My new ( and I mean NEW) C Band setup finally done

[eaglevision993]

Hi,
I thought I could share my recent C Band installation here. As I posted before, I got a new in box Orbitron SX 10 dish with some missing parts. Those parts were the front and back plate and the feed cover. After having the plates manufactured at a local metal shop and finally getting the feed cover from SkyVision I did the setup last weekend.

The pictures speak for themselves so I guess I don´t have to explain much. All that is left is to programm the ASC 1 and the Dreambox, but I will upgrade from the 24" to a 36" actuator first. The 24" does not give me the full visible arc.

I use a Tri Band Chaparral Polarotor with C and KU LNBs and the "Golden Ring". The dish has a F/D of only 0.3. For the time being a cheap Inverto C Band DRO LNB and a New Japan Radio NJR2842L wideband PLL LNB controlled by the Titanium ASC 1 Positioner are in use.

So far I get pretty nice reception, but It was a days work of adjusting.
Totally happy now after 5+ years out of the C Band business. Btw I am located in Germany near Heidelberg, around 48°north /9° east lat long.

Best regards
Benjamin

 

[pdiddy]

Hi,
I thought I could share my recent C Band installation here. As I posted before, I got a new in box Orbitron SX 10 dish with some missing parts. Those parts were the front and back plate and the feed cover. After having the plates manufactured at a local metal shop and finally getting the feed cover from SkyVision I did the setup last weekend.

The pictures speak for themselves so I guess I don´t have to explain much. All that is left is to programm the ASC 1 and the Dreambox, but I will upgrade from the 24" to a 36" actuator first. The 24" does not give me the full visible arc.

I use a Tri Band Chaparral Polarotor with C and KU LNBs and the "Golden Ring". The dish has a F/D of only 0.3. For the time being a cheap Inverto C Band DRO LNB and a New Japan Radio NJR2842L wideband PLL LNB controlled by the Titanium ASC 1 Positioner are in use.

So far I get pretty nice reception, but It was a days work of adjusting.
Totally happy now after 5+ years out of the C Band business. Btw I am located in Germany near Heidelberg, around 48°north /9° east lat long.

Best regards
Benjamin

Nice job,your gonna have a lot of fun,with that dish.Let us know how it's going.

 

[KE4EST]

Looks Great!

 

[Titanium]

Been many years since I have seen a "New" Orbitron.

Congrats! Looks great!

 

[. Raine]

Looks nice!

 

[O'Doyle]

sweet!

 

[eaglevision993]

Thanks for the feedback, I´ll let you know when I am done with the new actuator and programming.

 

[spongella]

Very nice series of installation pictures, enjoy your new C-band dish.

Since you are in Europe, what are your favorite satellites?

 

[eaglevision993]

Hmm the Intelsat Global Beams generally have a nice mix of interesting programming, many African channels. Intelsat at 68,5° east or 1° west. east for example. NSS ( now SES6) at 40,5° west covers South American channels.... Yamal at 54° east is also quite interesting if you like Russian TV.. Mind you, I was out of the business for about 10 years and am not yet up to date what is new out there. I didn´t even finish programming all satellites and can´t get to 68.5 east at the moment due to the too short actuator...

 

[norman881]

My first dishes were the FSC-78 (60 footer) and the GSC-39 (38 footer) located At Landstuhl West Germany 1983-1985.

Fond memories from the US Army as a 26Y Satellite Communications Ground Station Equipment Repairman

 

[eaglevision993]

Wow a 60 ft dish is something to remember....But I guess even with that there was not much regarding satellite television back in 1983 ( the year I was born btw) in Germany. Commercial satellite TV did not kick in before the late 80s overhere. Before that, only a handful stations were on air and receiveable in Europe. Landstuhl is not that far away from my place....maybe 100 miles at most.

I wish I could get real US TV overhere, but all satellites are behind the horizon...

 

[norman881]

Wow a 60 ft dish is something to remember....But I guess even with that there was not much regarding satellite television back in 1983 ( the year I was born btw) in Germany. Commercial satellite TV did not kick in before the late 80s overhere. Before that, only a handful stations were on air and receiveable in Europe. Landstuhl is not that far away from my place....maybe 100 miles at most.

I wish I could get real US TV overhere, but all satellites are behind the horizon...

I traveled to Heidelberg 10 + times in my 2 years in Germany. The agency That monitored our transmit power was located there. We had to meet them face to face anytime that we used too much power. Both of the Landstuhl dishes have/had 10,000 watt transmitters. They launched a new Atlantic Ocean satellite in 1985 that only needed a 100 watt transmitter. The Army being the Army just cranked our transmitters down to a trickle. Our main purpose was to send spy plane video back to the Pentagon through Ft Meade, Maryland. (I assume that I can say that now that the wall is down.)

When I got home in 1986, a whole lot of rural people (with no cable access) in the US were watching free HBO using 8-10 foot BUDS.

Enjoy!

 

[eaglevision993]

Thanks for the insight in your work back in the 80s. I wonder if those dishes are still existing in Landstuhl....never was there personally. Heidelberg has ( or had?) lots of army installations including the headquarter for European operations if I´m not mistaken. In recent years all or most of the facilities relocated to Kaiserslautern. I remember the German-American Volksfest twice a year in Patrick Henry Village and later in Benjamin Franklin Village in Mannheim, was so much fun....Very sad that they left the Heidelberg area....

Edit: Just checked and there still is a location called Sat-Com site in Landstuhl...

 

[norman881]

Thanks for the insight in your work back in the 80s. I wonder if those dishes are still existing in Landstuhl....never was there personally. Heidelberg has ( or had?) lots of army installations including the headquarter for European operations if I´m not mistaken. In recent years all or most of the facilities relocated to Kaiserslautern. I remember the German-American Volksfest twice a year in Patrick Henry Village and later in Benjamin Franklin Village in Mannheim, was so much fun....Very sad that they left the Heidelberg area....

Edit: Just checked and there still is a location called Sat-Com site in Landstuhl...

You are quite welcome. I buried the lead on my history. In 1984 President Reagan came to Germany for the 40th Anniversary of D-Day. He also took a your of our facility and shook our hands after we saluted him. We only got a 3 hour notice that he was coming.