IceCrypt and 85cm Teleco advice please

[goneoff]

Need advice please from someone who understands satellite systems and capabilities.
I have an 85cm Teleco satellite dish which is pre-loaded with the following satellites: Astra 19, Hot Bird, Thor, Sirus, ALT Bird 3, Hispasat and Astra 28. Most of which are pretty useless for us as in the main we travel to southern France, Spain & Portugal. Even Astra 28 now disappears somewhere in mid France. Most folks I’ve met have had there dishes adjusted and now pick up (naughty) Intelsat 907 via an IceCrypt box. The question is; Is it possible for my Teleco to be reconfigured to align with Intelsat 907 via an IceCrypt box to pick up UK channels without going to the expense of a totally new system?

If this is possible do you know anyone or company who would sort it out for me?

 

[Vansflyer]

Hi. A couple of questions...
How old is the Teleco unit and which version is it?
Secondly if you select Thor does the dish point true south or to the west?
If the dish points west it would indicate it already has the latest software in to align to Intelsat, get an Icecrypt and away you go.
Later Teleco unit’s have been “adjusted” so that Thor is actually pointing to 27 West.
Earlier units can be “adjusted” by sending the control unit to the importers. They will charge you a few quid but we’ll worth it imho.
Let us know.
https://www.scan-terieur.com/teleco.html

 

[goneoff]

Thanks for your quick response and info. Sadly it’s an old Teleco unit 2009/2010. I didn’t realise Teleco would adjust old systems, I’ll get in touch with them.
Thanks again.
Phil

 

[goneoff]

Hi. A couple of questions...
How old is the Teleco unit and which version is it?
Secondly if you select Thor does the dish point true south or to the west?
If the dish points west it would indicate it already has the latest software in to align to Intelsat, get an Icecrypt and away you go.
Later Teleco unit’s have been “adjusted” so that Thor is actually pointing to 27 West.
Earlier units can be “adjusted” by sending the control unit to the importers. They will charge you a few quid but we’ll worth it imho.
Let us know.
https://www.scan-terieur.com/teleco.html

Sorry forgot to clarify it’s a Magic Sat Easy!

 

[OldAgeTravellers]

As you say it is a bit naughty to use this satellite and to do so is basically a hobbyist solution. You may find installers in Spain and I know of one in the UK and there is a member on here who is very knowledgable who may well contact you by private message he spends the winter in Portugal or Spain usually.
The first thing to establish is whether you can move your dish manually, if you can then you need to tune into Hispasat then a couple of clicks left and a couple of clicks up or something like that. Which is approximately where the 907 satellite is located. Then just a bit of fine tuning. But the skew is totally the other way as it is a western satellite.
Now I did hear that the Icecrypt boxes were no longer available but you may find one on eBay. If you are prepared to take a gamble on your technical ability then it is not difficult. All the instructions are available on the Internet in the greatest detail but it does take a bit of searching. But to save having to climb on the roof to adjust the LNB skew every time It is better to make up a bracket to fit a second LNB which has the skew already set then just use a DiSEqC switch to switch between the two LNB's automatically.
As I said it is a hobbyist solution and some may well come on here and warn of you having your Motorhome confiscated if your deed is discovered. Well I will leave you to judge the risk of that happening, to my knowledge it has never happened so far. The other risk is that the service is well past it's designed life so could be switched of at any moment. Also the encryption could be changed so the box would have to be reprogrammed when you are in Portugal, so you will need the ability to do that. Only you can judge if you are competent enough to do that.
Good luck and have fun with your research, if you must watch Corrie in Spain or Morocco or just want to get some UK news then it is probably worth it.
Steve

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[Ninjabob]

Jacksons Satellites can sell you a pre configured receiver. As well as pointing at 907 you would have to alter the skew of the LNB.

 

[goneoff]

As you say it is a bit naughty to use this satellite and to do so is basically a hobbyist solution. You may find installers in Spain and I know of one in the UK and there is a member on here who is very knowledgable who may well contact you by private message he spends the winter in Portugal or Spain usually.
The first thing to establish is whether you can move your dish manually, if you can then you need to tune into Hispasat then a couple of clicks left and a couple of clicks up or something like that. Which is approximately where the 907 satellite is located. Then just a bit of fine tuning. But the skew is totally the other way as it is a western satellite.
Now I did hear that the Icecrypt boxes were no longer available but you may find one on eBay. If you are prepared to take a gamble on your technical ability then it is not difficult. All the instructions are available on the Internet in the greatest detail but it does take a bit of searching. But to save having to climb on the roof to adjust the LNB skew every time It is better to make up a bracket to fit a second LNB which has the skew already set then just use a DiSEqC switch to switch between the two LNB's automatically.
As I said it is a hobbyist solution and some may well come on here and warn of you having your Motorhome confiscated if your deed is discovered. Well I will leave you to judge the risk of that happening, to my knowledge it has never happened so far. The other risk is that the service is well past it's designed life so could be switched of at any moment. Also the encryption could be changed so the box would have to be reprogrammed when you are in Portugal, so you will need the ability to do that. Only you can judge if you are competent enough to do that.
Good luck and have fun with your research, if you must watch Corrie in Spain or Morocco or just want to get some UK news then it is probably worth it.
Steve

