Satellite signal fade at night in Spain and loss of satellite TV channels at night

Satellite signal fade at night in Spain and why do you lose some satellite TV channels at night in Spain.

UK Satellite TV currently is transmitted from four satellites: Astra 2a, Astra 2b, Astra 2d and Eurobird 1.

These four satellites, and most other TV satellites, are in a geostationary orbit.

Geostationary orbits are useful because they cause a satellite to appear stationary with respect to a fixed point on the rotating Earth. This allows a fixed antenna or satellite dish to maintain a link with the satellite.

The satellite orbits in the direction of the Earth's rotation, at an altitude of 35,786 km (22,236 mi) above ground, producing an orbital period equal to the Earth's period of rotation,

These geostationary satellites are not totally "stationary", as they do appear to move in a figure of eight over a 24 hour period. However, this is hot the actual satellite themselves "wobbling". The satellites appear to move due to the earth’s spin, which is like a spinning top and has a slight wobble. This slight wobble can cause a drop in the signal reception strength in some fringe reception areas like the Costa Blanca and Spain.

It just so happens that his wobble occurs at night, which is a problem as that is the most popular time for watching TV!


Should the satellites actually drift out of their designated position, which is a 100km by 100km by 100km box in space they have onboard control systems that will move them back into position. Normal drift is corrected around once every month if needed.

But there are two times a year when there is a more significant drop in satellite signal strength in fringe reception areas like the Costa Blanca and Spain.

Around March and October time, the satellites are in "eclipse mode". This is when the satellites are unable to use their solar panels for power, as the earth is blocking the solar energy from the sun. At these times of year, the satellites can be in the earth’s shadow for over an hour. When this happens the satellites have to rely on their onboard battery backups, which, when the satellites switch over to them, there is a noticeable drop of about 5 or 10% in the output of the satellite and thus the signal appears to be weaker. Again this is an issue as it happens for a period of two weeks in March and October at around 10pm - 12am, when people are most likely to want to watch TV.

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How to get Sky News on Freesat? What is the Sky news Frequency on Freesat?

How to get Sky News on Freesat?
What is the Sky news Frequency on Freesat?

Freesat only includes a certain number of UK TV hcnanel in the Freesat channel list.

Some channels are missing.

So if you want to watch Sky News on a Freesat receiver, how do you do this, as Sky News is not on the Freesat Channel list.

On the Humax Freesat receiver, the most popular and probably the best Freesqat receiver for use in Spain, here is how to get Sky News on your Freesat receiver.

Menu
Setup
Manual Tune
Choose transponder with 12207 v
Search
Save

You now have Sky news in your "non freesat" mode EPG

To change back to the Freesat EPG
Menu
Settings
change STB Mode to Freesat

IF you are in Freesat mode, and want to watch Sky news ,then
Menu
Settings
change STB Mode to Non Freesat.
Choose Sky news from the list of "non freesat" channels.

This is beacause Freesat receivers have two modes: an offical Freesat mode, and a "non freesat" mode. The "non freesat mode" basically turnes the Freesat receiver in to a free to air receiver, allowing you access to all the free to air UK TV channels on the satellites, not just those free to air channels that are on the Freesat EPG.



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Getting "no signal" for Teledeporte on Spanish TV?

Recent changes to some of the frequencies used for Spanish TV may mean that you are receiving a "NO SIGNAL" message when trying to watch some Spanish digital TV channels.

One of the more popular Spanish TV channels affected is Teledeporte, the free sports channel on TDT.

Basically, some of the TDT channels have changed frequencies.

So all you need to do to get them back is to rescan, normally using the "install" options on your TDT receiver.

This should scan all the available frequencies used for TDT and your channels should then reappear.

This may not be the case for some community systems, where additional "frequency modules" may need to be installed to receive these new frequencies.

More information on this issue at

Changes to Spanish TV. Changes to frequencies used for TV in Spain.

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Illegal Cardshare network closed down for showing Sky PAY TV channels

An illegal Cardshare network was recently raided and closed down with several arrests.

The raid happened on the 9th June 2011, and involved a company in Cyprus who was providing access to Pay TV channels, from Sky, Nova and BFBS (British Forces Broadacsting Service) by using a crd sharing server, which uses the internet to unlock encrypted pay tv channels.

Card share network closed down for showing Sky PAY TV channels. Satellite TV Costa Blanca Forum


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Can I use a Sky box in Spain?

Use of a Sky box outside the UK

If you have paid for a Sky box, and that box is not part of any Sky UK discount installation agreement, or subject to the 12 month new installation discount agreement telephone connection stipulation, or part of Sky multiroom, then the Sky box is yours and not Skys. You can do with it what you want and take it wherever you want. The are no restrictions on "non discounted" Sky boxes in or out of the UK, as they are not Skys property. They are your property.

There are restrictions on those boxes that are discounted by Sky, via their discounted UK installations, and on the cards themselves. But no restrictions on buying a nondiscounted Sky box.

Sky (UK, Italy, Germany etc) are one of the few that actually allow you to own your Sky box. Other broadcsaters, like Spains D+ rent the boxes, and there is a small charge in your monthly sub for this. So D+ boxes remain D+, not the clients. Which is why D+ receivers are hard to come by in other countries.

BBC Iplayer in Spain soon...?

Doctor Who and Fawlty Towers will be made available to Europeans armed with an iPad from later this year, as the BBC begins the process of introducing its international iPlayer to overseas audiences.

Diehard BBC fans living in western Europe will have to pay somewhere under $10 (£6) a month – the fee is still to be decided – in return for a mix of contemporary and archive content on the Apple tablet, all of which will be in English.

