Best motorized budget system?

[scupmando]

I'm ready to take the fta plunge, but am on a tight budget. I would ideally like the coolsat pro, sg2100 motor, invacom lnb, winegard dish-all the best I'm told.
Should I wait until I have the extra money to get these or are there cheaper alternatives out there that are good enough for a fta novice?
I have about $300 to spend total. Not enough for top of the line equipment. Could you experts give me some opinions on what components you would recommend for a budget system?
This forum has taught me everything I know about fta and I thank you for any feedback!

 

[Cascade]

Hi, scupmando - Welcome to Satelliteguys FTA section

Most of us started out with a basic system but with prices falling at the moment it's not a bad time to buy.
I'd start out with the essentials, a decent receiver can now be bought for $150 (Check out the review section) The Coolsat 4000 Plus and the Pansats seem to be a popular choice right now.

Don't skimp on the dish! The Winegard has a great reputation and it's widely used, most of us in here own one and you won't go far wrong, as soon as I receive the FortecStar I'll be posting an in-depth review.

Invacom LNBs are great, there are cheaper alternatives out there (ASC321) which are very good also - if you can get a bundle price for the dish and LNB you'll save some cash, a decent LNB will be wasted on a bad dish and vice-versa.

If you start out with some decent gear you may want to hold off buying the motor for now unless you find the rest at a good price, it'll give you some good insight as to where the sats are and after moving the dish manually for a while you'll appreciate how it works (Which makes it easier to set up).


If you can find a package deal with some good equipment you'll save even more cash. Do be careful where you buy from, eBay prices can seem attractive but you'll generally get 0 support if things go wrong.

Anyhow, welcome again to the forums, it's a great place to ask questions with some great people here to back you up.
Check your Private Messagebox, I've sent you a couple of places to look for gear, I'm sure they'll hook you up

 

[mchomicz]

I have about $300 to spend total. Not enough for top of the line equipment.

Your budget is awfully close to affording you just about the best system out there. Two ebay links below. You can probably get this stuff for even less money, but I bought from both of these guys and based on my first hand experience I can highly recommend them. They will most likely sell you stuff even cheaper if you approach them and buy direct (since they save on ebay fees)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=32845&item=5775540144&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=32848&item=5774461114&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Coolsat Pro 4000 receiver $179.5 delivered
Winegard dish/motor/Invacom LNB $170 delivered
$349.5 total for a dream system

The seller who sales the receiver ships very fast (got my receiver in 2 days).

Dish/motor/LNB combo seller is a satellite installer who also sells on ebay. I have bought 3 items from him before (including my current Winegard dish and Invacom LNB) and he had the opportunity to demonstrate how great his customer service is. For one of the things I bought - things went TERRIBLY wrong. FedEx delivered the dish but smashed the box open and half of the box content was missing. I refused the package and had a full refund from Ramysat within an hour and a replacement dish on the way in 48 hours.


If you really can't stretch your budget - I'll second Cascade and advise to forgo the motor for now. It’s good practice to point the dish by hand Contact Ramysat (sales@ramysat.com
) and ask him for a deal on what you need. Tell him that Michael Chomiczewski from Charlotte sent you for a VIP treatment ;-) NOTE: I am not affiliated with Ramysat in any way what so ever. I’m just recommending him based on personal experience.

Hope this helps,
Michael

 

[PSB]

Please also visit our sponsor www.SADOUN.com help support the people that support us

 

[scupmando]

Thanks for the advice everybody! Time to do some shopping.

 

[CharredPC]

That ebay package deal (Winegard 31" / Universal LNB / SG2100 for $169 shipped) is a very good deal. I speak from personal experience, I bought a similar one of those setups ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=32848&item=5774027734 ) and am using it now! I'm very happy with it. If I can get some automatic URSALS movement going upon channel selection, I'll be spoiled beyond belief I'll vouch for the seller I used as well; from my own ignorance, I felt the Universal LNB he sent was defective. As soon as I let him know, he offered to replace it! I find this rare for ebay these days

... though I'm sure everyone will condemn my setup for not being blessed by Invacom..

CharredPC

 

[tom_v]

I'm just wondering why Sadoun does not sell SG2100 ?

 

[Shawn95GT]

Well - as I shopped around I realized that 'SG2100' is kind of like saying 1M dish. There are several manufacturers and some even have decievingly similar packaging. HH90 is a 'higher end' motor and I believe that's what they sell.

I bought a DMSi motor on ebay and they shipped me a Motek one. It's probably the same thing but the pic isn't what they sent...

Check this out (from Fortec's website: )

http://64.78.51.244/download/HH90TEST.pdf

 

[Shawn95GT]

I'm ready to take the fta plunge, but am on a tight budget. I would ideally like the coolsat pro, sg2100 motor, invacom lnb, winegard dish-all the best I'm told.
Should I wait until I have the extra money to get these or are there cheaper alternatives out there that are good enough for a fta novice?
I have about $300 to spend total. Not enough for top of the line equipment. Could you experts give me some opinions on what components you would recommend for a budget system?
This forum has taught me everything I know about fta and I thank you for any feedback!

Oh and FWIW, $300 is about what I have into my system - and I got the Dish for free.

I'd definately spend the money on the reciever. If you went motorless for now you could come in under the $300 mark. Do you have anything at all now?

CoolSat 4000 Pro's are available for $165 to your door.
Winegard + the ASC321s is $107 to your door from a friendly FTA forum member.
You could do a Fortec 80cm dish with a Fortec .4 LNB for roughly the same money from Sadoun ($109). $20 more for a 90cm dish.

That puts you at around $275. If you have any 18" dishes laying around with the 'regular' LNBs on 'em you could point to Echo7 or maybe Nimiq 1/3 at 91W depending on what kinda free stuff you are looking for (NASA vs Music). This will hook up via the DiSEqC switch that comes with the reciever.

In my case a paid a little more for the reciever and paid about $75 for the motor. I have about $250 into the reciever and the motor alone. I paid $35ish for my LNB and I had a Primestar Dish in my yard that I picked up for free on bulk trash collection day.

The pole / cement and misc hardware put me back another $15 or so. I chewed $300 with a quickness, and I didn't buy a dish!

 

[tom_v]

- Also, check this out and be ready to be confused....

http://www.satcritics.com/grabreview.php?ZGF0ZSgpMTMgTWF5IDIwMDM=&v=MTI=c0c7c76d30bd3dcaefc96f40275bdc0a&o=MQ==8e296a067a37563370ded05f5a3bf3ec

 

[Ashley@sadoun]

I'm just wondering why Sadoun does not sell SG2100 ?

We carry the SM3D12 which is alot like the SG2100 so ive heard. Shawn95GT was right about the HH90, it is a higher end model, made by fortec. I personally think that the fortec motors HH100 and the HH120 are some of the best motors out there. Ive never seen one of those go bad. I take care of the returns here at Sadoun and I have never gotten one back. If you have a 31in or 36in dish and dont mind the dish taking a second longer to turn (since the HH100 is geared lower to hold a 100cm dish) i would strongly recommend making an investment in the HH100 it will last you years.