₦airaland Forum

freshp: @Sword,
well i quite agree with you ...but guys like me joined the board very late in time and such would not have been able to scavenge for such information (something i know how to do well )so for the sake of some of us ...i wish you could help out bro . . remember you have always been very good to me(much appreciate it always )

so please bro all help is needed.however if you still feel the same after all these . . i understand . . .

thanks for the info and good work here. .

@ Freshp,
It's not very intentional but when you go through the stress of putting things together all for it to be taken away, it sometimes can be very depressing. I know my brother Kungu has also stopped posting and writing up educational posts just because of this. Anyway for your sake i'm going to summarize it. It is simply a method of tracking a satellite without an actual valid frequency but with any frequency input that falls within the valid range of an orbiting satellite's transmitting frequency range. I call it BLIND TRACKING.
I discovered the technique 6 - 7 years ago when i was trying to be the first to know what's on a newly launched satellite that had docked in space. All you need to know is that the suspected satellite you want to track has a footprint in your region(or in my case i don't even take note of that), a random frequency with good characteristics(which also falls within the satellite orbiting in space's frequency range) and a good responsive receiver that does not delay in responding to frequency changes. (Works best when you have a "well aligned" motorized dish but you can also try it on any other dish. It will be much more difficult though)
Let me know if you get this so far, i will continue later.

Lunsat: Just curious Swordswifter: Turksat 42E is I think between Eutelsat 36 @36E and Intelsat 12 @ 45E, why were you searching between Astra 2f @28E and intelsat 28 (new dawn) @ 33E? Also are you able to share your method for searching for a sat when the TP is unknown?

lol @ Lunsat
I was searching above Turksat 42E because so many satellites have been deployed now around that region and i wanted to store all the positions so i can scan them from time to time for any new channels that might be important to us here in West Africa and maybe the rest of Africa.
With regards to your second question, those who know my posts from RDI to Nairaland will remember that years back i developed this technique specifically because of this purpose. To track unknown satellites ( Ku satellites especially) even before actual official frequencies have been released. Unfortunately after all the hard work put into writing all those procedures and techniques, the information was deleted from that page(rdi-board after they upgraded) so i decided not to write up anything anymore. However if someone can give just a gist of what i wrote back them, i might right it again because lets face it, my efforts back then would have not been in vain.
Anyway, if you put those frequencies in your receiver and track around the area i had stated in my previous post, i can bet you 100% they will pop up green. Especially the 3rd Tp, that has a channel or two on it and shows so much potential.

@ all
Based some reports about Turksat 2A 3A, I did some tests later in the night. Found out the ff active frequencies but do not know which satellites they are on. Kindly run tests if you have a bigger dish and lets see what more we can find. They were noticed above Intelsat 28(ie as you move your dish up)
=>The 1st TP you'll hit is 11.087(H)/4.999. The satellite position is unknown
=>The 2nd batch of TP you'll hit from the first position is 11.946(V)/29.997 and 11.983(V)/30.000. This satellite position is unknown at the moment too
=>The 3rd TP you'll hit from the second position is 10.872(H)/19.627. This TP has 7 channel slots with one radio running via the TV channel and Lybia Watanaya running on another. The rest are all tests. Still, this satellite position is also not known
Assist us in getting all available satellites with footprints over our region under monitoring. Thanks.

lol @ Geometry,

Was wondering where all the figures had passed.
Anyway you can bet i will go through every inch of your first write-up so i can ask all the right questions.

Twinsoris: Concerning the hotbird the easiest TP on HOTBIRD is 11297H27500 for JSC sport + but your reference is that once you're on Eutelsat 16 then move your dish slightly up as if you're moving towards W3@7 degrees then you hit green the minimum signal is 48% and it is depends on your dish and the lnb.
i would be in ghana by next weekend as promised .

