The advent of satellite television has made it possible to receive high-quality television signals in any corner of the world where there is coverage area of ​​the corresponding satellites. To do this, use either a DVB card or a satellite receiver, which will not only allow you to view programs, but also record them. To fully obtain comfort and satisfaction from watching TV shows, you should properly configure satellite dish to the corresponding satellite.

Instructions

Determine the location of the satellite and what transponder frequencies apply to it. To do this, use the Satellite Transponders program. The program will show the desired satellite (Hotbird), in addition you will find out which television and radio channels, Internet providers broadcast from it, as well as the transponder frequency ranges.

Determine your location in relation to the satellite, i.e. whether your area falls within its coverage area. For a map with Hotbird satellite coverage, visit www.lyngsat-maps.com. Calculate the location of the satellite relative to your geographic coordinates, Satellite Antenna Alignment, in addition, it shows the location of the sun in the sky at a certain time, which also makes it easier to tune into the satellite. Enter the latitude and longitude data of your city. The program will determine the direction of installation of the satellite dish and the angle at which it should be raised or lowered.

Connect the antenna to the satellite receiver, and it to the TV. Setting up in this way is easier than using a DVB card; in the second case, the signal appears after a few seconds, and not immediately, which slows down the process. You will have to move the satellite dish very slowly all the time, you should stop and wait for the signal to appear. Installation and configuration using the receiver does not have such problems, it appears much faster. It is better to use a small portable TV if the dish is located at a considerable distance from the TV receiver. Or you will need help.

Select “Antenna installation” in the receiver settings menu. Select the satellite name, Hotbird. Select the transponder frequency in which the polarization is reflected (V-vertical, H-horizontal), if the desired frequency is not available, then return to the previous menu, select “Channel search” and enter its value. Select the LNB converter type “Universal 2”. Turn off the positioner and DiSEqC if the satellite dish is not connected to the gimbal and multiple converters.

Go to the place where the plate is installed. Using a compass, determine the direction to the south, then look in which direction from the plate south is. For example, in the Donetsk region (Ukraine) the south is at 36 degrees. For other territories the meaning will be different. Therefore, knowing that the Hotbird satellite group is located at 13 degrees east, you need to turn the dish from the south direction to the right. First place the plate slightly higher than the vertical position. Start moving it slowly in a horizontal direction. The plate can be moved quite quickly, the main thing is to ensure that it is in a horizontal plane, while the vertical position must remain unchanged. Gradually, after passing the entire sector, lower the plate.

Fix the satellite dish after the signal appears. Catch the maximum value. Loosen the converter clamp. Turn it slowly and watch the signal readings. Having fixed the maximum level, secure the converter.

So the satellite dish is installed on a bracket, and the bracket is rigidly attached to the wall of your house (this was discussed). Now you can proceed directly to the settings. First you need to approximately set the azimuth and elevation angle of the antenna.

Elevation angle is the angle by which the line of sight to the satellite deviates from the horizontal. Azimuth is the direction pointing to the satellite depending on the location of the receiving location. As an example, I give the values ​​of elevation angle and azimuth for a number of Russian cities for the satellite Hot Bird.

azimuth,° elevation,°

Arkhangelsk 211 13

Volgograd 219 26

Ekaterinburg 232 13

Kazan 231 21

Kaliningrad 189 27

Krasnodar 215 32

Moscow 208 23

Murmansk 201 11

N. Novgorod 215 20

Rostov-on-Don 215 30

St. Petersburg 200 20

Samara 223 21

Tyumen 237 10

1. To view satellite channels HotBird Any digital satellite receiver will do, as any of them is capable of receiving open (FTA) channels. In my example we use the Euston 5000PVR receiver. In accordance with the operating instructions for this receiver, connect to it the cable coming from the converter (connecting the coaxial cable to both the converter and the receiver must be done with the receiver's power off!)

2. Connect the receiver to the TV according to the operating instructions. After that, turn on the TV, switch it to “AV” mode and turn on the Euston 5000PVR.

3. To tune to satellite HotBird in the receiver you need to set the parameters of a strong transponder, for example, you can select 11034 -V 27500 - 3/4, where 11034 is the frequency in megahertz, V is the vertical polarization, 27500 is the symbol rate, 3/4 is the error correction code. This can be done by entering the “Installation/Single Search” menu, where we select the name of the satellite Hotbird 1/2/3/4/6 in the “Satellite” field; for a hint, the remote control buttons with which the selection is made are displayed at the bottom of the menu. Then we go to setting up the converter in the “LNB Settings” submenu, where we indicate in “LNB Type” – “Universal”, “22K” - does not turn on when selecting a universal converter, “DiSEqC1.0” – “Disable”, “DiSEqC1.1 ” – “Disable”, “Positioner” – “Off”, “Polar.” – “Auto”, “Tone” – “On”, press the “Menu” button and confirm the selection “OK”. Then select the channel scanning type “Open” - “No”, which will allow you to scan all channels, “Channel search” - “TV + radio”, “Search mode” - “Scan by preset.”

