Thread: Fortec 36" Dish

I decided to order a couple 36" dishes from Sadoun to replace the 30" ones that I had on the motor and the fixed one at G10. They arrived Wednesday and for 2 days I couldn’t put them up because it was raining.

Friday I finally got to work on them. When I pulled them out of the box, they looked MUCH bigger than the 30". I checked everything out and the only thing that was different was the paperwork said 80cm. No biggie but the brackets in the picture were different than the actual ones. Figured out how to line up the brackets and the holes (thanks to the pictures of the 100cm at Sadoun’s site) and went to installation.

I already had a 30" up, so I figured “take it down, slap the new one up and be all set, right?” Nope. The elevation was too low to clear my roof....strike 1.....figured “well, I’ll just use the arm and put it on the foot that is already there”....Nope. Holes don’t match up...strike 2...lets see what it looks like for the motorized. Put it at about the same height as the motorized and looked...won’t clear roof...strike 3. Unfortunately, I have my dishes on the backside of my roof, so the roof goes up in front of it. The only way I could make it work is with a longer pole. This isn’t the dishes problem, its mine

Saturday I did the test rig idea. Hooked it to the test rig (the mast bolted to 2x6 boards held with clamps). Was able to get SBS6 no problem. After 2 rain outs and 4 hours with nothing accomplished on Friday, this made the big man happy. Was able to get ONN and a couple feeds.

Sunday I decided to go all out and get G10 on it. Bolted the mast to the deck (next to the DirecPC dish) and mounted the dish. The elevation is a little off (couple degree), so my G10 elevation which is 30 on the Hotdish, is about a 28 on the Fortec. Also, it seems the angle looks lower on the Fortec. When I was messing around Saturday, I had it set on G3 (just like the DirecPC) and the Foretec looked like it was aiming in the house, where the DirecPC was going over the roof. This I had to get use to. Aimed it at G10 and was able to get it right away. Tweaked it and WOW! What a difference. I have listened to PSB say “get the biggest dish you can find.” Folks, this is true. Here are the numbers that I was able to get on the Pansat (which has the most spazzmatic meter on it). Here is a comparison between 4 setups aimed at G10

-30" motorized with the DMSI .5 Dual LNB
-30" motorized with the Fortec .4 Universal LNB
-36" Fortec with the DMSI .5 Dual LNB
-36" Fortec with the Fortec .4 Universal LNB

30 30 36 36
Transponder D U D U
11799 (main) 46 55 75 75
11719 (Tube) 35 47 60 61
11985 (CBS) 62 73 76 90
12114 (Fox) 83 99 90 99


So going from the 30 to the 36 I gained between 14-20 points, which is huge in my book. I decided to put the dual on this one, because I had 2 receivers to hook it too (maybe 3) and the difference between the 2 isn’t much (other than CBS Transponder)

I am very stoked to have the Tube come in with a GREAT signal. Well, after 3 days of working on it, I am truly happy to have this 36" dish (after telling Pete on Friday I was going to use this as a sled and go down the hill near my house because I couldn’t get it to work)

I will probably be putting the other one on a motor and mounting this on the deck too, which will get dishes off the roof and make it easier to clean in case of snow.

All and all, I am very happy I got the 36" dish from Sadoun. Now I can watch G10 without breakups and rain won’t screw the signal up as bad as it did with the 30" So if you have a 30 and was thinking of upgrading, I say “do it”. I haven’t motorized it yet, but that will come soon.

Nice review
A larger dish really is the way to go.

Pic 3 and 4 - is that the bracket you were talking about? The upper bracket looks like it's on upside-down according to the pics/paperwork.

Ignore me if I'm wrong, I'll edit it later so people won't think I'm stupid

Originally Posted by Cascade

Nice review
A larger dish really is the way to go.

Pic 3 and 4 - is that the bracket you were talking about? The upper bracket looks like it's on upside-down according to the pics/paperwork.

Ignore me if I'm wrong, I'll edit it later so people won't think I'm stupid

yeah...there is 4 combos to get the bracket right and that picture was before I tried to mount it on the dish The top one is wrong on there, but the instructions I had were for the 80cm which has totally different brackets

A bigger dish is the way to go.... especially for the Tube

Now to motorize the other on my deck

Iceberg

The top bracket is right. The Bottom one is wrong. The "bow Tie" on the top one should point upward, the bottom one should point downward. See sketch here:
http://sadoun.com/Sat/Products/Fortec-Star/Dishes/wpeA.jpg

By the way, you got the 90P, the brackets and universal mount are different than the 90U.

-30" motorized with the DMSI .5 Dual LNB
-30" motorized with the Fortec .4 Universal LNB
-36" Fortec with the DMSI .5 Dual LNB
-36" Fortec with the Fortec .4 Universal LNB

30 30 36 36
Transponder D U D U
11799 (main) 46 55 75 75
11719 (Tube) 35 47 60 61
11985 (CBS) 62 73 76 90
12114 (Fox) 83 99 90 99

The results above show that

1- The 36" DISH is way better than a 30"
2- The Fortec UNIVERSAL 0.4dB LNBF has beaten the DMSI LNBF hands down.

With the 0.4dB you will get
~ Better signal gain
~ Better signal stability.

When you get the 80CM dish, do the same comparison.

Originally Posted by Sadoun

Iceberg

The top bracket is right. The Bottom one is wrong. The "bow Tie" on the top one should point upward, the bottom one should point downward. See sketch here:
http://sadoun.com/Sat/Products/Fortec-Star/Dishes/wpeA.jpg

By the way, you got the 90P, the brackets and universal mount are different than the 90U.

I'll take pictures of it tonight with the right bracket setup

Originally Posted by Sadoun

When you get the 80CM dish, do the same comparison.

Oh I will be

Here is a different comparison between the .5 and the .4
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=70909
This is on the motorized dish

Originally Posted by Iceberg

Oh I will be

Here is a different comparison between the .5 and the .4
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=70909
This is on the motorized dish

Yes right on the money and that is what you should expect with a 0.4dB vs. a 0.5 or 0.6db LNBF. Lower noise figure N.R. is better (you get your money's worth).

We have been please with the Fortec Star 0.4db LNBF specially when people are trying to setup their satellite dish for the 1st time. It helps in locking on the satellite signal quickly.

Great review Ice!!! Thanks, Mike