birdybiker66 Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 I have bought a secondhand dish and LNB, set it up with a satfinder (LEDs and horrible screecher!) the finder seems to work but i still have no signal, i know the (avtex) TV works 'cos I've connected the sky dish feed into it and its fine, I don't want to buy another LNB if there's someway of checking it first, thanks in anticipation! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdybiker66 Posted October 23, 2013 Author Share Posted October 23, 2013 OK, I'll answer my own post :-S I've had a look on the net and no, I can't ! not without a known setup dish, Oh Well ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 ....if you're using a finder and getting a signal, I would suggest it is likely that the LNB is fine, but that you have positioned the dish such that it is picking up one of the other (than 28.2E) satellites. (Assuming the Avtex is set up for 28.2E) A common problem is aligning with 19.2E, which will fire of a Sat Finder, but not give a picture if the tuner is set up for 28.2E. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankkia Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 If your sat finder is squealing at various locations when you move the dish around it is likely that your LNB is ok as it is "seeing" a variety of satellites as you pass by them. Are you sure that you have actually got astra 2 at 28 degrees set up on your "new" dish. Your sat finder will squeal at anything it sees and there are many other satellites close to Astra 2. Astra 3B at 23.5 is a noisy blighter from which you would not get much programming but it would be picked up by your finder. Also Astra 1 at 19 degrees would get you a lot of German stuff but not the progs you have set up on your receiver. If as I suspect you have locked on to either Astra 1 or 3 then lower the dish very slightly and move it left (when viewed from behind) or West if you prefer. If you have a compass align your dish at approx 158 (if you are near the Greenwich meridian) ((South = 180 deg less 28 deg as Astra 2 is 28 degrees East of the Greenwich meridian)). I have found that it is best when trying to get on to the satellite to start from a little further East of the known position moving the dish slowly West as there are more "false" signals further to the West. Note: when using a compass to align a satellite dish stand well back from the dish as they are usually of metal construction and can attract the needle giving a false reading. Oops - crossed post - sorry RH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdybiker66 Posted October 24, 2013 Author Share Posted October 24, 2013 Thanks for all the advice, I'll try again tonight, I'm not sure what the tv is locked onto as I haven't worked out how to do it ! I think I'm on the right area but who knows, thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 ....if you've tested it with an already-aligned Sky dish, then it would seem that it is expecting 28.2E (which is what you will need for the majority of UK-targeted transmissions). Bernie has already pointed out that working "inwards" from something slightly greater than 28.2E on the compass is usually a good idea, since 28.2E is the most Easterly of the satellites you are likely to pick up, and thus (if the inclination is correct) should be the first one hit. From experience, I can tell you that it is VERY easy to lock on to 19.2E whilst looking for 28.2E (giving the symptoms you describe). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 If the tv is FTA (i'm guessing Avtex is) then doing a channel scan should throw up a whole load of new channels at bottom of list(I think). Do note that some sat finders can get confused by trees etc. and show a signal when clearly it can't pick one up. I'm at wrong pute at moment, but their is a website called 'satpointer'? or somesuch name, this uses google earth to show you alignment of sat, i.e. you pinpoint in garden where the dish is and it 'paints' a line on the google earth image, it's not 100% accurate in my experiance but it gets damn close Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 A good low noise LNB can be had for £6.45. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TECHNOMATE-TM-1-SUPER-HIGH-0-1dB-SINGLE-UNIVERSAL-LNB-/390246652735?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Satellite_LNBs&hash=item5adc835b3f There are faults under which the cheapo sat finders will whistle whilst not receiving a good signal. Check coaxial connections and cable, make sure there is no damp or corrosion. The cable outer and inner should be bright metal (copper or aluminium) not black or dull. Make sure there are no "whiskers" shorting across. There should be no sharp kinks or flattened cable. Having said all that, it is likely that the wrong signal has been selected, it is quite an art hitting the right satellite, with practice you can do it in a minute or less. You can buy a satellite finder that allows you to select the satellite you want to find, they will only indicate when you have found the right one. They are not cheap, around £120. H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninian Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Hi, I don't bother with a sat finder, once I know where roughly South is I just go straight to the relevant page on the SKY screen and move the dish till it locks on and then just get the bars across the page at their optimum. Job done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 ......but Sky boxes (have an HD Sky+ box) are notoriously slow to react to changes in position of the dish. It is very easy to go past the satellite before the bars start to move and vice versa on the way back. I do use a finder and I think, for those with Sky boxes, it makes the alignment job easier. For those with FTA boxes that react more quickly, I can see that it's doable without one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdybiker66 Posted October 24, 2013 Author Share Posted October 24, 2013 Thankyou all, success! Frankkia, down and left a bit worked wonders, cheers. I have now taken a spirit level reading (phone app) on the LNB arm and compass reading (app) so that i have something to work with we go away, If Eutelsat (28.5) is next to astra why can't i see it in the tv menu,(Integral Sat) do i have to manual search on the TV ? Dave ps, no more screeching from the finder, I've filled the speaker full of glue, result! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankkia Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Well done! Just a note though - Your compass reading and spirit level used at home will not be the same when you move. That is depending on how far you move. Example: If you are in London then your compass reading will be approx 152 degrees - If you go to Lisbon in Portugal the reading would be 143 degrees as you have moved 9 degrees further west of the Greenwich meridian. You would also have to elevate your dish a further 5.5 degrees as you are getting further south. Don't worry about not seeing Eutelsat in the list which is only a menu listing and there is probably not enough room in the list for all of the satellites at 28 degrees. If you did a satellite scan you would have picked up the channels on Eutelsat along with the Astra "birds" as they are co located (0.3 degrees is not a long way away). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Just had a look and the website I was refering to above is dishpointer http://www.dishpointer.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankkia Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Just another thought. If you have either An Android or I phone with GPS and a camera you can download an app. (there are several free for Android) which will show you where the satellite is and as you will be viewing it through the camera it will show you if there is an obstruction (trees / buildings etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdybiker66 Posted October 25, 2013 Author Share Posted October 25, 2013 I'm only going to Grassington next week (although Lisbon sounds tempting) so the readings i have should be close enough, I've had a look at dishpointer and the Android apps and will have a play next w/e great info, thanks, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wills Wagon Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 Like Hallii I reckon it is your connections causing the problems. We used to have a multimo dish and everything worked on the finder, TV etc until I undid the finder and reconnected the TV cable. So redo the connection at the dish end and try again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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