120cm dish with C-Band performance - Now with HD!

[Mr Tony]

That's not too bad. I drive down to see Mike Kohl for stuff and that's 4 hours away. I wonder how well this dish will do on satellites that are 2 deg apart. The test was on Anik F1 but the adjacent satellites are 4 deg apart. Hate to get one and be dissapointed. I am in the same boat, can't have big dishes but probably could get away with this one though.

Scott

Scott
you have PM

Cascade
Which satellites did you get C-Band on and what were the results?

 

[CharredPC]

What he told me was he picked up every C-band bird within his little view window (roughly T5 to T7) and got good signal off all of them, at least 40-50%. Some had much better. Even at 40% Signal, he was getting 100% quality, as i recall. That's more than enough for me, I'm sold on the setup

 

[Cascade]

What he told me was he picked up every C-band bird within his little view window (roughly T5 to T7) and got good signal off all of them, at least 40-50%. Some had much better. Even at 40% Signal, he was getting 100% quality, as i recall. That's more than enough for me, I'm sold on the setup

^ What G.I Joe up there said.

 

[rkrenicki]

Cascade, was this setup while on a H-H? It would be nice to have a motorized 1.2 on my roof for some C band Then again, I do still have that channelmaster 1.2 in my game room.. no way to put that beast on a motor tho...

 

[Cascade]

Yes, the Fortec dish is on my SG2100, I'm not sure how other positioners will cope suffice to say the SG2100 isn't struggling at all.

 

[sharris]

Thats great news, read your post a few days ago. I'm going to try with a 30", just for the heck of it as I have access to a used c band lnbf. Hey its "backyard science experiments" like this that lead to some great things. Thanx for the info.

 

[PopcornNMore]

Cascade, was this setup while on a H-H? It would be nice to have a motorized 1.2 on my roof for some C band Then again, I do still have that channelmaster 1.2 in my game room.. no way to put that beast on a motor tho...

Ultatryon, just keep watching for my post.

It's funny how now everyone wants a 1.2 meter dish. I still have 4 more stored in my garage. With the demand this great, I might just drive over to Melbourne this week and pickup 10 more 1.2m dishes and start selling them.

 

[Wholeshoe]

I put a LNBF C-Band on mu 30" dish just for kicks. I was able to watch about 3 analog channels and could not get it to scan in any digital.

There was a ton of interference from the other satellites and I think that the analog channles that I could get OK had a digital or no transponder on the closest satellites therefore they didn't have as much of a problem.

A 1.2M dish will not cure the adjacent satellite noise problem but it should help greatly. And with digital signals either they work or they don't so if the noise isn't too bad you should be able to watch digital transponders and see noise on the analog ones.

I have a 1.2M Channelmaster and a C-Band LNBF that I plan to try out if for nothing else to play but I have to sink a pipe first and have no time for that, plus it keeps RAINING!!

My hats off to you guys for trying it, I'm glad you got it to work before me, now I know that putting a pipe in the ground will produce some results and have some motivation.

Wholeshoe

 

[CharredPC]

I plan on tossing the 120cm I'm getting onto my SG2100... ah, motorized C-Band... the stuff an FTA'er's dreams are made of, made possible by Cascade and his MiniBUD

How easy was it to mount the c-band lnb on? It looked from your picture like it was MADE for the 120cm's arms.

Speaking of which:
Just checked at Sadoun's for cost, and OUCH. Shipping may very well be more than the dish itself Total cost would be about what I spent on my last car!
Is there anyone in this part of the USA that wants to split the cost and get two, like has been discussed? I'd be fine with each of us driving halfway to a meet-point if the total distance is too much. I REALLY want one of these, but I can't justify spending as much/more on shipping than the actual item, when the item is over $150

I hate to admit it, but this could be the dealbreaker that leaves me stuck with my 76cm

 

[amduarte24]

Yes, the Fortec dish is on my SG2100, I'm not sure how other positioners will cope suffice to say the SG2100 isn't struggling at all.

Hello all! Greetings from Monterrey Mexico.
This message is directed to Cascade.... Cascade, could you please show me a picture of your setup? I am specially interested in looking at the antenna's mount bracket and how it fits the motor mast.
Thanks a lot!

 

[lilyarbie]

A most remarkable find.....

I always thought that it took a huge dish to actually receive C-band signals. This is a great find because my roof goes above the treeline and is able to see the sky better than if I had a dish on the ground. The only question I could have is: What about rain fade? I know when using DBS that if you're not using anything above an 18" dish then any little rainfall is detrimental to signal and signal quality. Have you tested this setup in the middle of rain or only during a clear or somewhat cloudy day? This looks tempting, but if rainfall kills the signal, then it would be definately a no-go for me. By the way, I saw the LNB you're using on sale on Ebay. That's not a bad price to be getting 100% on signal quality on all C-band satellites. I figured you would have an LNB that would cost 100 dollars or more.

 

[CharredPC]

By the way, I saw the LNB you're using on sale on Ebay. That's not a bad price to be getting 100% on signal quality on all C-band satellites. I figured you would have an LNB that would cost 100 dollars or more.

He's using a new DMS ASC421 C-LNBF he got from PSB ( http://psbsatellite.com ). It's a whole $32, including shipping. Try and find that on ebay!

