Dish Size

[neilmca]

Well, that didnt take long did it? Ive just unpacked the boxes and I have a question already.

I went with the short term cheap option (sorry its how my mind works!) and got a flexiblock for the Triax dish. Im looking to get Astra 1 19.2E and hotbird. Now my logic ( hey - its what I call it!) says that I should point the dish half way between the 2 satellites. The mounting instructions for the flexiblock give me settings and tell me to start by choosing the closest city listed - well that would appear to be Brest or Paris - probably not much help really( there's no UK city listed.)
So I guess my question is where do I go from here.
I did read a very helpful tutorial here on dish set up, I was amazed at how much it made sense to me ( not that Im thick .... Oh ok then, I am fairly) But It doesnt seem to help me with 2 LNBs.
Thanks for any thoughts (preferably not about my degree of thickness!)

Thanks

Neil

[Mickha]

Hi neilmca,
usually when setting up a dish, with 2 LNB's, you point the dish at the weakest satellite, and align the other LNB appropriately. It should be quite simple, with a 1M dish, to receive a strong signal off both Astra 1 and Hotbird, no matter which one you choose.
Best wishes
Mickha

[BGonaSTICK]

Sounding good so far

Multi-LNB setups can be a bit tricky to advise on, but it sounds like you have a monobloc dual LNB.

Can you describe it? Is it a single unit with one female F conncetor output, or is it a bracket with two distinct LNB's, with one output each?

[neilmca]

Hi
Its a bracket with 2 seperate LNBs.
Ive scanned in the set up manual and Ill try to attach a jpeg.

[img width=290 height=400]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c332/neiltoo/flexiblock.jpg[/img]

[img width=290 height=400]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c332/neiltoo/flexiblock2.jpg[/img]

[Mickha]

Hi neilmca,
this seems a very complicated way to achieve, what is usually, a simple result, of getting 2 satellites. Probably the easiest way to get it set up is to point your dish at 16E, if you fit one of your LNB's as normal you shouldn't have to much of a problem locating this satellite and it's the closest to where you seem to need to position your dish.
Once this is found you can fit the bracket and play with the LNB's to get the strongest signal from Hotbird and Astra.
For a list of channels on 16E refer to lyngsat.com I find M2 is quite a strong signal and it's FTA.
Please post back if you run into problems, and if not with the results.
Best wishes
Mickha

[BGonaSTICK]

Yep, sounds good to me.

If you're standing behind the dish and looking at the LNB's now facing towards you, the Astra 19.2E LNB will be on the right-hand side, and the Hotbird LNB on the left. The bracket also tilts around the center point, and you should have it set so that the Astra LNB is higher, and the Hotbird LNB lower, by see-sawing the arm. There should be a screw to lock it off when you have it right.

Start with each LNB about an inch away from the bracket, and make small adjustments to maximise the signal.

One of my dishes has a similar bracket to yours, but carries four LNB's. Have a look here:

http://www.satellitehelp.co.uk/forum...sg3261#msg3261

In fact, Bilbo's is closer to what you're trying to do, here:

http://www.satellitehelp.co.uk/forum...hp?topic=665.0

HTH

[neilmca]

Many thanks
Tomorrow will be a busy day I think

[BGonaSTICK]

Good luck. It's all in the planning they say

[neilmca]

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

Yessssss

Thanks for all your help, its been a long and sticky day but I got there in the end.
A few uncheduled trips to B&Q Ill admit but its done. I thought I had enough rawl bolts and I thought I had enough 'F' plugs etc.

Im getting Astra 1 95% level and 76% quality
and Hotbird 97% level and 74% quality

I dont know if this is good or bad but it all looks fine to me

I did have a small problem with setting the diseqc switching, I could only get 1 satellite or the other and then I realized that I had a meter on one LNB. I guess the diseqc switch didnt like that. What does DiSEqC stand for by the way ?

Now for an interesting evening checking all these channels out. Ive got my favorite back at last. Arte - Im sure im teaching egg sucking here but this is a great channel for anyone that speaks a bit of French or German. Even if you dont they often broadcast movies in the original English with french or German subtitles.

Now the next thing to figure out is this cam business - can anyone direct me to some info to find out what its all about and whats available. Not sure that I want to pay for other channels but its good to know whats available. Movies maybe, not really into porn - well not enough to want to pay for it anyway ops:

Once again a big thankyou to all and especially BGonaSTICK. Im sure that Ill have more questions when I realize that I should have gone motorised in the first place :roflmao:

The only down side to all of this is that Ive realized what a terrible state my roof is in !

[BGonaSTICK]

Hey, excellent news m8!

Post some pics in the gallery if you get a chance

DiSEqC stands for Digital Satellite Equipment Control, and was created by Eutelsat on the back of a fag packet.

Have a look here if you're interested. I wrote a guide on the command structure too. It's probably in our FAQ section somewhere.

Your signal readings sound fine. Most receiver's meters don't actually represent reality anyway when it comes to quality readings (or strength, come to that!).

Enjoy your viewing, and stop by once in a while. There's always more to learn!

Have a look at www.duwgati.com if you want to do some research into CAMs and cards, but I can tell you now that outside of subscription cards, the Dragon/T-Rex CAM and a Cerebro card are the only things worth having right now.

STICK