@Twinsoris,
I got hotbird alright. I used to get 48% the last time i tried before i had abandoned that dish but yesterday it was around 45% for 10.892(H)/27500. I wasn't so much worried about that because the dish was not on the motorized arc. I had worked out a setting that increased my signal strength from 48% to 69% on nilesat/atlantic bird and that was the same setup i was using for the hotbird. Time was not on my side as i had to come to work in the evening but if by theories are right i should be able to increase the signal strength on hotbird the same way i did for the nilesat/atlantic bird. It is the astra i've never gotten a signal on before and for the zap, i've never tried that at all. Will re-visit the dish this Sunday to try work on it again. If all goes well, we might have the answer to why some dishes don't seem to produce the maximum signal outputs of fringe satellites. Thanks for your assistance and hope to see you when you visit the capital.

Ibaku: Sword, sorry I have just seen ur posts, when next u want to have a go astra, do let me know.

@ Ibaku,
I will my brother. Thanks

Twinsoris: Swordswifter which types of dish are you using to track SKY UK and to my experience with SKY UK is very easy bird to track and i am always track the bird with 2.4M eurostar solid pan dish and i am using STARGOLD FUJI HD LNB with EUROVISION LNB.
I remebmer last time i came to volta region in SOMANYA to install 2.4M dish for friend of mine Evan ghanney.
i track the bird within 5mins with about 50 channels and the signal i got from TP 11914H27500 is 60% also we track ZAP as well and we started by 6pm in the evening and we discover that the signal becomes very strong in the morning and evening time.
So to make things very easy for you make sure your multitv is 98% and do the blindscan and the easiest TP is 11914H27500 , 11934V27500 depends on which type of dish you have.
Here in ivory coast SKY UK signal is 75% that TP i posted and i got up to 150 channels ITV HDS ;eurosportHD and many HD channels.
So try your best and let me know on how the tracking going ...i hope by next weekend i am coming to GHANA for an installation of 2.4M pan dish in somanya and i would like to visit you so that we can work together on your dish.

@ Twinsoris,
I remember, Evans told me about that. He previously had a 3m mesh dish-the same type as i am using before he bought the 2.5m pan. After years of working with satellites i still learnt something new today too. Was able to increase my signal strength on nilesat by almost 20% but couldn't experiment more on hotbird and astra because of time. Will be happy to have you over so we can work together on the dish. When you speak to Evans, you can take my number from him so you can let me know when you'll be arriving in the capital. Looking forward to working with you.

odilibe: @swordswifter the frequency doesn't belong to 28east...cheers

@ Odilibe,
Thanks. By the way, On Astra 2F, I got it by shifting the dish to my right(whiles i was standing infront of the dish facing it). Anyway managed to increase it to 40% and still nothing else popped up. Tell me, is it Astra 1N we receive here in our parts and if so, what is the strongest TP we get as at this moment?

odilibe: May be you picked up a feed...i will check 28.2e shortly

@ Odilibe,
Thanks bro. Whiles you check, anyone in Lagos or Accra receiving the sky Uk channels should give me the TP with the highest signal strength. I've got 2 more hours to work on this before i go to work in the evening.

@ all,
I am in accra at the moment and right now in my quest for Sky Uk on 28 degrees east i got this frequency.
11.082(H)/4.999 and 11.932(H)/4.999
The first frequency is green at as low as 25%
There seems to be no records of this frequency on lyngsat or anywhere.
Guys, which satellite am i on now?
While waiting for a response i'll be working to see if i can improve the signal strength.

geometry: @Swordswifter...

..really,... I feel highly honored and good,... we are looking forward to your big bombshell you are about to drop... don't say I am letting the cat out of the bag... lol !,... I will have up the explanation as regards the analysis of the DEVELOPMENT drawing for your sectionalised ANTENNA ... ''in the oven'',...I have being trying to see how to break it down for easy assimilation for all,... don't worry,.. it is going to be pretty soon,.. I must confess,. I feel proud to see you gone that far...

