1.2 Meter Dish Compared to 0.76 Meter

[Andrew K]

Right now, I'm u sing a 76 cm dish for all my Ku channels from 15W to 129W. I have a pretty sturdy setup with a pole mounted to my roof with the base plate bolted to a roof truss below and diagonal braces also attached to roof trusses preventing movement front-to-back and side-to-side (see my avatar picture). I'm thinking of replacing this with a 1.2 meter dish with C-band scalar ring and side mounted Ku LNB. Is this a good idea? If anyone else has done this, I would love to hear the results. Are the CBC feeds on 107W receivable on a 1.2 meter dish?

 

[Mr Tony]

Are the CBC feeds on 107W receivable on a 1.2 meter dish?

They are DVB-S2 and I know the 6 footer sometimes has issues with it

 

[brentb636]

The Ku band CBC feeds are strong on my 1.0M dish, in Michigan. I just scanned the C-band side and didn't pick up any CBC feeds on either 4040 or 4160 , but had other channels at 75Q .

 

[Xizer]

I can *almost* lock the CBC S2 feeds on my 1.2m.

I think if I went out and tweaked the dish to be perfectly peaked @ Anik, I might be able to get a lock. Or, if I got a PLL C Band LNBF. It's a shame there's no awesome cheapy C Band PLL LNBFs like the $20 Geosatpro Ku PLLs.

I think a 1.2m is worth it just for NHK World HD, Reelz, and CWPlus. And wildfeeds on G16C and G17C... I've also been able to pick up strong wildfeeds on G19C (like DWTS)...

 

[Andrew K]

I can *almost* lock the CBC S2 feeds on my 1.2m.

I think if I went out and tweaked the dish to be perfectly peaked @ Anik, I might be able to get a lock. Or, if I got a PLL C Band LNBF. It's a shame there's no awesome cheapy C Band PLL LNBFs like the $20 Geosatpro Ku PLLs.

I think a 1.2m is worth it just for NHK World HD, Reelz, and CWPlus. And wildfeeds on G16C and G17C... I've also been able to pick up strong wildfeeds on G19C (like DWTS)...

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.

 

[Mikey11]

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.

i think you will be very disappointed with c-band on the 1.2m, i have been there and done that....if you want to boost your ku quality then go for the 1.0 or 1.2 but i wouldnt recommend getting it just for the c-band, you will feel like you wasted your money....

also keep in mind a 1.2 dish will catch alot more air/wind than your current dish, so better make sure that pole can support a couple hundred pounds of pressure

 

[skyscanner4ever]

I have a 1.2 meter dish on a dg280 motor and using it with the microhd and I have to say I am scanning in WAY more stuff than I used to with a 36" dish and a pansat 2700! LOL

in my opinion you will probably get twice as many feeds with the 1.2 meter than you will with a 31" dish. I am actually surprised you are getting anything that far east because I have never hit anything close to that far east with a 36" dish, on the 1.2 meter I have my limits set around 50 deg because when i go too far out the motor doesnt want to move the dish back up so my farthest sat is 53*.

I would definetly put up the 1.2 meter. I am tuned into high 70's on all sats from 53 to 127 on mine and as far as the feeds on 107.3 anik I scan in alot of shaw sports feeds like hockey and some pro and some even high school! lol, you never know what canadian stuff you will find off that sat, not alot, but I scan in at least 1 feed a night off there and hit the sat around 75 pct quality on most tps.


c band on the 1.2. yes a little, I did it before with a cheap c band lnb and still grabbed quite a bit, maybe with a good lnb you can get a little, I am gonna try it again one day soon, but from what i hear you cant touch most of the s2 stuff off c band with a 1.2 meter, and you definitely wont get the locals for nfl games.

 

[Mikey11]

I have a 1.2 meter dish on a dg280 motor and using it with the microhd and I have to say I am scanning in WAY more stuff than I used to with a 36" dish and a pansat 2700! LOL

the reason you are getting more is because of the microhd compared to the pansat.....nothing to do with the dish itself

 

[Xizer]

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.

 

[Anole]

. I'm thinking of replacing this with a 1.2 meter dish with C-band scalar ring and side mounted Ku LNB.
Is this a good idea? If anyone else has done this, I would love to hear the results.

There were several giant miniBUD threads, a few years back.
As I recall, the "offset Ku LNBF" idea performed much better than any of the dual band LNBFs.

Do some searching for more stories.

 

[Andrew K]

I was reading an old thread that Iceberg posted. It was a review of a 1.2 meter dish, and he listed the C-band channels he could receive and the corresponding signal qualities. It was impressive. Now my only concern is how a dish this size will hold up on my roof. The surface area is about 2.5 times greater than my 76 cm dish, and with a 20 psf wind, that's 244 lbs. of force.

Here's a picture of my current setup...

As you can see, I'm using a 1.625" diameter pipe. It's fully braced. And every contact point with the roof is connected to a roof truss below. This is my only concern now. If I can just switch out the dishes and use the same pole, that would be great.

 

[primestar31]

You'll need a larger mast for a 1.2m dish. If you go for it, I'd suggest 4 guy wires and 4 anchor points around your eves. If it's braced and guyed properly, you should be ok. I guess it depends on your prevailing wind speed. If you have nearly constant 20 mph winds, I wouldn't do it without much more bracing in the rafters and joists, along with the guy wires and braces. You can't have too much when you are dealing with your roof. Lose the roof, and you lose your house!

 

[Mikey11]

I was reading an old thread that Iceberg posted. It was a review of a 1.2 meter dish, and he listed the C-band channels he could receive and the corresponding signal qualities. It was impressive. Now my only concern is how a dish this size will hold up on my roof. The surface area is about 2.5 times greater than my 76 cm dish, and with a 20 psf wind, that's 244 lbs. of force.

Here's a picture of my current setup...View attachment 81364

As you can see, I'm using a 1.625" diameter pipe. It's fully braced. And every contact point with the roof is connected to a roof truss below. This is my only concern now. If I can just switch out the dishes and use the same pole, that would be great.

in my opinion your post does not look strong enough for a 1.2m dish, winds are alot stronger up on a roof with no protection, as opposed to the ground....for what its worth, here are my results on a 1.0m dish, i didnt try very hard though, only for a few hours....

http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/264940-Mini-Bud-Test-Results-Day-1?highlight=mini-bud

 

[northgeorgia]

And for what it's worth, my results on a 90 x 99 cm. I got a lot more results than expected, but my location has a lot to do with that. Plus, the dish is ground mount, so it's easier to fiddle with. I haven't had a chance to try it again...been busy, then feeling a little sick, and now I hear 4 days of rain are in store. Maybe next weekend

http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/292421-Mini-Bud-project-in-progress

 

[Andrew K]

I was reading about the Winegard DS-3100. It's a 1 meter dish and requires a 2-1/4" outer diameter pole. I was wondering if I could use my 1-5/8" diameter pipe and reinforce it by filling it with concrete.

 

[primestar31]

I was reading about the Winegard DS-3100. It's a 1 meter dish and requires a 2-1/4" outer diameter pole. I was wondering if I could use my 1-5/8" diameter pipe and reinforce it by filling it with concrete.

NO, that's a bigger dish than you'd think. I have one from Solid Signal I'm about to install, and it's going on a Primestar 2-3/8" pole, which is what it's designed for. You'd have to shim the 1-5/8" pole too much, and it'll never hold up.

http://www.winegard.com/home/residential-satellite.php