Hi Steve
Many thanks for your response. Could I ask do you know the installer in the U.K. and have you got his contact details?
Yes I did try an installer in Portugal, an English guy who obviously travels around the sites/aires down there carrying out his trade but at the time (two years ago) he couldn’t convert a Teleco and one or two other brands. He could however convert Oyster which was no good to me. Alternatively I hope the member you mentioned contacts me.
Cheers
Phil

 

[goneoff]

Jacksons Satellites can sell you a pre configured receiver. As well as pointing at 907 you would have to alter the slew of the LNB.

Hi
Already spoken to Jackson’s they wanted to sell me a complete system as my unit was not configured for their receiver. It’s the pointing and the skew of the LNB I would need someone to sort out for me.
Many thanks
Phil

 

[Vansflyer]

Thanks for your quick response and info. Sadly it’s an old Teleco unit 2009/2010. I didn’t realise Teleco would adjust old systems, I’ll get in touch with them.
Thanks again.
Phil

Not sure how far back they can go with reprogramming but it's worth a shot.
The skew setting isn't hard if you can get to the LNB easy enough. It's all about "quality" of signal so set it roughly and then adjust till you get the best quality on the receiver or buy a cheap digital meter (less than £100) and some of those give you signal quality and BER which is what you are looking for. Sadly the Teleco units don't have a manual adjustment option as that would make life V easy.
Another option is to get a stand alone dish with a fold up feed arm (Televes used to do a 88cm) and tripod, with a meter it's a 10 min job to set up once you have been shown. I ain't far from you and happy to help.

 

[Anthony OysterTech]

Good morning,

I know this isn't a thread about Oyster systems but I just thought I'd mention that Intelsat 907 has a year or so left before it's retired (maybe less). There's a new satellite launching in the third quarter of next year to replace it however no one knows at this point whether A, the backup services will still be transmitted via the new satellite - B, If they are whether it will still be the same encryption - And C, what the new footprint will be like.
Bottom line is be cautious. I know it doesn't cost a fortune for these boxes but you don't want to buy one only to find it stops working in 9 months!

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[OldAgeTravellers]

Good morning,

I know this isn't a thread about Oyster systems but I just thought I'd mention that Intelsat 907 has a year or so left before it's retired (maybe less). There's a new satellite launching in the third quarter of next year to replace it however no one knows at this point whether A, the backup services will still be transmitted via the new satellite - B, If they are whether it will still be the same encryption - And C, what the new footprint will be like.
Bottom line is be cautious. I know it doesn't cost a fortune for these boxes but you don't want to buy one only to find it stops working in 9 months!

Thank you Anthony interesting to know, With modern ultra high speed internet connections I doubt that the TV engineers will need this facility for their backup service unless it is maintained for their reporters to use when outside the Astra 28 footprint. I have "heard" that somebody reported picking it up on the east coast of the USA. Of course satellite is available where internet is not.
Steve

 

[Anthony OysterTech]

I personally think it'll stay Steve but I'm not sure on the encryption for the new satellite.
Hi speed internet is great but the data that a backup service like this would consume would be astronomical if it always has to be a live stream, especially with the HD channels.
I have no idea of the costs to run this service on a Satellite for the year so it might work out cheaper via Internet but data does cost a lot!

 

[Stonemags76]

We have abandoned satellite tv in this (new to us) van, preferring a MiFi with 50gb data for £30 per month from voda Phone (no restrictions in EU) & an Amazon firestick. Use site WiFi if available & a vpn for catch up tv. We also have a humax with 1tb hard drive which we fill up at home. The humax plays recordings without a satellite signal, unlike, say, a Sky box, which needs a signal. Far less stress, as no need to find a pitch with a satellite signal, no messing around with skew etc - very pleased with the set up! We also have a dvd collection if all else fails!