@ Geometry,
I'm also very proud to have had a good teacher such as yourself to have guided my steps every step of the way. God bless you.

@ All,
This is just my contribution to a nobel man, a noble cause and a worthy thread. This is one fellow you might never meet in a very long time. GEOMETRY, thank you.

(Resource material for all who want to learn)
WHAT IS FIBERGLASS?

First of all, let me explain exactly what "fiberglass" is. It's a composite material, meaning that it's comprised of two (or more) different materials mixed together. Typically, fiberglass consists of a matrix of glass fiber, saturated with a polymer resin. The glass fiber has good tensile strength, but is flexible (like cloth). The resin locks the glass fibers in place, to keep them rigid. The end result is a strong, relatively lightweight compound, that is resistant to moisture and chemicals.


FIBERGLASS MOLDING

Making fiberglass involves just as much art as science. While science creates the high-tech materials that we use in fiberglass molding, it often takes the vision of an artist to form it into a beautiful shape. And while the directions on the can will tell you exactly how to mix the resin, making a plug or a mold will often be a "seat of the pants" venture. There is no set-in-stone formula for making a fiberglass mold, or a fiberglass part. So you have some freedom for artistic expression. However, there are some general guidelines you will need to follow.

Also keep in mind that the fiberglass layup is only a small part of the whole process. Most of the work involved in making a fiberglass part is actually in the prep work and finish work. I often tell people that making fiberglass is about 40% prep work, 20% fiberglass layup, and 40% finish work. Be prepared to do a lot of grinding and sanding.


FIBERGLASS RESIN

There are two main types of resins used in automotive applications: polyester and epoxy. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. See the list below.

POLYESTER RESIN

ADVANTAGES
Low priceAdjustable curing time
DISADVANTAGES
More brittle than epoxyShrinks when curingNot as resistant to water and chemicals as epoxyHorrible odor

EPOXY RESIN

ADVANTAGES
Doesn't shrink when curingNot as brittle as polyesterMore resistant to water and chemicals than polyesterVery little odor
DISADVANTAGES
High priceCuring Time isn't adjustable
I personally prefer epoxy resin, because of its superior qualities. In my opinion, it's worth the extra cost. But for automobile body parts, polyester resin will work too. My suggestion would be to try using both types of resin, and see which one you like better.


WORKING WITH RESIN

Polyester and epoxy resin are fundamentally different in the way they are mixed and applied. Polyester resin uses a catalyst to harden it (called MEKP), which is mixed in a very low ratio (a few drops per ounce). But with epoxy resin, the hardener is mixed at a much higer ratio (which could be 1:1, 3:1, 4:1, etc depending on the type of epoxy). It's also important to note that while you can vary the curing time of polyester resin by increasing or reducing the amount of hardener, you cannot do that with epoxy. You must mix the epoxy and hardener at a predetermined ratio. Otherwise, the epoxy will not properly cure.

Also, most polyester resins have a little bit of wax mixed in. As the resin is curing, the wax rises to the top and seals out the air (to help it cure). This causes two "gotchas". First is the fact that the wax rises. This means that the exposed surface needs to be facing up. If the exposed surface is facing down, the wax won't come to the surface. And the resin won't properly cure. Secondly, you will need to remove the waxy film after the resin cures. Otherwise, subsequent layers of fiberglass, or paint, will not adhere to the resin.

Another thing to keep in mind is that resin is exothermic, meaning that it creates heat as it cures. The heat aids in the curing process. This means that the temperature of your working environment will affect the curing time of the resin. This also means that you can use heat (or cold) to control the curing time. For example, I will sometimes use a cold pack to slow down the curing of my epoxy resin. And when I want something to cure quickly, I will let it sit in direct sunlight. Heat lamps can also be useful.


