The Story So Far - Techwatch: Satellite TV forums, FTA, Cable, Hardware, & Tech forums

thermofish · 06-09-06, 03:52 PM

Hi all

I have posted previously about cancelling Sky and installing my Humax HDCI-2000 receiver. I have connected the Humax to the existing Sky dish and it has found channels on both Astra 2 and Astra 1. I assume that, while the dish is pointed at Astra 2, Astra 1 is close enough to be available (albeit at reduced quality). I am now pondering what to do next. I apologise for going over very old ground for many of you from here on in.

The first question is how I access more of the channels available through the existing set up, but currently scrambled (without moving or changing the dish). I have read as much as time allows about CAMs and SmartCards and CI slots and programmers - but I still lack clarity. Perhaps someone could tell me what they specifically recommend I get (if anything) to allow me to access more channels from Astra 2/1. Would a TRex CAM, a K3 card and an Infinity programmer do the trick?

Secondly, can I add another LNB to my existing Sky dish so that I can train it on Hotbird (for instance)? What type of LNB would I need and would I need another cable run to my living room and another receiver? Or can signals from 2 LNBs be combined into one cable/receiver. Any advice on how to fit and tune an LNB?

Sorry if you get tired of repeating yourself in answering this. Any standard sections or FAQs you can point me to?

Many thanks

nanochickin · 06-09-06, 03:59 PM

Is the current dish you have a standard 43cm Sky mini dish?

Jimdefruit · 06-09-06, 04:34 PM

There is no way you are getting Astra 2 and Astra 1 on a dish with a single lnb.

I assume your dish is pointng at 28.2E Astra 2 and you are seeing a few channels that you dont normally see easily on a digibox because of the way they arrange their channel lists.

To get 13E and 19.2E you will need a larger dish with ectra lnbs or you will need to motorise your existing dish.

nanochickin · 06-09-06, 04:48 PM

I was going to say exactly the same thing, just wondered what the dish was. If its a standard sky dish i dont think there is anyway you could fit a second lnb to it and get it to work. :? I think it may be a trip to Lidl for you. If your lucky you may get one of the last few 80cm dishes at £14.99.

They are still avaliable but you may have to trape round a few stores before you get one.

I went looking for one of their £2.99 mounts today. I finally got one at the 3rd store i went to after a 15 mile round trip.

The second store i went to had 3 dishes left, no mounts unfortunately. Its just a case of looking and hoping for the best.

thermofish · 06-09-06, 05:04 PM

Jeez, I can't even get the basics right! I'll have a look and see what dish I actually have when I get home tonight. It was already there when we bought the house, so I just assumed it was a Sky dish. I'll post again when I have my facts straight.

BGonaSTICK · 06-09-06, 07:08 PM

LOL, don't worry. There's a lot to learn just to get off the ground, but you'll soon get to the point where you know enough to edge forwards

I assume too that your dish is a standard Sky minidish. If you live in the South East of the UK it will almost certainly be of the smaller 43cm variety. The further North/West you go, the more likely it will be the larger 60cm (ish) version.

If it has been used to receive Sky digital it will almost certainly be trained on Astra 2 at 28.2E as the guys have mentioned.

You will not also receive Astra 1, as that group of satellites are located at 19.2E, - that's nine degrees away. Nine degrees is more than enough to ensure that there is no 'overlap'.

What you are probably seeing is channels springing up on your screen when you switch to a channel that your receiver says is at the Astra 1 19.2E location.

In fact it's not. If you look at what's actually on screen, it almost certainly won't tie up with the channel name in your receiver. That's because it's on Astra 2, but just happens to have a similar frequency, polarisation etc. to that listed in your receiver under Astra 1. You'll possibly find one or more channels appearing under many satellite channel listings in your receiver, but it's all an illusion.

There is nothing that can be opened without a subscription on Astra 2 unless you card-share.

If you were to put a larger dish up (for Astra 1, Hotbird etc.) then you could think about CAMs and cards, depending on what you wanted to watch.

You can get what is known as a multi-LNB bracket for some of the 70cm+ dishes which CAN be used to see more than one satellite because the can carry more than one LNB.

Get your head around that lot before you dig any further into the cards and CAMs thing.

Suffice to say at the moment, that if you have another dish that can see both Astra 1 and Hotbird, then you're likely to be able to get most things that can be prized open with unofficial trickery.

HTH

STICK

thermofish · 07-09-06, 04:57 PM

Thanks one and all for the help. I have been deceived all along by my receiver telling me that I have Astra 1 as well as Astra 2, even though I haven't (as Stick explained).

So my understanding is that in order to get to other satellites such as Astra 1 and Hotbird, I will need a replacement dish (assuming nothing can be done to adapt the Sky dish). This being so, what do you experts recommend? I would like to be able to fix it in place of my Sky dish (preferably using the existing mounting bracket) and I would rather it were not much bigger, as space is limited. Would I need 3 fixed LNBs or would a motorised system be better? Would I be able to fix it up myself (I'm not bad at DIY generally, but have never fixed up a dish) or should I pay someone to do it?

