|
My DIY Projects
Installation of a Satellite System
One of my 1st projects was to install a Satellite system so that we could tune into Astra and watch a bit of British TV. I had installed systems before when I was in my early 20s so had a good idea of what to do and felt confident that I could complete the project easily enough. It’s not rocket science but you need to be aware of a few things so let me explain the basics.
We had a dish at home, sky card and receiver. I read a few articles and found that I could take the receiver and card to France, plug into a 60 cm dish:
http://www.satcure.co.uk/2d/fprint.htm
Installed locally and all would work fine. The walls of our property are constructed from granite and in most places over a meter thick. Drilling to those depths would not be easy so I had to consider and find a good cable run and entry from the position of the dish to the receiver. The TV was situated in the middle of the living room so after much deliberation I ran the cable down through the cellar, along a joist below the living room floor, up an internal wall and out through a hole to the rear of a disused fireplace to the external wall exiting 1 meter from the dish.
Priority 1 – Clear line of sight
I had to find a clear line of sight for the dish – (Priority No1) and knew that I had plenty of options for a clear line of sight. I eventually chose the front of the house due to considerations relating to the cable run and entry into the property. I bought a cheap compass bearing for roughly locating the satellite position (Astra2 28.2 degrees east of south) and a digital Satellite meter for the fine-tuning to Astra in the UK.
Note - I would recommend that anyone wishing to complete a similar project do the same as it’s worth the money and saves a lot of aggravation in the long term. Digital Meter can be bought for as little as £30. A cheap compass £2
I purchased the dish (including Bracket), cable and F connections from the local Bricomarche (DIY store) in France.
Note - Most French DIY stores have an excellent selection of all the required installation equipment but I decided to buy a Digital Meter in the UK wishing to fully discuss and understand the workings of the product.
Digital Satellite Strength Meters
For an inline powered Digital Strength Meter (Do not buy Analogue for Astra) you have to run a cable between the receiver and the LNB (receives the signal and connected to the cable) on the dish, then connect the Digital Strength Meter in line with the LNB / Dish and Receiver before turning on the power at the receiver for the Strength Meter to work. The mains power then powers the LNB and Meter. You can then move and line up the dish. Good Digital meters will provide visual as well as audible indications of signal strength during alignment. The more expensive meters have their own inbuilt power supply but expensive for the one off installation. If you purchase one of these meters you do have the added benefit of not having to run your cable providing power to the meter but again expense is a consideration.
Note - Make sure you read the instructions for your digital strength meter and know the elevation (see blow) and compass bearing (Astra2 28.2 degrees east of south) for your property location. You can ask at your local Bricomarche or discuss the elevation with the Digital Meter supplier or get the information on line. To calculate take elevation you will need for the nearest major city or town. Find the latitude and Longitude (see below). Find the co-ordinates and place these in the dish elevation site shown below.
Example - choosing Guingamp 48.34N 03.10E gives me an elevation rounded up to of 29 degrees. The further south you go the higher the elevation.
Digital Meters selection
http://www.satellitesuperstore.com/install.htm
Latitude and Longitude of Important locations in France
http://www.mapsofworld.com/lat_long/france-lat-long.html
Dish Elevation for your property location in France
http://www.hansa-electronic.com/satcalceng.asp
Priority 2 – Positioning your Dish
If you are not sure of the position for the Satellite after using your compass then I would recommend running a temporary cable (i.e. through open windows / doors) and not clip, to test the position of the dish before running the permanent cabling solution to your dish and receiver.
Note - Why run a temporary cable if you are using an inline digital Strength Meter?
I used to install Satellite dishes for a living (4 a day) and fully admit that on occasions have not been 100% sure of the position of the satellite or alignment using a compass. You often make partial mistakes when using a compass and may assume the dish will clear trees or the point out from the side of a building. REMEMBER A COMPASS MAY NOT ALWAYS BE ACCURATE. Electrical fields may alter the bearing slightly. I have then made the further mistake of running and clipping cable only to find out that I have partial signal or no signal at all. You then have to move the dish and rerun cable and I can guarantee that you will not have enough cable to do a re-run because the new location is further away from the receiver. Cutting and joining cable causes losses. Try to avoid doing this.
Back to my installation - I positioned the dish (Astra2 28.2 degrees east of south) using the compass and had my wife check the strength meter on the receiver (built in) and at the same time moved the dish left to right until we both had an increased signal. The dish was set more or less to the correct elevation (29 degrees. Changes as you move down through France) and again began to move the dish (fingertip strength) slightly up and down. The signal increased and fell and I gently put pressure on the top and bottom of the dish. I did the same again left top right until the signal maxed out. My wife said the receiver signal was strong and then she placed the receiver to a channel. All was crystal clear. Tightened up the brackets and removed the temporary cable before running the permanent solution. Used bonding self-amalgamating tape on the connections to make sure no moisture could enter and degrade the electrical components within the LNB.
Again my recommendation - If you have an inline meter and are not 100% sure of the alignment then I would suggest running a temporary cable. When the signal is strong and pictures appear you can tighten up the dish remove the inline meter and temporary cable, run the permanent cabling solution and be assured that all will work when you power back up.
|