GLASS FIBER

Glass fiber is the heart of any fiberglass project. There are two main types, cloth and mat. The glass fiber cloth is quite literally a cloth made of woven glass fibers. The glass fibers are typically woven in a cross-hatch pattern. This makes the glass fiber cloth relatively dense, which increases the strength and reduces the amount of resin needed to fill the voids. Glass fiber mat, on the other hand, is basically just a bunch of short strands piled up at random. They are not woven together. As a result, the mat is not as strong as the cloth. And there is more open space between the strands, requiring more resin to fill the voids.



The bottom line is that glass fiber cloth will yield stronger, lighter parts than glass fiber mat. And since the glass cloth needs less resin, it will also be less brittle. In my opinion, glass mat is really only suitable for building up thickness, or for parts where expediency is more important than strength or weight.

One more thing: if you're using glass fiber mat with epoxy resin, make sure the mat you use is compatible with epoxy resin. While almost all glass fiber cloth is compatible with either epoxy or polyester, glass fiber mat is often formulated specifically for use with polyester resin. Check the packaging to be sure.


THE IMPORTANCE OF MOLDS

The resin and glass fiber are not solid until after the resin cures. When you mix the resin, it's a liquid. And the glass fiber is flexible. The wet fiberglass will sag, or even collapse, under its own weight. For small jobs (patching cracks and holes, filling gaps and seams), this isn't much of an issue. But for anything bigger, the fiberglass will need to be supported. This is where molds come in. The mold gives the fiberglass something to rest on, and a shape to conform to, until the resin hardens.

When building a fiberglass mold, there are several things to take into consideration. Some examples:

-- Will the mold be used only once, or to make several parts? If it's a single-use mold, it only needs to hold together long enough for the fiberglass to harden. But if it will be used to make several parts, it must be sturdy enough to withstand the rigors of having fiberglass parts pried out of it several times.

-- How will I remove the fiberglass from the mold after it hardens? For simple shapes, this is pretty easy. But for complex or convoluted shapes, it is quite possible to get the fiberglass trapped in the mold, or vice versa. In order to avoid that, you will need to either make a multi-piece mold that can be pulled from the fiberglass part piece by piece, or make several smaller fiberglass parts that can later be joined together to form the complete structure.

-- Is my mold material compatible with my fiberglass resin? I'm sure you've heard that polyester resin melts styrofoam. It also attacks some types of plastics. However, it does not affect urethane foam. Epoxy resin doesn't affect any type of plastic, that I know of. Also, keep in mind that fiberglass resin can get pretty warm as it hardens. So make sure to avoid using mold materials that are susceptible to heat. Fiberglass curing in the sun can get hot enough to hurt if you touch it. And I've occasionally seen resin get hot enough to melt the bottom out of a plastic cup.


MAKING A PLUG

Sometimes, you can't just build a mold and start making your fiberglass parts. You may want to copy an existing part. Or maybe making the mold from scratch would be problematic in some way. In these cases, you would use what's called a "plug". A plug is a mock-up of the part you want build from fiberglass. After you build the plug, you make a casting of it. The casting becomes your fiberglass mold.

You can build a plug out of just about anything. Use whatever works to get the desired shape... scrap wood, styrofoam, plaster of paris, sheet metal, whatever. I've even used my car as a plug.

Once you finish building the plug, you need to prepare it for the casting of the mold. This means that if you used foam or wood (or any porous material, for that matter), you need to seal it. I've used packing tape, duct tape, and garbage bags to good effect. Some people like to use aluminum foil. I've also used polyurethane and even epoxy resin on occasion. The idea is to make the surface as smooth as possible. Then you use a mold release agent to be sure the casting won't permanently bond to your plug.

It's pretty common to cast the mold from fiberglass. The process is pretty similar to making a fiberglass part in a mold. However, you want the casting to be much stronger than the fiberglass parts it will be used to make. This means that your casting will be much thicker than the fiberglass parts you plan to make with it. You might also need to incorporate a reinforcing structure into the casting. If you do decide to reinforce your mold, it's best to do this before removing the mold from the plug. That way, you can be sure the mold retains the correct shape.