I guess these are pretty common questions with pretty standard answers, so sorry to ask you to go through it all again.

Many thanks

BGonaSTICK · 07-09-06, 07:15 PM

Astra1, Astra2 and Hotbird are the three 'biggest' satellite clusters, and will get you a good sample of what's available without going to the hassle of a motorised dish.

Actually, 'hassle' is too strong a word. It's easy if you follow the rules and can do a bit of DIY.

I promise I'm not on commission

but, for the second time today, Brymar sell the Raven G70 mesh dish for £65 which will do those three birds right off the bat

You'll need three LNBs and a switch as well

Motorised will give you heaps more choice, but will cost you maybe £20 more.

Read this, and then this to help you decide.

STICK

SAT-WORLD · 08-09-06, 11:15 PM

Slightly OT.
Can anyone confirm whether the Raven dish mentioned or indeed all Raven dishes,have the Raven image and logo,printed on the actual dish.
Or is it just superimposed in photos for illustration purposes only.
Thanks.

SAT-WORLD · 08-09-06, 11:20 PM

I forgot to mention,that the Raven G70 is only £28.99 from Falconsathttp://www.falconsat.co.uk/product_i...roducts_id=254,and the additional lnb bracket is £8.99:http://www.falconsat.co.uk/product_i...roducts_id=422.

06-09-06, 03:52 PM	#1 (permalink)
thermofish Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 8 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	The Story So Far Hi all I have posted previously about cancelling Sky and installing my Humax HDCI-2000 receiver. I have connected the Humax to the existing Sky dish and it has found channels on both Astra 2 and Astra 1. I assume that, while the dish is pointed at Astra 2, Astra 1 is close enough to be available (albeit at reduced quality). I am now pondering what to do next. I apologise for going over very old ground for many of you from here on in. The first question is how I access more of the channels available through the existing set up, but currently scrambled (without moving or changing the dish). I have read as much as time allows about CAMs and SmartCards and CI slots and programmers - but I still lack clarity. Perhaps someone could tell me what they specifically recommend I get (if anything) to allow me to access more channels from Astra 2/1. Would a TRex CAM, a K3 card and an Infinity programmer do the trick? Secondly, can I add another LNB to my existing Sky dish so that I can train it on Hotbird (for instance)? What type of LNB would I need and would I need another cable run to my living room and another receiver? Or can signals from 2 LNBs be combined into one cable/receiver. Any advice on how to fit and tune an LNB? Sorry if you get tired of repeating yourself in answering this. Any standard sections or FAQs you can point me to? Many thanks

06-09-06, 03:59 PM	#2 (permalink)
nanochickin Satellite Super Moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Today i'll be mostly cleaning up the forum Posts: 3,590 Thanks: 16 Thanked 144 Times in 127 Posts	Re: The Story So Far Is the current dish you have a standard 43cm Sky mini dish? __________________ Dreambox 7020Si, 1m Orbital Dish, Triax Quad 0.2dB lnb, Technomate SG2200 Motor. Dreambox 600PVR & Technomate TM9100 Super I'm a Sat mod I know knob all about cable. Please don't PM me to ask about cable Keys

06-09-06, 04:34 PM	#3 (permalink)
Jimdefruit Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 2,775 Thanks: 10 Thanked 113 Times in 105 Posts	Re: The Story So Far There is no way you are getting Astra 2 and Astra 1 on a dish with a single lnb. I assume your dish is pointng at 28.2E Astra 2 and you are seeing a few channels that you dont normally see easily on a digibox because of the way they arrange their channel lists. To get 13E and 19.2E you will need a larger dish with ectra lnbs or you will need to motorise your existing dish. __________________ Dreambox 800 HD; Dreambox 7000s + VBox + Channel Master 1.2 with 36v actuator CM120 feedhorn and Invacom .3 LNB Skystar 2 PCI card with links to my Dreambox If you like what you see here, tell your friends.

06-09-06, 04:48 PM	#4 (permalink)
nanochickin Satellite Super Moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Today i'll be mostly cleaning up the forum Posts: 3,590 Thanks: 16 Thanked 144 Times in 127 Posts	Re: The Story So Far I was going to say exactly the same thing, just wondered what the dish was. If its a standard sky dish i dont think there is anyway you could fit a second lnb to it and get it to work. :? I think it may be a trip to Lidl for you. If your lucky you may get one of the last few 80cm dishes at £14.99. They are still avaliable but you may have to trape round a few stores before you get one. I went looking for one of their £2.99 mounts today. I finally got one at the 3rd store i went to after a 15 mile round trip. The second store i went to had 3 dishes left, no mounts unfortunately. Its just a case of looking and hoping for the best. __________________ Dreambox 7020Si, 1m Orbital Dish, Triax Quad 0.2dB lnb, Technomate SG2200 Motor. Dreambox 600PVR & Technomate TM9100 Super I'm a Sat mod I know knob all about cable. Please don't PM me to ask about cable Keys

06-09-06, 05:04 PM	#5 (permalink)
thermofish Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 8 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: The Story So Far Jeez, I can't even get the basics right! I'll have a look and see what dish I actually have when I get home tonight. It was already there when we bought the house, so I just assumed it was a Sky dish. I'll post again when I have my facts straight.


