C-Band Dish size for 4DTV HDTV ??

[Gary Murrell]

Hello

guys I am working right now on installing 4DTV, I have never atempted a bud install before, I have installed over 50 Pizza's though, so I fill I can do it

anyway, I am installing 4DTV for access to HDTV channels only, I am only interested in hitting, Galaxy 10R and Galaxy 13, I am only interested in channels:

Showtime west from Galaxy 10R
Starz HD east and west from Galaxy 13
HBO East and West from Galaxy 13

no interest in anything else, KU band, Analog etc. only these HD channels from 4DTV
(if things ever open up on the HD front(megapipe etc.), all the other HD channels I want are on G13 also)

my location in eastern ky(41216 zip) puts me in the prime spot for both these 2 birds, my EIRP values for each bird are around 42 to 44

can anyone give me advice on Dish size and type for this simple setup above??

according to charts I would only need a 6 foot c-band Dish, actually the numbers indicate lower than that

does anyone have precise info as to if these channels above are on low or high power TP's, so I would know if that size dish is ok??

the point is that I was hoping to be able to get by with a 6' to 7.5' Dish , like a fortec star or sami 7.5', would this cut it for 4DTV of these channels above ??

Thanks guys for your help

-Gary

 

[gizzer777]

Hi Gary

it kind of depends where you live. I would say that at least an 8 ft dish with quality LNB will be needed (that is what I run). I can 'see" all the HD channels you mention with a quality of at least 65 on the 922

However, if you can do a 10' it will be better in the long run.

I have never had any trouble getting the HD 4dtv (or any others) channels with the 8 footer.

You sort of thru me when you used the regular sat names...and not the 4dtv ones!! Guess I have had 4dtv so long...I have to think on the other names especially when I use the BUD for FTA!! Then I have charts with references!
regards
jeff

 

[Gary Murrell]

Thanks Jeff(you have lots of nice equipment), I was hoping to get by with less than 8 foot Dish

I am in the prime spot(on footprints maps) for both birds I want to hit(G13 and G10R)

my location is eastern KY, so I have a 44 on G10R:

and 43 on G13

or are these EIRP and footprints meaningless??, I don't know much when it comes to C-band, I have been with Pizza Dish's way too long

-Gary

 

[dfergie]

At least and 8' I think Gary to eliminate problems... be absolutly sure the pole is level and has plenty of concrete in the hole to anchor. The last Bud I put up I could only go down about 2 1/2 ' due to rock so I ended up pouring a slab about 3'x3' 6" deep above ground and had a short piece of 12' pipe casing that I added a foot to it above that. (also torched holes in the pipe and added rebar crossways to prevent the pipe from twisting)

 

[Gary Murrell]

Thanks for the replys
Well the Fortec 8.5 from sadoun looks great, but no polar mount

the guys from Sadoun said I could add a polar mount with a drill and 3/8 bit

I got a prime pole waiting, a basketball goal setup with 3 1/2 pipe that is as solid as a rock and a clear view of southern sky
a have checked it in all directions and the level bubble is inside the marks in every way
I have got the hardest part taken care of already

-Gary

 

[Diamond Jim]

I gotta go with the rest of the guys, at least an 8 footer. I am in west central Indiana and I get everything from AMC 7 @139 to AMC 6 @ 72.

 

[drhydro]

As with the rest, i say larger is better. Take a look in your local papers free sections, I see plenty of 10' BUDS for free. Good luck and welcome to c-band :-D

 

[tdti1]

Hello
guys I am working right now on installing 4DTV, I have never atempted a bud install before, I have installed over 50 Pizza's though, so I fill I can do it
anyway, I am installing 4DTV for access to HDTV channels only, I am only interested in hitting, Galaxy 10R and Galaxy 13, I am only interested in channels:
Showtime west from Galaxy 10R
Starz HD east and west from Galaxy 13
HBO East and West from Galaxy 13
no interest in anything else, KU band, Analog etc. only these HD channels from 4DTV
(if things ever open up on the HD front(megapipe etc.), all the other HD channels I want are on G13 also)
my location in eastern ky(41216 zip) puts me in the prime spot for both these 2 birds, my EIRP values for each bird are around 42 to 44
can anyone give me advice on Dish size and type for this simple setup above??
according to charts I would only need a 6 foot c-band Dish, actually the numbers indicate lower than that
does anyone have precise info as to if these channels above are on low or high power TP's, so I would know if that size dish is ok??
the point is that I was hoping to be able to get by with a 6' to 7.5' Dish , like a fortec star or sami 7.5', would this cut it for 4DTV of these channels above ??
Thanks guys for your help
-Gary

Discovery HD is pretty damn good looking on AMC-10, to be honest best would be to grab a used 10' free or for real cheap, I no you want the HD but the SD looks very good on the big dish, and you get a ton of them like 26 with HBO/MAX and 30 with Starz, also if you are really after picture quality you may want to ad a dvb HD unit in the future for feeds that even look better than the 4dtv HD, breathtaking pictures man for real.

