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oldford
Pub Member / Supporter
Last reply · posted in C-BAND Satellite Discussion
Conical Scalar ring arrives!(Updated to 1.2m minibud story)

My conical scalar ring arrived yesterday in the mail. Day off Tuesday to see if my 1.2m Channelmaster can see 99w on C-band. I'll post photos and brag if I get it going.

Eric
8 Replies · 1946 views
oldford
Okay, here's the 1.2m minibud story.

With a WSI DMX741 and a conical scalar ring, I'm watching the caribbean nets on 99w at 29-35% quality on my Pansat 9200. That mux holds pretty good, no freezing, pixelization or dropouts, entirely watcchable over the past 3 or 4 hours.

Can lock some other transponders on 99w and 97w as well, but I was specifically after the caribbean nets.

I did spend over an hour at the dish, peaking with a TV, receiver and spectrum analyzer. I like the analyzer because if you lose lock on the digital "Q", you can usually still see a peak on the analyzer and get back on track quicker.

Had to remove the Channelmaster feed mount from the support pipes, drill one hole in the bottom pipe, and add 2 tywraps to the 2 side pipes to support the WSI LNB and mount. The WSI LNB is insanely lightweight, luckily.

( I'm from the Red Green school of engineering, Motto: This is only temporary. Unless, of course, it works.)

The tuning is a pain as the c-band beamwidth on a 1.2m is WIDE. I almost had to tune to reduce 97w as much as peak on 99w. 1.2m apparently not 2 degree compatibile on C-band.

I'm sort of encouraged by the results, but will probably invest in a 1.8m dish rather than continue with the 1.2m for c-band. I do like having the caribbean nets, but I'd like to put the 1.2m back on Ku.

No photos since I didn't do anything not seen here before.

Thanks to all on this site for the work that went before! had a good day.

Regards,Eric
C
Congrats!

Thanks for posting your results. I am about to try a similar experiment. Your results have given me a sense of excitement. From what I have read, it seems as if it can be done without too much trouble. Did you (or will you) put a motor on the dish or just tune 99 only?
Thanks again for posting, and I'll do the same when I do it (probably in a month or so).
-cowpres-
oldford
it's a big old heavy fiberglas Channelmaster, no motor for that one!
ACRadio
The tuning is a pain as the c-band beamwidth on a 1.2m is WIDE. I almost had to tune to reduce 97w as much as peak on 99w. 1.2m apparently not 2 degree compatibile on C-band.
I would say that the beamwidth of a 4 foot dish is probably more than 3 degrees on C band....
oldford
I would say that the beamwidth of a 4 foot dish is probably more than 3 degrees on C band....

Definately! It's kind of neat to watch it on the spectrum analyzer as you move from Sat to Sat. With the 1.2 on Ku, as you move across, one peak will decrease before the next begins to rise, while on C, the two birds will appear approximately equal when you are between them. As you continue to move the dish, the level of the sat you are tuning too remains about the same while the one you are leaving decreases.

Regards, Eric
knowmiddlename
The conical scalar gives me about a 15% increase in efficiency on my 1.2m elliptical dish.
T
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
I thought I would come here and find lots of complaints about the update to the dish anywhere mobile app, but am not seeing any. It used to look just like the desktop webpage. Now you can no longer filter by sports channels or movie channels. Plus that they made it look like a big button telephone and you see fewer channels in the screen which requires more scrolling. Yes I realize you can look at sports then select which sport you want to look at, I just liked being able to see all sporting events in the guide with all other channels being filtered out. Am I alone in the wilderness on this?
4 Replies · 69 views
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Juan
Not alot of dish customers any more
Foxbat
I'm not a big fan of the new layout, especially on my Apple TV. It used to look like the old Guide layout on the Hopper 3, but they changed parts of that, too.
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dishstaller
I really dislike change for the sake of change
dishdude
I like the new look, it's a lot cleaner. I'm using it on one of those Onn streaming devices when I travel.
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Foxbat
Supporting Founder Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in Internet Television (IPTV) Discussion Forum
Apple has finally released their Apple TV 4K with built-in Siri and a microphone so it can respond to your queries even if you don't have the remote. It also increases in price, to $299. I had been planning on updating my current Apple TV 4K streamers, but that's $600 for the two of them, and that's a pass at this point.

At $299, it had better come with 256 GB of Storage, Gigabit (or better) Ethernet, the latest HDMI tech and standards, and one year of free Apple One. But it probably won't…
17 Replies · 240 views
Ronnie-
Meh. The 4Ks I have will do everything that these do that I need them to do.


Which that's most tech these days for anything released the last four to five years.


It's honestly a testament to how good the previous gen Apple TVs were and are.
navychop
It's honestly a testament to how good the previous gen Apple TVs were and are.

