Jako

The problem is that reception of Astra 2F is still not stable, especially in the south of France reception reports are deteriorating. As if 'they' are still finetuning, which could well be possible. Rumour has it that this new generation satellites indeed can still be adjusted once in orbit. The good news is that in France you will always be able to improve reception with a bigger dish. That might not be possible further south when frequencies are re-used on the Africa beam.

There is a Astra2F reception map created  in google maps where you can see the dish size used by others in Europe : here Astra2E launch date is currently set for July the 19th from Baikonur. As there have been quite a few problems with Russian launches recently we should take interest in the launch of the SES-6 satellite from Baikonur next week June the 3th. Another launch failure would definitely postpone  the launch of the Astra2E satellite.

You are completely right, in theory. And that, my friend, is the difference between theory and practice. I live at 3.2 km from the exchange and get 16 Mbps, also impossible, in theory. The 8 Mega offer is still available, just hidden. It is now just called 'decouverte sans engagement' and hidden behind 'autres offres'

Not entirely true, that depends on the reason why 2 mega is the maximum. This is only correct when your exchange supports ADSL1 at a maximum speed of 2 mega. But most exchanges have already evolved to ADSL2+ without notifying the customers. In virtually all scenario's this means that changing from 2 mega to 8 mega will also change protocol to ADSL2+ and that almost always will give you better speed. I know a guy who lives at 6 kms from the exchange who changed from 1 megamax (got 512 reADSL) to 8 megamax and even gets the 8 mega reliable now.

@NormanH: I don't think so. DLM simply reduces the maximum speed of the connection. E.g. a 20 Mb subscription should normally report 'max 20' to the home modem and DLM can change that down to 1 Mbit. The user can check  a DLM intervention by verifying that the maximum allowed speed (Max. DSLAM throughput) reported by the modem corresponds with the subscription and should not be lower. The attainable speed reported by the modem is what is technically feasible.

Orange has DLM (dynamic line management) turned on by default. This will drive the maximum speed your modem will try to achieve down when the line is bad. This will give you a (bit) more reliable internet connection, but at low(er) speed. As most people will not complain as long as the connection is working this feature considerably reduces the amount of complaints and helps profitability.[:)] The big downside for the customer is that DLM will never ever restore your speed up again. So when a technician has repaired the line and good speed is possible, your speed will still not go up again unless you specifically ask for it. You can remove DLM by filling out the form on the site here: http://assistance.orange.fr/vos-questions-sur-le-dlm-4312.php (follow the link at the bottom) DLM will then be removed within a couple of hours and you get confirmation by email. I'd advise everybody to remove DLM. P.S. découverte 2 mega is old and expensive. Change to découverte 8 mega gives you more speed and is cheaper. (€ 21/month)

Especially when transponders move from QPSK to 8PSK. (Quad=4  to 8 phase shift keying ) This can double the transponder capacity in theory, but requires a better signal quality.

There was a calculation published on the site of the Telegraph about putting 10 pound on a savings account in the UK and in Cyprus in 2008. In Cyprus your money would now be worth £12.50, even with a 10 % haircut. (published before the plan changed) In the UK the money is now worth £ 8.50 in real terms. So who is stealing your money?

Sure. They can either opt for the banks and government to go bankrupt or to accept the conditions of the bail-out. For the savers the choice would be no money at all or at least 90% of their deposit. But there is bound to be a poor chap somewhere that does not realise yet that the payment for his new house in Europe is suddenly10% short.[:(]

@sweet17: if your money is there right now, then yes.

Due to the low tax regime, many FX brokers are based on Cyprus. If your money is with one of them, you will be hurt with the 6.75 or 9.9 percent tax.