Good Luck!

 

[Kb Cool]

I am not recommending it as I own both a 10ft and 6ft dish. But my 6 footer is able to lock all the HD here in AZ. And it receives the guide off Galaxy 1 but it does not lock the HBO's on the same sat. I think you would be happier with a bigger dish. I know if I had to get rid one of my buds the 6 footer would be the one to go.

 

[WyrTwister]

it kind of depends where you live. I would say that at least an 8 ft dish with quality LNB will be needed (that is what I run). I can 'see" all the HD channels you mention with a quality of at least 65 on the 922

However, if you can do a 10' it will be better in the long run.

I have never had any trouble getting the HD 4dtv (or any others) channels with the 8 footer.

You sort of thru me when you used the regular sat names...and not the 4dtv ones!! Guess I have had 4dtv so long...I have to think on the other names especially when I use the BUD for FTA!! Then I have charts with references!
regards
jeff

What goes around , comes around .

All you old time C banders use the odd names for sats . ( I am attempting to transition over from FTA KU .

The only way I know a sat name is what it is called on lyngsat.com .

Best of luck ,
Wyr

 

[WyrTwister]

Thanks for the replys
Well the Fortec 8.5 from sadoun looks great, but no polar mount
the guys from Sadoun said I could add a polar mount with a drill and 3/8 bit
I got a prime pole waiting, a basketball goal setup with 3 1/2 pipe that is as solid as a rock and a clear view of southern sky
a have checked it in all directions and the level bubble is inside the marks in every way
I have got the hardest part taken care of already
-Gary

You would have to buy a polar mount ? Wonder how much that costs ?

I would like to hear more info on that ?

Thanks ,
Wyr

 

[Shawn95GT]

I am not recommending it as I own both a 10ft and 6ft dish. But my 6 footer is able to lock all the HD here in AZ. And it receives the guide off Galaxy 1 but it does not lock the HBO's on the same sat. I think you would be happier with a bigger dish. I know if I had to get rid one of my buds the 6 footer would be the one to go.

I'm with kbghdg

You forgot the most important channel... The guide.

Here is what I see with my 5' dish:

G10R
G0-120 SHO HD West - 55Q

Galaxy 13
G9-118 HBOHD East - 1Q, no Digicypher lock
G9-120 HBOHD West - 1Q, no Digicypher lock
G9-122 StarzHD East - 54Q
G9-124 StardHD West - 60Q

Galaxy G1R
G1-3 (Guide) - 38Q

30 is roughly the threshhold for watchable TV. I have been able to pull the guide down reliably though.

Keep in mind the EIRP is only part of the equation. On C-band, the 2° satellite spacing is an issue. The fact is that a larger dish will have a smaller beamwidth. An 8' dish has just over a 2° beamwidth but 'should be fine' for the most part. A 10' or larger dish eliminates the 2° spacing issue all together.

What does this mean to you? With a smaller dish like I have, I'm never looking at just one C-band satellite out there at the West end of the arc. This makes for quality numbers that dance all around due to interfeerence from near-by satellites.

I often see signal of 100 with quality of 1. I think this is the 2° rearing it's head.

Especially if you are buying new... I'd do an 8' dish as a minimum and 10' if you can.

 

[Wayn23]

Hello
guys I am working right now on installing 4DTV, I have never atempted a bud install before, I have installed over 50 Pizza's though, so I fill I can do it
anyway, I am installing 4DTV for access to HDTV channels only, I am only interested in hitting, Galaxy 10R and Galaxy 13, I am only interested in channels:
Showtime west from Galaxy 10R
Starz HD east and west from Galaxy 13
HBO East and West from Galaxy 13
no interest in anything else, KU band, Analog etc. only these HD channels from 4DTV
(if things ever open up on the HD front(megapipe etc.), all the other HD channels I want are on G13 also)
my location in eastern ky(41216 zip) puts me in the prime spot for both these 2 birds, my EIRP values for each bird are around 42 to 44
can anyone give me advice on Dish size and type for this simple setup above??
according to charts I would only need a 6 foot c-band Dish, actually the numbers indicate lower than that
does anyone have precise info as to if these channels above are on low or high power TP's, so I would know if that size dish is ok??
the point is that I was hoping to be able to get by with a 6' to 7.5' Dish , like a fortec star or sami 7.5', would this cut it for 4DTV of these channels above ??
Thanks guys for your help
-Gary

