36" Direct Elliptical vs. 36" Round Dish

[angiodan]

As some may have read in the Canadian Sat forum, we have lost some tp's from 82 here in Florida, and am hoping a larger dish may get them back for me.

I may be able to pick up on the cheap a 36" Directv International dish. Is this eliptical type dish as efficient as a 36" regular round dish? I may just get it to try, but I'm curious if there is a big difference.

Thanks.

 

[Mr Tony]

The 36" DirecTV dish is round also so it shoulod work fine

 

[angiodan]

Ice, I haven't seen it yet, but the guy told me it has 3 lnbs, so I assumed it was elliptical.

I'm guessing I can remove 2 of the lnbs and just keep the center one.

 

[mikekohl]

How is the 36 inch measurement determined?
If the antenna is 24 inches tall x 36 inches wide, gain is probably no better than any 30 inch antenna.

A round 36 inch offset dish is usually 36 inches wide and
a few inches taller top to bottom.

Elliptical antennas are marketed in many ways, and some may be confusing---what matters is how the overall gain/performance compares to a given size round offset antenna.

Example: A Primestar 84-E antenna measures about
28 inches tall X 39 inches wide. (70 x 100 cm).
Effectively the manufacturer was saying that it is the equivalent of something 84 cm in size. (or 33 inches).
The confusion lies in just what size someone will label such an antenna, given all of this information.

 

[angiodan]

How is the 36 inch measurement determined?
If the antenna is 24 inches tall x 36 inches wide, gain is probably no better than any 30 inch antenna.

A round 36 inch offset dish is usually 36 inches wide and
a few inches taller top to bottom.

Elliptical antennas are marketed in many ways, and some may be confusing---what matters is how the overall gain/performance compares to a given size round offset antenna.

Example: A Primestar 84-E antenna measures about
28 inches tall X 39 inches wide. (70 x 100 cm).
Effectively the manufacturer was saying that it is the equivalent of something 84 cm in size. (or 33 inches).
The confusion lies in just what size someone will label such an antenna, given all of this information.

Okay, I just picked it up and it is a channelmaster 36" x 24" with 3 lnbs that is like the pic.

I guess I can try it, and see what happens. If I get some type of signal on the dead transponders, then I can hope that a true 100cm might work.

The good news is the guy won't charge me if it doesn't work, so I have nothing to lose.

 

[Satellite Expert]

These LNBFs/multiswitch will NOT work for you because Charlie Ergan decided to use his own system for switching satellites - not an industry standard.

You can use the dish, but you must use Echostar LNBF/switch

 

[angiodan]

These LNBFs/multiswitch will NOT work for you because Charlie Ergan decided to use his own system for switching satellites - not an industry standard.

You can use the dish, but you must use Echostar LNBF/switch

I wasn't planning on using the switch, but I thought the Directv lnbs are the same as Dish legacy ones.

 

[Mr Tony]

These LNBFs/multiswitch will NOT work for you because Charlie Ergan decided to use his own system for switching satellites - not an industry standard.

You can use the dish, but you must use Echostar LNBF/switch

HUH??

Legacy LNB's and DirecTV LNB's WILL WORK THE SAME

Its the external switches that are different. I have use DirecTV LNB's for both ExpressVu & Dish with no issues. Until I cancelled my DIsh service, I used a 18" directv dish and LNB and a Dish Legacy dual LNB tied with a SW21 and it works fine.

ang...dont listen to this "satellite expert"
The LNB's will work. Hook the LNB's up (you can use one on this dish or two) and hook them up with a SW21 switch

 

[Mr Tony]

I wasn't planning on using the switch, but I thought the Directv lnbs are the same as Dish legacy ones.

yes they all work the same..Legacy Duals/Singles and DirecTV duals/singles work the same.

 

[angiodan]

Thats what I thought Ice, I will be playing around with it this weekend hopefully. I have to get a 2 inch pipe. I'll just temporarily set it up on the ground first and see what happens.

I'm really hoping I get lucky here.

One more question, would one lnb over another be stronger, say the center one, or does it not matter since I'm only aiming at one bird.

 

[Mr Tony]

use the centre one. That is aimed directly at the "sweet spot" of the dish and would give you the best signal

 

[Mr Tony]

just don't use the one that says "Sat C" because that won't work

 

[angiodan]

Well, I had a couple of hours to mess around with it this morning before work, and unfortunately, I'm still out of luck on the no signal tp's. The other tp's went up about 10-15 points, with 5 and 9 going to a lockable but unviewable 40%. 7, 11 and 27 are still big goose eggs. I was hoping for something, then I could have gone bigger. (Now I sound like my wife!)

So, I think it is safe to say, the footprint cutoff must be between Tampa and Fort Myers for EVu 82.

I'll be posting this in the other thread as well.

Thanks Ice and everyone for your help.