CONCLUSION

Hopefully, now you will have a basic understanding of what fiberglass is and how to work with it. As with any skill, you will need hands-on experience. With experience will come increased skill and confidence. In the meantime, here is some more valuable reading material.

What is Fiberglass?Fiberglass 101Fiberglass for NewbiesFiberglass FAQFiber Glast Learning CenterDo-It-Yourself Guide to Polyester Plug and Mold Building
If you find any factual errors in this article, please send me an email or PM. Thanks.[/list]

FerociousGTO:
8 part Step By Step Guide To Molding Fiberglass. A simple introduction to fiberglass mold construction; explained using a model aircraft cowling. From plug, to mold, to finished fiberglass part.


How To Mold Fiberglass. 1 of 8


How To Mold Fiberglass. 2 of 8


How To Mold Fiberglass. 3 of 8


How To Mold Fiberglass. 4 of 8


How To Mold Fiberglass. 5 of 8


How To Mold Fiberglass. 6 of 8


How To Mold Fiberglass. 7 of 8


How To Mold Fiberglass. 8 of 8

FerociousGTO:
IMO pretty go videos!

How To Fiberglass - Two Part Mold Construction - #1 Flanging

How To Fiberglass - Two Part Mold Construction - #1 Flanging

How To Fiberglass - Two Part Mold Constuction - #2

How To Fiberglass - Two Part Mold Constuction - #2

Source:http://centralfloridafieros.com/forum/index.php?topic=149.0;wap2

roman001: Srt4940hd cant even gv an ordinary consat package on 11131v45000 @17e,imagine @67% d signal flunctuates thereby nt gvn any picture.what a bad decoder, what a waste of money,what a terrible decoder to av

Roman001,
If other channels are stable, then check these things. Usually we forget we've laid substandard cables on our African Sun for years and with time they will degrade. Change your cables if you fall in that category. Next is you change the diseqc port of your diseqc switch if the issue still persists. There is a certain setting people usually put their stbs on that burns out the diseqc ports a lot faster than they should. Will talk more about that later. The third thing to look at if all these steps fail is to change your LNB. By this time this issue should not be a problem anymore give that your dish has been positioned just right between w3c and Amos 5k. Keep researching and you'll learn more. Have a good day.

badaru1: This redline receiver from the features I saw is almost the same thing with Tiger Z250. Tiger is far cheaper than the redline. If you can not go for redline then go for Tiger which almost half the price

lololololololololol........ There are still treasures unknown. Look at what the grandfather of FTA has just dropped. Another gem in the archives. As for me, i'll always learn in the shadows. Bigups bro. Will get in touch with you with a proposal soon. Let's keep the discussions going guys. Good work.

odilibe: Is that possible technomate company ,plagiarizing strong technology! .......if you do research very well you find out that the current strong HD boxes are below standard compared to current technomate HD boxes....Some technomate boxes are built with... open source linux embedded, can use Enigma2/open pli image...internal hard disk drive support..405MHZ broadcom dual core MIPS processor ...triple tuner/twin tuner...record upto 3 channels and playback a recorded file at the same time..3xUSB port etc...i don't think there is any strong box that are built with this specifications...or linux embedded...if my memory serves me current technomate boxes was in the local market over here in 2001 ...wouldn't know when strong boxes start flooding the market...seems like i have X(S) SD receiver that looks exactly like strong receiver,if i am right? was even in the nigerian market before strong SD boxes.....who is plagiarizing who..

Odilibe,
You have a very interesting way of answering questions. Not only did you not answer my question but you also asked me the same question back. All your statement were not factual too. Just that they were made based on what you know and what you think should be the case since during a certain period in time, a certain std was not in the market when another was. Don't you think that could have been as a result of a number of reasons?