I don't believe he's done any rainfade tests yet, but I'm also curious about that. Though I live in Utah, so rain usually isn't an issue for me... even with 80% rainfade I'm still sold on this setup (if I can find a way to get ahold of a 120cm without selling the kids to pay for shipping!). Next time he's around he'll see this thread; CASCADE - MicroBUD Rainfade Stats, Requested Review Next Time It Rains!

Speaking of which, anyone know any satellite dealers closer to me I might be able to get a 1.2m from?

 

[lilyarbie]

Oh, ok.......

I thought from the picture that it looked like a C-band LNB that I saw on Ebay for $20.00 plus $6.00 shipping and handling. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=32847&item=5776871712&rd=1

The one I was talking about is a 15 degree noise LNB. Is that pretty good for C-band standards?

 

[Shawn95GT]

He's using a new DMS ASC421 C-LNBF he got from PSB ( http://psbsatellite.com ). It's a whole $32, including shipping. Try and find that on ebay!

I don't believe he's done any rainfade tests yet, but I'm also curious about that. Though I live in Utah, so rain usually isn't an issue for me... even with 80% rainfade I'm still sold on this setup (if I can find a way to get ahold of a 120cm without selling the kids to pay for shipping!). Next time he's around he'll see this thread; CASCADE - MicroBUD Rainfade Stats, Requested Review Next Time It Rains!

Speaking of which, anyone know any satellite dealers closer to me I might be able to get a 1.2m from?

I've been researching the same. There are a couple Fortec dealers in Southern CA that seem to be the closest for me (Phoenix). Depending where you're at in UT there is another dealer near Sacramento, CA. This still doesn't mean they stock the 120cm dish .

I have to decide just how bad I need / want one of these.

 

[CharredPC]

I've been researching the same. There are a couple Fortec dealers in Southern CA that seem to be the closest for me (Phoenix). Depending where you're at in UT there is another dealer near Sacramento, CA. This still doesn't mean they stock the 120cm dish .

I have to decide just how bad I need / want one of these.

The way the van is acting up right now I don't think I could do a trip to CA Maybe it's a bit cheaper shipping than from OH? The wife (USPS call center agent) explained to me that the dish is simply too big to ship at all through USPS, hence it having to go UPS or FedEx... who can charge whatever the heck they want, knowing we have no other options I'm starting to think if I bought a flatbed truck and a pallet full of Fortec's, I could drive all over the US and make a killing, even paying for all the gas, lol. Unfortunately, I don't have time to do that

I thought from the picture that it looked like a C-band LNB that I saw on Ebay for $20.00 plus $6.00 shipping and handling. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=32847&item=5776871712&rd=1

The one I was talking about is a 15 degree noise LNB. Is that pretty good for C-band standards?

Cbandlover might be the person to ask about 'good' lnb stats. It's all new to me, I'd just rather buy from somone here whom I know sells quality (and will help you out to get it working) rather than the pot-luck roullette wheel that is eBay... all to save a measly $8

 

[PopcornNMore]

Rain does not affect C-Band signals only KU-Band.

 

[sattec]

if you have a .75, 1m,or 1.2m primestar dish , just remove all the plastic backets for the lnb saddle, the get some 2 1/2 " metal corner brackets and flatten them out as needed. bolt the three lnb support arms to the brackets, bend the other end of the bracket out straight to alighn with the scaler ring, bolt the brackets to the scaler ring. use a feedhorn with adjustable throat in/out. it works fine and looks cool.

 

[CharredPC]

if you have a .75, 1m,or 1.2m primestar dish , just remove all the plastic backets for the lnb saddle, the get some 2 1/2 " metal corner brackets and flatten them out as needed. bolt the three lnb support arms to the brackets, bend the other end of the bracket out straight to alighn with the scaler ring, bolt the brackets to the scaler ring. use a feedhorn with adjustable throat in/out. it works fine and looks cool.

Sounds great, but I'm having a problem picturing it...
You wouldn't HAVE any pics, would you?

Also, what occurs to me (unless you just described it) is using a 3-lnb setup on the 120cm; the center being the C-band lnb, a Universal Ku and DSS lnb on either side. I picked up a circular polarized lnb today (read: UNMODIFIED, lol) and slapped it temporarily next to my Universal so I can try getting my 4*1 switch working.... but that's another story

 

[Shawn95GT]

Sounds great, but I'm having a problem picturing it...
You wouldn't HAVE any pics, would you?

Also, what occurs to me (unless you just described it) is using a 3-lnb setup on the 120cm; the center being the C-band lnb, a Universal Ku and DSS lnb on either side. I picked up a circular polarized lnb today (read: UNMODIFIED, lol) and slapped it temporarily next to my Universal so I can try getting my 4*1 switch working.... but that's another story

hehe you read my mind. Looking at Cascade's setup it looks like the Feed support arms will be in the way of piggy-backing LNBs on though.

Don't they make a C/Ku LNB? They do something like that to add Ku to the BUDs.

 

[DaveJohnson]

Shawn I use a C/Ku lnbf on my 10 ft. BUD. I think they would work good for you guys and your mini BUD project. You can also get a scalar ring to use with the c/ku lnbf that has a built in dss lnbf. The best of all three. Here are some pictures of the lnbf and scalar ring.