Click for more information on BBC IPlayer in Spain and Europe




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What do I need to get Freesat in Spain?

What do I need to get Freesat TV in Spain?

You will require two things to get Freesat TV in Spain:
A satellite dish
A Freesat receiver

Satellite Dishes for Freesat in Spain

The size of satellite dish you need for Freesat in Spain depends on where you are located in Spain and what channels you want to be able to watch in Spain.

In many areas a 1.8m satellite dish or a 2.4m satellite dish is required to receive the main UK TV channels along the Costa Blanca.

You can go for a smaller satellite dish, but your reception of the main UK TV channels, like BBC and ITV, will be limited.

Freesat Receivers in Spain

Freesat is only available on Freesat branded receivers.
Freesat is not available on Sky receivers.
Freesat receivers and Sky receivers use their own software.

The channels that you receive on Freesat receivers are "free to air" channels, ie channels you can receive for free with no viewing card or subscription.

A Sky box without a sky card gets the same free to air channels as a Freesat receiver does.

The best types of Freesat receivers to use in Spain are the Humax Foxsat Freesat range. These come in HD, and HD+ versions, the difference being the latter has a hard drive to allow recording of programmes.

Confusion

To confuse things, Freesat is actually the name of the EPG Programme Guide used on Freesat receivers. This EPG can actually be received on a small satellite dish, like an 80cm or 1m dish. I have even got the Freesat on a old Sky minidish here in Valencia!

But when I ask the Freesat EPG to go to a channel like BBC, then the BBC signal is on a different frequency (and satellite) to the EPG, which is not available on an 80cm dish.

So actually you can say that Freesat is available on a small 80cm dish in Spain, but the channels on Freesat still need a "big Portuguese" satellite dish to be able to receive those channels.

This simple confusion about what Freesat actually was and would provide in Spain, was even made by some "cowboy" satellite installers, jumping on the "bandwagon" for the launch of Freesat. They advertise that Freesat and UK TV would be available on a small 80cm satellite dish for most of Spain. Well as you can see, and as they found out, they were wrong, its just the Freesat EPG that is available on a small 80cm satellite dish, not the main UK channels.

I went to a number of people who had a "Freesat TV" satellite system installed, who were diappointed not to receive all the main UK TV hcannels on their small 80cm satellite dish, and who could no longer contact thier "satellite installer" as they had "done a runner" knowing that they had not got their facts straight about Freesat.

Freesat vs Freeview

Freesat allows access to the UK free to air channels via satellite.
Freeview is a TV system in the UK that provides free to air UK TV channels via a TV aerial.
Freeview is a UK ONLY service.
Freeview is not available in Spain - dispite some comapnies saying Freeview is available in Spain, adn even using the word "freeview" in their company name or in their advertising.

Many of these same companies also say you can get Freeview channels on Freesat. Which is incorrect. Some of the channels on Freeview in the UK are PAY channesl on satellite, and require a Sky satellite monthly subscription to watch them.

Similarly, a UK Freeview box, connected to a TV aerial in SPain will receive the SPanish Digital TV channels, and not the UK digital channels. Simplyy becasue we are in Spain, and the UK TV channels are not available via the terrestrial broadcasts system (ie TV aetrial on the roof) in Spain.

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Why am i no longer receiving BBC HD on Sky

Why am i no longer receiving BBC HD on Sky

The BBC has changed some of the frequency parameters for its HD channels.
Frequency: 10,847MHz (vertical polarity)
Modulation: DVB-S2, QPSK
Symbol Rate: 23.0
FEC: 8/9

Changes are happening to the BBC HD channels on Astra 2D. Sky HD users should not have any problems, as the Sky HD boxes will automatically update

More information on

http://www.satandpcguy.com/forum/showthread.php?64655-Why-am-i-no-longer-receiving-BBC-HD-on-Sky

http://costablancasatellite.blogspot.com/2011/06/changes-to-bbc1hd-and-bbchd-frequencies.html

Changes to BBC1HD and BBCHD frequencies June 2011

The BBC has changed some of the frequency parameters for its HD channels.

Frequency: 10,847MHz (vertical polarity)
Modulation: DVB-S2, QPSK
Symbol Rate: 23.0
FEC: 8/9

Changes are happening to the BBC HD channels on Astra 2D.

Sky HD users should not have any problems, as the Sky HD boxes will automatically update.

Some Freesat users may have to reset their Freesat HD boxes, or perform a Freesat scan.

Users of other "generic" HD receivers, will have to rescan the BBC HD frequency, ensuring their receivers work with the new DVBS2 transmision standard.

If you are getting the "no satellite signal" being received then a simple receiver reboot may cure the problem.

More information :

BBC HD Frequency Changes June 2011

Important changes to TDT "Spanish Freeview" frequencies - Teledeporte

These changes affect most Spanish TV reception across Spain and is part of Phase 2 of the digital switch over in Spain.

All channels on frequency / multiplex 66 have been moved and transferred over to new frequencies.

This has affected the following Spanish digital TV channels:

Teledeporte
Intereconomía
Veo7 TV

A rescan on your TDT set top box will need to be performed to make sure you can continue to receive these Spanish TV channels.

In some cases a call for a TV engineer / TV installer will be required, as your existing system may not be able to receive Teledeportes new frequency. This is especially true for community TV systems, where individual amplifier modules are installed.


Phase 2 of Spain’s digital switch over is aimed to free up the digital TV frequency spectrum between from 62 to 69. This is so these frequencies can be sold off to other telecoms companies, like mobile phone operators.

It is also worth noting that Teledeporte is now labelled as TDP.


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