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29/8/2012 at 9:44pm
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We go to the South East of France and take an 80cm Dish, fact is the biggest problem is tree shade at the campsite, a decent size Dish can some times still pull in enough signal when tree are in abundance, but not always.
Vin Blanc on here has some good tips on finding Astra2 when away from the UK, my tip would be find out what the Elevation offset is for your Dish. I workout the offset angle of my Dish by placing an angle finder on the protruding part of the LNB arm part of the Dish, but to be fair any Datum point on the Dish will do.
Remember to find the offset value of your Dish you first need to be on the satellite, so this procedure is best done at home, before you go on your travels, once you have the offset value, that will be good for wherever you go in Europe.
This is simple to work out, first make sure your camping Dish is on the satellite, then take a reading using an inclinometer, I use a Digital angle finder, but it's much the same thing just with batteries and a LCD display.
So as an example, when I point my Dish at Astra2 here in Manchester, my angle finder tells me that the Dish is pointing at an Elevation of 17.2 Degree, fact is Astra2 is at 22.7 Degree of Elevation from my location.
So when looking for Astra2 I have to deduct 5.5 Degree from the Elevation given for the location that I am at.
But every satellite Dish has a different offset elevation value, so you just need to verify what that figure is for your dish.
Finding Astra2 using Elevation data, makes life a whole lot easier, you just need to make sure that the pole/tripod that your Dish is attached to is in perfect plumb.
I carry all the Elevation angles for Astra2 for each Department of France of which there are many.
Of course there are plenty of Smart Phone apps that will provide the same info, they work out the Elevation angle from your GPS location on the phone, very handy but not needed.
Here is an example, in Manchester the angle of Elevation to Astra2 is 22.7 Degree, but in the South of France say Antibes on the Cote d Azur the Elevation is 35.2 Degree, so with your offset info to hand in my case -5.5 Degree so I set my Dish to 29.2 Degree.
Once my Dish is set to the satellite Elevation angle of 35.2 Degree, it is then just a simple case of rotating the Dish slowly from East to west, and that's how it's done.
Of course it's good to have a satellite meter, so that you can stop on a strong signal and check if it's Astra2 or not. In fact some satellite receivers have an in built satellite meter function.
Post last edited on 29/08/2012 21:51:25
Post last edited on 29/08/2012 21:52:05
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30/8/2012 at 10:28am
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Hi Vin Blanc.
That's a very good article that you have produced in the link, so many people give up on using a satellite dish, as they don't take time to read up on the principles.
I recently modified a Lidl cycle work stand, to use as a satellite dish stand, the stand allows for full 360Deg rotation of the satellite Dish, whilst the head of the Dish remains firmly fixed, the only adjustment to the Dish mount is the Elevation setting. The Lidl stand is a big improvement on my previous satellite tripod stand, as the Dish can now go to 1.8m height, handy if line of sight is obscured by nearby trees or structures.
On doing a recent test, I noticed that there is a Satellite at 26 East, (Arabsat 3A) that is putting out as much signal as Astra2 at 28 East, no wonder some folk have problems finding the correct satellite.
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31/8/2012 at 4:47pm
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Hang on to your hats boys.
Astra 2F is already in French Giuana and is due to launch on 21st September 2012.
Once it replaces Astra 1N just what size dishes will we all need then?
Vin Blanc
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Topic: Satellite Dishes