After completing all these installations, we begin to very slowly turn the antenna left and right, up and down relative to the expected location of the satellite.

4. While monitoring the level of the “Quality” scale on the TV screen, you need to slowly turn the antenna to the left (right), literally one degree at a time, until a green bar appears. If, when turning the antenna to the left (right), you do not achieve the appearance of a green stripe, and the azimuth is indicated correctly, then you need to move the antenna up (down) by one degree and repeat the search. After the strip appears, you need to smoothly turn the antenna to the left (right) to achieve the maximum possible level of the “Quality” scale, which will be displayed as a percentage. Next, we carefully fix the antenna mount, which allowed it to be moved to the left (right) and, tracking the level of the “Quality” scale, we move the antenna up (down) to the maximum value, which, ultimately, we also fix. After making these settings, an increase in the signal level will also be achieved by rotating the converter around the axis of the holder until it reaches the maximum value, which also needs to be fixed.

5. When the antenna is configured to the maximum signal level from the HotBird satellite, it is necessary to scan the channels. To do this, in the same menu, go to the “Search” line and press the “OK” button on the remote control, as a result of which scanning information will be displayed on the TV screen. After scanning, you need to save its results.

If, as a result of viewing, there are channels with a picture that crumbles into squares, then you can adjust the antenna according to the parameters of these channels (weak transponder), which is performed in the same way as searching for a satellite using a strong transponder, only with the parameters of the weak transponder, which can be seen in advance by clicking the “Info” button.

This completes the setup, enjoy watching!

Today let’s abstract a little from Tricolor, NTV Plus and pay television in general. There are many satellites that broadcast channels in the clear. This means that you don’t have to pay a subscription fee to watch.

One of the most common satellites with a large number of different channels is Hotbird. Hotbird is translated from English as Firebird. This satellite occupies a convenient position for central Russia at 13 degrees east longitude. From this satellite you can watch channels in Belgian, English, Italian, German, French, Polish, Arabic and other languages ​​of the world. But we are primarily interested in channels in Russian. Since this satellite also contains several channels in the Armenian language, let’s talk about them.
In this article I will tell you how many and which channels in Russian and Armenian are broadcast from the Hotbird satellite, and what you need to set them up.

What diameter satellite dish will be required to receive the Hotbird satellite?

To view channels from a satellite, you will need a satellite dish with a diameter of 0.8 meters. I set up an antenna of even 0.6 meters to the satellite, and it worked surprisingly well, even in rainy weather. You can completely use a satellite dish from Tricolor or NTV Plus. But I would still recommend a 0.8 antenna.

Is it possible to use a converter from Tricolor or NTV Plus?

When receiving a satellite signal in the case of Tricolor and NTV Plus, a converter with circular polarization is used. For Hotbird, linear polarizations are used, therefore the converter from Tricolor and NTV Plus will not work. Buy an LNB with linear polarization.

Where is the Hotbird 13E satellite located, relative to Tricolor?

The orbital position of the Firebird is 13 degrees, and Tricolor and NTV Plus are 36. This means that the satellite dish should be rotated 23 degrees to the right if you stand behind the dish.


To set up a satellite, you will need a special device or assistant who will monitor the quality of the signal on the TV while you set up the antenna. To configure, use transponder 11034/V/27500. Begin to slowly rotate the plate vertically and horizontally until a signal appears. Achieve maximum strength and quality readings.

When setting up a satellite receiver, you can use automatic search. In this case, the system will set up about a thousand channels for you, among which there are only a few in Russian and only three in Armenian. I suggest using my experience and setting up the channels that interest us manually. For your convenience, I have presented a list of all channels in Russian and Armenian below.

Satellite TV is extremely relevant; it provides the opportunity to watch channels in high quality without compression, which attracts many people around the world. In search of the best companions, many have found Hotbird, but few know enough about it and its features.

First of all, it is worth knowing that satellite television hotbird is focused more on the European market, as satellite 13e is owned by a French company. Many lovers of Russian channels, tuning into this satellite, are faced with the fact that there are quite a few channels in Russian there (meaning open ones).

Of course, there are many more paid ones, but for fans of free television this satellite will not be one of the best. However, if you are interested in foreign channels, as well as channels with Russian subtitles, then this is an option for you.

The main list of programs supported by the satellite includes channels from the following countries:

• France.
• Switzerland.
• China.
• Portugal.
• Poland.
• Italy.
• Germany.
• Türkiye.
• etc.

It should be noted that there are also channels from other countries here, but there are fewer of them, since the main target audiences are located in the above countries, as are the broadcasting companies.

In addition, a fairly large coverage area makes the satellite increasingly in demand in our time. While in Russia, you will be able to watch many free foreign channels, and even Russian ones, but there will only be a few dozen of them.