Don't tell them that. They'll adopt planned obsolescence.
navychop
Outside of gaming, would Joe Sixpack notice any difference?
KAB
KAB
Outside of gaming, would Joe Sixpack notice any difference?
Not a bit. IMO, Apple's are slow to boot up. Time is about the same with 1st gen and 3rd. Roku runs rings around them in that department. I only reason I stuck, is the Apple infrastructure, which has it's definite advantages. But $300 is a deal breaker. Later, Apple!
S
Don't tell them that. They'll adopt planned obsolescence.
they all do that anyways.. ever notice your cell phone slows down when you come up for an upgrade.. :what. apple's been making money off of software and not hardware for a while
ncted
ever notice your cell phone slows down when you come up for an upgrade
No. Makes me wonder if that is Apple or the carrier. I am on pre-paid, so I never get "an upgrade." I still have my old iPhone 11 Pro as a second line, and it runs iOS 27 just fine. My iPhone Air, which is still a current model, doesn't really seem that much faster in regular use. It is better in other ways, and worse in some ways than the 11 Pro (size), but performance really isn't a big differentiator, especially since I replaced the battery in the 11 Pro. If I had gotten enough storage when I originally bought the 11 Pro, it could still be my primary device with no issues.
ncted
Not a bit. IMO, Apple's are slow to boot up. Time is about the same with 1st gen and 3rd. Roku runs rings around them in that department. I only reason I stuck, is the Apple infrastructure, which has it's definite advantages. But $300 is a deal breaker. Later, Apple!
Yeah, they boot up a bit slower than Roku, but the OS does a lot more, so it makes sense. How often are you booting them up that is a differentiator? Aside from OS updates, mine are on all the time. I will say the ATV4K is generally quicker than the Roku Ultras I have, when it comes to launching apps and responsiveness, not that the Roku is sluggish.
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navychop
apple's been making money off of software and not hardware for a while

What software? For iPhones? I tried to buy some image s/w IN THE APPLE STORE! They had none, and could not offer ANY s/w for iPhones
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network
0 Replies · 4 views
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network
0 Replies · 3 views
osu1991
Pub Member / Supporter
Last reply · posted in TV Shows
2 Replies · 61 views
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Howard Simmons

Another Tulsa King spin off.🙄
dishstaller
Another Tulsa King spin off.🙄
But.....if you like Tulsa King....looks like you would probably like this as well. I don't mind spin-offs as long as they don't involve a sassy niece who moves from the big city :rolleyes:
TheRatPatrol
Last reply · posted in TV Shows
Anyone else watch this show? Any guesses as to what was in the box Gibbs gave to Abby that was on her desk? It look liked it was glowing.

I also heard that someone was leaving the show at the end of this season. Any guesses as to who thats going to be?
2132 Replies · 214691 views
Jimbo

Howard ...
You don't like Tony, or Tony as the Director (he's only been there for 30 seconds now) or you don't like NCIS ?
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Howard Simmons
Howard ...
You don't like Tony, or Tony as the Director (he's only been there for 30 seconds now) or you don't like NCIS ?
Tony as the director.🙄
Jimbo
Tony as the director.🙄
Would you rather have LaRoche ???
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dfergie
I liked this episode and a toned down Tony...
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Howard Simmons
Would you rather have LaRoche ???
No. Bring in someone new.🤔 Tony is not serious enough for me. Parker is too close to the team and Tim is too young to take over IMO.
Jimbo
No. Bring in someone new.🤔 Tony is not serious enough for me. Parker is too close to the team and Tim is too young to take over IMO.
I don't think Tim and Tony are that far apart in Age ...

Remember what Tony said to Tim when they first got back together ...
Tony said: I am the New Tony, Tim .... (something to that effect)

Tony has changed, he's been running his Security Business ... I'm sure he has grown up.

Give it time ... your judging the New Tony from the old Tony.

It sounds like Tim won't be around the Team much longer either.
dishstaller
Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in Movie Talk
Might be worth a watch when it comes out. Looks like typical big corp against the little guy movie BUT....there is a reason this plot type is so oft repeated, it draws audiences.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-f9OGsKHd4
1 Replies · 16 views
dishstaller
BTW, I noticed right after I posted this that someone else had already mentioned it....sorry for the duplicate thread. Still looking forward to seeing the movie.
meStevo
Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in Movie Talk
If you're going try to read / listen to the book (can't recommend the audio book enough) before this comes out, I'd avoid trailers.

Trailer below, spoiling it to make sure you read the above bold message first. The book / audio book are fantastic. Go into this blind if you can IMO!




Kind of disappointed at how much they show. A lot still to see, but man, some good reveals in the book that are just served up here.
21 Replies · 718 views
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meStevo
I've seen it twice. Can't recommend the audio book enough, Ray Porter's performance is amazing and there's so much more in the book than the movie.
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Foxbat
"Project Hail Mary" should be on Prime Video starting Friday, July 3.
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K
Forgot to comment. I did watch when it first came out on MGM. I enjoyed it a lot. I think reading the book made it easier to watch. Several friends commented it was a little hard to follow.
TRG
TRG
"astrophage". I read the book but didn't see the film yet.
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Howard Simmons
"Project Hail Mary" should be on Prime Video starting Friday, July 3.
That's what I will be watching this weekend.🤗
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K
Kindle book on sale for $2.99 today at Amazon.
dishstaller
.........there's so much more in the book than the movie.
I agree. That can go for pretty much any book vs movie. Back when I was single I would read any Stephen King or John Grisham book I could get my hands on. When you read a book you make up the scenes and characters in your mind.....the movie version always disappoints.