Basic setup ofsatellite antennas
In most cases it is sufficient to
simply unplug the analog receiver
and connect the antenna cable to
the new digital box. As a general
rule the antenna alignment should
remain unchanged, unless the
dish has not been aligned properly
in the first place and needs fine
tuning. All this should not pose a
big problem.
If a new antenna has to be set
up for the first time, however, the
absence of any analog signal will
create some difficulties. Since digital
signals are much harder to find
than analog signals, the search
for the correct antenna angle
and alignment will invariably take
longer than before. In the analog
days it was quite easy to simply
move the antenna until a blurry
image appeared on the TV screen.
A little fine-tuning was all that was
needed until the TV screen showed
a clear picture. This is not possible
any longer with digital satellite
reception. Weak digital signals do
not translate at all into a picture
on the screen which remains black
until the signal strength has passed
a certain threshold (approximately
30%) and a crystal clear picture
appears on your TV set.
If you don’t know where exactly
to search for your desired satel-
The digitalisation of satellite channels is progressing rapidly
and soon there will be no more analog satellite channels in Europe.
Once the conversion is completed old analog receivers are rendered
useless and have to be replaced by digital set-top boxes.
lite your search will be in vain. As
long as there are still some analog
signals left, an old analog receiver
for the antenna alignment will
do a perfect job. But what to do
after the switch-off of all analog
signals? In this case a systematic
approach is required.
If only a single satellite is to be
received the antenna alignment
can be fixed at the particular position.
In order to align the dish
correctly the elevation has to be
adjusted properly using the scale
on the antenna pole. However, the
correct elevation depends on the
local degree latitude. Below are
the values for a satellite that is
in a precise southern position (in
a precise northern position when
seen from the southern hemisphere):
Latitude 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
Elevation 72 67 61 55 49 44 38 33 27 22 17
For a satellite that is some
degrees to the East or the West
the elevation decreases. For a
10-degree deviation the elevation
decreases by a maximum of one
degree.
Next, the hunt for a signal can
begin by moving the antenna
towards the desired satellite’s
position. In order to check the
success of the search on the TV
screen the digital set-top box has
to be tuned into a channel on that
satellite. Of course new receivers
have a pre-programmed channel
list, so selecting a valid channel
should not be a problem. However,
since transponder data do
change in the course of time it is
advisable to check the pre-stored
data against the current SatcoDX
frequency chart.
Unfortunately there is no
scale on the pole for turning the
antenna to the East or the West.
This makes finding the correct
alignment as difficult as with a
motorised antenna which allows
receiving a great deal more channels
without additional costs
In most cases it is sufficient to
simply unplug the analog receiver
and connect the antenna cable to
the new digital box. As a general
rule the antenna alignment should
remain unchanged, unless the
dish has not been aligned properly
in the first place and needs fine
tuning. All this should not pose a
big problem.
If a new antenna has to be set
up for the first time, however, the
absence of any analog signal will
create some difficulties. Since digital
signals are much harder to find
than analog signals, the search
for the correct antenna angle
and alignment will invariably take
longer than before. In the analog
days it was quite easy to simply
move the antenna until a blurry
image appeared on the TV screen.
A little fine-tuning was all that was
needed until the TV screen showed
a clear picture. This is not possible
any longer with digital satellite
reception. Weak digital signals do
not translate at all into a picture
on the screen which remains black
until the signal strength has passed
a certain threshold (approximately
30%) and a crystal clear picture
appears on your TV set.
If you don’t know where exactly
to search for your desired satel-
The digitalisation of satellite channels is progressing rapidly
and soon there will be no more analog satellite channels in Europe.
Once the conversion is completed old analog receivers are rendered
useless and have to be replaced by digital set-top boxes.
lite your search will be in vain. As
long as there are still some analog
signals left, an old analog receiver
for the antenna alignment will
do a perfect job. But what to do
after the switch-off of all analog
signals? In this case a systematic
approach is required.
If only a single satellite is to be
received the antenna alignment
can be fixed at the particular position.
In order to align the dish
correctly the elevation has to be
adjusted properly using the scale
on the antenna pole. However, the
correct elevation depends on the
local degree latitude. Below are
the values for a satellite that is
in a precise southern position (in
a precise northern position when
seen from the southern hemisphere):
Latitude 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
Elevation 72 67 61 55 49 44 38 33 27 22 17
For a satellite that is some
degrees to the East or the West
the elevation decreases. For a
10-degree deviation the elevation
decreases by a maximum of one
degree.
Next, the hunt for a signal can
begin by moving the antenna
towards the desired satellite’s
position. In order to check the
success of the search on the TV
screen the digital set-top box has
to be tuned into a channel on that
satellite. Of course new receivers
have a pre-programmed channel
list, so selecting a valid channel
should not be a problem. However,
since transponder data do
change in the course of time it is
advisable to check the pre-stored
data against the current SatcoDX
frequency chart.
Unfortunately there is no
scale on the pole for turning the
antenna to the East or the West.
This makes finding the correct
alignment as difficult as with a
motorised antenna which allows
receiving a great deal more channels
without additional costs