In this article, I will give some tips for beginners to successfully install a satellite. First of all, you need to think carefully about what you need (or want), the satellites that serve the channels you want to receive. Once you have done this, I invite you to read the rest of this article.

Choosing the right satellite dish

– Search on specialized sites, the area where you live, the chosen satellite(s), to determine the diameter of the antenna(s) to be installed and whether the desired satellite(s) can be received;

– I will not talk about motorized satellite dishes, which in my opinion should be avoided, because the quality of the equipment currently offered to the "general public" is too poor and unreliable.

– If you want to have several satellites with a single antenna, the best solution is a “multi-focus” satellite dish of the VISIOSAT G2, G3 or G4 type for 2, 3 or 4 satellites.  A multi-focus antenna is a dish designed to accommodate several heads in good conditions.

– You can use a DISEQC switch with 2, 3 or 4 inputs to have a single downlink cable to the demodulator. The DISEQC is a signal generated by the demodulator and must be configured by the user according to the needs.

A DISEQC switch is a small box that sits near the satellite dish; a model with 4 inputs and one output has its inputs identified with 4 numbers or letters which are: 1, 2, 3, 4 or A, B, C, D. The heads can be connected to any location, but you will have to remember which head is in each location and program the demodulator correctly at the satellite management level.

* Personally I much prefer a satellite dish, but it is not always possible.

– The choice of dish material: in fact, the material, whether steel, aluminium or a composite material, has almost no influence on the performance level of the antenna. This is called: THE MERIT FACTOR or its gain.

* I have noticed that some 60cm dishes have a gain greater than or equal to an 80cm or more.
* Be wary of equipment sold at low prices, there is often a trap! The plate rusts or rots quickly...

Choosing the right head (LNB)

– Do not use low-end products at very low prices.

– Also do not be tempted by “so-called prestige brands”, which I cannot name. The difference in performance is minor compared to a standard price product, the majority of satellites operated in France and North Africa are ASTRA, HOTBIRD13 and EUTELSAT5 (AB3).

In the case of attempts to receive specialized satellites such as NILESAT, BADR, HISPASAT or some others received weakly on French territory or in North Africa, it may be interesting to use these expensive HEADS to try to improve reception, but a VERY GOOD dish is essential, otherwise, it will not be of much use.

– A good quality satellite dish has an average gain of 35DB for a 60/65CM and 39DB for an 80/85CM.

– We will have to “take care” with the installation of the dish, VERY stable and vertical fixing especially in the case of a “multi-head” dish, in order to have a perfect alignment of the heads in relation to the dish.

– It will also be necessary to properly align the counter polarization of each LNB (left/right tilt) because the vertical and horizontal signals received by the head(s) must not mix.

– you will need to take care of the sealing of the “f” plugs by avoiding “scotch tape” (water always ends up getting in by capillarity), we will prefer “cat skin” (no need to skin a feline), cat skin is a kind of rubber in a roll that pulls and welds itself as soon as it covers itself. If you can’t get this product, any grease will do the job very well.

Reminder for beginners: An LNB is made up of 4 receiving elements:

– Vertical low  (13 volts voltage sent by the demodulator).
– Horizontal low  (18 volts).
– Vertical high ( 13 volts + a modulated signal of 22 kilohertz).
– Horizontal high  (18 volts + 22khz).

There are also “MONOBLOCK” LNBs, which are very practical for easily receiving 2 nearby satellites; the most common is the 6° which allows you to receive ASTRA 19.2 and HOTBIRD 13.

– There are also some with another gap for special receptions.

– the implementation of such LNBs is extremely simple. There is no adjustment. We simply choose the satellite that we want to prioritize by placing it in the center of the dish; To identify which head receives ASTRA, simply place yourself in front of the dish and it is the one on the left that is ASTRA; It will be necessary to choose the “TONEBURT” function on the demo to select the satellite to receive.

– The quality of an LNB is determined by its “noise factor”, this is the ratio between the “useful signal” (gain) and the noise (parasites) generated by the electronics integrated in the head (conversion of the direct signal from the satellite and amplification) because the signal received by the dish is between 10.7 megahertz and 12 megahertz. These frequencies are not “transportable as such in a classic coaxial cable. It is necessary to convert between 9750 megahertz and 2.4 gigahertz, this is what is called the “BIS” (satellite intermediate band).

* This frequency band is “transportable” in a classic coaxial cable and is routed to the demodulator which will do its job with it.

– This noise factor must be as low as possible.

A good LNB will have a noise figure around 0.1 DB.

– The average gain of a classic LNB is around 58DB.
– This gain is partly added to the gain of the dish.

Choosing the right coaxial cable

You will need to think about choosing a very good quality coaxial cable.

Reminder for beginners:

– Black or white, it is the same in terms of characteristics. We often hear “the black cable is for the satellite” THIS IS FALSE! The difference is that the “black (PATC) is made of polypropylene, flame propagator. It is reserved for outdoor use because, apparently, it lasts better over time….

– White (VATC) is made of vinyl.

There are several qualities of cables, I will give you some examples with the attenuations for 100 meters with the satellite, knowing that the more the frequency increases, the more the loss increases:

– 17 VATC (white) or PATC (black): the loss will be around 27 decibels for 100 meters in satellite.
– 19 VA or PA: we go to around 30 db
– 25 VA or PA: 35 db, it is CONSIDERABLE! We will avoid this type of cable sold in DIY stores.

*There is an "EXTRA" cable, it is the 11 VA or PA, it only loses 12 db, but its diameter is 11mm, compared to 7 for the others.

– A 'well-adjusted' satellite dish can "put out" 70 to 80 db, these decibels are delivered by the LNB (obviously, without a measuring device, it is not possible to know!).

– You should know that a "good quality" satellite receiver is satisfied with 45 DB, there is a reserve.

– When laying the cable, we will avoid bending it too much because this reduces performance. You should also avoid crushing it (I have already seen a cable passed through a window).

NEVER put a splitter to feed 2 or more receivers on a single output head (conflicts between devices). If you want two or more receivers, you will have to choose one (or more) TWIN (2), QUAD (4), or OCTO (8) LNBs, and 'pull' a direct coaxial for each device.

For more complex or collective installations, I can help you if you wish, let me know by commenting on this article or  creating a new discussion on the forum.

Now it's your turn to play! Choose your receiver, program it and HOOOP, let's go!