Of course, the coverage area, although wide, has its limitations. For example, it is optimal to receive a signal from this satellite while in the area:

• Europe.
• Central Asia.
• China.
• North Africa.
• Middle East.

Unfortunately, residents of other regions will not be able to receive the signal, since the coverage area is limited and has its own specific limits.

Advantages of this satellite

Among the main advantages of Hotbird 13e it is worth noting the following:

• A list of more than five thousand channels.
• Broadcasts in different languages ​​originating from different countries peace. Including Russian programs.
• Many channels in open access, for which you do not need to pay a subscription fee.
• The highest quality of modern digital broadcasting.
• Large and extensive coverage area that covers almost all regions of Russia.
• The ability to subscribe to paid channels, which will provide even more opportunities for spending leisure time watching TV.

All you need to start using all these advantages is to set up a move with Hotbird 13e. This is done quite simply and does not require any special knowledge or skills. You will also need special equipment capable of receiving and decoding channels.

The satellite allows you to use an antenna with a diameter of 0.6 m to 0.9 m, which is very convenient, since such antennas are inexpensive, do not require much space for installation, are easy to set up and receive the signal perfectly.

Another important point. If you find yourself in an area that is covered by coverage, you will also need to make sure that there are no obstructions in the path between the antenna and the satellite.

In fact, even ordinary tall buildings or trees can damage the signal, it will not reach you, and you will not be able to take advantage of satellite TV.

Call a technician in advance to check the connectivity before installing and configuring the equipment. This way you can protect yourself from unnecessary expenses that will be in vain.

If you are not in the coverage area, you can always find other satellites that you can connect to to watch your favorite programs.

Usually, the setup takes place depending on which satellite, channels and provider have been selected. The equipment you will use also plays a significant role. It must not only meet quality standards, but also be compatible with your dish and your TV.

Installation details

Often, if you order equipment from any company, the specialists will install and configure it themselves. The parameters of the terrain, coverage, as well as other subtleties that may play a role in connection are taken into account.

The connection itself occurs in several stages:

Stage	Description of work
Purchase of equipment	You order equipment (dish, receiver, cable, etc.), experts advise you which models are best to choose, depending on your goals. There may be a significant difference in antenna diameter, frequency range, sharing capabilities and other functions. A thorough analysis must be carried out for each product item in order to select the necessary set for you.
Equipment installation	Typically, this stage begins with a technician visiting your place of residence, where he takes the necessary measurements, draws up a connection and installation project. If this was done at the purchasing stage, the wizard simply installs and connects all the elements that were purchased earlier so that you can use them.
Equipment setup	Most of the problems that unknowing people have are with setting up the antenna to receive satellites, as well as with the settings of the receiver, which is supposed to decode the signals. Here you need to know all the channel frequencies, and the possibilities of connecting to a TV, the Internet, etc. It is best to entrust this stage to a professional rather than doing it yourself, since due to ignorance you can make a number of serious mistakes.
Package selection	In order to decode signals from paid channels, you need to connect to them. It's very expensive with each channel individually, so many providers offer channel packages that you can use. Usually they mainly concern regional programs that are published in Russian. But there are also many channels that support Russian subtitles.

If you want to use free channels, you will need a list of them to tune into. Such lists can be found in many sources. The most universal is the lyngsat service. It contains a list of all channels, both public and private.

You can use their tables to customize your broadcasting yourself, selecting the desired frequencies and the desired channels from the list. It is worth noting that for a hotbird the number of Russian channels is very small. Still, the satellite is more focused on other regions (Europe and Asia).

But there are Russian programs here too. There are about three dozen of them in the public domain. These are both large regional and local channels that are rebroadcast by satellite.

Satellite capabilities

Satellite 13e is special in that it offers several types of broadcasting:

• Television programs.
• Radio channels.
• Internet.

By connecting through a provider, you can receive any of these services and enjoy all the benefits of a stable satellite digital signal.

The satellite is owned by the famous French company Alcatel, and therefore the quality of the equipment and the signal transmitted through it is always at the highest level.

To get the most out of Hotbird, and especially if it is the only satellite you are configuring your equipment for, it is advisable to purchase one of the paid packages.

A subscription will give you the opportunity not only to take full advantage of satellite capabilities, but also to view closed channels. Let's say, if there are only about 20 open Russian channels, then with the package there will be about a hundred of them.

Many channels are broadcast 24 hours a day, so you can easily watch them at any time. This will especially please fans of specific channels - sports, cultural, news, erotic, etc.

Among ordinary, untrained users, there is an opinion that it is almost impossible to independently install and configure a satellite system. In fact, this is not true at all. Below are simple instructions for dummies on how to independently install and configure a satellite dish without calculations, satellite finders and other attributes of professionals. If you are a professional installer, then the material below is unlikely to be of interest to you.

