Astra 2 troubles! Any Ideas?

[jeffersandjaney]

hi, need some exchange of ideas here! I have just finished programming up my receiver for FTA on astra 2 but are getting channel breakup on transponders 10758v, 10788v, 10906v and 10818v. strangely, 10714 works fine but of course to watch fta bbc et al is impossible. all other transponders in the higher ranges give me a perfect picture, better than our mast which is half a mile away! one other thing, the strength and quality meters give 68 and 91% respectively whichever transponder you look at. Any ideas before the whole lot goes in the bin? We live in an area not covered by freeview so this satellite FTA is our only choice. thanks in advance......

[Analoguesat]

These sort of problems are difficult to diagnose, but dont give up yet.

Some ideas for starters.

Are there any joins in the cable?
Is it a new run of cable or have you reused an old cable run?
Is the cable crushed or over compressed anywhere?
Do you have a dect digital phone?
Are there any police transmitters near you?

[jeffersandjaney]

hi, thanks for the quick response! there are no joins in the cable. cabling was for analogue sat so i guess its quite old, i was given it by a sat engineer but it's one of the most stiff and rigid cables ive come across and it seems a bit oversize as the f types have difficulty screwing on. think the cable is not damaged anywhere. we have a BT cordless phone not a dect type with broadband, not wireless, and the local constabulary are a good 3/4 mile away. Tell me, are the transponders i gave in the previous post all 22mbd and fec 5/6? would getting that wrong cause picture breakup for certain transponders? thanks again...

[Analoguesat]

Yes they are.

Check tech details here:

FlySat Eurobird 1 - Astra 2A/2B/2D @ 28.5/28.2° East

It might be worth replaceing the coax run at some point, but in the meantime try 10773H 22000 5/6, and triple check all the other settings for the affected ones are 22000 5/6 as well

[ascoile]

I had the same problem earlier in the week and managed to solve it with the help of those who replied. It was my elevation setting that was out.
You can check the thread here.
Channel setup query

The one thing I never solved was how I was getting such a high quality reading yet no pictures! Your situation seems to be identical.

[jeffersandjaney]

hello again, re-cabled the satellite dish this morning and although the signal strength and quality have risen slightly, still not picking up a decent picture on transponders 10758 to 10818 but its brilliant on 10714 and higher than 10818, guess the problem must be with the lnb so i'll get a new one and let u all know. thanks................. have just been looking at lnb's on the web and i wonder if the one fitted on the dish is a high band and not a universal ( the label has come off in the weather) as a high band lnb has a frequency range of about 11ghz to 21ghz. will find out when i fit a new one. cheers!

[Robbo]

In the meantime, have you tried tweaking the dish a little?, whilst checking signal quality etc on one of the transponders you are having difficulty with.

[jeffersandjaney]

hi robbo, dont think it's the dish position as i can pick up some transponders on 2A but not others,can only be band blocking by the lnb or the STB is knacked