satellite doesn't find signal!

[albouy]

I have a Magicsat Automatic System by Teleco, Italy, probably twenty years old. The dish raises, then it goes right and left but finds nothing. In my region I need Astra 2 which does not appear in the instruction manual or on screen. It just says it is searching...Tried contacting the manufacturer with some difficulty! Could anyone please advise me on what I can do. Please dont say "bin-it" Thanks

 

[Figaro]

Did it used to find Astra 2 ?

I have an Oyster of similar vintage that is only able to find Astra 1. So previous owner had an upgrade done to find 2.
This consists of an additional lnb lined up to 2 when it's found 1, and a switch to switch over.
Seems to work well.
if it's never found 2, you may need similar ?

 

[Ukracer]

Astra change the transponder settings sometimes. I had a similar problem with my Oyster vision dish some years ago and the Oyster guy n the UK talked me though how to reset it. Here's a link

Don't know about your system but it may be the same issue.

Are you able to override the automatic seek ? With a bit ( lot ) of fiddling you can usually get it pointing to Astra 2 evetually. If that works it suggests that it is the transponder settings issue.

What are the manual settings to lock onto Astra 2.
My oyster system was updated 2 years ago using a cable. But we have now moved sites and it will find Astra 1 but not 2.

 

[pwilmo]

Hi there often auto seek systems need to have a software/firmware update to accurately locate the satellite positions.
The positon/orbit of the satellites alter slightly over time and your system needs that new position.
My system is a very old Megasat but they release the firmware update about every 12 months.

 

[Ukracer]

This link will give you the elevation and azimuth for Astra 1 and astra 2 depending on your location.

If you have locked to Astra 1 then you need to go into the Oyster controller ( how depends on what version you have ) and adjust the horizontal ( azimuthal ) pointing direction by the difference bewteen the two and the same for the vertical.

For example, in Birmingham, Astra 1 group is at 261 degrees az and -21.4 elevation and Astra 2 is at 255.5 az and -28.3 elevation.

So you need to offset the horizontal by about 6 degrees and the vertical by 7 degrees - and I can't remember whether this offset is plus or minus so, without working it out, if it were me I would just try offsetting the angles that the Oyster controller shows you by (+6,+7), (+6,-7), (-6,+7)and (-6,-7 ) in turn. try to get a signal in each case. On my vision 2 box, you can adjust the angles plus or minus in 1 degree steps - that is accurate enough to get a signal if there is one there. you need only to be within 3 degrees or so in my experience.

If this doesn't work then:

(1) are you sure you have clear sight to the satellites in the South-East ? I have had problems on a few sites when I had to move the van a few metres one way or the other to avoid trees and it wasn't obvious to me that they were in the way.

(2) try phoning the guy in the link I sent above ( as Grey owl ). He is really helpful with Oyster systems.

By the way, I just used our dish for the first time in 3+years last week and it found and locked to Astra 2 without a problem so I don't think that the transponder settings have changed again recently.

When I joined MH Fun, I didn't realise that it was subscription only after 5 posts so I have just created this new account to answer your post and a few others. Not sure I can be bothered to subscribe.

Good luck with your satellite issues. I used this simple guide to align a cheapo portable satellite dish that I got from amazon when I was really stuck and couldn't move the van into position to clear trees to use the Oyster.

cheers

richard

Ok mate that for lengthy reply.
Will go through all that shortly.
One thing ..I can't see a phone number? The link goes to dish pointer.

Will keep you updated. Thanks again regards Andy T