10 quick Questions

[Techfizzle]

Bought a uniden president ps550xl c-ku band receiver today for a $1 at an auction (going rate )
Anyhoo ive farted around installing dish , directv and fta., but c-bands a little new to me.

1. When feb 17 '09 hits, will analog c-band be kaput is there still some up there?

2. I only want a 6-8 foot dish, is that big enough to get some stuff?

3. Any free channels, like disney, etc?

4. I heard a while back there is a lot of radio on cband since most stations transmit long distance on that, is there still>

5. I bought a coolsat 6000 fta while back (never did like ku fta (unless you speak korean or chinnese) ) Whil this be good for fta c-band digital?

6. I have hookups on the back for an acuator, one looks like it uses big wire and the other speaker-like wire. The big wire one is 24 volts, i thought movers were 36 volt pulse?

7. Someone told be when he had a c-band system a while back and they could watch the news stations 24-7 like when they were rehearsing for stuff. Is this true (think they call it, backhauls?)

8. I dont want to look like poor white trailer trash having some (what people call yard ortaments) doned on my front lawn, i wana put it behind the shed, its about 150 foot cable run , is this too long?

9. do they make dish movers that can move on coax? or will i have to run more wire then just a 75 ohm cable?

10. my tv antenna is on the same feed, will my dish and antenna be able to co-exist peacfuly as long as i use a sliptter/ combiner?

Thanks for the answers

 

[Mr Tony]

1. When feb 17 '09 hits, will analog c-band be kaput is there still some up there?

the only thing affected is over the air analog (the local TV stations). Most stations have left C-Band analog but there are still a few there (mainly religious/shopping channels)

2. I only want a 6-8 foot dish, is that big enough to get some stuff?

I have 2 6 foot dishes and I get 99% of the programming 99% of the time

3. Any free channels, like disney, etc?

main cable channels? not really unless you subscribe which you can with the right receiver

4. I heard a while back there is a lot of radio on cband since most stations transmit long distance on that, is there still>

there is still a fair amount of radio stations up there. They're digital now

5. I bought a coolsat 6000 fta while back (never did like ku fta (unless you speak korean or chinnese) ) Whil this be good for fta c-band digital?

yes it will. Check out thelist for most of the 24/7 channels up there. I have the 5000 and love it

6. I have hookups on the back for an acuator, one looks like it uses big wire and the other speaker-like wire. The big wire one is 24 volts, i thought movers were 36 volt pulse?

That I do not know. I thought they could be 18/24 or 36v. Someone will correct me

7. Someone told be when he had a c-band system a while back and they could watch the news stations 24-7 like when they were rehearsing for stuff. Is this true (think they call it, backhauls?)

you bet your bottom dollar there is. LOTS of news feeds on both C-Band and KU. Also lots of sports feeds (they have to get them from the stadium to the station somehow)

8. I dont want to look like poor white trailer trash having some (what people call yard ortaments) doned on my front lawn, i wana put it behind the shed, its about 150 foot cable run , is this too long?

nope. 150 feet is nothing. Just use good RG-6 cable. If you go above 300 feet them you would need better

9. do they make dish movers that can move on coax? or will i have to run more wire then just a 75 ohm cable?

on KU Band the motors are run through that coax. So you only need one cable from the dish to the receiver. The big dish still needs a few more cables. Again, I'll let a C-Bander answer that. My 6 footer I hand move

10. my tv antenna is on the same feed, will my dish and antenna be able to co-exist peacfuly as long as i use a sliptter/ combiner?

Thanks for the answers

diplexers will work just fine with the satellite connection. Allows you to combine sat & antenna outside and uncombine it at the receiver

 

[SatPhreak]

C-band actuators are 24V or 36V. I used to have a 36V actuator but my reciever put out 24V and it still worked fine. You can move the dish with a 12V battery, but it will be alot slower than with 24 or 36V.

Yes, you will need to run more than just a coax cable for a c band dish. Satellite ribbon cable has 2 coax lines and all the wires for the actuator and servo all in one nice case, or you can run them all separately if you get the right gauge wires.

 

[Techfizzle]

Hey i have a 80 foot rool of cat5e network cabel, will that be heavy enought to run 24 volts?

 

[rv1pop]

NO on the cat 5 for 24 v line. Smallest you would want for 24 v is 14 ga. 36 v would work on 16 ga. the cat5 might work for the servo and pulse count, BUT IF solid wire cat5e it would probably break very quickly whenb the dish moves.

Some one may disagree, I did my last C band install 15 years ago.

 

[Techfizzle]

im im planning to use a newer c/ku lnb that doesnt have a servo and pulse, those old lnbs aint good as them newer ones

 

[Mr Tony]

im im planning to use a newer c/ku lnb that doesnt have a servo and pulse, those old lnbs aint good as them newer ones

wanna bet?

My old 25K LNB that I have to manuall tune beats my BSC421 13K LNB any day of the week. The 621 doesn't perform like that either but I use it for both polarities

 

[truckracer]

I am running 24V through 18 awg thermostat wire about 150 feet. No problems, Dish moves right along.

I use 8 conductor thermostat brown wire. Two conductors for the motor, three conductors for the feedhorn servo, two conductors for the motor position sensor (reed switch). One wire left for ground.

Two rg-6's one for C and one for KU.


Digital deadline is only for over the air tv reception with an antenna. Most areas will be (or already are) UHF digital signals.

6 foot dish is fine, bigger is better. Most of us have 8-10' dishes with c and ku lnbs.

 

[Anole]

im im planning to use a newer c/ku lnb that doesnt have a servo and pulse, those old lnbs aint good as them newer ones

Well, I've been following this argument/discussion for several years.
There is no cut 'n dried answer....that satisfies everyone.

You -may- find some old style C-band LNBs that suck.
When you are using the proper hardware, it seems to be quite spectacular.
Knowing the "right stuff" from the rest of the run-of-the-mill hardware is quite the challenge.

The newer electrically controlled LNBf's seem to work in some applications, but many folks have had their share of troubles with 'em.
Most especially the dual-band models.
I wouldn't think twice of using a dual-output C-band only LNBf.
They're cheap, and I've seen little to tarnish their reputation.

Take a lost weekend (or several) and read the threads in the BUD part of the forum for more info.
It's a real education! -