I’m new to FTA and was wondering if I could mount my motorized 36” dish on a barn about 110 feet from the house? I was told that it could be mounted within 200 feet but that number seems a bit excessive; I don’t want the signal to suffer. Thanks for your help.
thanks!! that would make my wife happy
I was planning on using a 500 feet roll of RG-6 coax made by CCI I bought from Home depot , is that any good?
Valdelocc,
Research the actual specs for the cable from the manufacturer. I was able to control a PowerTech DG-280B motor, an Invacom QPH-031 LNBF and SW21 switch with approximately 200-210 feet of Commscope Brightwire RG6U QUAD shield cable.
The signal quality was NOT affected, but the signal level was reduced by approximately 8% according to my signal meter. This loss varied depending upon the specific satellite and the transponder polarity selected.
The signal level reading is more of a measure of the electrical current within the circuit. The longer the cable run, the more current losses you will experience and the lower the reading on the signal level bar.
You need a sufficient current supply or power capacity (from the receiver) to drive the motor and the LNBF and any switches that you install. If you have too long of a cable run and too great of line loss for the DC current or overall RMS current and signal level, then the LNBF may not switch polarities readily or the motor may not move at full rated speed or maybe not at all.
You need to include all cable length from the receiver to the dish and be liberal about the total length, but at 110 feet as you mentioned, you shouldn't have any problems if the cable is at least fair or good. Look at the resistance/impedance per foot specification and compare that to the Commscope wire that I used (mentioned above).
If you have any doubts or questions of the CCI cable, don't unspool the cable. Simply attach a connector at each end and test the entire length on the spool. That is 500 feet, if it appears to work, you won't have any problems at all with anything less than that. Hopefully they wrapped the cable on the spool so that you can access both ends or enough of it to attach a connector to it.
I think that the 200 feet measurement that you were told or that you read about refers to a DISH NETWORK installation. DISH NETWORK installations usually incorporate DP or DPP devices (LNBFs and switches) which demand a great deal of power.
Most FTA devices require much less power. An Invacom QPH-031 draws approximately 61 mA. I was testing the current draw of the motor to set the backlash adjustment when I discovered this.
That made me curious, so I disconnected my DN receiver and inserted my Coolsat in its place and measured the current demand that was required for a DN DISH 1000 (this dish had a DP Plus TWIN LNBF for 110W and 119W and a DP DUAL LNBF connected to the LNBF IN port for sat 129 ES 5). It showed 563 mA.
If I disconnected the DP DUAL LNBF, the DP Plus TWIN alone required 405 mA . If I connected to the DP DUAL LNBF alone, the current draw was 160 mA.
I thought that this was an interesting endeavor, so I found an old DN DISH 300 with a Legacy LNBF and hooked it up (without aiming at anything - just powering the LNBF) and it drew 153 mA.
DP PLUS TWIN + DP DUAL = 563 mA
DP PLUS TWIN = = = = = = 405 mA
DP DUAL = = = = = = = = = 160 mA
DP Legacy DUAL = = = = = =153 mA
Invacom = = = = = = = = = 61 mA
The specifications for the Coolsat 5000 is 500 mA maximum, so I didn't leave this connected for too long on the top two setups.
Valdelocc, you probably don't need the information that I have given above to compare the current demands for these LNBFs, but I was offering the information as an example as to some of the things you must be aware of before you buy any equipment and install a long cable run.
I have begun a new dish installation at my house, I want to set up a motorized dish to experiment with some satellites further east and I don't want the trees to interfere. I have a perfect location picked out for a clear view, but it is a long distance from the house (much further than you have to go).
I have decided to install RG11 cable for this purpose (instead of RG6) to ensure less line losses. I have already tested this on an experimental basis with the RG6 CommScope cable and I know that it can be done. I now plan to install it permanently and since the final installation will require a longer cable run (to trench it in properly) I have opted to use RG11 cable.
With your cable run, I don't think you will have any problems if you select a quality RG6 cable. If I can do it at 210 feet, you can do it at 110 feet + house wiring length with the proper cable and proper equipment.
Make sure you use good connectors as well and as few as possible, don't splice if you can avoid it.
Good luck on the set up. I would like to hear your final results, post or PM me when you get 'er set up and running!
Radar
