StuartO Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 Our satellite TV packed up in Portugal and it didn't work on the way back through France either, so I ended up getting Conrad Anderson to have a look. At their suggestion I'd tried to remake all the coax connections but no joy. Within a few seconds he got a picture and then spent nearly two hours giving it a good sorting. Nothing wrong with the hardware (after checking thoroughly) but he took the opportunity to update the transponder settings a a few other things (which I didn't really understand). Configuring a satelite system is a bit of a black art. We've replaced the TVs and satellite receivers this year but our dome aerial is eleven years old and (at least now) still going strong. It was a pain to have to drive three and a half hours each way to Birmingham but worth it. Nathan got stuck in as soon as we arrived and would have carried on if necessary; very helpful. He also taught me enough about the receiver setup to be able to rationalise the stations we hold in Favourites, the easiest way to cope with the clutter of all the channels you will never watch. He recommended configuring for Astra 2 and Astra 1 (for when you are outside the UK footprint) and not bothering with Hotbird, because with my system you get better, faster satellite location if you stick to two - and there are more useful English-speaking channels on Astra 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 Useful feedback, StuartO. Sometimes, I rue the day when I switched from my simple through-the-roof manual satellite dish to a fully automatic system. OK, a fully automatic system is very convenient, but when stuck in far away places and the system doesn't lock-on, it's very frustrating. There seem to have been lots of changes in the satellite transponder frequencies recently which affect the ability to lock-on to the Astra 2 satellite. Fortunately, I have an Oyster Vision system and the after-sales service from Oyster Sat-Tech UK is exceptionally good. You can phone them up and they will talk you through a solution to your problem. Or, as in my case, emailed them from France and had an immediate helpful response. The next problem we will eventually encounter is the switch from DVB-S transmission to DVB-S2 transmissions. It is anticipated that Astra 1 will switch off the DVB-S transmission in 2022. I guess other satellites will quickly follow suit. This will affect the ability to lock-on to these satellites. My Oyster Vision 2 will be affected by this change, but later versions will be unaffected, as they already have the DVB-S2 software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted November 14, 2017 Author Share Posted November 14, 2017 Robbo - 2017-11-15 6:40 AM ...The next problem we will eventually encounter is the switch from DVB-S transmission to DVB-S2 transmissions. It is anticipated that Astra 1 will switch off the DVB-S transmission in 2022.... That's just the sort of thing I can't get my head around! Fortunately Conrad Anderson know what they are doing and stay up to date - so if your system hiccups you can at least ring them up and when necessary go and see them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starvin marvin Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 StuartO - 2017-11-14 2:23 PMOur satellite TV packed up in Portugal and it didn't work on the way back through France either, so I ended up getting Conrad Anderson to have a look. At their suggestion I'd tried to remake all the coax connections but no joy. Within a few seconds he got a picture and then spent nearly two hours giving it a good sorting. Nothing wrong with the hardware (after checking thoroughly) but he took the opportunity to update the transponder settings a a few other things (which I didn't really understand). Configuring a satelite system is a bit of a black art. We've replaced the TVs and satellite receivers this year but our dome aerial is eleven years old and (at least now) still going strong. It was a pain to have to drive three and a half hours each way to Birmingham but worth it. Nathan got stuck in as soon as we arrived and would have carried on if necessary; very helpful. He also taught me enough about the receiver setup to be able to rationalise the stations we hold in Favourites, the easiest way to cope with the clutter of all the channels you will never watch. He recommended configuring for Astra 2 and Astra 1 (for when you are outside the UK footprint) and not bothering with Hotbird, because with my system you get better, faster satellite location if you stick to two - and there are more useful English-speaking channels on Astra 1. Good to see you have done something sensible, and gone to Conrad Anderson who's praises I've been singing for ages. Much better IMO than the Jackson bunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 StuartO - 2017-11-14 4:00 PMRobbo - 2017-11-15 6:40 AM ...The next problem we will eventually encounter is the switch from DVB-S transmission to DVB-S2 transmissions. It is anticipated that Astra 1 will switch off the DVB-S transmission in 2022....That's just the sort of thing I can't get my head around! Fortunately Conrad Anderson know what they are doing and stay up to date - so if your system hiccups you can at least ring them up and when necessary go and see them.The change from DVB-S to DVB-S2 transmissions has been brought about by satellite operators wanting to increase the bandwidth and thus transmit more programmes per satellite. Saves launching additional satellites. Most satellite gear produced in the last 5 years should be DVB-S2 proof. The only satellite operator to announce a switch-over date, so far, is Astra 1 (2022). Others may be before or after that date. So, nothing to worry about for quite some time. As far as I know, all HD TV's comply with the DVB-S2 standard.Oyster Sat-Tech are the UK representative of ten-Haaft the German parent company. They have a presence on MHFun and provide free advice to Oyster users. Alternatively, you can visit their workshop and have things updated or fixed. Other Oyster dealers are available :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matrix Meanderer Posted November 15, 2017 Share Posted November 15, 2017 Robbo - 2017-11-14 7:18 PMStuartO - 2017-11-14 4:00 PMRobbo - 2017-11-15 6:40 AM ...The next problem we will eventually encounter is the switch from DVB-S transmission to DVB-S2 transmissions. It is anticipated that Astra 1 will switch off the DVB-S transmission in 2022....That's just the sort of thing I can't get my head around! Fortunately Conrad Anderson know what they are doing and stay up to date - so if your system hiccups you can at least ring them up and when necessary go and see them.The change from DVB-S to DVB-S2 transmissions has been brought about by satellite operators wanting to increase the bandwidth and thus transmit more programmes per satellite. Saves launching additional satellites. Most satellite gear produced in the last 5 years should be DVB-S2 proof. The only satellite operator to announce a switch-over date, so far, is Astra 1 (2022). Others may be before or after that date. So, nothing to worry about for quite some time. As far as I know, all HD TV's comply with the DVB-S2 standard.Oyster Sat-Tech are the UK representative of ten-Haaft the German parent company. They have a presence on MHFun and provide free advice to Oyster users. Alternatively, you can visit their workshop and have things updated or fixed. Other Oyster dealers are available :-D Strongly recommend getting in touch with Oyster Sat-Tech for updates/repairs. Anthony their senior Technician is excellent at finding and fixing problems. Their workshop is in an industrial unit near the A14/M1/M6 junction and a bit tricky to drive into. However, it's worth the journey. all staff there very helpful. Recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted November 15, 2017 Author Share Posted November 15, 2017 Our satellite dome is a Trackvision 4SL, which I think is of American origin and now a superceded model - but it does the job and thankfully Conrad Anderson are on top of keeping it going so far. No idea whether it can cope with whatever is due to happen in a couple of years time. Good to hear that Oyster systems are well supported too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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