Hello Everyone!

[fta4life]

hello everyone. I used to be a member years ago but it has been a while so I am getting back into the satellite game. Currently running a 1.1 meter motorized dish with a geosatpro microhd which I love.

Looking to get me a BUD, I found one but have to find a way to get it here to my house and also find a good spot for it, trees, lol. I have my 1.1 meter on the side of my house about 5 feet outside my bedroom window! Yah!! But I dont think I have room there for a 8-12 foot Bud Plus my neighbors might not appreciate it, they live about 25 feet away! lol.


However in my back yard about 100 feet away I have a spot where it looks like I might have a line of sight. I am trying to figure out though the projectry because the trees are pretty high but maybe 80 feet away so I am thinking maybe a bud is better at pulling the signal in than a ku dish.

Anyhow I want to put it back there so it is out of sight, HOA, and so I can go out there and tinker with it without having nosy neighbors watching and wandering what the heck I am doing. lol.

Im thinking I can hook it up with sprinkler wire which I have heard of and am thinking of getting an old analog reciever to perhaps use to move the dish and change polarity and then run the Micro with it.


Overall I am thinking I can shoot for the stars, I would love a 12 footer, but I suppose an 8 footer could do alot good too.



Nice site guys.

 

[KE4EST]

Well Welcome back to SatelliteGuys!!

 

[Lone Gunman]

Hey, welcome to Satguys!!

IMHO I'd forget about the analog receiver and just go with an LNBF and a Vbox X mover. Those two items are available for around $100 and are less hassle for daily use.

That Micro will move the dish through the Vbox and there's no servo controller needed with an LNBF. You'll also need less wire run to the dish with an LNBF, ie, 2 wires for the reed switch and two more for the motor plus the coax.

As far as dish size goes, bigger is "almost" always better. I had a well tuned 7.5ft SAMI dish that I replaced with a 10ft Unimesh and looking back, I should have kept that SAMI as the Unimesh is only slightly better than the SAMI was and the improvement isn't worth the hassle of having to setup that Unimesh dish. Your milage will vary though so take all that with a grain of salt!

Ennywho, good luck with the HOA and your neighbors. You're probably going to need it!

 

[eurosport]

Welcome back!

Sent from my SCH-I535 using SatelliteGuys

 

[Mr Tony]

welcome

 

[CharredPC]

Speaking of retro... hi guys

Sort of on topic so not a thread hijack- I now live in Lakebay, WA, and finally have some property to start thinking about an FTA setup again! After years of being gone, what advice would you fine folk have?

 

[FaT Air]

?Welcome back

Today DVB-S2 capabilities are a necessity IMHO.
Ku dish and Receiver: http://www.satelliteav.com/p/shop/?ws_pid=1611&ws_cat=413
Motor for the dish? dunno, as I move one Ku offset with my BUD, but I think the SG6100 seems recommended today.
For C band, a <7ft BUD, keep an eye on more Craigslist dishes for your perusal

 

[Tron]

Wow this is becoming a nostalgic thread! Haven't heard from these guys in years!

As far as new equipment, as others have said, DVB-S2 is a good idea. There are many new receivers out there that will handle that as well as HD. My favorite right now is the microHD from SatelliteAV.

 

[goodmi]

welcome to the forum fta4life.

 

[beavs2112]

hello everyone. I used to be a member years ago
Looking to get me a BUD

welcome to the site C-band kicks ku-bands ass. my choices for dishes in order:
1. Channel Master 10 foot (3.0M) Fiberglass (the newer version with ribbing on back) or 10 foot solid metal
2. 10 foot perforated
3. Channel Master 8 foot Fiberglass (the newer version with ribbing on back) or Birdview

oh ya I forgot there are some apps for a smartphone to see what sats you can get from a location .... I think it's at dishpointer.com. i don't have a smartphone but I've heard it works ok.

I agree .... don't bother with an old PITA analog receiver to just move the dish. one more thing to fail and polarotors lose signal compared to an orthomode feedhorn. If your electronics,soldering capable get an orthofeed (search the forum for orthomode & do some reading) and mod a multiswitch to power the lnbs. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads...ith-All-18V-outputs?highlight=Naughty+Mods+II also get a v or gbox to control the actuator. LNBF are cheap and mostly that's the kind of results u get. haven't tried some of the new PLL LNBF so do your research(threads on them in this forum).

Have fun in your search for a BUD

Kevin

 

[CharredPC]

It sounds like my best bet is a MicroHD STB (thanks for the great review, Ice)- hopefully used, since money is tight at the moment. I'm hunting around for any old Ku dish locally to start with. What's the word on the latest HH motors? My old SG2100 really used to struggle under the weight of a 1.2m dish, but I'd love to go that big (or bigger) again eventually someday Viva la MicroBUD!

 

[primestar31]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271024987241?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Offer him $99.00. He'll take it... He is an authorized dealer.

 

[FaT Air]

What's the word on the latest HH motors? My old SG2100 really used to struggle under the weight of a 1.2m dish, but I'd love to go that big

http://gotcband.gostorego.com/sg6100-monster-motor-h-h-satellite-dish-diseqc-motor-heavy-duty-high-speed.html

• For Dish up to 1.4M

 

[CharredPC]

http://gotcband.gostorego.com/sg6100-monster-motor-h-h-satellite-dish-diseqc-motor-heavy-duty-high-speed.html

That definitely sounds like the motor I want, thanks. Hrm, it says "up to 1.4m" dishes... I'm not able to find a north american vendor that sells 1.4m dishes, just 1.2m. Anyone have a suggestion?

 

[phlatwound]

T...Hrm, it says "up to 1.4m" dishes... I'm not able to find a north american vendor that sells 1.4m dishes, just 1.2m. Anyone have a suggestion?

I would be very surprised if that motor will truly handle (especially at the extreme ends of the arc) anything more than a stamped-steel 1.2m. Is that what you were thinking of using on it? A commercial molded 1.2 can be quite a bit heavier than that, depending on your mount.

Would be glad to have my opinion proven wrong on this (I would buy one! ) , but haven't really seen that motor used on anything heavier than a 1.2m stamped-steel dish. You also need to consider the motor shaft size (and/or adapt your dish mount to the shaft).

Never heard of a 1.4m but not even considering the weight of even a stamped-steel 1.4, I would think the wind load of that big a reflector in a stiff breeze would gut the motor pretty quick.

 

[CharredPC]

I would be very surprised if that motor will truly handle (especially at the extreme ends of the arc) anything more than a stamped-steel 1.2m. Is that what you were thinking of using on it? A commercial molded 1.2 can be quite a bit heavier than that, depending on your mount.

Would be glad to have my opinion proven wrong on this (I would buy one! ) , but haven't really seen that motor used on anything heavier than a 1.2m stamped-steel dish. You also need to consider the motor shaft size (and/or adapt your dish mount to the shaft).

Never heard of a 1.4m but not even considering the weight of even a stamped-steel 1.4, I would think the wind load of that big a reflector in a stiff breeze would gut the motor pretty quick.

Very good points. Yes, I'd planned on a stamped-steel one. My SG2100 was "rated" for 1.2m dishes, but really struggled and groaned at anything other than the middle of the arc. If I'm going to invest in a new dish (haven't found anything used around here), you know the saying... bigger is better Plus 1.4m would make for a nice MicroBUD experiment! It seems as though this size is only to be found outside of the U.S. (mostly the UK). They are also sometimes referred to as 1.35m. Oh well, if it's not to be, I can "settle" for a "mere" 1.2m, lol...