Thread: Can I get C band with a Ku dish

Hi,

I have been viewing the Ku band FTA for some time now. I would also like to get some C-band programming. I have no experience with C-band. I would appreciate it if some of you that know would tell me if this will probably work.

I am considering the possibility of installing a Geosat CK1 LNBF on one of my Ku dishes with a WS-KU2C mounting kit as listed at Sadoun. I would like to get some of the programming on Galaxy 16 @ 99.0 W.

If I am reading the Lyngsat Maps correctly. This should work with my 90 CM Fortec or with the 1 meter Winegard Ku dish.

My Questions:

Am I likely to have a decent quality C-band signal with this setup in SW Minnesota?

By adding the items listed above to my Mercury II receiver through the DS21-C DiSEgC switch that connects to my other KU dish LNBs. Should all of this do what I want it to without any other equipment?

It is about a 90 - 100 foot coax run from the dishes to the box using RG6. If I put a C-band LNBF on this should I be using the larger RG11 coax for that distance?

I am considering the combination C/Ku band LNBF simply because I may want to use the Ku side of it later. I do not plan to use the Ku portion of it at this time. Could I do better with a different combination or C-band only LNBF?

I would appreciate information about this. I have searched this and other forums for this information without any success.

Originally Posted by gentech

I am considering the possibility of installing a Geosat CK1 LNBF on one of my Ku dishes with a WS-KU2C mounting kit as listed at Sadoun. I would like to get some of the programming on Galaxy 16 @ 99.0 W.

If I am reading the Lyngsat Maps correctly. This should work with my 90 CM Fortec or with the 1 meter Winegard Ku dish.

Lyngsat maps you have to take with a grain of salt. They are not right in a lot of cases (like this case)

My Questions:

Am I likely to have a decent quality C-band signal with this setup in SW Minnesota?

I'm just up the road in Minneapolis (well near Mistake Lake Casino) and honestly a 1m would be the absolute minimum to try this experiment. I had them on a 1.2 and it worked ok. Not the best but it worked.
Please note that if you go smaller than a 6 foot dish you are taking alot of issues into consideration some of which are
-the smaller dish size
-adjacent satellites
-very narrow spot to hit a signal

Folks have tried to get them on smaller dishes. 1meter might work. I know 1.2m does work and most definitelly the 6 footer works

There are a couple really strong transponders on 99W (world harvest and a couple feeds) that a 1m should work just fine. It will take a lot of patience

It is about a 90 - 100 foot coax run from the dishes to the box using RG6. If I put a C-band LNBF on this should I be using the larger RG11 coax for that distance?

no...I run 100 feet with no issues

I am considering the combination C/Ku band LNBF simply because I may want to use the Ku side of it later. I do not plan to use the Ku portion of it at this time. Could I do better with a different combination or C-band only LNBF?

If you want to try this. go C-Band only. Those combo units suck on a offset dish. Been there tried that. When I did my review on the 1.2m dish "minibud" a C-Band only LNB I gained a couple points which is critical.

I would appreciate information about this. I have searched this and other forums for this information without any success.

mini-bud search would have brought up numerous posts

Originally Posted by gentech

Hi,

......
I am considering the combination C/Ku band LNBF simply because I may want to use the Ku side of it later. I do not plan to use the Ku portion of it at this time. Could I do better with a different combination or C-band only LNBF?

I would appreciate information about this. I have searched this and other forums for this information without any success.

I've got two of them on the shelf, that is where they belong unless you have a large BUD.

You can still have C and Ku on the 1m offset, you just need to offset the Ku and use a motor.

I get G16 on a 90cm dish and it is solid 90% of the time.

Bottom line, it can be done but there are weak transponders and whole satellites which will be impossible to get. Without sufficient signal quality you will be fighting with signal drop out a whole lot and it will likely cause more frustration than joy.
Just my $0.02..........
Having said that, I find a LOT more to watch on C-Band than I do on Ku so if you have the space, seek out a decent 8-10' dish.

Thanks everyone for the answers to my questions.

Iceberg, I have read some of your writing on this forum so I knew that you was just a short distance north of me. I am just south of Lake Sarah about 12 miles north of Slayton.

These things do not always work the way that one would expect. I have found that I have always needed a little bigger dish than what Lygnsat lists for Ku.

I will just get a c band dish when I am going in a direction to pick one up. The shipping charges kind of takes some of the fun out of it. I have been looking at C band dish prices at different companies websites. They sure do vary a lot for basically the same thing. Sadoun has the lowest price right now that I have found. It looks as though they are clearing them out to make room for their own brand name dish.

Originally Posted by gentech

I will just get a c band dish when I am going in a direction to pick one up. The shipping charges kind of takes some of the fun out of it. I have been looking at C band dish prices at different companies websites. They sure do vary a lot for basically the same thing. Sadoun has the lowest price right now that I have found. It looks as though they are clearing them out to make room for their own brand name dish.

The shipping on the C-Band dishes really arent that bad. When I had my 2 Fortec 6 foot units shipped they were about 35 bucks to ship which is about the same price as a 36" dish to be shipped

The box is pretty small

I agree with the previous posters. Since I've had my C-Band dish setup, I barely watch anything on Ku anymore, except maybe a sports feed on the weekends. "Can" you get C-Band on G16 on a 90cm on 1m dish? Eh, maybe a couple channels when the weather is good. It's one of those things you would to play with for fun, it's not going to deliver satisfactory results. My vote is to get a minimum of a 6ft dish. If you want to buy new, then I would go with Iceberg's suggestions on the Fortec. However, with a little effort you should be able to find an 8ft, 10ft, or even a 12ft dish locally for free or low cost. Sure, you may have to replace the actuator or LNB or something, but those parts are much cheaper than a whole dish shipped. And performance wise, you're going to find much better results with a bigger dish.

Sadoun has a sale on the
C2 LNBF

.
If you look around the forum, you'll find it well reviewed.
Good choice for any size dish.

Also, for moving any size BUD, you'll want a motor controller.
The
Gbox v3000


is the one we highly recommend.
Read our review for more details.

Originally Posted by gentech

Thanks everyone for the answers to my questions.

Iceberg, I have read some of your writing on this forum so I knew that you was just a short distance north of me. I am just south of Lake Sarah about 12 miles north of Slayton.

These things do not always work the way that one would expect. I have found that I have always needed a little bigger dish than what Lygnsat lists for Ku.

I will just get a c band dish when I am going in a direction to pick one up. The shipping charges kind of takes some of the fun out of it. I have been looking at C band dish prices at different companies websites. They sure do vary a lot for basically the same thing. Sadoun has the lowest price right now that I have found. It looks as though they are clearing them out to make room for their own brand name dish.

Many of us find old C-Band dishes which are no longer in use and offer to "remove that eyesore" from the owner's yard. I have not had to purchase one yet! There are a few threads on "dish hunting" here. No doubt if you put some time in you can find yourself a workable unit cheap if not free. That to me is half the fun of the hobby, re-purposing old parts.