Although any information can now be found on the Internet, I still tried to collect all the basic information I received on one page - for convenience. I’ll just try to tell you in my own words and with pictures how I installed and configured the satellite system. I’ll say right away that the installation of ONLY an offset fixed antenna is being considered, and not a direct focus or motorized one. And yet, it is possible that no matter how hard you try, you may not be able to install and configure the antenna yourself. Then you will have to invite a professional installer. It’s hard for me to imagine how this could be, but I’ve seen people on the forums struggling for a couple of days in useless attempts to set up the antenna. In other cases, by independently selecting components and installing it yourself, you can save some, sometimes considerable, money. Besides everything else, I personally was just interested in installing everything myself. What is the difference between installing and configuring the system “by eye” and professional installation? Almost nothing. With the exception of a more accurate initial calculation (which saves significant time), the mounting system and the principle of antenna tuning are the same.

Warning: All work related to heights and electricity is life-threatening!!! If anything causes the slightest concern, do not take risks, trust the professionals!!! You perform independent installation at your own peril and risk!!! In any case, remember about safety precautions and that all dangerous work at height is carried out only by professionals with proven safety equipment!!!

List of basic concepts

TV satellite – spacecraft, located in the geostationary orbit of the Earth and sending a television signal to a certain territory of the Earth via a transponder. All satellites are located in the equatorial plane, so they are at the same latitude, but differ in longitude. In addition to the name, they also have a longitude designation. For example, Amos 4W means that the satellite is called Amos and is located at 4 degrees west longitude (W is West). Hotbird 13E is a satellite of Hotbird, located at 13 degrees east longitude (E is East). Based on the fact that satellites are “fixed” at certain points in orbit, they also have certain coverage areas of the Earth.

Transponder– a transceiver located on the satellite. It is characterized by the width and direction of the sent beam and the broadcast frequency. Broadcasting is carried out in two main bands - C-Band and Ku-Band. Mostly American and Russian satellites broadcast in the C band (4 GHz), and European satellites broadcast in the Ku band (10.700-12.750 GHz). Broadcasting is carried out in linear or circular polarization. Which in turn differ into vertical (V) and horizontal (H) for linear polarization and left (L) and right (R) for circular polarization. When they say “signal from transponder 11766H”, they mean a transponder broadcasting at a frequency of 11766 MHz with a horizontal
polarization. There are from several to dozens of transponders on a satellite
things.

Satellite dish– the main element of the subscriber’s satellite system for receiving a signal from the satellite. To put it in simple words, the antenna “collects” the weak reflected satellite signal over its entire surface and focuses it to a specific point where the converter is installed. The most common antennas are direct focus and offset. Direct focus ones are a parabolic mirror with a focus at the geometric center, while offset ones have a shifted focus (below the geometric center of the antenna). Accordingly, the converter of a direct-focus antenna is installed in the center, near
offset - shifted to the bottom. Offset antennas are the most popular among ordinary users. They are cheap, easy to install and configure. Antennas are produced in various diameters and from various materials. The material is usually either aluminum alloy or steel. There are non-rotating antennas (rigidly fixed) and antennas with an actuator (motor suspension). The motorized suspension rotates the antenna at specified angles and allows you to receive signals from a huge number of satellites in the field of view. Setting up the latter is not very easy for a beginner. The antenna size is selected individually, depending on the signal strength needed to view the satellite. The antenna diameter must be selected with some margin, since precipitation (heavy rain, snow) creates significant interference with the satellite signal. This is especially true for the Ku-band. But there is no need to go to extremes - if an antenna with a diameter of 0.9 m is enough, absolutely
it is not necessary to buy a 1.5m antenna - it weighs more and its area is larger
more exposed to wind.

Converter– a device designed to receive a satellite signal reflected from an antenna and installed on an appropriate holder at the antenna focus. The main purpose of the converter is to convert the frequency of the received satellite signal (for example, for the Ku-band it is from 10.7 to 12.75 GHz) to an intermediate one (900 - 2150 MHz), at which the attenuation of the signal transmitted in the cable will be less. Since the power of the received satellite signal is very low, the second important task of the converter is to amplify it to an acceptable level for the receiving path of the receiver. Since any converter introduces its own level of noise into the signal, but is also low-noise, it is also called LNB (Low Noise Block). Converters can be designed to operate in linear or circular polarization and are selected depending on which polarization the satellite is broadcasting in (for example, popular NTV+ packages are broadcast in circular polarization and a universal linear polarization converter, despite the name “universal”, is not suitable for reception). If the converter is universal, it switches to the specified polarization with a voltage of 13/18 V supplied by the receiver. 13 V - vertical polarization, 18 V - horizontal. One more nuance: converters come with 1 output, 2 outputs, 4 outputs, 8 outputs. Based on how many independent viewing points will be installed, a converter with the appropriate number of outputs must be installed, since all converter outputs are independent.

