Thread: Best dish

I am looking for your thoughts fta dish choices. I would like to know how much differences there is between 30 inch and 31 inches and ect..... How much does dish size matter? How much difference is there between lbns. Please give any thoughts or ideas. I am looking at purchasing a traxis system. Thank you

Not going to be much difference (if any) between 31 and 30 inches. You'll find more difference between two different manufacturers. Winegard's 76cm (30"), for example, often outperforms more poorly made 36" dishes. Generally, though, bigger is better.

You'll see a significant increase in performance between 30" and 1 meter.

Everything else being equal, the lower the noise factor of an LNB, the better. A .3 will outperform a .6, for example. However, noise factor isnt the only important specification. L.O. (Local Oscillator) stability is equally important, although most consumer LNBs have similar L.O. stability (+/- 1 Mhz). I have a commercial Norsat PLL LNB that has a .9 noise figure but a L.O. stability of +/- 100 Khz which performs comparably to an Invacom .3.

What is the best dish?
The one you get for FREE that the guy down the street is throwing away

I am really new to FTA but I would consider compatability with a motor as well, when making a dish selection.

Some people add the motor later for different reasons,(cost,decision to go further and get more signals, etc). I don't know what your plans are but I would say to get the motor and dish together if at all possible. That way your dealer can make sure you have the right motor to use with your dish and the right mounting hardware to go with it.

It still amazes me how I could spend several days trying to aim a dish but a dumb little motor can find every satellite, every time once it gets set up properly. Maybe the motors aren't as dumb as they look. I was skeptical at first, thinking I would have to use the remote a lot to nudge the dish into position but that's not at all the case.

i agree with PITTS, i have a GEOSATpro 90cm dish and a GEOSATpro GS-120 motor from SatelliteAV ( a sponsor here, just click the logo at top of page)
i am very happy with both products , a matched pair. then if you have issues, you get great help from them. and both items would be thiers,, one place to contact!!!