Don't confuse the beam width performance on a single satellite / single LNBF with the performance of a dish set-up for multiple satellites and LNBFS. A tighter beam width increases performance on multiple LNBF set-ups within 15 - 20 degree spacing. If you are covering a larger slice of orbital slots (40 degrees), then a toroidal design dish will provide consistent averaged performance over the wide spacing.
Interesting. I have been approaching this all wrong, apparently. When planning for a multi-lnb setup I have been thinking of the reflector as providing a "field of view" for the LNBFs, where the width and curvature along the horizontal axis of the dish are the primary determinants in what can be potentially received. I know this does not account for spacing of satellites, but I haven't fully gotten a grasp of that yet.
So here's what I am pondering. I have Dish Network service down here is deep south Texas and cannot get a good lock on 129W (which carries my RSN and several HD channels). To date that has not been a real big issue as I have been able to get most of that programming off my Sky Angel dish at 61.5W. With Sky Angel about to go dark I am planning on moving to Glorystar and won't really need a dish at 61.5W. With that in mind, I intend to jump into FTA with both feet and do a little experimentation along these lines:
1) Convert to 110/119/129 on a FTA dish.
2) Attempt to shift LNBFs so that the center "focal point" is 110 rather than 119. This may or may not work since the weak link is 129 and this would put 129 further towards the edge of the dish. Assuming I can get acceptable signal levels...
3) Attempt to add linear LNBFs for FTA service. While I doubt it will be successful, I would like to attempt 97/101 and 110/119/129 on one dish. It will be fun and educational plus I should get a good grasp of just what the dish (whatever I use) can do.
More likely, I will end up with a dual dish setup and add LNBFs as able with one dish peaked for 97/101 and the other peaked for 110/119/129. Maybe someday I will drop my subscription service, but just can't part with some of the channels!
With my "field of view" approach, I have been looking at the P* elliptical dishes. I would love to hear comments on where my understanding is faulty, etc.
For various reasons (one of which is spelled XYL) I am trying to limit my dish farm to two dishes, at or below the 1 meter threshold. For now I am not terribly interested in a motorized setup, but who knows how that will change once I get a taste of FTA.
I really appreciate everyone's patience and kindness in helping me through the learning curve. I especially want to thank Brian. I know you aren't interested in using these forums as a sales tool, but I have to say that both of the users from SatelliteAV have really impressed me and earned my business. THANKS!