Multifeed– holder for additional converter. Since the satellites are located in geostationary orbit relatively close to each other (according to
certain standards), it is possible to simultaneously receive a signal on one antenna using a multifeed from several nearby satellites. A classic example is 3 satellites (Hotbird 13E, Sisius 4.8E, Amos 4W) received on 1 fixed antenna. As a rule, a converter is installed on the main (focal) antenna holder, configured for Sisius 4.8E, on the 1st multifeed converter for Hotbird 13E, and on the 2nd multifeed converter for Amos 4W.

Disek (DiseqC) is a device that switches a signal from several converters to 1 cable. Since the receiver can only receive a signal from one satellite at a time, the converter corresponding to this satellite must be connected to the receiver. This is exactly what the disek does - it connects to the receiver
currently needed converter. There are different discs, designed to work according to a specific protocol. The DiseqC 1.0 protocol is unidirectional and is used when the number of converters is no more than 4. DiseqC 2.0 is the same, only bidirectional and compatible with 1.0. DiseqC 1.1 is used to connect more converters. Protocol 1.2 is used to control the positioner.

A coaxial cable is connected to the inputs and output of the disk via F-connectors.
I think there is no need to talk about connectors and cables - everything is clear here. However, the cable must have a characteristic impedance of 75 Ohms, be made of high-quality materials that can withstand severe temperature changes and have a good shielding braid. The material of the core is steel, copper, copper-plated steel - it’s clear that it’s unlikely to work out better.

Antenna bracket– a simple metal holder that is attached to the wall (usually) and to which the antenna is attached. It must be made as securely as possible so that the wind does not tear off the antenna.

Satellite receiver– a device that receives a satellite signal from a converter and outputs it to the TV in the form of a familiar picture with sound Smile Choosing a receiver is the most difficult task when choosing a satellite system.
Receivers come in both open unencoded channels (FTA) and encoded ones, with card readers, with slots for additional decoding modules, with an emulator, with various video outputs, with a hard drive and other useful and not so useful functions. Here, as they say, there is something for every preference and every budget. There is one important point: today satellite broadcasting in HD format (high-definition video) and MPEG4 is being actively put into operation. Receivers that support these formats are usually much more expensive than regular ones. Therefore, before purchasing a satellite system, you need to decide what content you will watch and what kind of receiver you need for this. Cheap receivers are usually no different high quality image and sound, great functionality and fast channel switching. Although there are exceptions. A separate nuance is the emulator in the receiver. As its name suggests, the emulator is designed to software emulate the operation of a smart card. What is this for? A huge number of channels from different satellites are protected by encodings. There are different encodings - Viaccess, Seca, Irdeto, Nagravision, Biss, etc. For example, some package of channels in Biss encoding is broadcast and you want to watch it (the antenna is tuned to
desired satellite), but you do not have a smart card. Then look for a software emulator in your receiver (usually this is listed in undocumented capabilities) and turn it on. Enter the channel's access keys, and if everything is in order, watch it. As a rule, emulators in modern receivers support several encodings. Another application of the emulator is a phenomenon popularly called “sharing” or “card sharing”. Yes, and also, when choosing a receiver, you should pay attention to the availability and regularity of the output software. In other words, firmware. New firmware, as a rule, removes errors that occur, adds parameters for satellites, transponders, new codes for the emulator, etc.

Selection of components

To begin with, for some time I studied the Internet to familiarize myself with the issue (since I was a complete ignoramus and the concept of what a disc or transponder was was very illusory, but I still wanted to watch satellite TV). I decided what content and from which satellites I want to watch (at the end of this article you can look at the lists of the most popular channels in our area and some links), what is received in my region and what antenna diameter, and also got acquainted with the advice of experienced , among which Vladbel provided me with great help, for which special thanks to him Smile In the end, for
The following satellites were selected: Amos 4W, Sirius 4.8E, Hotbird 13E for one antenna 0.95m and Eutelsat W4 36E for 0.85m. I chose http://www.agsat.com.ua/ as a Kyiv store - everything is in one place and, among other things, they are one of the sellers of original equipment of the same brand recommended by the Openbox manufacturer, and my soul was in Openbox Smile By the way, both receivers I bought in Agsat and receivers bought there for my friends were ALREADY flashed with lists of satellites and lists
favorite channels from popular satellites 4W+5E(4.8E)+13E, and this concerned not only Openboxes. Convenient for those who don’t want to bother too much with filling in favorites.

