Help!

[Veteran Sat Lad]

Hi. About 15 years ago I had a fixed dish setup and was able to receive all manner of channels. The fixed dish was a Lenson Heath 80 (actually 85!)cm with initially a Maspro LNb. I don't remember the noise rating but I suspect it was something like 1.2db - very loud by today's standards! This had a current polariser which was controlled by the sat receiver (Grundig). I also fitted a triple feed horn bracket and had two Amstrad voltage switched LNbs - one from an SRX 200 set up and the other from an SRD400 arrangement (the latest Amstrad system at that time). I had trained these two LNbs onto Eutelsat 13 deg East and 16 deg East. The Maspro was receiving from Astra 1 and 2 (I think!) at 19.2 deg East. This system worked very well most of the time with only some picture degredation during very bad weather (indicating misalignment of the dish). The optimal position of this dish was somewhere between all three satellites and not specifically positioned for one of them. Therefore unless the dish size was increased, the bad weather problem was inevitable. Also, the three LNbs were of poor quality by today's standards.
I also had a Ferguson 35cm dish which was the left redundant by BSB when they merged with Sky. So I pointed this dish in another direction - I forget the satellite position now. I also converted my Ferguson BSB receiver to the D2 Mac format (as opposed to the D Mac it was born with) by replacing the main pcb which was available from Trac Satellites. This enabled me to receive some FTA channels including MCM Euromusic and I think MBC.
All of that was a long time ago and I now want to start again. I want a motorised kit and maybe a small fixed dish. I want to receive anything and everything because that is part of the bug which must be still lying in me. However, I am now very confused - particularly with the digital channels coming into play and of course Sky korrupting every man and his dog. Oh, what I actually meant to say was that more and more people are subscribing to Sky to obtain what they believe is a value for money package of channels.
What equipment would I need? What is available now - particularly of interest are FTA channels (any language and origin)?
I know the basic principles haven't changed (dish positioning and sizing etc.) although the positions of satellites will have done. Many years ago there was a magazine which produced a full list of channels available from each of the various satellites. The name of which I forget. It may have been something in the What? series of magazines.
It would be much appreciated if you could rekindle my passion by enlightening me with more up to date information!!!
Thank you - Veteran Sat Lad.

[Jimdefruit]

Welcome Veteran Sat Lad. Nice to see you here. These days, all the info is available on the internet and is updated almost daily. Yes things have changed a bit and are still changing. For details of satellites, transponders, channels etc the leading site is LyngSat - Lyngemark Satellite

[Analoguesat]

The mag would have What Satellite - still going today - I write occasional articles for it

However today the internet has revolutionised the satellite hobby - you can get almost real time updates of channel changes

FlySat Satellite Home

Most recent updates (All satellites) - KingOfSat

LyngSat - Lyngemark Satellite

being 3 very useful sites for channel changes and updates.

The transition to digital had led to a veritable explosion of channels available both free to air and encoded. Hotbird 13E is probably carries the most diverse selection of channels from all around the world everything from Burma to Vietnam to the new arrival - RTA (the Afghanistan national tv service)

Have a look at this section:

http://www.techwatch.co.uk/forums/new-channels.html

for a selection of the new channels that have arrived in the skies above Europe recently. Most of them are free to air, the ones that are scrambled are notes in their descriptions.

As for equipment something like a Technomate receiver will serve you well. Have a look at the offers from southernsatellite

http://www.techwatch.co.uk/forums/so...satellite.html

and pick a copy of What Satellite up - it will give you a good idea of current prices and give you a selection of traders to choose from.

You should find that prices have dropped loads since your early days, and you should be able to purchase a reasonable motorised system for less than 250 quid nowadays - more if you want ahigh end receiver of course..

[Robbo]

Hi Veteran, all I can say is, Welcome back to the satellite hobby.

I think AS and Jim have covered most aspects already.

But one thing to add, is that everything is probably a lot easier these days, with the online resources available as well as the number of online satellite equipment retailers there are.

I imagine stuff is a lot cheaper now, like you can buy a budget 0.2 dB nf LNBs from under a tenner, with a basic DiSEqC motor for about £30. LIke AS said you can easily put a system together for about £200. The most expensive item being the receiver, unless you go for a real buget model.

Robbo

[fahimzazy]

Originally Posted by Analoguesat

The mag would have What Satellite - still going today - I write occasional articles for it

However today the internet has revolutionised the satellite hobby - you can get almost real time updates of channel changes

FlySat Satellite Home

Most recent updates (All satellites) - KingOfSat

LyngSat - Lyngemark Satellite

being 3 very useful sites for channel changes and updates.

The transition to digital had led to a veritable explosion of channels available both free to air and encoded. Hotbird 13E is probably carries the most diverse selection of channels from all around the world everything from Burma to Vietnam to the new arrival - RTA (the Afghanistan national tv service)

Have a look at this section:

http://www.techwatch.co.uk/forums/new-channels.html

for a selection of the new channels that have arrived in the skies above Europe recently. Most of them are free to air, the ones that are scrambled are notes in their descriptions.

As for equipment something like a Technomate receiver will serve you well. Have a look at the offers from southernsatellite

http://www.techwatch.co.uk/forums/so...satellite.html

and pick a copy of What Satellite up - it will give you a good idea of current prices and give you a selection of traders to choose from.

You should find that prices have dropped loads since your early days, and you should be able to purchase a reasonable motorised system for less than 250 quid nowadays - more if you want ahigh end receiver of course..

Hi,

Can someone kindly post the full satellite detail of the Afghanistan national TV (RTA) I m trying to watch on my satellite TV.

Many Thanks

Zazai