1 dish tuned to 2 different satellites? (1 Viewer)

[andycotterell]

Does anyone have experience of using a single dish to get signals from 2 different satellites simultaneously? I know that it's technically possible, but I would appreciate input from anyone who has actually done it, especially with Sky.

I have an 80 cm dish that I am using for the Astra2Connect satellite internet service on Astra 1E at 23.5E. I bought a compatible (with the dish fittings) quad LNB so that I can also use it for TV and I'd like to hook it up to my Sky+ box , which needs to get it's signal from Astra 2A at 28.2E.

The two LNB units are quite closely coupled together and I'm wondering whether I need something that spaces them out more. I'm also unsure how to go about the two sets of alignment. I'm assuming that it will be best to align with the internet signal first as it's the more sensitive of the two.

Also, does it matter which 2 of the quad LNB feeds I use for Sky+? And do the other 2 feeds need terminators?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Andy

 

[lebesset]

no , one lnb won't do it ; you need two separate ones [ although I think one single block with horns pointing in 2 directions still exists ]
basically the answer is 2 lnb's on a bracket for the 2 satellites you wish to use ...though I wouldn't fancy trying to set up the dish each time I moved
would it not be easier to have one lnb and move it from satellite to satellite according to whether you are surfing or skyving ? better reception as well

 

[andycotterell]

I've got the multiple LNB's (an interactive LNB for the internet feed and a separate, quad LNB for TV) - looking for advice on alignment / mounting etc.

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[pappajohn]

personally i cant see how this is possible.

the signal from the second satellite would not be reflected from the dish to the lnb, because of the shape of the dish, if it aint pointed directly at the satellite.
and we all know how critical dish alignment is.....just 1 deg out and no picture.

bit like looking in a mirror from an angle....you cant see yourself.

 

[ArenqueRojo]

We use the Alden Netmaster 90 which is set up to be able to point to either the Helsat over Kenya or the Astra2 over the Belgian Congo. In the UK there is about 5 degrees between them. In Southern Spain it goes to about 10 dgrees difference.
I don't agree with Pappajohn because you are using a dish and an offset lnb would still collect from an offset satellite, albeit with a little less efficiency.
The problem would be, as lebesset says, the alignment as you would have to align the second LNB by moving the arm not the dish. And you will need to do that every time you move any distance.
Ours is a 90cm dish which is fine North as far as Cumbria and South as far as Gibraltar for Helsat (Internet) and Hotbird but at that time our controller wasn't tuned for Astra.
As I'm sure you know, in the South of Spain you would need a much bigger dish to get Astra2.BTW, we pay £450 a year for 1Mb unlimited on iPcocopter. How does that compare to the Astra service?
Patrick

 

[andycotterell]

.BTW, we pay £450 a year for 1Mb unlimited on iPcocopter. How does that compare to the Astra service?
Patrick

Hi Patrick

Through BeyonDSL I pay £51 a month for a 2Mb package. Like all of their subscriptions it has a data limit (which is not apparent from their web page - see link below) but downloads between midnight and 6am CET don't count towards it, so I schedule all the big stuff to run at night.
A large part of the appeal of this offering was the low start-up cost - just £300 for hardware.

I thought that all satellite internet services had data limits, so I'm interested to hear that yours doesn't. I'll definitely shop around when my initial commitment is finished.

Link Removed

Andy

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[adventure]

Hi

You may be aware that teleco do the internet dish, this does give you the option of surfing and watching at the same time, your dish I am sure is the same set up so if you have a look at one of those it should be possible to get the measurements you are after, I am sure it will be on display at teh nec show

hope this helps you out

nick stevens

 

[Satandpcguy]

many multisatellite systems are used for astra 1 and hotbird 1 - 19 and 13 degrees, and special brackets are available for hosting two lnbs at the correct angles from one dish for these two groups of satellites. and there are systems for 19 and 23.5 satellites also.
but i have ont seen any for 23.5 and 28.5 yet so it may need some sort of creative thinking and bodging to get the LNB brackets correct.


or maybe something like

 

[lebesset]

surely the big problem will be that the angle required between the 2 lnb's will change every time you move ?

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[andycotterell]

many multisatellite systems are used for astra 1 and hotbird 1 - 19 and 13 degrees, and special brackets are available for hosting two lnbs at the correct angles from one dish for these two groups of satellites. and there are systems for 19 and 23.5 satellites also.
but i have ont seen any for 23.5 and 28.5 yet so it may need some sort of creative thinking and bodging to get the LNB brackets correct.


or maybe something like

Nice rack!