What was purchased and what were the selection criteria:

• Offset antenna 0.95m, produced in Kharkov. Painted steel. For receiving signals from Amos 4W, Sirius 4.8E, Hotbird 13E.
• Offset antenna 0.85m, produced in Kharkov. Painted steel. To receive a signal from Eutelsat W4 36E.
• Receiver Openbox X-810. Firstly, Openbox has the most powerful technical
  support (new firmware comes out almost every couple of weeks),
  secondly, excellent picture quality, thirdly, built-in emulator,
  fourthly, support for LanComBox (for fans of “sharing”Smile.
• Three universal linear polarization converters SINGLE TITANIUM TSX 0.2dB. Declared low noise level.
• One circular polarization converter SINGLE Circular INVERTO IDLP-40SCIRCL for Eutelsat W4 36E (NTV+).
• Two multifeeds.
• Two antenna brackets.
• Disc signal switch from 4 converters into 1 cable connected to the receiver.
• Coaxial antenna cable, characteristic impedance 75 Ohm, coil 100m.
• 10 antenna screw-on F-connectors.
• 6 anchor bolts "under the nut" 8x72, washers, nuts and lock washers.
• Plastic self-tightening ties.
• A steel cable with clamps for securing the antenna cable to it and lowering it from the roof.
• Plastic box for disc.
• Lanсombox is a device for sharing (anyone who wants can search for the term “card sharing” with any search engine)Smile.

The budget for all this stuff was 1346 hryvnia or ~$270.

Installation

The antenna must be installed in the line of sight to the south. Direct means that there should be no obstacles in front of the antenna in the form of houses, trees, etc. It is for this reason that the most optimal places to install antennas are balconies and roofs. Since my windows are on the ground floor and are not directed far from the south, it was decided to install the antennas on the roof. Fortunately, the roof of my typical panel 9-story building is flat, which makes installation easier (if there is no free access to the antenna with more than 1 converter after installing it on the bracket, see below *). What did I need on the roof besides the antennas and their mounts:

• Hammer with drills with pobedit tips. The diameter of the drill is chosen slightly smaller than the diameter of the anchor bolt. Much less is not possible - the anchor will not fit into the wall. Any more - it will “lobble” and it won’t really be possible to tighten it.
• Phillips screwdriver.
• Socket wrench 10.
• Socket wrench 13.
• Adjustable wrench.
• Hammer.
• Paper cutter (for stripping cables for connectors).
• Wire cutters.
• Receiver with remote control.
• Small TV.
• 220V with extension cord for 3 sockets.

The most interesting questions are where to point the antennas? How to determine the direction? How to set up antennas without a satellite finder (a device for setting up satellite dishes costs from $400)? Since in my case it was decided to make the adjustment “by eye”, I decided to determine the direction logically simply - I just looked at where the antennas on the neighboring roof were pointing and
decided to turn mine in the same direction/

An antenna with 3 converters - definitely Sirius, Hotbird, Amos - we have a lot of these and installers mainly install them. Looking at the neighboring houses, you can find many of them and they are all directed in the same direction. That is why I had no doubts. To the left of it with one converter - probably NTVshnaya - we also have enough of those. If you don’t have such guidelines, then the situation is worse. You need to determine the south direction and try to point the antenna there. Once again, an indispensable condition is that in front of the antenna there should under no circumstances be any visible obstacles in the direction of the satellite!!! Among other things, in a situation where the antenna is installed under someone’s balconies or canopies, make sure that
streams of water or snow from the top visor do not fall directly on your antenna. This does not bode well for the reception.

It is to this elevator shaft that I decided to attach my antennas:

It’s unsightly, of course, on the roof, but this is not a European-quality renovation of the apartment Smile Defined
installation location, marked the holes for the brackets, drilled them with a hammer drill, hammered the anchors inside and secured the brackets (I did not photograph the further steps, so almost all photos will be from already installed systems). I won’t go into detail about fixing the brackets; I think that everything is clear about this, the work is mechanical. Still, if someone doesn’t know what an anchor bolt is, I’ll show you what it looks like:

It consists of a glass and a bolt located inside it. The bolt has a thread for a nut on one side and a thickening cone on the other. Exactly as in the figure, from left to right, carefully, so as not to damage the thread under the nut, it is driven into the drilled hole.

I recommend loosening the nut, but not unscrewing it completely, otherwise the bolt risks completely falling inside the hole, and then you won’t be able to get it out. The same applies to putting the bracket on the bolts (the nuts will still have to be removed) - make sure that the bolts do not fall inside the glass, I recommend that before putting the bracket on, pull them towards you as much as possible or tighten them a little with a nut - so that the cone fits a little into the glass and the bolts do not wobble . The glass should be flush with the wall, and the thread with the nut, respectively, should be outside the hole.

The principle of operation of an anchor bolt is as follows: when the nut begins to be tightened with a wrench, it pulls the bolt inside the glass outward due to the thread. The cone located at the end of the bolt enters the glass and expands it as much as possible inside the hole. As a result, tearing such a bolt out of the wall is far from a trivial task. That is why it is recommended to hang the bracket on self-wedging anchor bolts, and not on screws with plastic dowels.

However, the choice of fastening is a personal matter for everyone. The only thing is, if you still choose anchors, look at their quality, in particular the material and thickness of the glass. Because the anchors are made too flimsily and will hold accordingly.

