1.2 Meter negativities

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techno935

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Jul 27, 2006
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Pompano Beach, FL
OK, not here to flame anyone, but I recently spoke with Mike Kohl over at Global Communications to get some C-band advice about the 1.2 Meter experiment and he completely shot down the idea of a mini-bud project and shot down the idea of a C/Ku LNB for my setup. He is very hell bent on the idea of a 1.2 meter dish NEVER working. Any thoughts on that?
 
If you spoke to Mike he knows your circumstances and what your working with, I would TRUST his word 100% he has been doing this a few light years longer than most of us.

It would be a fun project.
 
If you are doing it just for the fun of it to see what you can get. Fine. If you want reliable reception on most signals, then I think a 7 1/2 foot dish would be a minimum, with a 10 footer preferable.
 
a 1.2m dish will work great for KU but not for reliable C-Band

Hell, I have a 6 footer and it works fine for most C-Band, there is still some channels I cannot get. Thats the thing with FTA, is some of us always like to "tinker" or push the envelope to see just what limits we can get with equipment.

Like some of us who have received decent reception on STRONG transponders with a 18" dish and a finely skewed LNB. I was able to get Doc Scott, CCTV, 3ABN, and a few others with a 18" dish. But the first cloud came by and kaput. Heck, for about 3 months I had a KU LNB on a DirecTV Phase II just for KUIL on 101. Yes the signal was low but it worked.

What about some people who spend a couple days setting up a dish with a really low elevation, just to get a couple extra channels?

There were some people who were able to get STRONG C-Band with a 40x30 Primestar or a 1.2 meter dish. Is it reliable? not really. Was it fun? heck yeah.

Remember....1 extra channel, even if it isnt one you may like, is one more channel than you had before. When I hooked up my 6 foot dish, I was so happy to see 2 church channels on analog

2 CHURCH CHANNELS!!

why? Because I knew then that I was part of the C-Band family :D
 
well i love tinkering around and trying different things but we all like to try things lol so i think if your looking for stable, reliable signal then its always going to be best to go bigger. there are several other factors here also

big--vs--bigger
mesh--vs--solid
lnb stability mhz--vs--khz

so here's a place where the experince & expertise from someone like Mike might prove to be more helpful rather than disappointing is that the factors above and the limitations you have as per location , yard space , neighbor reaction, wife factor, budget. so maybe if the question was rephrased.

so Mike for a person that is limited on yard space so can only fit a smaller dish
for picking up c-band & ku has a small budget... what would be a good dish to look at and what type of feedhorn to match it with.

also i would take it that in scouting for older dishes what would be the best
from there you can go looking
 
gabshere said:
big--vs--bigger
mesh--vs--solid
lnb stability mhz--vs--khz

Bigger is always better for any satellite signal.

Solid is best, though if you want only C-band mesh is good, 8.5' and up recommended.

1mhz is 1000khz and that pretty much sucks, go for quality lnb's from Norsat or Cal amp.

I personally would never go under 10' for C-band, but if you want to tinker around the 240cm Sat AV dish may be your best bet would have been better if it was 8.5 for 2 degree spacing though. I have not heard much about it yet, so if you get one let us know, if you want to go smaller this is more of a for fun thing and yes you can get some feeds on a smaller dish I do not recommend it though.
 
Techno935's location way down there in sunny Florida will make playing with a 1.2 meter even more of a challenge on some North American beams.
 
If you just want to play around with C Band before sinking big money, you can get a six footer for just over $200. I can get lots of stuff on that-have to move by hand though.
 
I heard my name being called, so time to chime in....

As many responders have already indicated, 1.2 meter antennas and C-band can only be considered for hobbyist purposes, and the odd usable signal from strong satellites that do not happen to have interference from the proximity of adjacent satellites 2 and 3 degrees away. IF you had to use a 4 foot (1.2 meter) model, an offset type with matching feedhorn or LNBF for the typical 0.6 f/d ratio is a must. Trying to simply hang a conventional LNBF designed for 0.3 to 0.4 f/d ratio will
result in a mismatch (significant loss of potential signals) and disappointing reception.

Those considering any undersized antenna (8 feet or smaller for general across-the-arc C-band reception) should look very carefully at the feedhorn or LNBF device being used. Proper illumination of the antenna with techniques that reduce sidelobes is one way to assure some success. I've had great results with a five foot one piece (no longer made) Paraclipse Hydro antenna, coupled to an ADL RP-1 C-band feedhorn that was carefully tweeked for best signal and minimum sidelobes. That model was generally discontinued by ADL, but you may still find some on the used market, and for single polarity reception, there is also the RP-1 version of the LPF-200 linear C-band feed, which has manual adjustment for optimum alignment when used on a single channel. The homemade "cone" adapters that are appearing are also a good match on offset antennas, to reduce mismatch on conventional feeds or LNBFs.

If you can't find something used locally, current offerings of new C and C/Ku band antennas are quite limited. Metals prices have escalated, and we are now down to one mesh antenna manufacturer in the U.S. (SAMI in Arkansas). As someone that used to have access to 200 dollar ten foot antennas (a decade ago), today's pricing comes as quite a shock. The alternative is multipanel solid six or eight foot
antennas. These are usually produced in the Far East, of materials that are not always consistent in quality, but cheap labor and other shortcuts keep prices down. We carry both six and eight foot models in a polar mount version, but would point out that there are tradeoffs with most of the multipanel solids. The polar mount versions use what I would consider an undersized mast head...2-1/2 inches O.D. It will work, but when you consider that almost all medium sized mesh antennas used 3.5 inch pipe, and that solid reflectors do not catch any less wind resistance, it makes you wonder about stability of such systems in areas exposed to frequent winds. Secondly is the relatively flimsy construction of these antennas. With little back support, one has to ask how well they will keep their shape over time. This is especially noticable on Ku-band. A poorly shaped reflector will not focus properly for a feedhorn.

Bargain antennas can sometimes be just that. Great for hobby use, but dicey if you expect them to perform as good as new several years from now. Use common sense when selecting materials. The old adage that you get what you pay for still applies. The disappointment of reality setting in from a hasty purchase is with you long after the fuzzy glow of getting a great price vanishes.
 
I have a 1.2 m Channel Master in Ocala on Pas9 and get reliable reception on CCTV and NHK. I am primarily interested in DW-tv on 3840 and there is interference which I am fighting. I have a Norsat 8115 Lnb and Traxis 3500 which I bought from Mike - good combo but it is on the very edge. Am getting an HH120 motor for fine adjustment which MAY help. Until interference showed up about two months ago I had no problem with DW-tv since it went digital.

Depends upon what you want to see. Good Luck!
 
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