astra 1N vs eutelsat signal strength

[soloheadbeg]

I recently installed a freesat satellite and have aligned it in the 28.2 to 28.5 SE direction. I get 100% strength and quality from the astra 1n channels e.g bbc and itv but the max i seem to get from the nearby eutelsat channels is about 60/60 (with the exception of euronews which is 80/80). I have the skew on the lnb at '2' as recommended for the rep of ireland. No matter how much I tweak the elevation and azimuthal angle the max I can get from the eutelsat channels is in general 60/60. I am concerned about rain fade. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Sam Gangee]

I suspect that whatever you are using to make the measurement is either seeing the entire frequency spectrum and averaging it or looking at a single spot frequency. Either way, it's impossible to make a comparison on that basis.

Also bear in mind that the Astra-1N "spot beam" on the UK will appear much stronger than the Eutelsat wide beam transmissions.

What is more important is the Bit Error Ratio or "signal quality". That will give a better idea of the signal robustness.

Your *exact* location and dish size will obviously make a big difference to reception.

 

[soloheadbeg]

Thanks for the reply. I'm using the triax 537 set top box to tell me the signal strength and quality.

Cheers

 

[plugwash]

I'd suggest trying it for a bit and if you have problems with those channels then get a bigger dish.

 

[Sam Gangee]

Thanks for the reply. I'm using the triax 537 set top box to tell me the signal strength and quality.

In that case it will be calculating for one specific frequency. It will be either the transponder frequency of the currently selected programme or the default transponder frequency - whatever that is.

Obviously if you are comparing a narrow beam 60 Watt transponder with a wide beam 50 Watt transponder, you will see a significant difference and it's not something that can be fixed without (as stated above) installing a larger dish.

 

[Sam Gangee]

However, you could try aligning your dish on the weaker satellite and using the offset LNB for the stronger. I'm assuming you are using a DiSEqC switch.