When installing on a balcony, you can even drill through the wall and thread threaded rods of the appropriate length through it (these are sold in stores). They are secured on both sides with nuts.

Back to the installation.

The first was to set up an antenna with 3 converters for Sirius, Hotbird, Amos, the second was for Eutelsat 36E. At first the brackets were screwed to screw anchor bolts, later I changed them to nut ones. The screw ones turned out to be unreliable. The photo shows the first unsuccessful attempts in the form of remaining holes. By that time, the brackets were also repainted to enhance the original paint:

In the photo above, the antenna is already assembled, with converters, cable, etc. Initially, the antenna was simply assembled, hung on a bracket, and the converters and cable were attached only later. A thin metal cable - I just had extra one and I threaded it through the antenna mount and screwed it to the elevator shaft post in case the wind would tear out the anchors, so that the antenna would not dive from the roof Smile In fact, this is almost impossible, but so be it - That's what I thought. To adjust the antenna in the vertical and horizontal planes, you need to tighten the mount so that the antenna does not change its tilt on its own, but at the same time it can be moved in the planes with some effort. These are the nuts before final settings not much
tighten:

An unclamped left screw allows you to adjust the antenna in the vertical plane, 2
without clamping the right ones, rotate the antenna relative to the bracket in the horizontal plane.

Next, both multifeeds are put on the central holder of the antenna converter, converters are inserted into all holders, and everything is tightened so that the converters in the multifeeds can be turned with some effort in all
planes (cables to converters are connected later). The photo below shows what multifeeds are and how they are attached:

After this, the setup process begins. A piece of cable a couple of meters long is screwed to the central converter using an F-connector, the second end of the cable is screwed to the receiver. From some site I have pictures of what an F-connector is and how to screw it onto a cable correctly.

The receiver is connected to the TV, only after that the 220V power is turned on. An important point - when screwing an F-connector onto a cable, you must carefully ensure that the thin conductors of the cable shielding do not short-circuit with the central core, otherwise the receiver can be damaged!!!

I turn on the TV, receiver, go to the Installation-Search for channels menu. In the list of satellites on the left, I select Sirius 2/Ku 4.8E - it is to this satellite that the rigidly fixed central converter will be configured. From the menu on the right I select:

• LNBP: On(turn on converter power)
• LNBP Type: Universal(universal type of converter, according to the ones I purchased)
• LNBP Freq: 10600/9750(indicated on converters)
• 22Khz: Auto(I leave the signal to switch the disk)
• DISEqC: None(I’m leaving it this way, since the signal is connected directly for now, and not through a disk)

Next, using the yellow button on the remote control, I go to the Transponder submenu and select the transponder on which I will search for a signal (I advise you to write out in advance several transponders selected from satellites with different polarizations and REALLY WORKING free-to-air channels (FTA). The list can be found at the links below.

For example, in my case, to begin with, it will be a 11766H transponder, broadcasting at a frequency of 11766 MHz with horizontal polarization. For convenience, the signal quality can be displayed on full screen using the Info button. I will be guided by the lower “Quality” scale:

What do we see in this photo? A bleak picture, signal quality - 0%! Actually, what should you expect? The antenna is still “looking” towards the satellite very approximately.

Next comes the most difficult moment, which requires a lot of endurance - this is adjusting the antenna in planes. Why is a shutter speed necessary - literally a few millimeters, and there will be no signal. It’s not that it will be bad, but it won’t exist at all! The setup is as follows - you need to install the antenna in some vertical position, in my position it was approximately like this:

After this, you need to very, very smoothly rotate the antenna in the horizontal direction and at the same time carefully look at the quality scale, first in one direction, and if the scale does not change from 0, then in the other. When it turns out that the quality scale has increased to at least 10-15 - this is already the first success, you can stop and take a breath. If it is not possible to find a signal in the entire horizontal plane, you need to slightly change the vertical angle of the antenna and begin moving again in the horizontal plane until the signal appears. When at least some signal is found: now you need to try to move the antenna even more smoothly left and right and achieve the maximum level of signal quality. Having achieved this, you need to try to achieve an even larger signal by very smoothly moving the antenna up and down. After this you can try
slightly rotate the converter around its axis in the holder (there are marks on the converter for this purpose):

The maximum signal can be achieved ONLY by combining all these adjustments. Another nuance - if you cannot find a signal under any conditions, and you have double-checked everything, including the receiver settings, 100 times, it makes sense to try another converter; perhaps this one is faulty. I get the maximum signal level that I can get:

It would seem that you can calm down and tighten all the adjustment screws? No matter how
So! After all, the adjustment was made for a transponder broadcasting in horizontal polarization (there is a letter H in the picture at the end of the 2nd term), but you also need to configure some transponder in vertical (V) polarization:

In my case, turning the converter in the holder counterclockwise helped to achieve better signal quality in vertical polarization.