Try to find a free dish in your area of at least 8.5' Dia. as that is the smallest size that is 2 degree compliant and a 10' is better, I would
look for a Solid aluminium or mesh dish and a H-H mount if you can find one around you. The odds are you will find lots of people who want to unload their old dish and sooner or later you might want to play around with DVB feeds so why limit yourself, how much are you going to notice the difference in a 7.5' versus a 8.5' dish anyway.

 

[Gary Murrell]

I was thinking of considering the cost of the Dish, I live in a area with not much happening so I may have to purchase

although there is a neighbor about a 5 min walk down the road that has a nice 10 footer up that is full of pine needles , they have a pizza on their roof now

I should maybe ask them about it, I doubt me getting it free, I cannot see it close up, nor would I know how to remove it

-Gary

 

[Shawn95GT]

You'd be suprised how willing people are to part with an un-used BUD, especially if they don't have to take it down .

Shawn

 

[Gary Murrell]

The guy is going to give me the 10 footer, and all his c-band equipment

sweet!!

I am going to have to remove the Dish, it is in a surrounding of pine trees, any tips on removing the Dish guys ??

I am also going top have to have help with some parts, I might as well get both ku and C band capability, do you guys have a suggestion for feedhorns and LNB's for mainly 4DTV use and some FTA HDTV from Ku band (like PBS ) ??

I am so excited , thanks for everyones help

-Gary

 

[iammike]

The guy is going to give me the 10 footer, and all his c-band equipment
sweet!!
I am going to have to remove the Dish, it is in a surrounding of pine trees, any tips on removing the Dish guys ??
I am also going top have to have help with some parts, I might as well get both ku and C band capability, do you guys have a suggestion for feedhorns and LNB's for mainly 4DTV use and some FTA HDTV from Ku band (like PBS ) ??
I am so excited , thanks for everyones help
-Gary

Gary,

I picked up this feedhorn and lnb combo pack a few months ago when I set up my dish:

http://www.thesatelliteshop.net/hypercart/PictureFrame.asp?Sku=cbandcombo1&categoryID=70

I originally figured that I'd eventually pick up some better lnb's but so far I've picked up pretty much everything without problem and my signal strength numbers appear to be in line with other folks are getting. Incidentally, I'm probably a couple hundred miles away from you and am using a 7.5' or so Cassegrain style dish. It has the effective reflective surface of a little bit larger standard dish, but probably not as much as the 10 footer you're getting. You should be able to get a pretty sweet signal with a dish that size.

Mike

 

[Shawn95GT]

Nice .

With any luck it already has a C/Ku feedhorn. I wouldn't bet on it though.

All you really need is:
The dish / polar mount
A working actuator
Feedhorn / LNB(s) - C/Ku prefered.
Receiver.

The dish is self explanitory. Don't disturb the elevation / declination settings as it should be pretty close if it was working before.

If the actuator works, very cool. You can run the motor in and out with a car battery on the M1/M2 terminals which should have two heavy wires connected.

As for the feedhorn, the Chaparral Corotor II is popular and that deal Mike posted looks like a winner. You can spend twice that on just LNBs. I did - lol.

Aside from what you'll pick up, you'll need to track down some satellite ribbon cable. I bought a 200' spool on ebay.

 

[Gary Murrell]

Thanks for all the help guys, I will pick up that combo pack

-Gary

 

[WyrTwister]

Thanks for all the help guys, I will pick up that combo pack
-Gary

Some of you may have read some of my posts about the dishes I have scrounged in the last couple of weeks .

Today I brought home the 3rd schrounged dish . It ia a Zenith , no telling when it was made ?

On a scale of 1 to 10 , I would rate the condition of the dish a 9 to 9.5 . Few tiny dents mot even worth messing with .

Do a google for freecycle and the name of your state . Hopefully there will be a group in your town or one close to you .

My first suggestion for a C & Ku Band feed horn is Ebay . I have bought 2 decent C Band feed forns off of Ebay , one $ 10 ( w/o a LNB ) and one $ 15 ( w/ LNB ) , delivered .


Here is another curosity , any ever tried ?
http://cgi.ebay.com/KU-POLARIZER-C-...ryZ11726QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Best of luck ,
Wyr