At what size does bigger not make a differance

[stanleyjohn]

After reading the thread on the bigg dish i was wondering at what point will having a bigger disk make no differance in what you can get from a LOS satellite.Is a 24 ft dish really going to make any differance in what you can get or is it more of a statis thing and overkill.

 

[rv1pop]

It depends on a lot of things ... angles, elevations, etc. My son has to have at least a 32 foot dish for c band and 12 foot for KU - at the northern tip of the North Slope. For two way satellite internet they can get by with a 24 foot. What all figures in, I do not know. ALSO -- the uplink signal / downlink signal is sometimes figured to keep those signals restricted to large dishes at the stations.

 

[Anole]

The guy in Central America, is snagging signals he is not in the footprint for.
The broadcaster had no intention of lighting up that part of the earth.

Most satellites have antenna specifically designed for their target area.
Some approximate the lower 48 US states.
So, upper Mexico might get signal, but lower Mexico would struggle.
Canada has a new DBS satellite that keeps most of their signal falling on their own.
Upper US states have coverage, but down where I am, it's silent.

 

[arcticracer]

Dish Size

rv1pop, something does not sound right with those dish sizes. I assume you are talking about Barrow, Alaska. The dish sizes needed for various services is not much different than interior Alaska in most cases but larger than the lower 48. I use Ku dishes up to 6 feet, 12 feet for C band in Fairbanks.

 

[FaT Air]

I'd say a 10 ft. If in NA and in the footprint. Sufficient (excess??) gain and 2° compliant. Larger = more gain(usually unnecessary if in footprint) and the adjacent satellite rejection increase is 'wasted' as a 10's adjacent rejection is sufficient.
If in search of 'out of footprint' transponders, go BIGGER. Bigger IS better
35mm lens binoculars work well in daylight, but it takes 50mm binoculars in the early twilight.

 

[northgeorgia]

Sort of like "Satellite DXing?" Has anyone received some neat catches way out of the footprint for their area with their BUDs?

 

[Magic Static]

"Bigger is better" and that applies to many things . So the best answer would be, the biggest dish you can afford/maintain. After that, it doesn't matter if it's bigger cause you can't buy it.

 

[rv1pop]

rv1pop, something does not sound right with those dish sizes. I assume you are talking about Barrow, Alaska. The dish sizes needed for various services is not much different than interior Alaska in most cases but larger than the lower 48. I use Ku dishes up to 6 feet, 12 feet for C band in Fairbanks.

I don't know where he was.... Fly into Prudow (sp?) then another 4 to 5 hours from there. No phone coverage except VoIP. Not up there now...