I can get most channels from Sky Digital (Astra2 at 28.2'E) but the signal quality is low. Should I buy a satfinder meter to align the dish? Absolutely NOT. You have already found the satellite and you already have the best meter available - the Sky Digibox "signal quality" display in the on-screen menu. Use that to finalise the alignment of your dish and LNB.
I am a newbee in satellite, I am somewhat confused in pointing the satellite dish at Hot Bird. When you say 13 degrees E of south, was it S13'E? Does it mean make 13deg from the south toward the east? sorry for this dumb question. Point the dish south according to your compass. Move it East by 13 degrees according to your compass. Now find out the magnetic compass variation for your location and move the dish further west by that amount (about 5 degrees in the UK) - see compass page. Now that you have the approximate position, set the elevation angle (about 24' above the horizontal in Manchester, 26' in London). Note that this is the direction of the satellite and NOT the angle of the actual LNB arm. Most dishes have angle graduations marked on the bracket. In the UK, the dish arm is likely to be almost horizontal (dependent on the design of the dish). Finally, use your satellite signal meter to align the dish *accurately* on the satellite. NOTE: this works only in the UK near the "Greenwich Meridian" line. See this page to find out why. We no longer sell a meter with 22kHz switch. The version without is cheaper and quite adequate, as you can see in the movie, below this map.
Find out which way to point your dish! Select your desired satellite and your location. (Type in your address like "112 princess road, Manchester, UK") Dish alignment with Dishpointer
Watch video! (Excerpt from our full "Installing a Sky Minidish" video.) Movie requires "Flash" plugin. Compass What does a meter do versus just using a compass? Hmm, nobody ever asked me that previously but it's not such a stupid question! :o) Compass is for approximate dish setting, using earth's magnetic field as a guide to the location of that little metal box floating TWENTY THREE THOUSAND MILES AWAY in space. But there's a satellite positioned approximately every three degrees along the circle above the equator - some giving strong signals in the UK, some weak. So an error of a couple of degrees East or West will get you the wrong satellite. Meter shows the actual signal from that little satellite so you can do the final alignment with ultimate accuracy. Meter Power Can I power it from the receiver or do I need a power supply? It is designed to be powered by any satellite receiver but you can power it from a suitable regulated DC supply or 12v battery instead. Instructions are included with the meter. Why does the meter whistle and indicate a signal even when the dish is pointing at the ground? The meter is very sensitive and can not tell the difference between a true satellite signal and background noise reflected from the ground and surrounding walls. In addition, if the LNB is not connected properly, the meter will register "noise" from the cable. Turn the sensitivity control down until the meter stops whistling with the dish facing downwards. Then move the dish to locate the required satellite. H28-8235d meter This meter has a built-in 22kHz tone generator which you can switch on or off to select "high band" with a "Universal" LNB. If you do not have a "Universal LNB" then there is no need to buy the "d" version of the meter. (All Sky "minidishes" use a "universal" LNB). The standard version does not have a built-in 22kHz tone generator and is, therefore, cheaper. The standard meter H28-8235a can still be used to align your dish but it can only "see" the signals on "low band" with a Universal LNB. (It will pass the 22kHz signal from a suitable receiver so the receiver can be used to select 'high band' through the meter). Please note that both meters have a needle scale indicator - NOT a digital numbers display and NOT an LED bar graph display. I mention this because people keep asking. In fact some people ask "how can it measure a digital signal if it doesn't have a digit display?" This is rather like asking "how can you measure a piece of wood with a metal rule?" Another question is "why can I hear the tone even when it's switched off?" This is a confusion between the audible tone which the meter makes when the signal is strong and the ultrasonic (inaudible) 22kHz "tone" that it uses to switch the LNB to high band. Universal As you may know, from reading our LNB page, a "Universal" LNB has two internal oscillators - a 10.6GHz oscillator for "high frequency band" and a 9.75GHz oscillator for "low frequency band". It selects "high band" when it receives a 22kHz tone from the coaxial cable. In addition, it responds to the input voltage for polarisation selection (13 volts selects vertical and 17 volts selects horizontal