I want to get into c band

[Dr_Brian_Oblivion]

Hey guys,
I have a great Ku setup and want to go c band. My friend just gave me a BUD, what else do I need to just get started?
Can my Fortec Ultra be used for it? Not for subs, just FTA.
can the lnb on the BUD be used or do I need some conversion kit??
Thanks!

 

[voomvoom]

You need an analog receiver to drive the BUD or a VBOX II or a standalone positioner or a Manhattan DVB receiver. If the BUD has a polarotor, another reason for an analog receiver or a DVB receiver like Pansat or Manhattan to operate the polarotor. You can use the Fortec to receive FTA signals from the Bud. The lnb on the BUD should work. This is the best way to add a DVB receiver to a C/ku system:
http://www.dmsiusa.com/add_a_receiver.htm
If your system is C-band only, then do the C-band part. Of course you can also slave out of the DVB receiver to the BUD. Not my choice. Also, if it's C-band only, you could slave the ku from the DVB into the ku side of an analog receiver.
There are lot's of things you could do.

Al

 

[tdti1]

With fortec you will need a lnbf, if you have a lnb then you need a Pansat.

Or you can slave the fortec to a old analog IRD or a 4dtv.

You can also get a lnbf and a V-box and just use the fortec.

 

[Stefan]

can the lnb on the BUD be used or do I need some conversion kit??

maybe, what kind of feedhorn/LNB or LNBs do you have on the dish now? For FTA you probably need an LNB that's at least rated at a noise figure of 25k or lower and a local oscillator stability of +- 500Khz. On both of these ratings lower is better assuming the manufacturers aren't fudging the numbers a bit. Also does your feedhorn have a polar servo for controlling polarity. If so then you'll need something to control the polar servo. This could be a FTA receiver that can control a polar servo like some of the pansats (2500 and 2700) or it could be an old analog receiver you picked up pretty cheap at a swap meet or on ebay. Alternatively you could use a feedhorn/LNB combination that doesn't use a polar servo for polarity switching. There are a couple of ways to do this. The first would be to use an LNBF, which is a feedhorn and LNB intergrated together in one piece and does polarity switching automatically via LNB voltage just like the little LNBFs most people use on FTA dishes. The advantage there would be that it would be easier to setup with your existing FTA recievers and probably cost less. The downside is these LNBFs usually aren't the best quaility LNBs and might not perform quite on par with a good LNB like a norsat. You could also use a dual poarilty feedhorn and 2 LNBs (or 4 if you want both C and Ku on your bud) and use somekind of switch to switch between them. The downside here would be it would be a more complicated and more costly setup. Also note that there are sometimes performance advantages to having a polar servo. With an LNBF or a dual polarity feedhorn as the dish moves it tilts and this adjusts skew automatically. Normally that works fine and the polarities on most satellites are exactly as they should be, but I have heard that there may be at least one or 2 satellites that may have their antennas intentionally skewed a bit. On those satellites a polar servo would be an advantage as you can adjust the polarity to get optimum signal. Also there may be instance where a little tweaking of the polar servo could perhaps help problems like cross pol or interference from adjacent satellites just a bit.

You'll also need something to control the motor or actuator that moves the dish. Again an old analog receiver could perform this function. So you could get an analog receiver and use it to kill 2 birds with one stone (polar servo and actuator). You could also get a box like the Vbox II that will move the actuator. The Vbox II comes with a remote that you can use to move the dish but it can also be programmed to move the dish in response to DiSEqC 1.0/1.2 commands sent from your FTA receiver down the coaxial cable. The Vbox II however doesn't control a polar servo. So, youd still have to either have a box that controls your polar servo or use either an LNBF or dual polarity feedhorn with a switch in order to switch polarity.

 

[Dr_Brian_Oblivion]

Wow...sounds alot more complicated than Ku.
I guess i would be interested in the easiest cheapest setup to get started
Probably just a staionary dish at first.
I have been reading here alot but it is still a bit overwhelming, all new terms and technology.
So should I get an old analog box before I go any further?

 

[voomvoom]

I would say Yes, get an analog receiver. Maybe your friend has one for the BUD he's giving you. That would be even better.

Al

 

[Stefan]

So should I get an old analog box before I go any further?

An old analog box is a good idea, if for no other reason than to just move your motor, but don't pay a whole lot for one. You should be able to find a used one pretty cheap as many people are just throwing them away nowaday. There are still a few analog signals up there. So, you can also maybe use it a little bit for those as well.

If you want the cheapest, easiest setup for now perhaps an LNBF would be the way to go. Here's an example. Of course if you use an LNBF your FTA reciever will control polarity the same way it does on your Ku dish. So, if you used the analog receiver to watch anything youd need to slave it to the FTA receiver and switch polarity with your FTA reciever.

http://www.dmsiusa.com/products.htm#cband

With one of these youd just replace your entire feedhorn assembly.

I'd still recommend getting a Vbox II. Once you get it setup and program the position of the satellites into it and also setup your reciever for a diseqc 1.2 motor it will make things really simple and will move the dish automatically whenever you switch channels.

 

[1inabillion]

If you want the cheapest, easiest setup for now perhaps an LNBF would be the way to go. Here's an example. Of course if you use an LNBF your FTA reciever will control polarity the same way it does on your Ku dish. So, if you used the analog receiver to watch anything youd need to slave it to the FTA receiver and switch polarity with your FTA reciever.

Will the LNBF work on a 4DTV receiver with a Fta receiver slaved.

 

[bidaw]

Yes it can. There are plenty of folks that have described that and splitting off as well.

 

[dem0nlord]

Will the LNBF work on a 4DTV receiver with a Fta receiver slaved.

If you want both C and Ku band, the only LNBF I know of that will work is the Geosatpro GSL1C/Ku.