Dish Size VS EIRP level and EIRP Maps

[AcWxRadar]

I see that several posts reference this, but no one has actually posted it directly and I think it should be presented somewhere on this site as a resource just as much as Lyngsat or SatCoDX and a few others.

It is "SatBeams.com" and they have better looking and more extensive coverage maps of every satellite around the globe. I find that they are more up to date than any other that I have used in the past.

Here is my response to another member where I discussed it in their thread...

Google for: "Satbeams.com". If you register as a member, you can use more of their advanced features, but you can use it just anonymously to find really nice footprint (EIRP) maps for all satellites around the world.

I must warn you that this site is very, very slow to load its map images. If you get a message regarding aborting a script because it may cause your computer to become unresponsive, click NO - DO NOT ABORT. It will eventually load up, it just takes a long time.

Also, another forewarning, I think their estimation of the dish size required for each specific EIRP level is over-exaggerated. I know for a fact that I can receive some of the satellites with a 76cm dish and they are stating that I need a 100 cm dish.

EDIT: I think that their EIRP levels and maps are correct, but I disagree with their recommended antenna size. I believe a smaller dish is acceptable in most cases.

This website may very well be correct in regards to getting some of the weaker TPs or channels. But, I also might have a dish and LNBF and receiver combination that aids me in this endeavor.

I think they are basing their minimum recommended dish size on some very low quality dishes and LNBFs and receivers (just to play it safe in a CYA approach).

If you check this site out, I am sure that you will like it. They have EIRP maps for all satellites over the globe whereas Lyngsat and SatCoDX might lack them or be a little non-up-to-date.

This is an interactive website so you can comment and post corrections if needed. Not sure how to do that yet, but they state that it is an option and they welcome your input there. It is kinda like WikiPedia.

I urge you to fool around with it as I find it quite informative and very exceptional.

Gordy (RADAR)

 

[Cadsulfide]

Thanks Gordy!

 

[AcWxRadar]

Thanks Gordy!

Cadsulfide,

You are most welcome!

I found it accidentally and although the members here have referred to it often, I don't think it was given enough coverage for as good as it is.
Therefore, I wanted to post the specific invitation to investigate their site. Hopefully this will help many members find the information that they need on their own power and not need to ask every time. It just opens a new door for the new folks to satellite information. I have been playing with the sats for about five or six years in a serious notion and I just found the Satbeams site within the past month. I was awed and very happy to find it! Very nice! I had to make sure that I shared it with anyone else who was not aware of it, yet.

Gordy

AcWxRADAR

 

[Anole]

more to it -

This is not so much an argument against, as an addition to the above info.

Regardless of the power levels provided, reception is conditional on getting a clean signal.
So, adjacent satellite transponders should be considered.
(That's why I like to encourage the use of Ku dishes at least 36" wide.)

This is especially true where C-band signal levels suggest reception on 90cm dishes.
The small dish will see several satellites at those frequencies.

Another problem in reception, not addressed, is the difficulty of decoding a particular signal type.
So a 9/10 FEC S2 signal (I hope that's a valid possibility) is going to need a much cleaner signal (less interference) than a 1/2 FEC signal of Whitesprings.
The folks here have documented fine reception of Whitesprings on minimal sized dishes.

 

[meinename]

Location, location, location....

When I started reading the EIRP maps, I thought that the estimated dish size was the minimum for a threshold signal.
I later found out more in practice that the numbers were minimum for "reliable" reception.
"Reliable" being that the signal only goes out in really bad conditions, if then.

But as I have been learning more and more about the edge quarter of LOS, those minimum dish sizes become required for minimum signal.

@Anole:
Yes, a 9/10 FEC is possible in DVB-S2. But it would make it helluva lot harder by switching modulation from QPSK to 8PSK/16PSK/32PSK even at 3/4 FEC