Has anyone actually lost their TV signal yet?

[Julie]

Glad I am not the only one that is totally confused

[Zofia]

Another simpleton here. Am starting to hope that some channels might stay.....?

[satandpcguy]

It says that only a few, not all, of the frequencies on 1N will move to 2F on Tuesday.

These being:
1 BBC one (that has already moved),
2 ITV frequencies,
1 C4 frequency,
and the one used by Channel 5

ie only 1 out of a total of 5 BBC frequencies will be moved
only 2 out of a total of 7 ITV frequencies will be moved
only 1 out of a total of 3 C4 frequencies will be moved
only 1 out of a total of 1 Five frequency will be moved.

It does not say when the other frequencies used by these companies will be moved...

Am starting to hope that some channels might stay.....?

Yes.
Including all those on the other 3 UK TV satellites!
Well, for the time being...according to Astra.

For all we know, they will be moved when the second (or third) new satellite is operational (2013&2014), which may, if they use reception reports of 2F as a basis,, could have an even worse UK beam!

[HKM]

so....for the present time this is good news?!

[Devils Advocate]

Glad I am not the only one that is totally confused

Same here Julie, totally now , in fact I'm not really bothered for my own benefits.....I'm only trying to glean info for a couple of none internetty friends we have in Spain who've just got SKY installed after 22 years as residents and all of this has kicked off 10 weeks later

[satandpcguy]

so....for the present time this is good news?!

well it may mean that you may only lose a few channels on your current dishes,

rather than
either losing every bbc itv c4 and five channels....
or
having to upgrade the size of your dishes to keep all channels...

for the time being....

The frequencies and channels moving on Tuesday the 4th of December will be :-
10.964 H SR 22.000 FEC 5/6 (CH5/5USA/5*/Channel 5+1),
10.994 H SR 22.000 FEC 5/6 (ITV 1 Granada HD/ITV 1 Central South West SD/ITV 1 Anglia West SD/ITV 1 Meridian North SD/ITV 1 Yorkshire East SD/ITV 1+1 Yorkshire SD),
11.052 H SR 22.000 FEC 5/6 (ITV 1 Central South SD/ITV 1 Central East SD/ITV 1+1 Wales SD/ITV 1+1 Westcountry SD/ITV 1+1 Tyne Tees SD), and
11.126 V SR 22.000 FEC 5/6 (Channel 4 HD/4Seven SD)

apologies if this is confusing, but it does not help when SES dont give out much information (which they they dont have to!) which means the situation for "joe public in Spain" cannot be 100% confirmed. And its this "will they wont they when will" situation which is also being a pain for installers - holding off jobs and losing income because you dont know what is happening and ont want to install a sysem you know may not work in days / weeks time (well the honest installers anyway!) ...we have known that something will happen with reception with the new satellites for the last year or so...but the details have not been clear or made public...which makes it all speculation based on the odd snippet from SES.

[El Cid]

Before anyone gets too excited it seems likely that this is just a temporary reprieve.

The whole reason for launching Astra 2F was so that it could take over the FTA channels from Astra 1N which is due to move to a new location to serve other European customers.

There is no way they will have two half full satellites occupying the same position.

I agree with "The Guy" that it is extremely confusing for everyone and it must be doubly difficult if you are involved in a Satellite business here.

Hopefully it will become clear soon but it does look as though the "Save Strictly for Xmas" brigade should be celebrating!!

At least on Tuesday we should see exactly what the coverage is going to be like when it is actually transmitting from a number of different transponders at the same time.

Sid

[satandpcguy]

assuming the post from SES is accurate - seems strange that they would have 2 half full satellites in operation..

[El Cid]

Well I wouldn't trust anything I read on Facebook!

Sid

[Technobear]

The comment from SES on Facebook, is from the PR department, so is likely to incomplete (the nature of PR).
Tuesday, will give more indication as to extent of coverage issues, especially if these TPs are moved (the 11023 was a new one) or they are published on EPG.

I guess legit satellite installers can then use this, to determine what size dishes will be needed for the (immediate) future, assuming the other planned satellite changes dont make the situation worst.

I resigned to losing my signal soon (using 1.2m dish), and will then wait for a while to see what happens . Probably, look for a 2.4-3m dish being sold by someone on the islands where they have stopped working.

[El Cid]

I resigned to losing my signal soon (using 1.2m dish), and will then wait for a while to see what happens . Probably, look for a 2.4-3m dish being sold by someone on the islands where they have stopped working.

Or maybe from people in the east of Spain where the signal has improved from 2D. Lots of 2.4mdishes up there.

Maybe our "Guy" knows some of them!

Sid

[Parilla]

Satandpcguy, you have been an absolute star (and a very patient one) answering questions from posters like me who don't really have a clue about this stuff - I'm sure you'll get your reward in heaven but I hope it comes sooner than that. Another semi-techie question just in case there are problems please.

Is there any rule of thumb for the size of dish that can be safely fixed by a bracket to a vertical surface ?
Mine is a 1.2m on a bracket which has a plate secured to a chimney stack by 4 "rawlbolt" type fixings.
It's on the roof of a 5 storey apartment block and is subject to strong winds at times, in fact we have had to have it realigned a few times as it obviously moves a little. The stack it is fixed to is only of single skin hollow bricks with an external rendering, and I do often wonder how suitable it is to take the load.

As a layman I would guess a larger dish fixed the same way might be asking a bit much.

Parilla

[Lyric]

Be a bit cheaper to ship too !
It will not be easy. When I used to take my 2m one around the country for Amateur Radio competitions we had to get (rent) a particular Luton Transit to get the thing in and then only diagonally.