Due to production improvements,  lnb's own noise levels have dropped considerably over the last 10 years or so. My oldest lnb is from 1998 and is still functioning perfectly, but the noise level is 1 dB. Any proper new lnb will have a noise level below 0.3 dB. This will instantly improve the signal quality considerably, even when the signal strength remains the same.  And actually the signal strength is quite irrelevant. The only thing relevant is the signal quality. A new lnb will usually also provide a bigger amplification, hence a stronger signal. But amplifying noise is still noise, the receiver will automatically reduce its own amplification when a stronger signal enters the tuner. If you want to decrease the life-expectancy of an lbn, just paint your dish. Use a bright and shiny colour, just what the wife wants, and your lnb will burn as soon as the sun is right behind the satellite. Never longer than 6 months away...[:)]

You should realise that by that time inflation will have degraded the purchasing power of sterling even more than the fall of the exchange rate. Keeping your money in € would be more advantageous. What British imports are you referring to? I have not ever seen a ' made in the UK'  sticker in my life (lived in France,Germany,Holland) on any product, let alone bought it.

None closing here (87), but many new shops opening. The pound is gathering momentum towards it's predicted € 0,50 over time.

Well, then you might know what you are doing, but most people do not. (e.g 'breach DMZ' sounds funny because there is nothing to breach, a dmz is by definition fully exposed to the internet) But even you still do not seem to grasp the true problem: an internal device opens a port and forwards it to the device using UPnP without the users knowledge or consent. The router allows this assuming you know what you are doing because the request is made from inside your network. With internal device I mean like all HP e-printers currently sold, all iomega NAS, most security cams etc. They all default with this setting out-of-the-box and the customer has to either close it or change the default username and password. But most people simply install the device, are happy that it works, and never check the security settings. This exposes the device to the internet, for everybody to use. In this case the router provides no security at all, unless UPnP is disabled. It works great, now you can use your HP e-printer/scanner at home from the entire world, but so can everybody else. Just forget to remove your passport after scanning once and someone else will scan it again from the other side of the world and use it for identity theft.

Do you know what a DMZ is/does? Placing a device in the DMZ connects it directly to the internet, bypassing the firewall. UPnP bypasses any router setting, that is the purpose of the protocol: to make things easy. It can do that because it is initiated from within your network, but it opens your router for external connections. Handy, but dangerous. More info: http://www.howtogeek.com/122487/htg-explains-is-upnp-a-security-risk/ Who would like to spy on you?-thieves would. Nowadays this is a very easy and popular way to get to know your habits and enter your house/business when you are away. It is not even hacking, many devices simply announce their presence on the internet using the default settings the owner never bothered to change. Some devices even provide 'help' when you do not have the password, just click 'help' and the device hands you the password. (iomega)

Not entirely true. Using UPnP the 'smart' device might conveniently open a port on the router and invite an external party. The same applies to 'smart' scanners , printers, nas storage devices, security cam's etc. There is a whole world of devices on the internet publicly soliciting for a connection.

If you like the six new HD channels that were added to the free TNT package, you should definitely move your dish to 5 west. On Astra (TNTSAT) only four channels were added and only one of them in HD (Chérie 25). All six channels were added to the Orange and Fransat package on 5 west and all six in HD. 

I read what looked like an original SES document today that confirms the absence of the 10700-10950 frequency band on Astra2F. This would explain the BBC channels not moving until next year when 2E is in place (Q2 2013) and why 1N will remain at 28.2 until that moment.

The strong signal coming from 1N will have spoiled many installers to deliver half work. Pointing a dish at a powerful satellite can be done quick and easy, but leaves much room for improvement. My guess is that most dishes currently used in France need proper re-aligning first.

Maybe the BBC has an 'issue', we don't know. At least everybody can start testing now, but be careful with concluding 'reception ok'. The new beam is very tight and reception outside the official footprint is not stable. Check reception over a 24 hour period and less favourable weather conditions before concluding the dish size is sufficient.

Well, the 'big' changeover is expected to take place this night (again [:)]). Someone even created a countdown clock for remaining time:  here

"low" frequency test signals are reported from 2f, so the "d-band problem" seems fiction as well. We just have to wait. There are no other reception problems reported (yet).

2b or not 2b has no definite answer yet. Changing satellites goes unnoticed on the ground when both satellites use the same footprint. There are some reports of reception changes, but the weather may cause that. The big difference would be the move of FTA channels to the UK spotbeam. It appears the new beam is even tighter than thought because reception in the fringe area's is not stable.  Apparently 'good reception' can easily turn into 'no reception' a few days later.

'informed' rumours claim astra2b transponders will move to 2f tonight. These are all Sky subscription channels, so they should go to the pan-European beam, but who knowns...