Footprints & Dish Sizes.

The Astra website shows the 'official' footprints for the various satellite beams - 2D, North and South. Each beam carries a different set of channels. For example, BBC and ITV are carried on Astra 2D, while Channel 4 is carried on the North Beam. The different channels on each beam can be found at (http://www.ses-astra.com/market/british_isles/tvradio/index.shtml )

The 'official' footprints shown above understate the range of the signal. For a much more accurate picture of the dish sizes required for different countries try http://www.satcure.co.uk/2d/fprint.htm or www.astra2d.com. The dish sizes shown are based on data from actual installations and are therefore reasonably accurate. The Astra 2D footprint map shown on the Satcure website is one of the most accurate I have seen and generally corresponds to the reports that we have received via this website.

David Sullivan's website - www.satelliteforcaravans.co.uk - also contains useful information on footprints and installation. It's well worth a read, even if you don't have a caravan; most of the issues discussed are equally relevant to fixed installations as well. Although it is relatively easy to align (a reasonably small) dish yourself, it is advisable to use a professional satellite installer, especially for the bigger installations. Not only will it be a lot quicker, but the installer should use a proper signal meter which will ensure perfect alignment of the dish.

It has to be said that determining your dish size is an inaccurate science. Since reception is influenced by the threshold of the receiver, the accuracy of the alignment, the quality of the dish, the skew setting of the LNB etc, one person's experience may be different to another's. It is advisable, within reason, to select a larger dish in preference over a smaller one, although your installer should have a good idea of the minimum required dish size.

The standard Sky minidishes will be sufficient for virtually the whole of France. There are two types of Sky minidish - the 45cm zone 1 (typically used throughout the UK) and the larger zone 2 dish, more common in Scotland and Ireland where signal strength is a little weaker. The zone 1 dish will be big enough to pick up a signal in France all the way down to the Central regions and beyond. However, I always recommend that you only use the zone 1 dish if you are above the line that runs between Nantes and Paris. This is a little over-cautious, but I feel that a bigger dish will give you an improved signal in poor weather and may guard against any reduction satellite signal strength that may occur in the future. Also, there is not a great cost difference between the two types of dish.

The zone 2 dish, elliptical just like the zone 1 dish, and measuring approximately 60cm x 90cm, will be sufficient for the rest of France. If you are using a standard circular dish, then a 60cm diameter will suffice for virtually the whole of France, although for areas on the Mediterranean coast or the Spanish border regions I would advise an 80cm dish.

Fred Orchard installs in the Algarve and uses a 1.33 offset dish, which will be sufficient to obtain all channels. For the BBC and ITV a 1.2 x 1.1 metre dish would be sufficient, but the choice of LNB then becomes very important. Fred finds that the Sharp 0.3dB gives the best all round performance, whilst for a dual feed either the Inverto Silvertec 0.3dB or the Smart Titanium 0.2dB are his preferred choice.

Spain obviously encompasses an very large area and dish sizes vary according to location. At the North West of Spain, in the area of land situated directly above Portugal, a minimum size of 1.3m diameter is required to bring in the 2D signal for BBC and ITV. While we have had positive reports on a 1.3m dish, we have also had a report from Ian King in A Coruna who tried unsuccesfully to use a 1.3m dish and who eventually settled on a 2.1m dish. Even with this size dish, Ian loses ITV2 and ITV3, BBC 3 and BBC4 in bad weather. This goes to show the differences that people experience when installing a large dish on the fringes of the 2D footprint. There are many unknown factors at work here, including the LNB type and the receiver, but we feel that Ian should be able to use a smaller dish.

David and Eve Stephens come from the same region (Ortigueira 15332) and installed a 1.25m dish with a Pace DS440N and subscription card. Although we expected the dish to be too small to receive BBC and ITV channels (they were advised against fitting a larger dish because of the high wind speeds), it did pick up BBC1 - 4 on a clear day. Using a subscription card meant that they could pick up many of the Sky channels that broadcast on the South beam. Channel 5 was also accessible with this dish, although reception of Channel 4 was patchy. In retrospect, we should have advised them to use a Pace DS430N or 2600C1, with a lower signal threshold. This would have enabled them to receive Channel 4 and 5 more consistently.

"Just to say that the dish is now installed and everything OK. Even get BBC2 in the late afternoon which is unheard of in these parts. Even works OK when raining but occassionally goes when very windy. My god that dish is massive. Looks like GCHQ. Gives the locals something to talk about!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your service and advice. I will certainly recommend your company to any Brits that ask about our dish!"