In the end, you ended up just marketing a certain stb to me when in actual fact, i won't need your lecture on stbs when i want to buy a receiver. I've been in this game too long for that. In short let's not behave like we know it all when answering questions because for all you know, we might not even know as much as we think we do. Here is the history of Strong-technologies http://www.strong-technologies.com/About/History and that of Technomate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technomate as they are available online. If you have something else that is contrary to these, just let me know.

Hi Guys, Let's talk about the MBC HD channels on Nilesat for a minute.
It seems like there is a smart card in the technosat receiver that allows the free viewing of the MBC HD channels.

*Has anyone tried it in any other receiver to see if the card works?

*Also, who has had the chance to test both a technosat receiver and a technomate receiver?
I'd like to know their differences or similarities and in terms of functionality, which of them tops the other. My research so far hasn't brought me anywhere but i noticed something on my quest. It seems like Technomate receivers have almost the same GUI(Graphical user interfaces) as Strong receivers and even some of their models look alike.

*Who has any knowledge of it and why is it so?

*Is Technomate plagiarizing Strong products or it's the other way round or maybe they are all just one in the same company?

*Also for my last question, i want to know if anyone has done any tests on keyfiles that can be ported from one receiver to another?
eg. uploading fortec star keyfiles on strong or vice versa and having them work.

Let's all put or thinking cups on try to find answers to some of these questions. It will help us all understand the workings of our systems better. Always talking about frequency frequency and OTA will not help FTA in Africa advance.

roman001: Congratulations to all technosat T786hd decoder users.Mbchd channels @ab7@7w are free to air on it.just enjoy!

@ roman001, Let's see some images of the unscrambled channels and not of your decoder.(edited post)

That's a fact guys. I have access to dsthieves but surprisingly i don't have the edge to watch it any more. Their movie channels are all repetitions and i honestly think they running out of ideas now. They made a big mistake seeing FTA users as a problem rather than the solution.

ayolacz: to get zuku package on ses 5,just auto scan ur receiver with any zuku channel tp. Check www.lyngsat.com for a working tp.

You were right ayolacz, it worked. (y)

pofolo: @ lunsat,some tp are found in most satelite frequency e.g 12303 is on nilesat, hotbird, eutelsat 16.
also the tp 12727 h 27500 is on all these satelite positions and ses5.
hence, if you have that tp on any sat where it is active, it will pop green but it showing will be dependent on your dish position and disec setting if multiple dishs.

if it pop up on 36east and you dont have a dish pointing to 4.8east after blindscannig, it will be red on zuku package channels, but green on all channels on 36east because of the presence of the dish @ 36east.

Hi polofo,

Well you have an interesting explanation to this phenomenon but i can tell you for a fact that in your case it is a fault. I used to face it years back and it's exactly as you had described it. You have multiple dishes but after you blindscan, one satellite's channel list will pop up on a different satellite name. After you save and exit all the channels will go red. It was strange at first but after i took my time to investigate, i found out that it usually happens when I'm using a damaged, inferior or weak diseqc switch. As soon as i replace it all those problems are solved. This behaviour also happens when you actually have a dish that is actually receiving that frequency(in it's normal operations)from the right direction and is connected to the same diseqc switch to which the other dish(not facing the right direction) is being scanned. In that case it's just a spillover over frequencies in the diseqc ports as proper band guard technology was not employed.

In my case my dishes are on Eutelsat 36B and SES 5 but in no way can the one on Eutelsat 36B receive the Zuku Package with my size of dish and even spill it over to the SES 5 ports. Hope you are getting my explanations now. This is a whole new phenomenon i intend to find out. Thanks anyway for your input. Made us all learn something new here.

Hi guys,
greeting to Dodo, Fta. hunter, Badaru, Olofofo, Kungu, Ilish, Sathob, etc etc etc... I can't mention you all. It's been a while. now my question is, those Zuku packages on SES 5, are they being transmitted in multicast?
Cause i can scan in the channels alright but when i go to the actual channels the transponder just dies out. It is just red as if there are no channels or data on it. Can someone explain this to me.
Thanks

4llerbuntu: i have not asked u guys for anything sensitive i guess. all this google it parole does not apply.


i simply want to know if its a data hungry thing. whats the point in investing in something that i have to feed with thousands of naira data monthly?

if i want to be streaming, i dont need a STB to stream.

