If we are talking the astra2 /eurobird satellite then this is a cluster of satellites in an array. They move about relative to one another and so the further away you are from the focal point the more you will loose at certain times of year.
Interesting, thank you.
In my experience of installing and repairing dishes for friends the first thing people say when they contact me is āI need a new dishā but in fact it is rare that a new dish is needed. I do the simple things first which donāt involve climbing ladders. So in this order:
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By looking upwards, check that the dish and lnb are still there and connected by at least one cable. Also that it is roughly pointing in the right area of the sky. I went to deal with one for a friend who hadnāt wanted the dish on the wall of a rather beautiful house so he had concreted in a post in the garden. That was fine in the summer but over the winter the land was soggy and flooded. The dish was now pointing at the ground.
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Check everything about the receiver and the antenna lead. I always carry a spare receiver and I usually remake the receiver end connector. Often it is a case of dusting and cleaning has pulled the cable out of the connector.
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If that fails get out the ladder and go to the dish end. Do a quick check on the dish to ensure it has not moved. This really is unlikely if the dish was correctly installed. The last thing to touch is the dish.
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Examine the LNB to check there are no cracks into which moisture can enter. Quite a common problem even in summer.
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Test the cable from receiver to ensure it is producing 12 to 18v from the receiver. It is surprising how often mic and bigger rodents think cables are food. A quite common problem.
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Remake the connections by cutting back the antenna lead or leads by around 10cms - this is the most common problem.
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Swap the LNB for one I know works.
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Then, and only then suspect the dish has moved so get out the meter and compass.
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Thank you scoutdubna. Will carry out your checks.
Iām not terribly convinced that the relatively small (in angular terms) movements of the satellites in the cluster will have noticeable effects on reception - compared with terrestrial problems with the dish set-up. @scoutdubnaās list seems like a very good starting point for troubleshooting.
We have issues as the damn walnut tree has grown in the path of our dish! Most channels still OK but less in summer but yes weāve lost normal channel 4!
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It was once described to me that the difference between the Astra satellites at 28.2E was similar to the thickness of a piece of paper at a distance of 100m. Donāt know how true this is. May be an interesting thing to try to calculate 
Iām assuming here that youāre talking Freesat channel numbers rather than Sky channel numbers as @billybutcher suggested. If not, let me know.
Can you try DMAX, Food Network, Quest and Quest Red ?. Do you get similar issues with these ?. If so, then that may confirm a suspicion of mine.
Geostationary orbit is at 22,236 miles above the equator. Iāve tried to discover exactly how close the satellites in the Astra 2 cluster are to each other without much luck. Active station-keeping is required to keep the satellites in place, both North-South and East-West (itās why satellites have a finite lifespan as they eventually run out of propellant) - but if they move 1km out of position that corresponds to just 0.01Ā° of displacement.
My problem is losing Freesat 156-9 from about 7PM each night just as Dave gets interesting
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Do you also lose DMAX, Food Network, Quest and Quest Red as well ?. Iāve asked @randomadness the same question.
At this moment it is the usual suspects missing on Freesat: 147 Skyarts, 156 W, 157 Dave, 158 Drama, 159 Yesterday.
If you have checked the other Freesat channels I mentioned, and there are no issues at all with these, then Iām at a loss as to why just 156-9 and no other channel at all are giving issues.
An explanation of what I suspected. Channels 156-159 are all on the same transponder on Astra 2E. This transponder just happens to be almost the highest frequency transponder on the satellite used by Freesat. The only one that is higher frequency has DMAX, Food Network, Quest and Quest Red on it.
Now, when the LNB shifts the frequency of those transponders, they will be close to the top end of the frequencies that the LNB can output. With dish installs, itās common to save a few bob by putting in inferior cable, even using UHF cable meant for TV signals. Doing this can cause issues with the higher frequencies sent by the LNB, with the problem getting worse the higher you go.
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There is a sky news channel in the 200s which I forgot.
Thank you for your input.
Sky news is on channel 202, and is on the same transponder as Sky Arts on 147. And itās at a highish frequency.
Will check later on. So Freesat 148, 150 and 169
Yes, thatās correct. Let me know.
Weāre in the south part of 17 and about half the Freesat channels have become āno signal etcā since June.
Weāve blamed the heat so far - BBC and BBC Scotland you donāt get, and the only regional one is BBC NIreland, while we canāt get Channel 4 but can get Channel 4+ which is a bit weird. Lots of other channels are affected the same way.
I have an 80 cm dish and no loss at all on any of the channels. God forbid I miss my daily fix of Compo and Cleggy.