polarisation. The changeover point is around 14.5 to 15.5 volts so the supply voltage must be above or below that range for reliable switching of polarisation). The 22kHz tone is a 0.5 volt "ripple" which is superimposed on the 13v or 17v supply voltage. That's the technical stuff. You don't need to understand what it means, provided that you understand that: 13v = vertically polarised signals are received 17v = horizontally polarised signals are received 22kHz = high band is received no 22kHz = low band is received DiSEqC I might as well mention that some receivers can pulse the 22kHz on and off very rapidly (like Morse code). This is called DisEQc signalling and can be used to tell some LNB switching boxes or dish motors what to do *IF* your receiver supports DisEQc (Sky Digiboxes do not). This is not relevant to the discussion but people keep asking me! Installing Sky Digital TV Companion eBook to the above "Understanding..". Self installation information. Essential reading if you want to move your old system to a new house, install a brand new Sky-Plus or standard system, fit a system to your house, apartment block, motorhome, caravan or narrow boat or use it in Europe, this eBook answers your questions. What size dish, what sort of cable, connectors, which receiver is best for outside the UK, how to align dish, How to disguise the dish and special disguised dishes such as the digiglobe ... 110+ page eBook filled with colour photographs and easy-to-understand explanations. I guarantee you'll be delighted with this amazing eBook full of information! Sky Digital is broadcast from a cluster of satellites positioned above the equator at 28.2 degrees east of south. Magnetic variation occurs and must be added to - or subtracted from - the actual compass reading to give the true azimuth. So, for example, if I used a compass here in Cheshire, England, I would have to position the dish east of south by 28.2 - 5 = 23.2 degrees, according to the compass. Sky Digital is a little unusual because, at the time of writing ( November 9, 2000 ) there is no transmission on low band from 28.2E. (June 2001 there is now a faint signal as these transponders are in use). This makes it easy to locate the satellite cluster with the SatCure meter. Position the dish as accurately as possible using a compass and protractor with plumb line (if you have nothing better - read my book) then connect the meter with a receiver or suitable power supply (12 volts dc will do for now) to provide power. Switch tone ON and align the dish for highest reading. Switch the tone OFF. There should now be hardly any signal because there is only a few transponders in use on 28.2E in the low frequency band. In contrast, if you try this with, say, "Hot Bird" at 13'E then the signal indication will remain high because low band carries lots of transmissions from this satellite. Once you have aligned the dish as accurately as you can, then use the meter to get the strongest signal by pulling the dish up/down, left/right a fraction. Lock it in this position, then move the LNB backwards and forwards in its clamp to find the best focal point. Finally, twist the LNB to get the highest signal and quality readings. This is normally achieved with the LNB body almost vertical with the cable hanging downwards so be sceptical if it isn't! Remember that the parabolic dish is really a mirror which is concentrating the satellite signal at one point near the end of the arm. The LNB must be exactly at this point. (If you use our "Alps" LNB you can adjust its focal position for best results). OK, you should now be able to see a signal reading from the Digibox on the TV screen (select the appropriate menu by pressing Services 4 6 ) but allow the digital receiver a minute from power-on to translate the digital information from the satellite ("searching for listings") before you'll get a picture. Finally, (if possible) feed 17v or 18v into the meter so that the LNB switches to horizontal polarisation. If you are using the Digibox to power the LNB, press:- SERVICES .. 4 .. 0 .. 1 .. SELECT .. 2 and you will see the DEFAULT TRANSPONDER MENU that looks like this:- Frequency (GHz)   11.778 Polarisation       V Symbol Rate (Mbaud) 27.5 FEC        2/3 Save New Settings Use the Down Arrow button to move the cursor to "Polarisation" and press the Right Arrow button to change the setting from V to H. Press the Down Arrow button three times to highlight "Save New Settings" and press SELECT. The LNB voltage will now be 17 volts instead of 13 volts. BE SURE TO SET THIS BACK TO "V" WHEN YOU HAVE FINISHED. Note that it may NOT be necessary to carry out any adjustment with horizontal polarisation and it should NOT be done until you have a picture in any case. If you have a good picture and a reasonable "Quality" indication in the on-screen menu then there's no need to make any further adjustment. If the quality reading