4 foot dish vs. 6 foot dish, need input

[pokey31]

My homeowners association won't let me have a BUD unfortunately. But I am going to strategically place trees and a fence line that will allow me to skirt the rules a little bit.

I'm looking at putting either a 4 foot dish up or a 6 foot dish (both over homeowners rules).

I have had a 30 inch ku band system for years, and want to get more our of my azbox, pansat, and old uniden supra analog receiver.

My question is what will i be able to pick up with a 6 foot dish that i wouldn't be able to with a 4 foot dish? I know that brentb in Michigan gets STO and a few other channels where he can watch sports on C-Band with a 4 foot mini-bud.

I know that on some ku band that i can't lock some dvb-s2 signals with my 30 inch dish, and it likely wouldn't change with a 4 foot dish, but what about a 6 foot dish?

All input is welcome!



ps. the sad thing is, I have a 10 foot dish in my garage that I definitely can't put up.

 

[Lak7]

ps. the sad thing is, I have a 10 foot dish in my garage that I definitely can't put up.

Plant the Trees, plant a 6ft Dish, and let time take it's course.
When Trees will cover / hide a 10 footer, upgrade.

 

[FaT Air]

Are there any rules against building a observatory? Replace the tele with the 10 footer. Yeah, it's a RF observatory!
I'd plant some camouflage, something that can be trimmed to specific height so that it doesn't block the dish's view of the arc. And the adage is "Bigger IS better". Go with as big as you can, Then put up the 10 footer when the camouflage grows up.

 

[pokey31]

Unfortunately the 10 footer is out of the question for now.

I guess a simpler question would be: What is the advantage of having a 6 foot vs. a 4 foot dish when it comes to Ku- HD (dvb-s2) signals or C-band signals?

 

[sanjap]

I had a 4ft before. While it brings down everything up there on Ku with superb quality on even the weakest ku signals, i could get only a few strong C band transponders. I was really interested in C band, so i upgraded to a 6ft. Now i get almost 95% of all C band out there but i've lost on some Ku.

Another issue with the 6ft is that finding a HH motor other than an actuator is hard to find. Aligning a 6ft for Ku is very difficult since it is prime focus. I hope this helps.

 

[pokey31]

yes it does and thanks sanjap. The 95% quote is what I was interested in. I will also keep my 30" up for most of my ku-band needs. Thanks!

If anyone else has any input it is much appreciated.....one can never have too much info to make a decision.

 

[stanleyjohn]

I recently installed a motorized 6 ft dish and have been very happy with it.Still looking to see how much i can get but so far i would say over 80% with a HD receiver.Iceburg does the updateing of the C band list here and he uses a 6 footer!so whats listed on the satellite guys c-band list should be able to be picked up by other 6 footers.PS! I also have my Dish hidden from the road due to a 3 ft dish limit by my town.

 

[pokey31]

thanks guys, that's kinda what I was looking for. For instance, i was interested in knowing that you get abouy 20% of the CBand channels on a 4 foot and 80-95% on a 6 foot. If there really wasn't much difference, I would just stick with the 4 footer, but since there appears to be a pretty big difference, I will likely go with the 6 footer. I am mainly interested in sports, and Brentb has been a big help in other threads. Thanks guys!

 

[Anole]

A 4' dish you might get away with.
A 6' dish is a 6' dish, and anyone who sees it (and complains) can blow your cover.
They are a very light 'n bright color.
You might want to think about a dull, drab, paint job - camouflage, as it were. -
Something that breaks up the sharp edge of the rim would be best.

That said, let me suggest you go rough up Sadoun and see if he has any more H-180 (?) motors left in his basement.
It uses a Gbox 3000 to run it, but it's a mount & motor, all in one.
Pretty much made to fling around the 6' prime focus dish, and not much else!

