signal using the above method.

 

[SillyBilly]

Hi David

you mention a tripod. How do mount the dish on a tripod and where do you put the tripod?

 

[joeby]

David has got it right if you have a sky reciever ,as you can use the on screen display on the tv ,but its better to start your dish in the east and slowly turn it towards south , the first satellite you come to is astra 2 ,which has the UK TV , i use a sky box , with the dish mounted on a upturned rotary clothes line ,wich i got for free ,the cheap sat meters only tell you that you are getting a signal , but it does not not tell you from which satellite , if you want to pay out a bit more money go for the Lacuna Systems sat meter which has all the satellites pre programmed in the meter , the named satellites are , 66E, 64E, 57E, 53E,45E,42E,39E,36E,33E,26E,28.5E,28.2E,23.5E,19E,16E,13E,10E,7E,5E,0.8W,5W,7W,8W,12.5W,15W,22W,30W,43W,45W,,the meter can be updated on the web , i paid

 

[mistermac]

Hi Andrew

The guys on here are absolutely right - though it does sound a bit daunting at first!

The little gizmo thingy that comes with your satellite box for finding the satellite (plugs into the back of the dish, right?) IS a bit confusing also!

I bought a satellite finding compass from Maplin (does the job but doesn't help with fine tuning) for about

 

[Andrew_5105555]

Thanks for all the replies i have been away for the weekend and didn't take system with me,reading the replies it does'nt sound to difficult and i think after i have managed to set it up once i will be fine so i will have another go tomorrow night and i will let u all know,

Ta andrew.

 

[Andrew_5105555]

Hi Andrew

The guys on here are absolutely right - though it does sound a bit daunting at first!

The little gizmo thingy that comes with your satellite box for finding the satellite (plugs into the back of the dish, right?) IS a bit confusing also!

I bought a satellite finding compass from Maplin (does the job but doesn't help with fine tuning) for about

 

[whitetop]

Hi David

you mention a tripod. How do mount the dish on a tripod and where do you put the tripod?

Bought the dish, tripod and cable on Ebay......

 

[whitetop]

David has got it right if you have a sky reciever ,as you can use the on screen display on the tv ,but its better to start your dish in the east and slowly turn it towards south , the first satellite you come to is astra 2 ,which has the UK TV , i use a sky box , with the dish mounted on a upturned rotary clothes line ,wich i got for free ,the cheap sat meters only tell you that you are getting a signal , but it does not not tell you from which satellite , if you want to pay out a bit more money go for the Lacuna Systems sat meter which has all the satellites pre programmed in the meter , the named satellites are , 66E, 64E, 57E, 53E,45E,42E,39E,36E,33E,26E,28.5E,28.2E,23.5E,19E,16E,13E,10E,7E,5E,0.8W,5W,7W,8W,12.5W,15W,22W,30W,43W,45W,,the meter can be updated on the web , i paid

 

[ade_374367698]

hi,

set tha angle of the dish to 28.2 degrees,then buy a compass and between 142-145 degrees you will find sky.

fine ajustment job done...

to find the signal, do as dave says 4...then 6 on the sky remote,(services)