is low, then further adjustment is needed, otherwise you could lose the picture and sound in bad weather. SKEW The rotational position of the LNB determines whether it receives horizontally or vertically polarised signals. If it is incorrectly positioned then it can receive BOTH at the same time. This will cause many problems with pictures "breaking up" so rotate the LNB in its clamp to get the best QUALITY reading for horizontal (17v) then repeat it for vertical (13v) until you have reached the best compromise. IMPORTANT: The meter will reduce the signal to the receiver quite drastically! This may be helpful in aligning with an analogue receiver (adjust for minimum sparklies) but a digital receiver may give NO picture with the meter in-line. You MUST NOT leave the meter in line if you want trouble-free viewing. Some more-expensive-meter instructions state that the meter can be left in line but, in practice, the meter will often continue to give an audible tone and will inevitably degrade the signal - just compare the "quality" reading with the meter connected and disconnected. How do I know where to point my dish? OK, there's a calculator that makes it easier. Click HERE >Martin, Just received the meter and the S.A. tape today. > >I also downloaded the free book and checked out the multiple LNB section. >With the advice therein, I'm pretty sure I will be able to tune in both >satellites. If you recall, I'll be trying to receive Astra 19° and Astra 28° >from the same dish. I have an 88cm dish which should be big enough. The dish >and dual LNB mount are made by Triax. With this mount, each LNB is slightly >of center. The amount off-center is adjustable. The dealer told me to put >each LNB on #10. I presume this means they are set up to receive 2 different >satellites which are 10° apart. Please tell me if this is correct - when >standing behind the dish, the LNB for Astra 19° is on the LEFT and the LNB >for Astra 28° is on the RIGHT. Should the dish be theoretically aimed at a >point between the 2 satellites or should I align the digital LNB first for >Astra 28 (since I understand it has a weaker signal than Astra 19). Any >suggestions would be appreciated. >Thanks for the good service. >Dennis Oh, jeez. I've never done an installation and I failed Geography "Oh" level (Oh)! Standing behind the dish you are looking South East and East is to your left. The dish is pointing at (28 + 19)/2 = 23.5'E of S. Bear in mind this is *true* south so take the magnetic variation into account. Don't just look at the compass. As the dish acts as a *mirror*, the 28' LNB will be on your right and the 19' LNB on your left, still standing behind the dish. Yes, I think we agree. Now, get the LNBs fitted and the dish aligned as accurately as possible. Don't forget to subtract the "magnetic variation" for your location, to the compass reading. This means that 28' probably translates to something like 23' on the actual compass. Check the elevation for your location. It's about 26' above the horizon, here in Cheshire, England, but that angle increases as you get nearer to the equator. Remember that the elevation gives you the position of the satellite above the horizon and *not* the angle of the dish arm (unless it's a "prime focus" dish). For an offset focus dish, the elevation angle markings are sometimes stamped into the bracket. If not, then you'll have to guess. Hi Martin, Just thought I'd send you a short note to let you know how we got on with our £100 brand new Sky outfit down in France. Firstly, I purchased your Installing Sky Digital book, just to get a bit of knowledge so to speak. The thought of paying the local satellite installer in France £100 was off-putting to say the least. Your book confirmed this - it can be done with a bit of patience. This book is truly the bible of Sky Digital self installation. You carefully explain the principles behind the transmissions, what you need and some of the technical terms which come in very handy when chatting to the Sky retailer. We purchased the Sky dish and box with a BBC Free card from a dealer in South Wales for £100. I don't know how it was so cheap. Didn't ask any questions, just answered his questions. 