Ku Reflector

MattFL

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
May 24, 2022
74
150
South Florida
I was inspecting my Ku setup this morning and I noticed that my reflector was slightly misshaped. My dish didn’t come with LNB arm supports, and I had previously fashioned my own using spare parts. I’m guessing that my reflector was already slightly out when I mounted my arms. I straightened the reflector back to flat and added some washer spacers to push the reflector sides ever so slightly out. Looking down the side of the reflector all I see is flat now. Just like that, BAM!! 103W DW and the elusive (to me) NBC mux are coming in loud and clear!!! Just about everything else is higher Q as well.
I’ve spent so much energy trying to set the optimal azimuth, elevation and LNB placement that I was overlooking my reflector. I finally feel my setup is the best it’s going to get with a 90cm. The only thing i can’t get are some the transponders with a high FEC. Those will have to wait.
 
Good story. My 1.2m dish tower fell over in a hurricane. I thought the dish would never be useable again. But with lots of laying it on a concrete garage floor and "prompting" of the reflector, along with string checks, it became able to receive all expected and even pulled in a number of C-band channels. The dish still doesn't look perfect, but it receives OK.

103W DW was always a good check for me too to see if the dish was well aligned.