Last January I contacted you regarding a question on my satellite system in Spain. (Leon-city: 324 Km North of Madrid and 180 Km from Oviedo)- Town called Valencia de Don Juan.

Well, I have got a satellite dish 1.35m and the normal LNB 3.0. The decoder is a box called Elgin. The system works fine showing (BBC-One, Two, CBeebes etc.) and ITV 1. until about 8pm. It doesn't show the ITV2 or channel Four, or Five either.

Now reading you website, you are recommending the Pace 2600C1 and the LNB-Quad-Invalon o.3dB. Do you think that if I change the digibox and the LNB the problem will be solved? and could be possible to have the other Sky channels?

Chris Saul from Absolute Satellites on the South Coast near Almeria uses 1.3m dishes with refurbished Pace DS430N digiboxes, although as you go West approaching Malaga, the size required reduces to 1.1 or 1.0m. Contrary to what you might expect, if you proceed East and North towards Alicante, the signal weakens and a dish in the region of 2.0/2.4 metres is needed. Follow the coast up to France, and gradually the signal strength improves. For example, Mark Scotsford installs in the Castellon region of Eastern Spain, halfway between Valencia and Amposta. He installs 1.9m dishes for a solid reception day and night, but also installs 1.3m dishes for customers who don't mind losing the odd channel in the evening. This reduction in required dish size continues as you travel up the coast towards Barcelona. By the time you reach the area around Barcelona and the border with France, an 80cm dish would be more than adequate.

The report below was sent in by Josh Lovegrove who lives near Valencia, one of the most difficult areas in which to receive a good quality signal from Astra 2D. To look at the products that Josh talks about in more detail, just click on the links.

"I am using Pace 2600 C1 and Fortec Star 2.4m sectional dish. The dish is fitted with an Invacom dual C120 LNB and Invacom C120 flange feedhorn fitted into an adjustable clamp.

Dish located on flat roof of house rag bolted to concrete floor. Setup was using a simple satellite meter to tune for max signal strength then using adjustments on dish and skew to fine tune horizontal and vertical alignments for best results using an old Amstrad receiver connected to second LNB and portable TV taken up onto the roof next to the dish and gauging results from Amstrad receiver using Sky signal test. On Amstrad signal gives 60% on Strength and 60% on quality but signal registers on the Pace 2600 end of 30M of cable at 60% or 80% on strength and quality at least 60% and sometimes more.

In the day we can get all BBC and ITV channels plus CH4 and CH5 plus all free view channels - ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, BBC3, BBC4, Film4 etc. In the evening we lose ITV3 first at around 8pm - later we lose BBC3 and ITV2 and ITV4. Our default BBC1 (from our freeview card) is Tyne Tees which we lose at 8pm but can continue with London BBC1 until about 10:00pm and sometimes after. After midnight most BBC and ITV channels can get a bit iffy at times.

We suspect we need to relocate the dish as the bottom may be close to being in the shadow of a nearby wall and so intend raising the whole dish 2 feet sometime soon and also may try another location to see if we get a better signal form that.

In the Balearic Islands you may struggle to get all regions of BBC/ITV at all times with anything less than a 1.5 or 1.8m dish. Typically, certain BBC and ITV regions, including ITV2 and ITV3 may drop out in the evening around the 9 or 10pm. Using a 1.8m dish in conjunction with a good digibox such as the Pace DS430N, Pace Minibox or Pace 2600C1 will prevent this from happening, and will give you continuous viewing day and night. A customer on Ibiza has confirmed that a 1.8m dish, used with a standard free-to-air receiver, will not be sufficient to guarantee continuous viewing. Substituting the free-to-air receiver with a Pace 2600C1 solved this problem.

It is hard to pick up BBC and ITV in Greece with anything other than a large dish, but the size of dish varies according to your location. On the extreme North West of Greece (ie the island of Corfu and nearby mainland areas) reception of these channels can be achieved with a dish in the region of 2.4 metres. Although this size of dish will obtain BBC and ITV, it will probably not obtain ITV2 or ITV3. Certain regions of BBC and ITV channels will not come through with this size of dish either, although this is a relatively minor problem since different ITV regions that are easier to receive can be programmed in using the 'add channels' function, while all BBC variations are listed on the programme guide.

Don't forget that these dish sizes only apply to the reception of BBC and ITV channels. If a dish of this size is impractical, you can still receive Channel 4 and Channel 5, many radio stations and some useful free-to-air channels such as Sky News with a much smaller dish. Many of the Sky subscription channels are available on the South beam, which is relatively easy to pick up - even in the far South of Europe. For example, the latest report we have from Crete was from a customer who bought a Pace DS430N with a subscription card. He receives most Sky channels with a 1.4m dish. He does not receive Channel 4 or BBC & ITV, although another customer from the island has reported that he manages to get Channel 4 with the same size dish.