'Which box would you prefer?' - Chose the Panasonic TU-DSB 31 and walked out of his shop five minutes later with a fully authorised Sky outfit with dish and card. He seemed quite impressed, and I would say intimidated, that a mere punter knew about CT100 grade cable and self amalgamating tape etc. This then sat quietly in its cardboard box for a month or so, awaiting the trip down to the cottage in France (Montmorillon, 45 mins south of Poitiers). I got it out, just a few days before the trip down, to wake the card up, just in case. The dish and box were fitted by my brother and father, using the instructions in your excellent booklet and a borrowed compass, nothing more. They started as you suggest by finding the satellite on the ground, then fitting the dish to the wall. The signal we receive in France is better than the signal we get here in South Wales!! I have yet to see this as I was tied by work to remain in the UK. Dad was at first a bit cynical about the booklet and the fact that I'd paid seven pound out 'on a whim', but I persisted and told him to read the installation bit and how to build the cable. He was suitably impressed, but still came back with a cynical edge. It wasn't until they returned home last week, that he was fully converted. His exact words were 'That book was a bloody godsend!' He told friends of ours who paid the full Sky price of £288 for their kit, and £100 to the French installer, how much we'd set ours up for and they were genuinely amazed. I mean £107 for British TV in France can't be bad. Just as a test, dad took a bit of standard coax down with them and ran the kit from that during setup, and was impressed by the difference that CT100 gives. It seems to be a much better quality of cable, seemingly more able to handle the temperatures down in France. Incidentally, on the day that they set the system up, the temperature on the patio was 32 degrees C, so the decision was made to run the cable slightly up under the roof overhang to provide some shielding from the direct sunlight. I would like to extend a huge thank you to you for providing such valuable information to those who can be bothered to search you out. All that info, and at such a phenomenally reasonable price. Those who baulk at paying the seven pounds should really examine what £7 buys these days. A small round of drinks or a vast collection of knowledge probably spanning many years and lots of scenarios and systems Therefore, we will whenever possible be recommending the site and the book to expats and holiday homers in our region of France. Hopefully you'll get a few more punters from this. Martin, Thank you again, and all the best to you and your family for the future. Regards and thanks again Paul D.
Thanks Martin, I used the Satellite finder this morning and it was like magic. After 5 hours frustration last Saturday it literally took 10 minutes today and I am back in communication with the English speaking world. Ciao Joe Thanks for writing, Joe. However, I have to explain that Joe knew what he was doing and had read all the available information on both my satellite web sites and in my free book. If you are an absolute beginner, please don't open your parcel, pull out the new meter and rush out into the rain to align your dish. In fact I recommend you don't work in the rain at all unless you are very experienced! Rainwater down your collar is at best unpleasant and doesn't help you to concentrate. Rainwater down your cable is a disaster and you shouldn't take the risk. Dear Martin, I would like to take this opportunity to express my satisfaction with your Digital + Analogue sat finder meter. It certainly lived up to all your descriptions of it and made us wonder if we would ever have found the satellite properly without it. Eric Thanks, Eric. I should point out that the satfinder won't actually "find" the satellite for you although it will help considerably. You have to align the dish as best you can with the aid of a compass, home-made sextant and anything else you have. The meter will assist you with the final, accurate alignment that is so essential to guarantee continued viewing in bad weather. Dear Martin, I recently purchased a digital meter from you. All I can say is that I wish I had made the purchase a long time ago. I have previously spent hours in the rain and snow adjusting the dish. With the Satfinder meter it took me 10 minutes (in the sunshine of course) to get near 100% signal strength and quality. M Hadley Dear Martin, Just thought I would let you know how I got on with the Satfinder, recently received. Verdict ? Fantastic. Both LNB's on my dual feed antenna focussed in forty minutes, and not a residual sparkly in sight. Easily beats the previous total of around five hours without it on three earlier occasions, running up and down the ladder to view the picture each time I made an adjustment. Mind you, that exercise was not in vain- (I think) it did my heart good, and I've now got calf muscles as big as the bum on a shirehorse !! It was so quick to use that I felt like disturbing all the settings afterwards just to do it again, and to get my moneys worth twice over. Thanks. In fact if I am divorced then you will be to blame !!! Fired with more enthusiasm I have now bought a digital receiver - a budget Skymaster DXL 9100 - bought on the spur of the mo. (and presently hidden from my wife until her mood is right and until I can install it in an existing cabinet- she doesn't understand why I take an interest in watching progs from Dubai and such places). Tony Stevenson Send this page address - CLICK HERE - to a friend !