@ 4llerbuntu

That is what you should have asked right away than to ask all that plenty things. As for those things you wouldn't have gotten any answers.
Now to answer you, it depends on the receiver you are using but on average you'll need 200MB worth of data if your are watching the scrambled channels continuously for a month. This is without using your stb for streaming links like youtube and the rest.

On the other hand, if you want to stream live videos on the net, it is better you use a pc with adsl/broadband with unlimited data plan. That will rather be economical and will help keep your receiver running/working perfectly for much longer.

George_D: @pofolo,
No not at all. My Multi-Tv signal is still as high as can be at 97%.

Better check your set up. Maybe your dish has shifted.

@George_D,
What is the size of your dish?

Basically the reason i am inquiring is that a have a three in one combination on a 90cm dish which includes Intelsat Newdawn,Eutelsat 36B and Astra 2B/2F. Now my signal for all the multi-tv channels were good up until a few weeks back when it started to fluctuate. Now if it is a shift in the dish, then all the other satellites including Eutelsat 36B and Intelsat Newdawn should also be experiencing signal drops or similar fluctuations but this is not the case. Moreover there are other users who are also complaining of the same issue. That is the main reason why i shudder to think it's as a result of a shift in dish position and hence my asking which dish size you are using.

If maybe you experienced a similar thing and had solved it by re-aligning your dish, then it might only go to prove that at most the Satellite carrier or SES Astra has re-aligned their bird by a couple of degrees. In that case we all get the understanding and start heading to our roofs. Thanks and Awaiting your input.

freshp: Okay man ill contact you as soon as am PC...its hard on a j2me mobile phone.

Thanks freshp,
I got your message and will do likewise

pofolo: @ all,
i noticed there have been a drastic reduction in multi tv signal strenght and the quality of their picture.
consistent skiping and loss of signal.......
is it also like that at your end?

@Pofolo
It's the same everywhere. I don't know if some elements are beginning to view them as worthy competitors and have started jamming their signals or what. I don't really know but whatever it is, they need to fix it fast.

@Adex and Freshp
You are right guys. It was quite painful taking all the pains to make such detailed posts for the administrators of that site to delete it all. On top of that i always had to be authenticated before i could log in. It just pissed me off. Anyway I'm still around, always learning what i can, when i can and finding new ways to grab those birds out there. I am working on a baby project elsewhere, it's doing well and growing by the day. I am very interested in partnering with some of you guys especially the old Nairalanders. It Technical and business oriented. This is my email; mens.eric@yahoo.com . Olofofo, Badaru, Kungu and all i've forgotten to mention should try and get in touch so we can make it happen BIG. As for Newbies, they will always be there and will always ask questions you've already answered. It's normal.

Last but not the least, as we are all praying for more fta channels this year, lets do our best to do our part in getting some of these Foreign channels down here in Africa. I am starting this campaign with MBC Group of channels. Every Nairalander should at least send them an email a day indicating why it is important they add sub-saharan africa to their list of coverage areas.If we are able to do this, we will actually see a boom in FTA channels in Africa. Hope we all help to make this happen. Link to the site is provided here: http://www.mbc.net/mbc/en/contact-us

Greeting Nairalanders, It's been quite a while. Hoping everyone in the family has been doing good. Anyway, what have you guys been up to?

What do you know about GSCAM, How different is it from CCCAM and what are the benefits?

obnelly: welldone Ikiriye and Sammu.Among the four or six lnbs i think samson is the best in signal performance.None of the european and american lnbs were able to withstand samson.Based on your research result I still vote samson ,next is echosat.
Also the decibel 0.1,0.2 and 0.3 doesnt count in signal performances,on a good day 0.1db suppose to do the magic but 0.3db carried the day,so rating lnb based on db is not the way forward for fringe receptions.

long throat or short throat lnb isnt the solution most lnb are designed base on the f/d of the dish ,so different lnb is meant for different f/d for better signal performance.

