i can't receive some satellites, but I can receive others... - Techwatch: Satellite TV forums, FTA, Cable, Hardware, & Tech forums

mgyi99 · 14-09-07, 06:12 PM

Hi,

When I had my motorised system installed by a professional guy, he scanned some satellites for me using his meter connected to my receiver. He scanned Turksat, Hellas Sat, Hotbird, Astra and a couple of others.

However, after I lost all my channels for some reason, I went and scanned for the satellites again, but not of all them seem to be working anymore, i don't get a signal after a manual scan. I can get Hotbird, Astra, Hellas Sat, Eutelsat W2, but I can't get satellites like Arabsat, Eutelsat Sesat, Optus, Thor, Turksat and some others.

Does anyone know why this is? If I can get Hellas Sat at 39 E, why shouldn't I be able to get Optus at 31.5 E or Eurobird 33 E??? I could get Turksat when the guy scanned it with his meter but I can't get it with a manual scan. I keep turning the dish east but no signal appears for the satellites mentioned.

I have the Phoenix Apollo CI digital receiver, 80cm dish, Manhattan Motor, and location is London.

Thanks for your help.

RocketMBA · 14-09-07, 06:57 PM

Satellites are very line-of-sight - there might be a tree in the way of the beam from certain satellites, or something equally as simple.

Even more simple is the fact that some satellites simply can't be seen from our part of the world without a great big dish. A lot of people have trouble with 26e on dishes less than 1m, for example.

Obviously, your setup is working properly, so I can only assume that there's obstacles in the way of those satellites, like I first mentioned. Where's the dish positioned? Any trees in the area?

nanochickin · 14-09-07, 07:12 PM

OK well firstly Optus A3 (The oldest HS-376 satellite still in active operation) @31.5w is on an inclined orbit of 8.9° so your not going to get that apart from maybe an hour or so a day and secondly theres nowt worth watching on it anyway as its only showing the SES Astra Test channels

It is possible that your dish/motor has moved slightly so it may be a case of just reprogramming the positions back into the receiver

The ones you have lost aren't the strongest satellites to get in the UK so they will only need to be slightly out to lose the signal

No idea how you reprogram the settings into a Phoenix Appolo unfortuantely

Nano

mgyi99 · 14-09-07, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RocketMBA

Satellites are very line-of-sight - there might be a tree in the way of the beam from certain satellites, or something equally as simple.

Even more simple is the fact that some satellites simply can't be seen from our part of the world without a great big dish. A lot of people have trouble with 26e on dishes less than 1m, for example.

Obviously, your setup is working properly, so I can only assume that there's obstacles in the way of those satellites, like I first mentioned. Where's the dish positioned? Any trees in the area?

there's nothing in the way, but my point is that I could receive Turksat when the installer did it with his meter. But only after I lost the channels and tried scanning myself is when I can't find it. I could get Turksat before, so it shouldn't be my dish size or anything blocking the signal thats causing me not to get a signal. Do you see what i mean? I tried rotating the dish all the way east until the dish started moving backwards and no signal appeared. Thanks for your help.

RocketMBA · 14-09-07, 08:34 PM

Ah, yes... Well, there's a lot of things it could be. Like nanochickin said, it could be that the dish or motor has become a little bit misaligned over time. Moving the dish thorough the reciever step by step would let you know if it's a little bit off, but what I'd do in this case is move the motor to a satellite you CAN see and move the dish a bit with the receiver, and see if the signal reading goes up or down. It could be that the motor is, indeed, a bit moved.

It could also be something far less interesting, like cloudy weather or something stuck on the LNB. I'd bet on the whole misalignment thing though, personally

BGonaSTICK · 15-09-07, 03:48 PM

If it's down to slight dish misalignment (probable) then as Rocket says, stepping the dish backwards and forwards from the receiver is a great way to check. If this doesn't work, it would tend to indicate that the overall elevation is out, which is less likely to have been caused by the wind for example.

Have you tried checking the transponder list and rescanning the whole satellite, as channels may have moved around?

mgyi99 · 15-09-07, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RocketMBA

Ah, yes... Well, there's a lot of things it could be. Like nanochickin said, it could be that the dish or motor has become a little bit misaligned over time. Moving the dish thorough the reciever step by step would let you know if it's a little bit off, but what I'd do in this case is move the motor to a satellite you CAN see and move the dish a bit with the receiver, and see if the signal reading goes up or down. It could be that the motor is, indeed, a bit moved.

It could also be something far less interesting, like cloudy weather or something stuck on the LNB. I'd bet on the whole misalignment thing though, personally

i've tried moving the dish to Turksat from Hellasat and I've done all sorts but its always the same satellites that I can't get. I've only had my satellite system for about 2 weeks, can the dish still get misaligned after such a short time? Also, the satellites that I can get I'm still receiving strong signals everytime I move back to them.