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06-09-06, 07:08 PM	#6 (permalink)
BGonaSTICK Super Murderator Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Brighton Posts: 10,633 Thanks: 3 Thanked 64 Times in 37 Posts	Re: The Story So Far LOL, don't worry. There's a lot to learn just to get off the ground, but you'll soon get to the point where you know enough to edge forwards I assume too that your dish is a standard Sky minidish. If you live in the South East of the UK it will almost certainly be of the smaller 43cm variety. The further North/West you go, the more likely it will be the larger 60cm (ish) version. If it has been used to receive Sky digital it will almost certainly be trained on Astra 2 at 28.2E as the guys have mentioned. You will not also receive Astra 1, as that group of satellites are located at 19.2E, - that's nine degrees away. Nine degrees is more than enough to ensure that there is no 'overlap'. What you are probably seeing is channels springing up on your screen when you switch to a channel that your receiver says is at the Astra 1 19.2E location. In fact it's not. If you look at what's actually on screen, it almost certainly won't tie up with the channel name in your receiver. That's because it's on Astra 2, but just happens to have a similar frequency, polarisation etc. to that listed in your receiver under Astra 1. You'll possibly find one or more channels appearing under many satellite channel listings in your receiver, but it's all an illusion. There is nothing that can be opened without a subscription on Astra 2 unless you card-share. If you were to put a larger dish up (for Astra 1, Hotbird etc.) then you could think about CAMs and cards, depending on what you wanted to watch. You can get what is known as a multi-LNB bracket for some of the 70cm+ dishes which CAN be used to see more than one satellite because the can carry more than one LNB. Get your head around that lot before you dig any further into the cards and CAMs thing. Suffice to say at the moment, that if you have another dish that can see both Astra 1 and Hotbird, then you're likely to be able to get most things that can be prized open with unofficial trickery. HTH STICK __________________ Dreambox 7000, Skystar2 PCI, Skystar USB, Fibo 90cm on Moteck SG2100, Triax TD110 multi-LNB. Sky + ART cards. 45.0°E - 58.0°W

07-09-06, 04:57 PM	#7 (permalink)
thermofish Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 8 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: The Story So Far Thanks one and all for the help. I have been deceived all along by my receiver telling me that I have Astra 1 as well as Astra 2, even though I haven't (as Stick explained). So my understanding is that in order to get to other satellites such as Astra 1 and Hotbird, I will need a replacement dish (assuming nothing can be done to adapt the Sky dish). This being so, what do you experts recommend? I would like to be able to fix it in place of my Sky dish (preferably using the existing mounting bracket) and I would rather it were not much bigger, as space is limited. Would I need 3 fixed LNBs or would a motorised system be better? Would I be able to fix it up myself (I'm not bad at DIY generally, but have never fixed up a dish) or should I pay someone to do it? I guess these are pretty common questions with pretty standard answers, so sorry to ask you to go through it all again. Many thanks

07-09-06, 07:15 PM	#8 (permalink)
BGonaSTICK Super Murderator Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Brighton Posts: 10,633 Thanks: 3 Thanked 64 Times in 37 Posts	Re: The Story So Far Astra1, Astra2 and Hotbird are the three 'biggest' satellite clusters, and will get you a good sample of what's available without going to the hassle of a motorised dish. Actually, 'hassle' is too strong a word. It's easy if you follow the rules and can do a bit of DIY. I promise I'm not on commission but, for the second time today, Brymar sell the Raven G70 mesh dish for £65 which will do those three birds right off the bat You'll need three LNBs and a switch as well Motorised will give you heaps more choice, but will cost you maybe £20 more. Read this, and then this to help you decide. STICK __________________ Dreambox 7000, Skystar2 PCI, Skystar USB, Fibo 90cm on Moteck SG2100, Triax TD110 multi-LNB. Sky + ART cards. 45.0°E - 58.0°W

08-09-06, 11:15 PM	#9 (permalink)
SAT-WORLD Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 1,714 Thanks: 3 Thanked 74 Times in 70 Posts	Re: The Story So Far Slightly OT. Can anyone confirm whether the Raven dish mentioned or indeed all Raven dishes,have the Raven image and logo,printed on the actual dish. Or is it just superimposed in photos for illustration purposes only. Thanks.

08-09-06, 11:20 PM	#10 (permalink)
SAT-WORLD Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 1,714 Thanks: 3 Thanked 74 Times in 70 Posts	Re: The Story So Far I forgot to mention,that the Raven G70 is only £28.99 from Falconsathttp://www.falconsat.co.uk/product_i...roducts_id=254,and the additional lnb bracket is £8.99:http://www.falconsat.co.uk/product_i...roducts_id=422.