 

[OldAgeTravellers]

Hi
Already spoken to Jackson’s they wanted to sell me a complete system as my unit was not configured for their receiver. It’s the pointing and the skew of the LNB I would need someone to sort out for me.
Many thanks
Phil

Hi Phil,
I really think, from my experience, that if you don't learn to do it yourself you will always be at the mercy of finding someone to help you out which is not always convenient. I upgraded my Telco Magic Sat on my last van to the new "black box" which cost £900, basically because I wanted to convert it to receive Satellite Internet on Astra3 as well as TV but the new box would also connect to Hispasat as you say yours will so there is a possibility that you can add the 907 system just do what @Vansflyer suggests above, You will need to rotate the LNB to the a similar angle but the other side of vertical.
If it works then if I were in your position I would have a play with a triple LNB set up. Use the first for Astra2 then two others to the left for the western satellites. Unfortunately the separation between Hispasat at 30deg and 907 at 27.5deg is very small so you may have to use conical LNB's to get them close enough you will need to do some calculations to see if it is feasible. You may have to put one almost above the other to get the angle which will of course require the dish park position adjusted. The pictures below is my triple LNB setup for(right to left) Astra2(TV), Astra3(Simultaneous Internet) & Intelsat907(TV). I knew nothing about all this when I started the project but by studying the problem and reading as much as possible I took the gamble and invested a bit of money and time to get what I wanted which works very well but I have ditched the Satellite Internet now because it was too expensive and too slow.
Good Luck,
Steve
p.s. The pics have gone in a bit big

 

[OldAgeTravellers]

I personally think it'll stay Steve but I'm not sure on the encryption for the new satellite.
Hi speed internet is great but the data that a backup service like this would consume would be astronomical if it always has to be a live stream, especially with the HD channels.
I have no idea of the costs to run this service on a Satellite for the year so it might work out cheaper via Internet but data does cost a lot!

Yes I think you are right Anthony and as far as encryption is concerned, again I don't think they will bother to change it. Higher encryption means slower processing and potentially greater lag. The beeb et al are complying with their licencing restrictions by making it difficult the same as tightening the Astra28 beam. But if you want to put a really big dish in your garden you can pick it up in the south of Spain. I do with a 1.1mt dish in the South of France. And relatively few hobbyists in Spain and Portugal picking up a few radio waves and fiddling about with them. Do they really want to be bothered. As for a company actively selling the systems, I think that is getting too close to the line and could spoil it for everybody. That's why I won't publish their name.
We will see. Thanks for all your input on the forum. Have a good day.
Steve

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[goneoff]

Hi Phil,
I really think, from my experience, that if you don't learn to do it yourself you will always be at the mercy of finding someone to help you out which is not always convenient. I upgraded my Telco Magic Sat on my last van to the new "black box" which cost £900, basically because I wanted to convert it to receive Satellite Internet on Astra3 as well as TV but the new box would also connect to Hispasat as you say yours will so there is a possibility that you can add the 907 system just do what @Vansflyer suggests above, You will need to rotate the LNB to the a similar angle but the other side of vertical.
If it works then if I were in your position I would have a play with a triple LNB set up. Use the first for Astra2 then two others to the left for the western satellites. Unfortunately the separation between Hispasat at 30deg and 907 at 27.5deg is very small so you may have to use conical LNB's to get them close enough you will need to do some calculations to see if it is feasible. You may have to put one almost above the other to get the angle which will of course require the dish park position adjusted. The pictures below is my triple LNB setup for(right to left) Astra2(TV), Astra3(Simultaneous Internet) & Intelsat907(TV). I knew nothing about all this when I started the project but by studying the problem and reading as much as possible I took the gamble and invested a bit of money and time to get what I wanted which works very well but I have ditched the Satellite Internet now because it was too expensive and too slow.
Good Luck,
Steve
p.s. The pics have gone in a bit big
View attachment 268622 View attachment 268621

Hello Steve
A big thank you for taking the time to respond in detail and address my satellite issues. As you suggest I will read as much as I can and give it a go.
Again many thanks
Phil

 

[OldAgeTravellers]

Hello Steve
A big thank you for taking the time to respond in detail and address my satellite issues. As you suggest I will read as much as I can and give it a go.
Again many thanks
Phil

A quick suggestion, if you look at the yellow LNB in my pic. The bracket is a standard 40mm waste pipe clip popular in France and Spain, I don't know whether they use them in the UK. They are easy to mount using "Repair Plates" and adjust up and down with nuts on the threaded part, then when set just Araldite them and they are rock solid. To align them on the dish, put a coloured dot in the centre of the dish and with a foot long piece of 40mm waste pipe in the bracket you can align it exactly with the centre of the dish by peering through.
So with the dish set on Hispasat with your existing setup if it will do so and the second LNB connected to the modified IceCrypt and the position roughly calculated by measurement you can use the IceCrypt meter to find the exact position for the Intelsat907. A slot cut in the plate and large washers helps, then you connect the two LNB's to the DiSeqC switch and program the box to select the appropriate LNB accordingly.
Hope this helps, it probably will as you start learning more. The internet is your friend. Have a good weekend.
Steve

 

[OldAgeTravellers]

Should have said the pipe bracket was Sean's idea @Satandpcguy.
Steve