RocketMBA · 15-09-07, 08:16 PM

Well, while it's possible for the dish to get misaligned within 2 weeks, it's not very likely... On 42e, try transponder 11804, Horizontal, Symbol rate of 24444 and the FEC is 5/6. Move the dish east 1 step at a time for 6 steps. If you don't get anything, move the dish west 1 step at a time for 12 steps (6 steps to undo the moves we did going east, and 6 steps to go further west). Hopefully, you'll get a signal somewhere along the line! 11804 is very strong here, so you should have no trouble.

mgyi99 · 17-09-07, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RocketMBA

Well, while it's possible for the dish to get misaligned within 2 weeks, it's not very likely... On 42e, try transponder 11804, Horizontal, Symbol rate of 24444 and the FEC is 5/6. Move the dish east 1 step at a time for 6 steps. If you don't get anything, move the dish west 1 step at a time for 12 steps (6 steps to undo the moves we did going east, and 6 steps to go further west). Hopefully, you'll get a signal somewhere along the line! 11804 is very strong here, so you should have no trouble.

thanks, but do you know how I would do that on the Phoenix Apollo? I've got as far as selecting transponder 11804, but I don't see an option for me to start moving the dish to find that specific transponder... I can only start moving the dish when I'm on Turksat 42e, but not when I've selected one of its transponders. Once I have selected the transponder, there is 'TP Scan', but when I select this, it just scans for channels - it doesn't allow me to move the dish left and right. thanks again.

RocketMBA · 17-09-07, 03:43 PM

I don't have this receiver, but I've lifted this from the manual (http://www.phoenixsat.com/uploads/Manual.pdf)... Hopefully it will help you out!

How to Setup : DiSEqC 1.2 Manual Search
Example : Astra 1 (19.2 east)
Please note
Setup of East/West limits if required (see 1.2 Motorised Sub-Menu details)
1. Select Satellite Search Page
2. Select Astra 1
3. Press Edit (Red Key)
4. Select DiSEqC : 1.2 Motor
5. Immediately Press Motor (Yellow Key) : the Motorised System sub-menu
page will appear
6. On the Sub-Menu page proceed as follows :-
Select Go to Reference and press OK
The dish will now go to its centre 0 position which will be approx 1.0 west on
Satellites Thor 2,3 & Intelsat 10 (see Satellite list on page 8 for reference).
Using the Satellite list you can see where Astra 1(19.2east) is located in
reference to 1.0 West. Therefore you need to Move the dish east to locate
19.2 east.
On the Move – Halt option, press & hold the left cursor key so the dish can
move east until the receiver has located Astra 1 which will be displayed on
the Signal & Quality bars. You may need to fine adjust to obtain for
maximum peak signal level using the left & right cursor keys.
Select Save and Press OK
7. Press Exit to clear sub-menu. You can now select another Satellite by
repeating the above steps.
8. Press Save (Red Key)
9. Press Scan (Green Key) and press OK to download channels.
10.Repeat steps 2 to 9 to search for other satellites.
11. Once the process has been completed Press Exit to View channels.
Please note
Always check with reference to the satellite list (User Reference on page 8 ) when
relating to your next required satellite position to search for as long as you are
aware what current satellite your dish is facing there is no need to select Go to
Reference.

14-09-07, 06:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
mgyi99 Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 33 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	i can't receive some satellites, but I can receive others... Hi, When I had my motorised system installed by a professional guy, he scanned some satellites for me using his meter connected to my receiver. He scanned Turksat, Hellas Sat, Hotbird, Astra and a couple of others. However, after I lost all my channels for some reason, I went and scanned for the satellites again, but not of all them seem to be working anymore, i don't get a signal after a manual scan. I can get Hotbird, Astra, Hellas Sat, Eutelsat W2, but I can't get satellites like Arabsat, Eutelsat Sesat, Optus, Thor, Turksat and some others. Does anyone know why this is? If I can get Hellas Sat at 39 E, why shouldn't I be able to get Optus at 31.5 E or Eurobird 33 E??? I could get Turksat when the guy scanned it with his meter but I can't get it with a manual scan. I keep turning the dish east but no signal appears for the satellites mentioned. I have the Phoenix Apollo CI digital receiver, 80cm dish, Manhattan Motor, and location is London. Thanks for your help.

14-09-07, 06:57 PM	#2 (permalink)
RocketMBA As fun as having the flu Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: A cardboard box Posts: 673 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: i can't receive some satellites, but I can receive others... Satellites are very line-of-sight - there might be a tree in the way of the beam from certain satellites, or something equally as simple. Even more simple is the fact that some satellites simply can't be seen from our part of the world without a great big dish. A lot of people have trouble with 26e on dishes less than 1m, for example. Obviously, your setup is working properly, so I can only assume that there's obstacles in the way of those satellites, like I first mentioned. Where's the dish positioned? Any trees in the area?

