Haven't had any TV since last
Submitted by qui già on Fri, 06/22/2012 - 17:06In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
http://www.abruzzolutely.
Submitted by Rickardo on Sat, 06/23/2012 - 03:35In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I have recently fiddled with my setup and can now receive BBC, ITV and Ch4 with various regional variations. Apparently the reason is that all the channels have been switched from Astra 2D to Astra 1N. My dish wasn't adjusted properly and I had to make some adjustments (you probably don't need to do this if you were already getting UK channels before the change). However I went on the internet and found a list of transponders for Astra 1N, then used this info to scan for channels using the "other channels" option on my Sky box and found all the channels described above. Let me know if this helps. You can also try looking at the Astra 2D forum, which has lots of info. Regards Roddy
scanning for channels???
Submitted by Sabina on Sun, 06/24/2012 - 11:16OK, I admit I am awful at anything technical, so this is probably a really stupid question - but please bear with me... You say you scan for channels...on other channels. I have sky...and DO know where the other channels option is...so do I literally just click on that option and then "search" or something, or does the satellite dish have to be moved too? Any idiot proof advice very welcome. Thanks!
I'm no expert, but I believe
Submitted by Roddyb on Sun, 06/24/2012 - 18:41In reply to scanning for channels??? by Sabina
I'm no expert, but I believe for Sky Italia that the dish is pointing at another satellite somewhere around 13 degrees east. If that is correct then it's not going to find any channels from Astra 1N. As for adjusting the dish, I don't know if that would help as I don't know whether a Sky Italia box can decode the Astra signals. Sorry I can't be of more help. Maybe you can go on one of the internet forums for satellite matters and get more info. Regards Roddy
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Further to my previous message I realised later that you may not actually have a dish and receiver. If not then my apologies for any confusion caused by my message. I am using a Pace 2600 box (Freesat card required) bought on ebay, with a 1.8 m Channelmaster dish (I believe others are using much smaller dishes in central Italy). The dish is pointing to 28.2 degrees east. Regards Roddy
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
You need a 1.8m dish + secondhand pace/sky digi box (£20-£30) on ebay A 1.8 dish is not cheap and here in Italy will cost you a fortune, we have a petal dish which comes in 6 sections and can be bought online in UK for £120 approx' People do say there a load of rubbish but you just need to assemble properly. We get all the BBC & ITV + plus the free sky ones Enjoy
I managed to find a 1.8 m channelmaster for about 450 euros through a company called Diemme in Genoa, of course I then had to arrange transportation which was another 130 euros. Quite pricey but the ones I found from UK suppliers were extortionate. If I recollect correctly Satellite Superstore is in excess of £750!
UK Freesat in central Italy
Submitted by Allan Mason on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 03:21In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
We live in central Abruzzo near Teramo. A couple of months ago, I posted on Abruzzolutely about my experience in setting up a 2.4 metre dish: For more than two years, we subscribed to UK Sky while using a 90 cm dish. Although wewere gettingquite a few channels, wedidn't get all the Sky channels we were paying for and we never received any BBC channels. Now, we have got rid of the Sky subscriptionfee and we receive the same channels as anyone in Britain using the Freesat service. I was interested tosee that Roddyb is able to get the same channels as ususing a 1.8 metre dish. If his profile information is correct, he's at about the same latitude as our house, but around 120 km to the west. That might make signals a tiny bit easier to receive at his place, but I suspect the difference is minimal. I think it will be interesting to see if either or both of us continue to be able to receive the BBC when their transmissions are taken off the Astra 1N satellite at the end of this year or beginning of next. I agree with what Brianm says about "petalised" dishes.Idid read some negative comments about them in the expat satelliteTVforums I glanced at before buying our dish, and I can easily see how our dishcould haveended upa distorted, useless mess if put together by someone with little manual dexterityandless common sense.Our dish did require somecare to assemble correctlyso thateach of the petals aligned neatly with its neighbours, butit reallywasn't all that difficult or time consuming. I don't have the equipment necessary to properly measure the difference in the signals we got with our old dish compared to the new, but it's definitely a fact that we now have a full channel list whereas before we just had a few. Our Freesat box is showing the BBC, ITV, C4 and5channels allat about 75% signal strength and 95% signal quality. The minor channels seem to be normallyabout 80% strength and quality. Unfortunately, it seems that buying a dish like ours - a FortecStar 2.4 metre - is very difficult at the moment. Someonewe know was inspired by our experience to get his own big dish, but he has had major difficulties doing so. Apparently, the retailers he has contracted have given him grossly over-priced quotes, nobody in Britain is selling the dish any more and the only options he has discovered involve paying a lot more than the £250 which we did and then payingeven more than that for shipping from Spain or Germany. Oh, and while I'm also far from expert on this, I'm prettycertain thatRoddyb isrightwhen he says that youcan't get UK Sky on a Sky Italia box. It is very definitely the case that the satellite used by Sky Italia is not in the same spot in the sky as UK Sky, so you won't find UK channels just be fiddling around with the settings on a Sky Italia box which is attached to a dish pointing at Sky Italia's satellite. Al
a biggun !
Submitted by sprostoni on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 04:25In reply to UK Freesat in central Italy by Allan Mason
Hi Allan, You do indeed have a HUGE dish ! An installer locally here is providing 1.2mtr dishes and (I THINK) pointing to Astra 1N (or it maybe Astra 1S ??), which provides access to BBC etc. Your comment "I think it will be interesting to see if either or both of us continue to be able to receive the BBC when their transmissions are taken off the Astra 1N satellite at the end of this year or beginning of next." ..........I wonder what impact that will have ? Is this a definite ? S
Few things are ever completely definite, but...
Submitted by Allan Mason on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 05:57In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
My understanding is that the satellite currently being used by the traditional British broadcasters (Astra 1N) is a temporary replacement for one of the Astra 2 satellites which started to fail earlier than expected. Ibelieve there were also commercial considerations at play since, if I recall correctly, the BBC wanted toget away from paying Sky to transmit it's channels via satellite and some sort of deal with Astra was done. Astra 1N was never intended to be at 28°E and was never designed to transmit signalstightly-focusedon the British Isles. This means that BBC, ITV, C4 and 5 signals are currently being transmitted in a wider pattern than normal andthis makes themmore easily received in southern and eastern Europe. I understand that Astra is planningto launch a replacement satellite whichhas transmitters that are tightly focused onBritain at the end of 2012 or early in 2013. However, building satellites is a process which has lots of scope for delay, satellite launches are never-risk free and I understand it is never known for certain how well a focused transmitting array will work until the satellite is in position and operating. Frankly, I am not certain that our dish will work once the BBC etc. transfer over to the new satellite. I think that the worst that could happen is that we loose all the traditional broadcasters and end up having to start paying that lovely Mr Murdoch again. Even if this should occur, I hope it might be the case that we'd at least be able to get more Sky channels by using the big dish. Al