In Europe, the interest in satellite broadcasts continues to grow, thanks to the vast array of channels offered by major satellite clusters like Hotbird (13° East) and Eutelsat (7° East). Whether you are a hobbyist or setting up a system out of necessity, aligning your own satellite dish is a manageable task that can yield professional-grade signal quality with the right techniques and a bit of patience.
Here is a step-by-step guide to installing and optimizing your satellite dish, tailored for individual users and amateur technicians across Europe.
1. Preparation and Safety: Mark Your Starting Point
Before you begin any adjustments, it is vital to secure your current position. If you are improving an existing dish, use a pen to mark the horizontal and vertical positions of the antenna on its mount. This ensures that if you lose the signal completely during the process, you can easily return to your starting point. Remember, for a precise adjustment, every movement should be as small as possible.
2. Azimuth and Elevation: Navigating the Sky
A satellite antenna moves along two primary axes: Azimuth (left-right) and Elevation (up-down).
• Azimuth: This is the horizontal rotation of the dish to find the satellite’s longitudinal position in the sky.
• Elevation: This is the vertical tilt, or the angle at which the dish looks up toward the sky.
To find the perfect signal, open the “info” menu on your receiver to track the signal level in real-time. Move the dish in millimetric increments in one direction until you hit the highest signal level. Once the peak is found for one axis, repeat the process for the other. Be sure to tighten the bolts carefully after finding the peak so that the strong signal is not lost during the final securing.
3. LNB Polarization and the “Sweet Spot”
Once the dish is fixed, the next crucial step is the LNB adjustment, which optimizes the polarization. Without moving the dish itself, rotate the LNB (the device at the focal point of the dish) clockwise or counter-clockwise. By watching the quality and level on your screen, you can find the “sweet spot” where the signal is at its absolute maximum. This is particularly important for receiving weaker or high-definition signals clearly.
4. Hardware Quality and the Cable Factor
Even a perfectly aligned dish can fail if the hardware is substandard. The cable connecting the antenna to the receiver should be as short and high-quality as possible. Signal strength weakens as cable length increases. if you must use a very long cable, consider installing a “line amplifier” to boost the signal before it reaches the receiver. Additionally, be aware that LNBs can degrade over time due to environmental factors, causing “frequency drift”. If you notice some channels work while others do not despite a good alignment, the best solution is usually to replace the LNB.
5. Scanning and Software Updates
For popular European positions like Hotbird, which hosts over 1,000 channels, frequencies can change periodically. To ensure your channel list is up-to-date, use the Network Search (NIT) feature on your receiver. By activating NIT, your device will automatically detect and download the most recent frequency parameters and channel lists.
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