AMC 3 at 87.0°W with a 4' or 6' dish?

[WiFi Master]

Hello fellow Fta'ers........I'm not new to C-band DXing . 2 years ago I had to take down my 10' Bud due to property renovations. I'm going to get back into C-band, but would like to do it with a smaller dish.

Question: Is anyone currently pointed at AMC 3 @ 87 degrees with a 4' or 6' dish? If so, where are you located and what kind of quality are you getting? If I could use a 4' dish, that would be great. I live in West Virginia, and I am pretty darn close to one of the sweet spots in the foot print. Any info would be great .

Thank You......Regards,

WiFi Master

 

[wallyhts]

Welcome to satguys

 

[WiFi Master]

Thanks Wallyhts.........

 

[Mr Tony]

I use a 6 footer on 87W (well all of them)

Here is my recent results when helping someone lock 87W
http://www.satelliteguys.us/248617-finally-9.html#post2524066

 

[WiFi Master]

Hey Iceberg,

Thanks for the quick response. What State are you in? Do you have high quality? What feedhorn are you using?

Regards.........

 

[Mr Tony]

I am in Minnesota
The Coolsat max meter is 82 and threshold is 63. 69-70 on the meter is good...above that is great. Most will read between 69-74.
Using a GeosatPro C2 dual LNBF

 

[WiFi Master]

Cool. I took the actuator and BSC 621 C/Ku lnbf off before I took my BUD down. I will be using a Coolsat 8000HD for AMC 3. What Are your thoughts on using a 4' dish with this sat?

 

[Mr Tony]

a 4 foot might be too small. You might get a couple channels but the key word is **might**
since the 6 footer you already have I'd use that instead. Much less headaches (even if its fixed at 87W)

 

[WiFi Master]

Well actually I don't have a dish at this moment, just the actuator & LNBF. I know that the bigger the better, however, because I have limited area to that direction in the sky, and limited places to put a dish, I'm trying to figure out what would work, 4' or 6' dish. I'm hitting 97 Galaxy 19 sat with a primestar dish @ about 10' off the ground, making it easier to clear the top of my house. I could mount a 4' dish where the primestar is currently mounted to. A 6' dish would have to go between my neighbors house and mine, and be on the ground. My interest is with the 3800 & 4080 transponders. If I could at least get these, I would be a happy camper.

 

[Mr Tony]

heh then you would need the 6 footer at minimum

Those 2 transponders (3800 & 4080) are DVB-S2 which require a larger dish or if you must try a 6 footer a finely tuned dish with very good (and stable) LNB's. I can barely get one of the TP's (4080 if I remember...its been a while) on the 6 footer.

 

[WiFi Master]

Ok, I probably should go with the 6 footer. The good thing about my location is that I am in just about every satellite foot print. This makes it easier to hit these sats with smaller dishes. Thats why I questioned what size dish I should use. I read on another site that someone had used a 4' dish and was watching AMC 3 .. I'm curious if anyone has used a 4' dish on this sat.

 

[greg harris]

Being able to watch C band, AMC3 on a four foot dish is not that hard but you will only get the strongest transponders on the satellite.
The DVB-S2 transponders that you are wanting will be difficult to get using a 6 foot dish. GregH

 

[WiFi Master]

Hey Greg......Thanks for the input. I think I will go with a good quality 6' footer with good gain, and I should be alright. Anyone have any good suggestions on a good dish & where to buy it from? I've looked at Sadoun's site, but I believe they are back ordered on the 6' dish.

Regards...............WiFi Master

 

[Mr Tony]

WSI/Galaxy marketing still has the 6 footer for $69 + shipping
http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/253383-specials-special-sale-prices-c-band.html

 

[WiFi Master]

Thanks Iceberg............... I will look into it. Thanks for the info

Regards..............Wifi Master

 

[Anole]

no sugar coating

If you are going to try for S2 on a too-small dish, at least optimize all other areas.
The BSC621 is not going to do as well on C-band as the GeoSat C2 or Galaxy ESX242 dual-output C-band LNBF.
In turn, better performance will be realized with a C-band ortho feed and two LNBs.
Again, there are two choices, probably with corresponding differences in results.
for example: Norsat 8515, or Galaxy 211.

This post has everything I want to say about the $69 dish:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/248617-finally-17.html#post2514175
Know what you are dealing with.

Here are two better ideas: -
Some of our gold sponsors could supply you with an 8' solid BUD.
Or, you could go out in the wild and harvest a pre-owned dish and save it from the junk pile.

PS:
over in the member's Classified section...
- Stogie5150 has an Ortho for sale
- Linuxman has an Ortho for sale (if not listed, then PM him)

 

[WiFi Master]

Hey Anole, Thanks for the info. The reason I would like to use my BSC621 is that it is a dual band LNBF. I want to get the KU side of AMC 3 as well. Is there a better dual band LNBF compared to the BSC621 ? If there is a lower noise Dual band LNBF, I would definitely be interested. As far as the 8' dish goes, I rent the land, but own my own home. So, Unfortunately I can't go to crazy with a really large BUD. Thanks again....


Regards, WiFi Master

 

[Anole]

The dual-band LNBFs don't do Ku all that well.
For instance, on a mini-BUD, they're pretty useless at Ku.
You're better off with a separate Ku LNBF.
I think the reason is, they just don't see the entire surface of the dish.
By the time you get to an 8' dish, and do a critical alignment, they work about as well as a 1m Ku dish.
I don't have a 6' dish to experiment on, but regardless, the following is also another factor...

Secondly, the dual-band LNBFs don't do C-band quite as well as single band LNBFs.
That's why I suggested the inexpensive C2 and 242 above.
We are trying to get the S2, right?
Then, a step above those are the ortho feeds, with either of two levels of LNB (I'd try the cheap ones first).

I feel the solution for your Ku, given the small dish, is to put in a 1m Ku-only dish.
Heck, motorize it, for extra value. :up

And, you asked for info, so do read all those things I linked above.
They explain my position.

 

[Anole]

How far are you from member mjac, in Madisonville Tennessee?
He's got a 7½ foot that would probably be a good choice.
Two mesh dishes free to good home or homes.

?

 

[WiFi Master]

I'm about 6 hours away from mjac or about 365 miles away.

"Secondly, the dual-band LNBFs don't do C-band quite as well as single band LNBFs."

Actually my BSC621 LNBF did quite well on my 10' BUD. However, you are right about the dual band LNBF not being quite as good as a stand alone C-band LNBF. After tweaking a dual band LNBF for C-band and then for the KU band, one band usually takes away from the other. It takes fine tuning to get both bands to work and get good quality across the board. Which can be time consuming. I think the GeoSat C2 will work fine with the 6' foot dish. I have another smaller dish that I can use for the KU side of AMC 3.