Decided to get a C-Band Dish, Help with next steps.

[milothepug]

Hello everyone!

We've decided to get a C-Band dish and are feeling a bit overwhelmed. We thought that the decision to get one and upgrade from our trusty Winegard antenna would be the hardest part hah! we were mistaken *laugh* We are bound and determined to make this work now but we have a ton of questions and are grateful to any help anyone can provide.

We live near the city of covington in washington state (more than happy to provide lat and log info). My husband and I did some reading and we thought that we would need a 6 foot C-Band Dish. Then it occurred to us that we dont have any clue about what we satellites we should be aiming at etc. We are looking for primarily english and spanish programming, Possibly cctv english (my mom picks that up sometimes on her KU band dish).

1) What type of dish should we be looking for if we want a motorized C-Band Dish? what is polar mount? is that motorized?
2) How big should it be to be able pick up satellites from our location?
3) What part of the arc(is that right its the arc yeah? *laugh) should we be aiming at
4) What satellites should we be able to pick up that are interesting?
5) How much of an impact do trees have on C-Band Dishes?
6) My husband did some sighting and it looks like out best bet is to put the dish in the front corner of our yard (we think). Im not really sure what voodoo/black/magic he used to arrive at the conclusion since we have only a general idea of where the dish should be pointing. With that in mind, we have allocated a large amount of our home improvement budget to hiding the dish. We thought about putting up a fence, maybe a trellis with wisteria etc.. Any ideas on good ways to hide the dish? Were pretty sure were going to put up a fence to keep people from messing with it (throwing rocks, using it as a beer can holder, using it as a trash can *laugh*
7) My mom bought us a sathawk receiver that does c and ku band. Do you think it will work ok?
8) Anything else were missing? (Im sure there is

We've included pics of the proposed install site. The dish will be pointing at the house and those trees are a good 100 feet *edit* My husband says more than 100 feet away. and are a 30 degree angle up to where my husband was standing (he did some sore of voodoo math with a level)

I promise will post pictures of the install

Thanks for all your help!!!

 

[coinmaster32]

1. Get a bigger then 6 foot if budget is permitting. Your going to miss a lot with a 6 footer. Get at least a 8.5 foot.
2. See #1
3. As much as possible, the more sats the better. Use a longer actuator or a h-to-h to see more sats.
4. All satellites are interesting, go to lyngsat.com and look around. Please note that there are more free channels up their then mentioned, but since programmers monitor these boards, its a gray area to describe ITC fta feeds not on lyngsat or the list.
5. It depends on how tall they are. The higher the pole, the less of a problem they will be, and the farther the dish from the trees, the better.
6. Why hide it? I've never heard of anyone messing with someone Else's dish. Hiding it would just cost.
7. Will work fine, will need a postioner though. A old analog receiver or a v box works great.
8. Ya, your missing a dish

Drive around looking for one. Could save you hundreds depending on the parts the dish has and the shape its in. Don't be afraid to ask!

Good luck!

 

[Magic Static]

You might try and visit Dishpointer.com This works in conjunction with google earth to show you the direction of sats and the elevation line so you can tell if you can see what you want from that point in your yard. If the photos of your area are high resolution this can be very helpful to determine the location of the dish. FTA programming comes and goes and travels the arc from end to end so it's always best to postion the dish with as much of the arc available as possible.

 

[Bob2011]

If those trees are due south then you may only be able to hit a few satellites. My guess is 121 west is your highest satellite in the sky and your dish would be about 35 degrees. From your pictures it doesn't look like the satellite clears that big tree in the middle but I could be wrong.

 

[Lone Cloud]

The basic issue is, not too many manufacturers produce them any more. That's why the preferred method is to go around looking for big dishes in good shape. I am estimating, but of the big dishes you see out there, only a small percentage are actually in use. That's why we tend to get them by knocking on doors. Usually, a good sign that the big dish is sitting dormant is a mounted little dish - like Directv or DishN on the same roof. The folks who have that setup often will be happy if you just cart it away for them.

The best is a spun aluminum, solid dish of 8 feet or more. With that you can set yourself up for both C and Ku band. The second best kind is a solidly built mesh dish with small holes in the mesh. Paraclipse dishes come to mind here. HH motors are the best - like Birdview or Ajax, but an actuator works fine too.

Before you buy anything new just drive around looking and knock on some doors. Tell them you are doing research into the big dish hobby. There is half a chance they will tell you right there to take if off their hands. Then there is also a good chance that they will hand you some old receivers which you might probably be able to slave to your FTA box and run your dish motor and maybe even set your skew.

I wouldn't buy until I spent a few afternoons on a neighborhood search. How I got both of mine. For no money

 

[toucan-man]

Near you?

Free Metal Satellite Dish - Bremerton, Washington

No mention of size.

 

[Lone Cloud]

What part of the arc? As much as you can get from 135 west down. It changes, as they change satellites and go on and off. Right now? 125w Ku, 103 C,101Ku, 99 C, 95C, 91 C. That will keep you busy with a bunch of stations, about 8 of them HD.

I am a lot south of you but near your longitude (117 w). There is really nothing above 139, so if your site survey gives you a choice between going a lot above 135w or a lot below 105w, pick a lot below.

 

[coinmaster32]

Near you?

Free Metal Satellite Dish - Bremerton, Washington

No mention of size.

Looks like something is screwy with the feed arms.

 

[jsattv]

To find a Big Dish for next to free try KIJIJI or Craig's list - that's where I got mine from.