What else can you pick up on the 1.2 meter dish? I have a C-band/Ku-band LNB with scalar in my basement just doing nothing. I won't even need a side-mounted Ku LNB. I also have a motor with 55 mm tube that's capable of moving a 1.2 meter dish just sitting around... all I need is the dish.
Since you've got all the equipment you should definitely get one then. If you're not as big of a fan of Japan as I am then it is possible you may be disappointed with your MiniBUD. Don't expect miracles. Most things outside of Galaxy 17 and Galaxy 16 will be out of reach. Intelsat 9 is usually out of reach; NHK World HD is the exception because the insane amount of error correction. You can have a 10% signal on that channel and still have a lock. I get 20% with my miniBUD.
I get a few channels on Anik F1. TeleQuebec HD. A big mux of things at 4100 V 23845.
Was able to get the Emmy's backhaul on Galaxy 16 C last week. Lots of G16 things - WWE backhauls, Virgin Islands channels, Puerto Rico mux.
Galaxy 17 has CW feeds, a big mux of music (radio) channels.
Things you can NOT get include NASA HD, RT HD, ION, ABC, CBS, regular CW feeds... ABC is on a strong bird but it uses a distressingly low amount of FEC, 9/10. Low amounts of error correction and DVB-S2 are your enemy when miniBUDing.
the reason you are getting more is because of the microhd compared to the pansat.....nothing to do with the dish itself
This is untrue. I have a 1.2m and 90cm which I use for Ku and the 1.2m can lock a lot of Ku feeds which the 90cm does not like. A 1.2m makes locking NBC a breeze even with the incorrect skew. I still get at least 60% before adjusting the skew to -26. So I usually don't even have to go twist my Ku LNBF. Signal of any given Ku feed is at least 15-30% higher with the 1.2m over the 90cm.
Both dishes are equipped with Geosatpro SL1 PLL LNBFs.