Portable satellite system

charlies_mum

We bought a portable satellite system for when we are in our caravan, and have set it up, but can't get it working (it worked fine at home).

The signal intensity is 80%, but the signal quality is only 14% and we can't get it to increase, wherever we move it to.

Any suggestions ?

Oliver27

Do you have a clearline of site to the satellite you wish to view,
Its a good idea to use a compass to get the rough direction and
to find a suitable site to fix the dish

Then you will need a satellite meter to align the dish, if you only have
a basic needle style or beeping type, then there is a chance you have the
dish on the wrong satellite.

amonra

Yes, I agree with Oliver27, you have probably got it locked onto the wrong satellite. Quite easy to miss the right one, there are dozens within a few degrees of arc. Keep moving it a few degrees at a time and see what happens.

totalsolutions

Have you travelled a few hundred miles from home, if you went north then the signal will be weaker, a bigger dish will be required?

charlies_mum

We have actually travelled approximately 250miles south. We have walked around and looked which way other dishes are pointing, and think that the problem may be where we are pitched.

The other dishes are all pointing the same way, but we can't position ours the same way as we have trees directly behind us.

Oliver27

Dont mean to sound rude but you don't really sound like
you know what your doing.

A satellite dish needs to aligned directly onto the satellite I am
talking a matter of millimetre accuracy, its not like a TV aerial
where you can get away a rough direction.

Why don't you ask a few of the people around your pitch with dish's,
sure somebody will help you out for a few beers or something.

gnatschuffed

Have you adjusted the elevation of the satellite? As you have moved south, you will need to increase it slightly by a couple of degrees. You really need to work it out using a satellite position calculator (do a google there are a few on the net) although as you're in a caravan park, you should pretty much copy them then use a sat finder (preferably a digital one as they tell you exactly what satellite you're locked on to) to accurately find the satellite and lock the signal.

withabix

charlies_mum wrote: »

The other dishes are all pointing the same way, but we can't position ours the same way as we have trees directly behind us.

That's your problem.

This can only be solved by moving pitch to one where you've got line of site without trees.