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Morning all
Sorry I’ve only just seen this ………….
Since I wrote the original email a year ago, my reception has worsened compared to this time last year. I think that’s because there was a move of some HD channels to the new Astra satellite. However, in the winter I was still able to get pretty much all the channels I watch with my Gibby 125 – including ITV HD and 4/7. As we have moved into spring, the signal has now worsened with some drop out.
As of today, I still have reliable reception of most channels with the exception of ITV HD which doesn’t lock on at all. Everything else I watch seems ok though.
I agree with Monty in that you will need to do the odd tweak to the dish. I arrived back yesterday after some time away and had lost even BBC SD. Some time outside with the spanners soon got things back though – high winds I guess.
In summary, a gibby 125 should do you if you’re not fussy about ITV HD and don’t mind some other HD drop out in rain. You could go up to the Gibby 150 but it’s lot more expensive and pretty big!
Hope this helps
I had a bit of a play with my set-up last week……..
In South West France, I had been getting the 2g HD channels only very rarely so wanted to try to see if a tweak might bring them back. I set up a small TV by the dish, connected to a Humax HD box , so I could see what happened – I don’t have any kind of pro meter.
I tried the skew adjustment first on ITV HD. I couldn’t improve on a signal flicking between 45 and 50%. ‚ I had a pixilated picture before I started and that’s how it stayed. However, on Steve’s advice I had bought an‚ Opticum White‚ Quad LNB as he said that it had tested much better than my (more expensive) Inverto Black Pro LNB with Gibby feedhorn. I thought I’d give it a go before getting the spanners out and doing more adjustment on the dish.
The result was an immediate increase in signal of 10-15% giving me a stable 60% and a clear picture. I know we are having improvements generally in signal level, but this improvement was immediate and unmistakable. I have had a good signal ever since with only infrequent drop-outs for the main HD channels I was looking to get back.
So it’s thanks to Steve for the advice and hats off to the cheap Opticum LNB. I’ll see how long it holds out before deciding whether to invest in a better LNB for my feedhorn.
Steve – it’s true I only had a rough go at the measurement – the 2 cms was the difference between the distance between both sides of the Feedhorn and the 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock points. I’ll have a more careful go at measuring tomorrow – I like the torch method in your photos. Doesn’t seem very cowboy to me.
All SD channels are back now but I think today has told me that I can get more out of my system to protect me against days when the signal drops. Spanners, tape measure and torch out for me tomorrow…….
Thanks again Steve and Madiran,
I have measured from my LNB to each side of the dish and it does seem to be out by a couple of cms.
Given how things are for you today Madiran, it seems there is more I should be able to squeeze out of my set-up some how.
I see ITV SD has returned just now, but not much else. I think I will see how things go for the rest of the day and then maybe have a go at adjusting things. Hopefully, that will do the trick, and if not then maybe it’s time to try a new LNB.
thanks again both of you for taking the time to respond.
Thanks Madiran – that’s really helpful and maybe I’ll give the attenuator a try at some point.
Unfortunately, it’s a bit academic at the moment as, since this morning, I have lost pretty much everything except Sky News! I’m hoping it’s a temporary blip as I don’t think my dish has moved in the night.
My my wife is now slightly less enthused than me about attenuator-talk as she thinks she is going to miss the tennis later…..
Thanks Steve – that sounds like good advice. I’ll have a play with the LNB skew later especially as the 2 BBC HD channels I lost this morning are back.
As for the LNB, I think I’ll wait until it seems that things have settled down a bit so I know what I’m up against. I’ve got all the SD channels I watch so it could be worse…… I might try the attenuator if people think it might be worth it…
Hi Madiran
I’m quite close to you (near Aurignac) with similar kit so I guess we should be able to get a similar signal.
I’m trying to get my head around how something which is supposed to weaken the signal can actually improve it? I have had nothing much from 2g since things changed a few weeks ago, apart from the very occasional and temporary return of ITV HD etc now and again. The SD channels seem ok and I haven’t yet tried tweaking the dish alignment.
However, I see this morning that BBC 1 HD and BBC 2 HD have gone all of a sudden which are usually fine.
Perhaps it would be worth trying the attenuator if people think it might help….
Anyway, when you get a minute, I’d be really grateful to hear what HD channels if any you can get with your set-up, as it will give me something to aim for…
Many thanks
