Astra 2D and Eurobird 2 Monobloc LNB?

[bigtee]

Hello Mates

You might remember me from the introduction section --- I was in Cairo Egypt some months ago when I caught the bug and then discovered this site.

I'm back in the UK now (Erith, Kent to be precise). My first planned project i.e. to do myself without an installer, is to remove the sly lnb and replace it with a generic universal lnb. However, I am thinking that since Astra 2D is at 28E and EB2 is at 26E, it should be feasible to have a 2 lnb set up that will take in the two. The questions follow of course:

1. From what I can see, the already installed sly dish is about 60 cm, will that be enough for reception of EB2?

2. The monobloc lnbs I've seen advertised seem to be set for Hotbird 13E and Astra 19E defaults, does this rule them out of my intended project?

3. If 2 is not feasible as suspected, will I need the slim type lnbs, given that 26 and 28 are close?

4. What kind of multi lnb holder is to be recommended.


Thanks a lot and though I haven't posted for some time b4 now, I have been reading here regularly; cheers.

[Analoguesat]

No chance.


EB2 is firing at the Mediterranean basin, and needs a huge dish in the UK (Probably around 1.2m) .


Also, monoblocs at the moment have a spacing of 6 degrees (although there are 3 degree ones coming soon)

Forget the plan.....

[bigtee]

Thanks, Analoguesat.

Maybe an 80cm dish with three lnbs for 13e, 19e & 28e then???

[BGonaSTICK]

Yes, that's a very popular combination and is a great introduction to multi-satellite viewing whilst retaining a lot of English language programming.

I don't know what equipment you have here in the UK, but you'll really need a DiSEqC-enabled receiver and a 4-way DiSEqC switch too. A Sky digibox is going to severely restrict your fun.

Have a look in our photo section. There are two or three setups like the one you mention. The Triax TD88 with Triax 20 degree multi-LNB attachment is a good value for money off-the-shelf and proven way to achieve this.

STICK

[bigtee]

Thanks Big

I have an Arion 310 with diseqc (I left the Hivion 9090 in another home outside the UK); I also have a four-way diseqc switch.

I think what I need now principally is an 80 cm dish (I don't think a 60cm dish will do that set up).

In terms of the work involved, the 60 cm (maybe even 43cm) dish is currently mounted on a pole attched to the wall; I am worried if that pole will be strong enough to support an 80cm dish??? :?

[bigtee]

Me again

In this thread http://www.satellitehelp.co.uk/forum...pic,665.0.html on the photo section, I noticed that member SAT-World talked of achieving a 3 lnb set-up with a 60cm dish. Is this possible? If so, it would make things easier for me (I have already ordered two different types of multi-lnb holders on ebay). I also have enough lnbs already as the sly lnb turns out to be a universal lnb after all (after testing it on the non-sly receiver; i have another universal lnb I bought for around £2 in Egypt (some things are considerably cheaper there) and a monobloc lnb I bought on ebay.

[BGonaSTICK]

I appreciate that dish setup/mounting and so on costs both time and money, but if a jobs worth doing...

If you really are on a virtually non-existant budget, then sure - try the 60cm dish and home-grown bracketry. I'm certainly not a satellite snob, and so have no problem with this approach, but here's the bottom line...

There is a trade-off to be made here, and as usual it's time versus money. You can either:

1) Spend what I consider to be a very reasonable price to receive three satellites full of TV and radio programming and more or less throw it straight up on the wall knowing that some minor adjustments will see it all working just fine.

2) Save your money, and spend many hours making parts, modifying brackets, experimenting etc. and generally farting about until you get something that works.

There are two other points I would like to make though.

Firstly, In my opinion a 60cm dish face is simply not large enough to get a weatherproof, solid signal across three satellites that far apart.

Secondly, you have a responsibility to both yourself and others to ensure that whatever mounting system you use for your dish is strong enough to take the worst that the British weather can throw at it. There is a significant safety risk associated with flying and falling dishes, so if you have any doubts about the dish mount, then replace it.

The standard Sky dish mounts are actually pretty good (if they've been fitted properly and all four bolts are holding the brickwork securely). The mounting poles are a little flimsy for an 80cm dish, but should be OK unless the dish is mounted high up and/or in a particularly windy location.

Hope this helps.

STICK

[bigtee]

Sure helps.

I had settled on the 80cm dish until I saw the post about the 60. I will go with the 80cm and new mount if that is required.

Thanks

[BGonaSTICK]

Cool. Just make sure you go for a recognised make that has a proper multi-LNB arm capable of that span.

It's a little bit bigger than 80cm, but the Triax TD88 is my recommendation. The TD78 will work too, but signal strength/quality won't be as strong, and so setup is more critical.

[bigtee]

Hello again

The dish arrived today - Global R (?) 80. Now I have a proper technical question because of something I read.

The plan is to get 13e, 19e and 28e using a multi lnb arm. However, one of the lnbs i was going to use is a monoblock (astra/hotbird lnb). I have read in recent days that because a monoblock has an in-built diseqc switch, it can not be used with a multi-lnb set up using the normal 4-way diseqc switch.

I just want confirmation of this and whether I should simply go for 3 single universal lnbs.

All the help here is always appreciated.

Thanks.