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| Perhaps another dumb question...
I just notice that from http://www.satbeams.com/footprints?beam=5223 that
Astra 2A North
Astra 2A South
Astra 2B North
Astra 2B South
Astra 2C North
Astra 2C South
Astra 2D
All have exactly the same position in the sky, but different distribution patterns (on the map). I assume they're all the same satelite, just with different transmitters pointed at slightly different positions on Earth. Does this mean that once I align the satelite, that I typically could recieve channels from ALL of them at the same time (some may be stronger or weaker than others, depending on how the transmitter is pointed). But would I have access to ALL of the channels broadcast at once? Or do I have to reprogram my decoder box if I want to change from 2D to 2C (or something like that...)
Thanks for clearing the fog...
Murray | |
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I don't know the exact technical details (and it's not really necessary). By all means correct me if I get any of this wrong (but the concept at least should be correct if the detail not exact). Basically for every satellite location i.e. Hotbird, Astra 1, Astra 2 etc... There will be one or more satellites (in geo-stationary orbit). Where there is more than one, the position is close enough that your dish will be able to pickup the 'group' without being moved. Obviously some will be better aligned than others (ideally you would want the weaker signals to be the primary focal point but I am not sure if they are in the centre or to one side). The second point is each satellite will have a number of transponders. Each transponder will send X channels. Also the beam of each transponder can be focussed. For the BBC's etc... these are on a 'narrow' beam which is quite closely focussed on the UK. But does spill into Europe. With the right equipment/know-how you could make the primary focus to be the narrow beam (weaker channels). I have some ideas how I would go about this, but in the end having the right equipment would provide the best results. Without this i.e. with just a Sky box, you can change the setup in the box for the signal meter to use for example the details for BBC1 then do your fine tuning with this. You have to access the 'installer menu' to change these settings. The meter I have enables you to see the signals strength separated by frequency and polarity (4 options): high/low & horizontal/vertical. Some more sophisticated one's use an oscilloscope. For dish size, you might struggle with a 90cm down there, but you may not be able to install a larger dish without building permission (mind you if it's inside your balcony then maybe you'll get away with it). VisioSat do a 120cm dish but not so cheap. For the box, unless you want the 'SKY Sports' then I'd recommend the HUMAX Freesat HD PVR. This is only available in the UK (but companies will ship them here) cost around £300 (UK Pounds) which for a HD PVR is a good price (I think anyhow). I also have a Sky+ box (with new 250Gb drive) for sale along with dishes, mounts, lnb's etc.. due to various upgrades etc.. The HD boxes also tend to have a better tuner which works better with weaker signals than non-HD boxes (generally but there are also differences between makes models etc.. i.e, some of the Pace Sky boxes were meant to have a better tuner).
In the end invest in the best kit (quality) you can afford and keep cable connections to a minimum (avoid the door/window flat cables which also add 2 more joints to go wrong... if possible). In several installations, I've converted a socket mounted on the inside of an external wall into a double socket so that I can easily bring the cable in without a join. Then when this is no longer needed, just added a socket blanking panel and filled the hole on the outside.