 

[Mr Tony]

The 4 footers while nice are just a toy to play with for C-Band. Yeah you can get some stuff but nothing sucks worse than locking a signal with the 4 footer and getting a heavily pixelating screen or just barely signal when you know the 6 footer would be fine

With a 4 footer you compensate on 2 things
-size (duh!)
-Almost all C-Band LNB's are made for a prime focus dish which the 6 footers are. The 4 are offset so you are hindering reception already with the difference there

a 6 footer is well worth it (take it from me...I have 3)

 

[Pixl]

Here is a picture of my 5.5 ft C-band dish. It receives most of the sats out there and is a nice compromise between 4 or 6 ft. performance, and is almost transparent. Trouble is I don't know the make/model as it was bought 20 years ago for commercial radio. (Chuck Harder-For the People Net) Anyone recognize it or know where "Pokey" can buy one? I'd like to pick up a few more myself.

 

[Anole]

I've got a spun aluminum perforated eight-foot BUD that's translucent like that.
Problem is, nobody makes either any more. -

From what I've seen, the black mesh dishes are pretty stealthy, and folks have found those in 6' and rarely 5' sizes.

So, if you don't find one of the above, then Sadoun or WSI sell the solid 6'ers, but I'd certainly get a couple cans of flat spray paint to make 'em disappear.

 

[Auric]

I have a 4' & two 10' the 4' is exactly like Iceburg mentioned. You actually can lock on a lot but most are unwatchable due to pixelazation.

I don't think it can get any C band HD...Don't know I don't have a HD receiver

 

[pokey31]

Thanks again guys for the input. I have definitely settled on the 6 footer after this discussion. My plan is to buy it from Sadoun since his shop is not far from my house.

Will painting it compromise the reflection of the signal? What are some of the do's/dont's that one should be aware of when painting a dish?

 

[Anole]

painting thoughts

- use flat paint
- or, over-spray it all with a flat clear
- feather all the edges between colors and along the edges of the dish if you want to hide it
- look up proper camouflage patterns on the internet for more info
- choose colors suitable for your area, eg: brown, tan, green, or maybe shades of gray, or...?
- don't forget the back side, as it'll show, too
- maybe start on the back to get some practice - it doesn't have to be flat paint, there
- don't forget the LNB cover, support struts, and the pole

Search the forum for other threads on painting & washing dishes.
I'm sure you'll find good ideas there, as well.
eg: solid readin' material

 

[stanleyjohn]

Thanks again guys for the input. I have definitely settled on the 6 footer after this discussion. My plan is to buy it from Sadoun since his shop is not far from my house.

Will painting it compromise the reflection of the signal? What are some of the do's/dont's that one should be aware of when painting a dish?

Heres a pic of my 6 ft dish!Just dont tell sadoun that you might paint over his name

 

[mr3p]

Could you guys with 6ft dish comment on if you are able to receive S2 HD feeds?

 

[stanleyjohn]

I have received some HD programming but dont really know if its s2 or not!I will check next few days and report back.

 

[vanalex]

I can get most of the DVB-S feeds and channels listed. If they are week feeds I have some problems. When it comes to S2 signals posted of regular channels I can't get many of them even with the lower FEC's. I do get some, but the dish has to be right on and they must be strong signals. I don't have a means of finding S2 feeds as I do not have blind scanning S2 receiver, yet. Lyngsat lists some S2 channels on Intelsat 805 at 55 west you can try.

 

[mr3p]

I had a 4ft before. While it brings down everything up there on Ku with superb quality on even the weakest ku signals, i could get only a few strong C band transponders. I was really interested in C band, so i upgraded to a 6ft. Now i get almost 95% of all C band out there but i've lost on some Ku.

Another issue with the 6ft is that finding a HH motor other than an actuator is hard to find. Aligning a 6ft for Ku is very difficult since it is prime focus. I hope this helps.

Ddo you think your loss of Ku signal relates to using a combo C/Ku lnb? Just wondering if using a dedicated Ku lnb next to the C band lnb would improve Ku signal or the focal lenght the real issue.