After this, you can scan the transponders (look in the documentation with your
receiver, how to do this) and visually see whether the channels are received and whether they correspond to the selected satellite:

When signals in horizontal and vertical polarizations are at their maximum
What can be pulled out, it is necessary to tighten all the adjusting nuts that are not fully tightened. And there is one unpleasant moment - when you tighten the nut, the antenna slightly changes its direction, and the signal quality can noticeably decrease! So you also need to tighten it very carefully. Everything, the antenna and the first converter are configured. I turn off the receiver from the outlet, wind the cable from the central converter to the converter on the left (to the one on the multifeed, if you look at the antenna
front), turn on everything, select Hotbird 13E in the menu, the same menu settings on the right as for Sirius, select a working transponder and try to set the maximum signal quality. Only this time I’m not adjusting the antenna, but the converter itself on the multifeed. It can move in all planes relative to the antenna focus - left, right, up, down, forward, backward:

All nuts are tightened when the signal is maximum. Don't forget about checking
both polarizations. I scan Hotbird's transponders and visually check some free channels.

I turn everything off again, twist the cable to the 3rd converter, turn everything on, select Amos 4w and configure it. Everything is the same. After this, the setup of the first antenna can be considered complete.

Second antenna. Which I am going to configure on Eutelsat W4 36E (NTV+). It’s simpler here - there’s only one converter. Moreover, since it is circularly polarized, it is not very important how it will be deployed inside the holder. It is best to have the cable facing down so that sediment does not accumulate on it:

Accordingly, you need to adjust the antenna in the horizontal and vertical planes. I turn everything off and reconnect the cable to this converter. The settings according to the purchased converter are as follows:

I set up the second antenna, check the antenna in both polarizations on different
transponders. Since the converter is designed for circular polarization, they are checked not for H and V, but for L and R (left and right).

That's it. You can turn everything off. Now you need to switch the signal through the disk.

My disc has 1 output to the receiver, designated REC, and 4 inputs for
converters called 1,2,3,4. I connect the converters like this:

1. Sirius
2. Hotbird
3. Eutelsat

The connection is simple - a segment is connected to each converter
cable connected to the corresponding disk input. If you install one antenna with 1 converter, then you don’t need a disc. If there is one antenna for 2 converters and the disk has 2 free ports, it’s okay. The disk is installed not far from the antennas and, preferably, is placed in a waterproof box (I bought it at an electrical goods store) so that precipitation does not fall on it:

Holes for ventilation are desirable in the bottom of the disc box. Acute
Cable bend angles are not allowed! The F-connectors on the converters are closed either with the included caps or with heat-shrinkable tubing:

By the way, in the above photo you can see the distances between the converters and their angles of inclination. On the right is the antenna aimed at Eutelsat W4.

I configure the disk drive protocol (in my case 1.0) and the distribution of converters according to the inputs (ports) of the disk drive in the receiver menu:

The pictures show which converters are assigned to which inputs (ports) of the disk (to which satellite). 0/12V: On only for LanComBox. If you don’t have it, then you don’t need to turn on 12V. I save the changes and check if all the disk inputs are working (that is, all configured satellites have a signal).

Someone may have a question: “why not immediately connect all the converters to the disk, register all the inputs and configure the antennas?” The answer is simple - if the disk is really not working, you will waste a LOT of time and nerves trying to create a signal that cannot be found by definition. Among other things, without a disc you can quickly determine whether the converter you bought is working.

I tighten the cables with ties so that nothing dangles. Remains not a stretch
attach the cable to the cable, lower the cable down and tighten it. Install cable in the apartment, connect the receiver, TV and watch satellite TV Smile

Here's what I ended up with on the roof:

*- If there is no access to the antenna after installing it on the bracket:

when there is only one converter on the antenna, everything is clear, nothing complicated - it is fixed
rigidly on the antenna, the antenna is hung out of the window (or somewhere else) on a bracket, and adjusted in the vertical and horizontal planes all from the same window (return to the warning at the beginning of the instructions!!!). What should you do if you need to configure 1 additional converter (or more) on the multifeed? At the dacha, I did this: I screwed the bracket to an old high cabinet, put the assembled antenna on it, placed the whole structure in front of a wide open window and set it up that way. By the way, a curious moment - with the first switching on, with approximate antenna tilts, without additional settings, I received a quality level on Sirius of more than 70%! I couldn’t believe my eyes. In a word, I set up all 3 converters in this form, carefully clamped everything, hung the bracket outside the window and hung the antenna with the already configured converters on it. All that remains is to adjust it in planes.

An important point when installing satellite antennas at high altitude: in addition to safety precautions and insuring yourself, first of all, when hanging the antenna on a bracket or mast, always protect the antenna. Just imagine
imagine what an antenna flying from a height could do to the head of a random passer-by or to the body of an expensive BMW.

Another thing - many people recommend grounding antennas installed on the roof,
however, some installers are vehemently opposed to this. I'm inclined to conclude that grounding the antenna still won't hurt.