[Zofia]

Hi Parilla, I'm no techie (far from it) but I've been told that bigger dishes have to be concrete mounted and on the ground. I'm sure someone will correct me if that's not true...

[Lyric]

I would say anything from 1.8 up would need to be properly ground mounted. In a decent wind you would loose roof/chimney/terrace/wall (delete as applicable). and they are VERY difficult to keep "on target" in a good blow.

[satandpcguy]

Or maybe from people in the east of Spain where the signal has improved from 2D. Lots of 2.4mdishes up there.Maybe our "Guy" knows some of them!

At the moment a lot of people still need them for some of the Sky pay channels - that are on the 2a and 2b "north beams"...
And it may be best for them to hold onto them as we dont konw what the UK beams for 2e and 2g will be like. 2f is only the first of three satellites!

I dont know of hardly any installers in your area - let alone ones I would recommend.
But beware...there are various makes of 2.4m dishes, some better than others, some can be extended to 3.1m should need be, some are "petals" which are cheap and cheap for a reason (they are crap!).
Famavals are advertised as being the best. they are not the best - they are perhaps best for their price,which is why in my are they have been popular. there are better dishes, but importing then make them expensive (channel masters for example)

Satandpcguy, you have been an absolute star (and a very patient one) answering questions from posters like me who don't really have a clue about this stuff - I'm sure you'll get your reward in heaven but I hope it comes sooner than that.

Many thanks

Is there any rule of thumb for the size of dish that can be safely fixed by a bracket to a vertical surface ?
Mine is a 1.2m on a bracket which has a plate secured to a chimney stack by 4 "rawlbolt" type fixings.
It's on the roof of a 5 storey apartment block and is subject to strong winds at times, in fact we have had to have it realigned a few times as it obviously moves a little. The stack it is fixed to is only of single skin hollow bricks with an external rendering, and I do often wonder how suitable it is to take the load.
As a layman I would guess a larger dish fixed the same way might be asking a bit much.

I have installed 1.8m dishes on walls.
Others have put 2.4s dishes on walls - personally i would not - way too much weight on the wall.
Which is why 2.4s tend to be best on a flat stable surface with a well made concrete base made - usually 1mx1mx25cm is enough.

Went to one yesterday where they constructed a huge concrete base - problem is it is on an area of ground that gets a lot of water when it rains, and the ground underneath gets wet, and the weight of the dish and block moves the dish out of alignment.

Dont use "quick mix" - they fail easily. Make the base, with the floor stand in the middle, and let it dry for a few days before installing the dish.
Sometimes you make the base, let it dry, then bolt the floor stand to it - but i prefer to put the flootstand into the concrete itself

http://www.satandpcguy.com/Site/concret ... plinth.php
shows a base just made, and the failure of a quick dry cement base!

Ideally concrete block walls are better than red brick walls.
Sometimes, I dont use wall bolts. Instead sometimes you have to drill all the way through, pop steel rods through the wall, and brace it behind with a strip of metal.

For most 80cm-1m dishes I use 10mm wallplugs and screws - hilti 10x80 taco y tornillo
Sometimes for 1m dish and all the time for anything larger - expanding ,metal wallplugs.
Sometimes, if the dish is exposed, steel wire "guide" lines can be installed to take the strain.

A lot is common sense which sometimes baffles "installers" - if the dish is put in a place that is exposed to the wind - make sure it is secure!

[johnr]

Slightly off topic - but why don't canal+ offer the UK channels as a paid-for extra? Has there been any suggestion that may happen? Surely there are enough of us here who would want it and they'd get many new subscribers to their service too.

[satandpcguy]

broadcasting rights.
and money.

uk tv channels pay for the rights to show content in the uk only.
if canal+ wanted to show bbc1, then bbc1 would have to have paid for broadcast rights for spain also.
and the cost of those rights for spain may be more than they get back in subs. so not worth it.
and any movies on BBC1 will alredy be allocated to spanish broadcasters, so they would not be able to be shown.

and would you pay for canal+ if it carried uk tv channels, when with a suitable sized dish you can get them for free?

but it does happen. some cable companies in holland / belgium do pay for some of the uk channels to be on their cable systems - at a premium rate. perhaps this is in included in uk tv contracts with programme suppliers?

if "sky sports 1" were to be made available in spain, then for example, premier league football matches "sky sport 1 spain" would have to show something else (or a blank screen) for sunday afternoon, as those premier league football rights for spain are owned by canal+. and it will not only be football, it would be for all sports shown on that channel.

many uk programmes are on spanish tv already - top gear, dr who, merlin, red dwarf, and i am sure i saw downton on a channel the other day....to name a few.
and most "sky channels" are already on canal+, with their "english sound track" - discovery - nat geo, movies...

also, bbc worldwide (the commerical arm of the bbc not funded by the license tax) offer bbc entertainment - a subscription tv service for designed especially for expats - that carries bbc and some itv and some c4 content.

bbc entertainment (or bbc prime) did used to be on canal+, but it was dropped, perhaps there was not enough demand for it, and carriage costs outweighted the revenue.

and most programmes made are "put up for sale" to all broadcasters - they simply weigh up the costs v revenue - would TVE benefit by spending 5m to buy eastenders? Nope. Would la sexta bring in enough ad revenue during eastenders to make it viable - probably not.

[moonbeam]

Yes, we lost ours this afternoon. Suddenly we got a message on the screen SEARCHING FOR NEW CHANNELS AND SOFTWARE UPDATE. We tried turning off and on but each time got the same message and unable to get rid - so no tv for us. We have a HUMAX FOXSAT-HDR box. Anyone got any answers on how to rectify this?

[moonbeam]

Hi, forgot to say we live in MANILVA.