Can Astra satellite signals go through walls?

John_Gray

A friend of mine lives in a bungalow. Next door is a small group of three two-storey terraced houses, and https://www.dishpointer.com shows that the direction to the Astra satellite goes almost directly in line with the ridge of the roof.

If the satellite dish were to be put up next to the bungalow's TV aerial, the signal from the satellite would have to go through three lofts, and four walls. I suspect that would mean that there is almost no signal left by the time it gets to the dish. Do people agree?

There would seem to be two main alternatives:
1) mount the satellite dish on a very tall vertical pole (about 3 or 4 metres above the bungalow's roof), so that the dish could actually 'see' the satellite above the next door roofs
2) use a bigger dish (1 m diameter rather than 50 cm?) at TV aerial height to capture more of what little signal there's left after passing through the walls

A third alternative, which he would probably want to avoid, is to mount the satellite dish on a pole in the back garden in a location which could 'see' the Astra satellite, unimpeded by the next-door houses. This would increase the cable length from the LNBs...

All knowledgeable opinions welcomed!

bryanb

A satellite dish must have clear line of sight to the satellite, sorry.

kwikbreaks

I'd concur that receiving a satellite signal through a roof isn't going to work - I have seen pictures of a dish actually in a loft but it had a fibreglass panel to operate through.

You need to carefully consider wind loading if putting a dish on a long pole - even if it doesn't come down you'd probably have problems with signal drop outs on windy days if it swayed about enough.

My conclusion - the thing most likely to work would be to put the dish in the garden where you can get a clear view of the satellite.

iltisman

You may be surprised at the angle that signals arrive at your dish it is about 35 degrees so you may be able to see the sat over the obstruction.

JasX

yup, option 2 wouldn't work as there isn't any more of the signal to receive, don't forget to add the bungalows height to the height dishpointer.com gives you on the blocking height tool to make sure you're actually blocked when looking up at the satellite.

perhaps even mounting it on the roof at the side farthest from the block (ie northern most) would give you enough of an angle to see the satellite?

Taffybiker

Unobstructed line of sight is very important. Even trees that grow leaves in summer will cause problems with the signal if they're in the way. The actual height of the dish is not important. The signal will be just as strong if the dish is on the floor. It's usually only mounted higher up to prevent it from being disturbed too easily.
I wouldn't worry too much about having to increase the cable run if necessary. The receiver is more interested in the quality of the signal than the strength. Proper satellite coax cable such as CT100 is super screened to provide just this.

Owain_Moneysaver

Good quality cable and a correctly positioned and aligned dish, you can run about 50m without needing a booster amp. If you do need an amp, fit it at the dish end and power it along the cable.

JasX

Taffybiker wrote: »

. The actual height of the dish is not important. The signal will be just as strong if the dish is on the floor. It's usually only mounted higher up to prevent it from being disturbed too easily.

except for the minor critical detail that if the dish needs to see over an obstruction it'll not get any signal at all if its not mounted at sufficient height....

did you read the OPs post?

macman

But if moving the dish to (say) the bottom of the back garden changes the line of sight to avoid the bungalows, then yes it could be mounted at or near ground level. I got the impression that it's the sideways line of sight that is problematic with mounting it on or near the bungalow.

alanrowell

As the direction to the Astra satellite goes almost directly in line with the ridge of the roof it would suggest that putting the dish some distance down the garden would solve the problem nicely even if mounting the dish at ground level

timbim_2

Might be worth measuring the minimum elevation angle required for clear sky, the orbit may just be high enough to get it on line of sight. Much easier than erecting a pole or faffing around with silly buried cable runs.