Are we limited on what satellite we can get in America?

[skyhigh]

I live in Texas and I have customers who want programming from AsiaSat 3s at 105.5 Degree East, is it possible to tune in to that satellite in Texas? I was reading something from another site saying we can only get a few sat in the sky from North American. Can we tune in to any satellite in the sky as we please or we are limited to what we can get in North America? Thanks

SkyHigh

[SamC]

You have "customers", meaning you consider yourself a seller of something related to sat dishes, and you don't understand that the Earth is round and that a sat at 105.5 East would be on the OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD???????

[FTA Michael]

Just as you can't see the Southern Cross (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crux) from Texas, neither can you see a satellite in geosynchronous orbit over Kenya or Borneo. You can get anything in the sky, but it has to be your sky, not the Tibetan sky.

But hey, there's at least a dozen satellites that you can see from Texas. http://www.ftalist.com/satellites.htm

[FRESKAHYPE]

Hello Im Trying To Get The Linear Signal From The Pas-9 Which Is In The Atlantic. I Have A 90 Cm Dish And I Live In The Dallas Texas Area From What I Understand I Would Only Need The Correct Lnb To Get The Signal But According To A Seller Of Satellite Equipment He Says I Need At Least 120 Cm Dish And Wants To Charge Me 450.00 For The Installation. I Dont Believe What He Tells Me, Am I Right To Doubt Or Do I Need A Bigger Dish Please Help

[Fifty Caliber]

Since Pas-9 at 58w is a little bit further east than the E* birds at 61.5w, a bigger dish would probably help out a good bit. Also keep in mind that your line of sight is going to be prety low on the horizon.

[kenglish]

He might be right. Only way to be sure is to run a Link Budget Analysis....maybe he has done one before on that bird.

You would be on the edge of some of the spot beams in the normal Ku Band. For the Euro/Americas beams, you need the "special" LNB (lower extended band).

[FRESKAHYPE]

Thanks For The Input. I Have Already Obtained The Signal With A 120cm Dish But It Is Choppy, Small Squares Apear On The Screen, Freezes For A Second And Goes To A Black Screen And Back To The Image. It Does This Constantly. Any Idea On What Im Doing Wrong? And Is There A Solution Or Solutions?

Thanks Again For Any Input
Freskahype

[FTA Michael]

Those are classic symptoms of marginal signal quality. Normally reception of the digital signal is a pass/fail proposition, but if your receiver can get almost enough signal quality, that's what you see.

If that's the case, then I think that all you can do is try to get more signal. That means making sure your dish is pointed perfectly, or getting a more sensitive LNBF, or getting an ever larger dish, although yours is big already.

What about the guy who sold you the equipment? Does the channel come in clearly for him?

Edit: Post-coffee, edited for grammar.

[kenglish]

Be sure to fine tweak the polarization, using the worst channel. That's where you want to be "dead on" with polarization, so it nulls out any interference from adjacent birds and opposite-pol channels.

You might want to go with a better LNBF, if you have a cheapie (like are often provided "free" with the dishes). Invacomm makes some good ones.

But, mostly, just aim, tweak, re-aim....getting it better every time. Maybe 3-5 times, to get it perfect.