Dish Sizes in Cyprus

At the western side of Cyprus a 2.7m diameter prime focus dish should be sufficient for all UK channels, although you may struggle with ITV2 and any other channels or regional variations that are broadcast with vertical polarization. However, you will be able to get a good selection of regions on BBC1 and ITV1. If you have a Freesat or Sky card, the default ITV region shown on channel 103 is pre-programmed, so try and choose a Freesat or Sky card that has a region with horizontal polarization - if you talk to us about this before buying your card, we will make sure the card is the right one your your location.

Carlo Lazzeri lives in La Spezia, on the coast between Genova and Pisa. Geographically, this area is not too far removed from the South Eastern corner of France, where an 80cm dish is sufficient. We recommended a metre dish. Even then, Carlo found that all ITV channels degraded after sunset. This problem is typical in areas like Spain, Portugal and Cyprus and a slightly bigger dish would have probably prevented this. One possible solution is to programme in different ITV regions (with a different signal polarization) either by using a different card with a different default region, or by programming in a different region using the 'other channels' function (for frequency settings see the FAQ page). An improvement may also be possible by using a better LNB - the Invacom Quad is one of the best LNBs to use (even if you don't use all four outputs) and may have made a difference.

Another customer from Caprese Michelangelo (52033), halfway between Pisa and Rimini and had a 3.1 metre dish with one of the older black Pace digiboxes. She came to us to purchase the Pace 2600C1 because she was losing BBC and ITV channels in the evening. This type of digibox, which can operate on a lower signal level than many other digiboxes, solved the problem.

A customer from Pieve Santo Stefano (52036) purchased the 2.4m Fortec Star semented dish and was able to receive BBC and ITV programmes throughout the daytime. However, in the evening when the signal weakened, the BBC and ITV programmes from Astra 2D were lost. Despite trying another low threshold receiver and changing to an Invacom quad LNB, the situation could not be improved. In retrospect, perhaps a 3m dish should have been installed for this part of Italy.

One of our customers recently bought a Pace DS430N digibox and planned to get a local satellite installer in his home town of Ystad (on the Southern coast of Sweden) to supply the dish. We advised him to use a 1.5m dish, but his installer told him that a 1.1m would be sufficient. The 1.1m dish was fitted, and failed to receive any of the BBC or ITV programmes on Astra 2D. Needless to say, a 1.5m dish (with Inverto 0.3dB LNB) was then installed with good results. Most BBC and ITV regions are available, although the regions with horizontal polarization tend to give poorer reception than regions with vertical polarization. In practical terms, this means that a BBC region selected from channels 971 - 991 on the programme guide may give a better reception than the default region that shows at channel 101.

Another customer reported that with a 1.5m dish, she obtained BBC and ITV channels, but only in the morning until 10.00am. The location was Broby (postcode 28060), a region just above and to the East of the Southern tip of Sweden, (and North East of Ystad in the previous case) but in this part of Scandanavia the signal strength drops off quickly as you go from West to East, and this location requires at least a good quality 1.8m dish in order to receive all the UK channels. In this case, the customer was happy to receive just the channels available on the North & South beams.

Dish Sizes in Norway

We have only one recent report from Norway, which confirms that an 80/90cm dish in Stavanger in the South West is sufficient to bring in BBC and ITV channels from the Astra 2D satellite. This conforms to the published data, which suggests that the dish size required increases steadily from 80cm to 1.5m as you travel along the Southern coast towards Oslo. Bearing in mind that we also have reports from the South coast of Sweden of a 1.5m dish being used successfully, it seems unlikely that any size in excess of 1.5m would be required for all but the Northern-most reaches of the country.

David Beccue bought a Pace 2600 digibox and the MTI Blue Line low-noise LNB for his residence near Skopje in Macedonia. Data on dish sizes was pretty thin on the ground for Macedonia - it isn't exactly a favourite country to buy a holiday home - and so I based my recommendations on the data from Greece. Knowing that only a very large dish in the region of 2 metres or above would have a chance of pulling in the Astra 2D channels (BBC and ITV) I recommended a Sky subscription so that David could benefit from the reception of the Sky channels on the South beam. A 115cm dish pulled in Channel 4 and 5 and most Sky channels including Sky one, Two and Three. As predicted, BBC and ITV were not available along with many of the '+1 hour' stations (although their normal counterparts were generally viewable).