Hotdish 95 &/or DD90 Dishes

[rckowal]

I would very much appreciate any information on these satellite dishes. Such as what material are they made from? Which is the strongest/most rigid? Performance comparisons? Personal experiences with them - good or bad? Which would you buy?

Best regards, Dick

 

[PSB]

The Hot dish is made from mild steel, its white and very cheap for what it does, you can also get the bracket that attaches to it to add a second LNB (thats what I do) What is the other brand? DD 90 ? I would say bigger IS better, its only a few millimeters bigger but its all about rain fade, I would suspect the DD 90 would be a grey dish?
The specs for the Hotdish can be found on my web site at the DMSI link!

http://dmsiusa.com/hotdish75.htm

 

[red hazard]

Hot Dish vs Winegard

I have two Hot Dish 75s and an uninstalled Winegard 2078. The Hot Dish has a smaller mount and significantly smaller gauge steel on all parts. When windy the Hot Dish 75s can flex enough to loose the signal. Fortunately my Hot Dishes are out of the prevailing winds so I only have problems when windy from the south. For the little more that Winegard charges, that's the way I would go. Don't know anything about the other brand you mention.

 

[PSB]

I agree the bigger the dish the lower it should go, if at all possible!

 

[rckowal]

Thanks all for your comments. It appears that most of you have the 75CM version of HotDish. I was asking about the 95CM. Apparently it's too new to find many owners of them.

I've installed the 95CM here. It seems to play well but it's got a really crappy elevation setting bracket and the instructions are next to useless. I'm stuck with it but don't recommend it to anyone.

Best, Dick

 

[PSB]

Are you talking about this 95cm dish?

http://www.dmsiusa.com/hotdish95.htm

If so you are right the elevation angle settings leave a lot to be desired but having the right meter helps me get the elevation quite easily, and when its set its set,but you are right it could be better marked, but for value it cant be beat for this size of dish.
IMO you are wasting your time with a dish any smaller than this. Again its got to go as low as it can be if at all possible.

 

[gunn55]

Are you talking about this 95cm dish?

http://www.dmsiusa.com/hotdish95.htm

If so you are right the elevation angle settings leave a lot to be desired but having the right meter helps me get the elevation quite easily, and when its set its set,but you are right it could be better marked, but for value it cant be beat for this size of dish.
IMO you are wasting your time with a dish any smaller than this. Again its got to go as low as it can be if at all possible.

I'm new to this and have been looking for the right system for me,for a couple of weeks.
What do you mean by smaller than this do you mean smaller than 95cm?
Also maybe you can help me I'm looking for a rec. that has a DiSEqC, CI slot, Blind search, Svideo or better in that order.
What do you think about CI slots?
It would be great if you could help, Thanks.

 

[PSB]

Hello,
Yes most people start with a 30"/75cm dish, but I always recommend the slightly bigger dish as its usually the first thing that people want to upgrade to after seeing some rain fade, check out the DMS International link on my web site the receivers there have all the specs and you can take your time and look them over. I am sure there will be a receiver there to suit your needs let me know if you need a quote.
You may have to end up having to get two receivers to get them to do everything you want, right now I use the BEC DBS-2000 to motor my dish and a Satwork 3618 to do my blind searches!

 

[gunn55]

PBS,
THanks for your quick reply, I may have to go with the two receivers.

 

[PSB]

Thats what I do there is a LNB loop through on most receivers so that one dish and LNB works for both receivers, or if you want they could both work independently.

 

[timmy1376]

Why two receivers? Are there not receivers that do blind searches and will control a motor??

 

[PSB]

Yes there are but Gunn55 also wants a CI (Common Interface) slot, so he may have to do some more searching to get a receiver that does everything he wants (see above) maybe the two receiver route may be cheaper, and I am sure there will be some new "blind search" technology in the not too distant future.

 

[timmy1376]

Yes there are but Gunn55 also wants a CI (Common Interface) slot, so he may have to do some more searching to get a receiver that does everything he wants (see above) maybe the two receiver route may be cheaper, and I am sure there will be some new "blind search" technology in the not too distant future.

I see. All I believe I am looking for is a search feature and to have it control a motor. I had been thinking the PC card so I could record, but more and more I am thinking about putting it in our bedroom, so I could watch without using the PC.

Does anyone know if the software to record using the PC will move the dish if I record shows off different sats??

 

[PSB]

As long as you get a receiver that is DiSEqC1.2 compatible it will move a motor, and as you say most folks can get by with just a search feature as most of the frequencies and coordinates end up posted on line anyway, not sure about your last question so I will pass on it (software).

Looking over your question again, I dont know if there is any software to move the dish when you are recording and change channels, when I change channels the satellite moves by its self to the new satellite, anyone know any more?

 

[GutBomb]

Pansat 2500a reciever can be had for about $200 and supposedly has a great blind search feature and can control a motor. Look for it on ebay.

 

[WyrTwister]

Hello,
Yes most people start with a 30"/75cm dish, but I always recommend the slightly bigger dish as its usually the first thing that people want to upgrade to after seeing some rain fade, check out the DMS International link on my web site the receivers there have all the specs and you can take your time and look them over. I am sure there will be a receiver there to suit your needs let me know if you need a quote.
You may have to end up having to get two receivers to get them to do everything you want, right now I use the BEC DBS-2000 to motor my dish and a Satwork 3618 to do my blind searches!

Is rain fade the only reason not to use a 30" dish ?

I live in a dry climate & rain fade is only an issue with DTV 5 - 10 times a year .

Also , it is a VERY windy climate & I am guessing the 30" dish has less wind loading ?

Thanks ,
Wyr

 

[PSB]

You are right, the wind can flex a dish and it can be just as annoying as rain fade, but the bigger dish brings you slightly better signals even when it is dry out side, if you keep the dish as low as possible it makes a big difference, its amazing how low these dish can go, as long as you have a clear line of sight, I did one a year or so ago and the dish was down in a window well, the dish is under ground level and works great, but the customer is only pointing at one satellite, if you want all the satellites the dish has to go slightly higher to see as much of the Clarke belt as you can! 90% of channels/systems work well with the 30" dish! What I do if its REALLY windy is motor my dish right round as far as it can go to the east or west and it has a much lower profile, I have never had a dish move in the wind yet, but I REALLY tighten them up so that I never have to return for that reason, I have had a few roofs that have moved and when I return the dish is still solid so it could only have been the roof moving, another reason not to put your dish on a roof unless you really have to, roofs are moving slightly all the time with the cold and the heat!

 

[Mr Tony]

I use a 30" dish (heck, use 2 of them) and other than a couple of channels, most everything works for me.

Rain Fade is the only reason I could see getting a larger dish...unless there is a specific channel that you want and its weak to pick up

 

[gunn55]

PSB,
You talked me into it, I'm going to put my dish on the ground.
The only thing in my case is my RG6 run will be about 100 or more feet.
Will there be a problem and if so what can I do to fix it?
Thanks

 

[PSB]

100 ft or slightly more is not a problem, in fact thats what I am doing now, I have found some water has got into my main cable so I am replacing it with new solid copper RG6, and my dish is on the roof because of a LARGE tree, if you have a good line of sight to the satellites then a pole mount is the way to go!

Changing the cable never helped my signal! At least its all new again now, the runs were about 5 years old!