Noob question - Should I attempt it?

[kittyhas1000legs]

Hi all,

I've been lurking this forum for months to get enough know-how before I try setting up my first FTA dish. I want to try to go for a balance of low-budget and decent reliability. It will be a fixed dish aimed at 30W. Here's where I might have an issue or two:

-My coworker said that he'll get his slimline dish off of his house and give it to me for free, but that was a few months ago with nothing happening. He doesn't want me to take it down since he's worried about me falling and getting injured/dead on his property. Winter's coming quickly, so if it doesn't come down soon I'll be waiting until the spring for it. I also know that I'd have to alter the arm to attach a linear LNBF, which could be a bit of a challenge for a noob like me. Is it worth waiting for the slimline and buying a microHD to go with it, or should I err on the side of caution (and fewer headaches) and buy the dish/microHD package from SatelliteAV?

-LOS: There isn't much of the sky that I can see from my balcony, which is why I'm going for 30W for now. Dishpointer.com shows that 30W is just west of a large pine tree. I figured that the image from google maps might not be that accurate since it's at an angle, so I bought the iPhone app ($10 version). Unfortunately, the internal compass picks up a lot of interference, even after I took the fan out of the window and unplugged the amp for my antenna. Depending on the day, it's shown 30W in a bunch of different spots, usually just east of the tree. Attached is a the view from my balcony, with the various spots the dishpointer app has shown for 30W. (I just added them in MSPaint since the app is on my girlfriend's phone.)

So what it all boils down to: should I attempt it?

[lost_mesa]

It's not looking very good since the average of all the dots is in the tree. I don't have any experience with how accurate Dishpointer.com is.

Do you have somewhere else you can temporarily set up the system to become familiar with its operation and aligning a dish? The fewer variables you start with, the better. You can't go wrong with a microHD/dish package from SatelliteAV. Modifying a slimline dish just adds another variable.

Personally, I'd try it since I like a challenge, but prepare to be disappointed. Or on the positive side, it might work.

[kittyhas1000legs]

The one dot to the right seems to be a bit of a fluke; every other time I try it (when it doesn't complain about interference) it shows 30W to the east of the tree. The only place I might be able to get better LOS is on my neighbor's balcony upstairs (perhaps I could get a multiswitch and offer to run a wire to his TV?)

[northgeorgia]

Whoa! That tree looks like it's shoving its branches into the other apartment building's balconies! Maybe management needs to get someone to take the whole tree down *wink wink*

[primestar31]

It's not looking very good since the average of all the dots is in the tree. I don't have any experience with how accurate Dishpointer.com is.

Do you have somewhere else you can temporarily set up the system to become familiar with its operation and aligning a dish? The fewer variables you start with, the better. You can't go wrong with a microHD/dish package from SatelliteAV. Modifying a slimline dish just adds another variable.

Personally, I'd try it since I like a challenge, but prepare to be disappointed. Or on the positive side, it might work.

Dishpointer is "dead" on the money provided you use your exact coordinates, and place the pointer X right on the spot where your dish is or will be located.

[Bob2011]

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Well I would first check the sun outage calculator and find out the days within the next two weeks that the sun will be right behind 30w in the sky. That way you know for sure if 30w is possible.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/...culator-Update

If all you are going to watch on 30w is the Cuban networks then you just need a DVB-S box which can be found now for as low as $30 new. If you can't get the slimline dish just ask on Freecycle or Craigslist for a dish. To avoid rain issues on 30w you need a minimum of 24". I used a smaller Dish 500 for a while and it worked well except in heavy rain and snow.