Also ,we do incur some errors during dish installation and satellite tracking with most dish lnbs,even if you have the right lnb with the right f/d for the dish you may under illuminate or over illuminate the signal converged at the focal point their by making your lnb to over perform or under perform.Also we do fail to perfectly aligned dishes to satellites. since we dont have right spectrum analyser /equipment we cant tell if we are on the arc where the satellite is,without all these in place we cant tell how good or bad an lnb performances are.

once again thumb up for you guys.

You are right obnelly. What i also want to add is that, even though the internal circuitry of the various lnbs might produce great or close to perfect decibel values, the shape of the lnb waveguide(the throat of the lnb) will have a great part to play in how much microwave is collected inside the lnb or not. One thing about experiments is that the constants(in this case the dish size and make) should be the same wherever the test is being conducted but still, this will be a very good yardstick in the right direction which will help us understand better how these fringe satellite signals behave in this parts of our continent. Thumbs up to all who are involved in this experiment. Good job guys. We are all counting on you guys for a "close to perfect" test result on all your experiments. Well done.

Pidzo: I cant answer for SubSaharan Africa coz I dont get that beam. For Southern Africa they are not 'TOTAL' FTA, they are encrypted in Nagravision and most receivers here have autoroll bin which opens these. In short they are like FTA here in Southern Africa.

Hi Pidzo,
Are you talking about the sabc on intelsat 902 C-band and if no, on which satellite are they located and are these autoroll keys for Nagra 3?
Thanks

spacevice: Swordswifter my bro, hope all is well at your end? Haven't heard of you in a long while.

I'm good spacevice, i pop in regularly to check what is going on here but i'm not doing any serious research as at now so i've decided not to say anything as at now. I was however thinking in line of software enhancement for the strong receivers where they will be able to use their usb ports to read directly from dongles. It seems i need autocad to be able to read the .stb files and edit it especially for the SRT4910 since it's been over a year a software update came out. I'm also looking at acquiring an HH-motor to be able to track all the Ku satellites within a 120degree radius over our belt. This is just to help me free up space on my 1.8m pf pan dish so that i can do a lot more research and update the house more. All this needs time and money which i don't really have neither now but we are still working hard behind the scenes my brother. I believe it's better to say something when you really have something to say than to say something when you have nothing to say. That's why you don't hear from me much but i'm still around all the time and see you guys here everyday. We haven't gone anywhere.

@Obnelly, keep the images coming. We are honoured that if everything goes well, this was the first place pictures of the first publicly fabricated BUD pan dish was publicised. Not everyone can do it and infact, i can attest to that fact too so just keep on doing what you are doing. We all support you including Sophieamore.

@Sophieamore, I can side with what your grievances are but in this occasion, we are talking about a completely different case. Non of our people here may try this out for another 50yrs to come if they are not shown that they can do it. I believe we can all agree to let this one go right?..... And as for your advertisement, if you have any to share, i think this will be the time to do so. I'm sure we can all make that exception for you too....*being a special circumstance for just this once*. I'm sure we'll all we satisfied with outcome and then move on with calmed minds.

@Obnelly,
It was as if i was there fabricating it with you.Great job!You were able to avoid some of my errors and your outcome is just fantastic.Have you tried it yet and what are your results.I am online till about 12pm GMT so you can come online so we chat for a while. There is so much we can do to improve on the accuracy of the curvature of the parabolic dish cause in dish molding that is all that counts-THE PARABOLIC CURVATURE.Get that wrong and every other thing goes wrong.Will be expecting you.
@BUGS,
Shut up and learn.You are just displaying your ignorance.How do you expect to run a satellite forum with such a low IQ?