Better for ku (bud or solid)?
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There are many factors, but a 1m (39") solid offset dish will almost always outperform a 7.5' mesh BUD. If you want just about everything, take a step up to a 1.2m solid offset.
M
It is kinda hard to bring in Ku on a BUD. C-Band is more forgiving than the Ku, The 7.5 foot (or larger) dish would be great for the C-Band FTA signals. I used my 8 foot solid dish for both C-Band FTA and Ku-Band with great results
Ax far as solid or mesh is concern, either would be fine. However, if you come across a mesh dish, make sure the mesh holes are less than 1/4" diameter. The older mesh dishes are made with the wilder mesh holes and Ku wouldn't work too well.
But for the Ku, go for the 1.2 meter. Setup on these dishes are easier. If you look around you will very likely find Primestars dishes. Some folks will be glad to give it away just to get off their property!
Ax far as solid or mesh is concern, either would be fine. However, if you come across a mesh dish, make sure the mesh holes are less than 1/4" diameter. The older mesh dishes are made with the wilder mesh holes and Ku wouldn't work too well.
But for the Ku, go for the 1.2 meter. Setup on these dishes are easier. If you look around you will very likely find Primestars dishes. Some folks will be glad to give it away just to get off their property!
I just put a DMX741 C/Ku on my 8' Unimesh and I am thrilled with the Ku levels! I've read where people have modded the Ku part to increase signal, but I am getting nearly as good of a signal with my 8' as I do with my Primestar 84e.
Pick up more Ku? No. But there is more on C Band these days and Ku can be done on a mesh!
Pick up more Ku? No. But there is more on C Band these days and Ku can be done on a mesh!
Before stating my opinion, I would comment that for years I used a mediocre quality 10' mesh BUD on Ku. The quality of that dish slowly deteriorated over the years due to knocking ice off in the winter, but when it was about 8 or 9 years old, I got a 3' solid (Fortec) Ku dish. Even at that age, the 10' mesh was significantly better than the 3' solid dish with respect to resolution, and somewhat better with respect to signal strength and quality readings on digital. Now that the 10' dish is nearing 14 years old, it is still better with respect to resolution, but now the signal strength and quality readings have deteriorated even more, so that the 3' dish is now significantly better, and I now primarily use the BUD only for C band, unless I need to evaluate adjacent sat interferrence.
Basically, my opinion is that:
(1) Given equal quality, bigger is ALWAYS better.
(2) Unless the mesh BUD is more than 20 years old, mesh size isn't important, as even to Ku, a mesh dish will perform as if it's a solid within ~1%.
(3) All else being relatively equal, the accuracy of shape of the dish is what is most important.
(4) It is probably easier to manufacture a quality solid dish than a solid mesh dish, if for no other reason than most mesh dishes are made from flat panels which are bent only radially away from the center, but really don't get shaped properly width wise (if that makes sense). Intuitively it seems like a pre-formed sectional mesh dish could be better quality than one that has slide in panels, but that is just a feeling not based on anything.
(5) Provided that you have a good quality BUD and a sensitive signal meter, it's really no harder to align a BUD for Ku than it is to align for C-band. Yes, the tolerances for Ku tracking are tighter, but the process is pretty much the same. However aligning a poor quality BUD with a cheap meter can be quite a task.
Given all the above, I'm convinced that a good quality BUD will work better than a 3' solid dish on Ku. But as you increase the size of a solid dish above 3', you'll do as good or better than the BUD, and as you decrease the size of the BUD below 10', the BUD will lose it's advantage. A low quality old, cheap or damaged BUD will be inferior to a good 3'dish. In addition to performance though is the convenience factor of having the 2 bands on separate dishes.
I'd recommend having a separate 3' dish for Ku just for the convenience alone, but if you have a good quality BUD, it can work well on Ku.
Basically, my opinion is that:
(1) Given equal quality, bigger is ALWAYS better.
(2) Unless the mesh BUD is more than 20 years old, mesh size isn't important, as even to Ku, a mesh dish will perform as if it's a solid within ~1%.
(3) All else being relatively equal, the accuracy of shape of the dish is what is most important.
(4) It is probably easier to manufacture a quality solid dish than a solid mesh dish, if for no other reason than most mesh dishes are made from flat panels which are bent only radially away from the center, but really don't get shaped properly width wise (if that makes sense). Intuitively it seems like a pre-formed sectional mesh dish could be better quality than one that has slide in panels, but that is just a feeling not based on anything.
(5) Provided that you have a good quality BUD and a sensitive signal meter, it's really no harder to align a BUD for Ku than it is to align for C-band. Yes, the tolerances for Ku tracking are tighter, but the process is pretty much the same. However aligning a poor quality BUD with a cheap meter can be quite a task.
Given all the above, I'm convinced that a good quality BUD will work better than a 3' solid dish on Ku. But as you increase the size of a solid dish above 3', you'll do as good or better than the BUD, and as you decrease the size of the BUD below 10', the BUD will lose it's advantage. A low quality old, cheap or damaged BUD will be inferior to a good 3'dish. In addition to performance though is the convenience factor of having the 2 bands on separate dishes.
I'd recommend having a separate 3' dish for Ku just for the convenience alone, but if you have a good quality BUD, it can work well on Ku.
And to further address the Ku dish size, when I moved to a 1.M dish for Ku , instead of a 36" dish, I experience a large increase in Quality. More than I would have thought. I also have a 1.2M dish ( mini-BUD setup) which I can put a Ku lnbf on for really weak signals ( DVB-S2, particularly) , but rarely have to resort to THAT.
M
Dang, Now you guys have me really torn, Haha. I already have an old 10' wider mesh dish dedicated to c band, and I have a newer in really good shape 7.5 fine meshed dish that I thought would do well with ku band. I have my ku setup currently with a 31" solid motorized and it does fairly well. I was really just wondering if there is alot more to get if I just went with a 39", other than setting up the big 7.5. BJ ya got me convinced the 7.5 would be better because of the condition of it but just wasnt sure if I would get much more with it. I have no doubt that the signal should be better. Yes adding a 39" would be so much easier....
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How can I put this delicately . . . ?
Is your 1.0 m dish a molded commercial one like a Prodelin or Primestar (ChannelMaster)?
And is your 36" dish an imported metal dish?
The commercial 1.0m dishes are 1.0 m wide and a little bit taller (maybe 43"?).
The imported metal 36" dishes are 36" tall, and less-wide than 36.
So, you're sort of comparing apples to oranges, if that's what you have.
disclaimer:
the GeoSatPro 1.2m metal dish is sized "larger", see specs
and the Fortec Star 1.2m metal dish is "larger", as well.
so don't assume... it's always best to verify each dish individually.
Green One,
The 36" dish is a Fortec 90cm and the 1.0M dish is some sort of heavier duty dish, unidentified, but definitely of better general overall quality than the Fortec.
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