14-09-07, 07:12 PM	#3 (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: i can't receive some satellites, but I can receive others... OK well firstly Optus A3 (The oldest HS-376 satellite still in active operation) @31.5w is on an inclined orbit of 8.9° so your not going to get that apart from maybe an hour or so a day and secondly theres nowt worth watching on it anyway as its only showing the SES Astra Test channels It is possible that your dish/motor has moved slightly so it may be a case of just reprogramming the positions back into the receiver The ones you have lost aren't the strongest satellites to get in the UK so they will only need to be slightly out to lose the signal No idea how you reprogram the settings into a Phoenix Appolo unfortuantely Nano __________________ 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

14-09-07, 08:34 PM	#5 (permalink)
RocketMBA As fun as having the flu Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: A cardboard box Posts: 673 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: i can't receive some satellites, but I can receive others... Ah, yes... Well, there's a lot of things it could be. Like nanochickin said, it could be that the dish or motor has become a little bit misaligned over time. Moving the dish thorough the reciever step by step would let you know if it's a little bit off, but what I'd do in this case is move the motor to a satellite you CAN see and move the dish a bit with the receiver, and see if the signal reading goes up or down. It could be that the motor is, indeed, a bit moved. It could also be something far less interesting, like cloudy weather or something stuck on the LNB. I'd bet on the whole misalignment thing though, personally

15-09-07, 03:48 PM	#6 (permalink)
BGonaSTICK Super Murderator Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Brighton Posts: 10,633 Thanks: 3 Thanked 64 Times in 37 Posts	Re: i can't receive some satellites, but I can receive others... If it's down to slight dish misalignment (probable) then as Rocket says, stepping the dish backwards and forwards from the receiver is a great way to check. If this doesn't work, it would tend to indicate that the overall elevation is out, which is less likely to have been caused by the wind for example. Have you tried checking the transponder list and rescanning the whole satellite, as channels may have moved around? __________________ Dreambox 7000, Skystar2 PCI, Skystar USB, Fibo 90cm on Moteck SG2100, Triax TD110 multi-LNB. Sky + ART cards. 45.0°E - 58.0°W


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15-09-07, 08:16 PM	#8 (permalink)
RocketMBA As fun as having the flu Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: A cardboard box Posts: 673 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: i can't receive some satellites, but I can receive others... Well, while it's possible for the dish to get misaligned within 2 weeks, it's not very likely... On 42e, try transponder 11804, Horizontal, Symbol rate of 24444 and the FEC is 5/6. Move the dish east 1 step at a time for 6 steps. If you don't get anything, move the dish west 1 step at a time for 12 steps (6 steps to undo the moves we did going east, and 6 steps to go further west). Hopefully, you'll get a signal somewhere along the line! 11804 is very strong here, so you should have no trouble.

17-09-07, 03:43 PM	#10 (permalink)
RocketMBA As fun as having the flu Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: A cardboard box Posts: 673 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: i can't receive some satellites, but I can receive others... I don't have this receiver, but I've lifted this from the manual (http://www.phoenixsat.com/uploads/Manual.pdf)... Hopefully it will help you out! How to Setup : DiSEqC 1.2 Manual Search Example : Astra 1 (19.2 east) Please note Setup of East/West limits if required (see 1.2 Motorised Sub-Menu details) 1. Select Satellite Search Page 2. Select Astra 1 3. Press Edit (Red Key) 4. Select DiSEqC : 1.2 Motor 5. Immediately Press Motor (Yellow Key) : the Motorised System sub-menu page will appear 6. On the Sub-Menu page proceed as follows :- Select Go to Reference and press OK The dish will now go to its centre 0 position which will be approx 1.0 west on Satellites Thor 2,3 & Intelsat 10 (see Satellite list on page 8 for reference). Using the Satellite list you can see where Astra 1(19.2east) is located in reference to 1.0 West. Therefore you need to Move the dish east to locate 19.2 east. On the Move – Halt option, press & hold the left cursor key so the dish can move east until the receiver has located Astra 1 which will be displayed on the Signal & Quality bars. You may need to fine adjust to obtain for maximum peak signal level using the left & right cursor keys. Select Save and Press OK 7. Press Exit to clear sub-menu. You can now select another Satellite by repeating the above steps. 8. Press Save (Red Key) 9. Press Scan (Green Key) and press OK to download channels. 10.Repeat steps 2 to 9 to search for other satellites. 11. Once the process has been completed Press Exit to View channels. Please note Always check with reference to the satellite list (User Reference on page 8 ) when relating to your next required satellite position to search for as long as you are aware what current satellite your dish is facing there is no need to select Go to Reference.