Looking for recommendations...

[hillsmi]

I would like to gain some information / knowledge for some recommendations and confirming what I might or might not already know...

Location is middle Michigan. Driving around, I see a number of old large C-band dishes, that I assume at one point did the job, so I assume that errecting a C-band dish in this area would still be valid.

I am under the impression that trying to pull in some C-band sats on a smaller dish just won't work, and that a large dish is preferred. I would like to confirm this assumption.

At first, I am looking at just pointing the dish at a stationary bird, and then possibly in the future, adding a motor. For looking at picking up the 99.0W, is a 6-ft dish for this area sufficient in gaining the signals from 99.0W?

I am looking at the equipment off of this site, as I get a little bit of a discount - http://galaxy-marketing.com/WS1870P...ime-Focus-Satellite-Dish-with-Polar-Mount.htm - and am wondering if this particular dish would do the job, for 99.0W, and for future expansion.

At some point in the future, I might consider motorizing, and at that point, would this dish fit the bill? From links on the page, it appears that adding a motor is an option? Correct?
Would a C-band LNB be enough, or would getting a C / Ku LNB be better, for future expansion?

If C-band dish were motorized, does it only pick up C-band signals, or will it gain Ku signals from the arc as well, if there was a Ku LNB as well? Are both C / Ku satellites in the same arc? Or are the Ku birds in an arc of their own?

And as far as receivers are concerned, would just about any receiver be able to provide the needs for motorization and receiving the C / Ku signals? - http://galaxy-marketing.com/digital_receivers.htm

I am also wanting to have a stationary Ku dish aimed at 97.0W, while adding the C-band dish. The C-band dish would initially be stationary, with the motor in the future, so, would this scenario play into what type receiver to purchase? I see that some receiver protocols might not control certain motors?

Can a single receiver power the motors of both C- and Ku-band dishes?

Anyone's advice, experience, expertise, opinions, and recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time,

Robert

 

[chaskuchar]

I have a six foot dish from sadoun that does well. I did have it receiving c band and k band channels with a dual lnbf but added added a 1.2 dish from satav to receive the k band freqs. the only channels I can't receive with the 6' are ewtn on 133w and 4 2 2 cbs signals on 87w or 89w. chas

 

[Cham]

Personally I would look into aquiring one of those local used C-band dishes before going out and buying one new... and the bigger the better. Shipping large dish components can be really expensive. Can be a lot of work though, rewarding to get it up and running, and saves some $$ for a fancy receiver or HTPC setup...

99W has some really strong signals on C-band, the 6ft would get most of those. There are lots of weaker signals on other satellites using 8psk/S2 which requires a higher s/n to lock, the reason bigger is better. As Charles mentions above CBS is 422 chroma (89 and 97W) high bitrate and difficult to pick up on anything less than a 10'. Same goes for Ku, a 30" - 36" dish works fine for most sats/TPs, but some TPs are weaker and require a 39"-48"+ for proper reception. Keep this in mind when purchasing/looking around.

I use DRO LNBs on a Chaparral feed horn on my 10' dish, but nowadays I would just go with one of the newer PLL LNBF units available. They are cheaper and work quite similar to the feed/LNB combo setup. Several PL Ku LNBFs available, several dealers frequent this forum and are quite reputable. If you plan on having multiple receivers, then consider dual output LNBFs and multiple dishes.

Just my 1.5 cents worth...

 

[phlatwound]

Is Galaxy Marketing/WSI still in business? I thought I heard they may be gone now.

You might consider stopping and inquiring about the old C-band dishes you see in your travels, you can probably get one for free. And a MUCH better dish than that 6' WSI dish, they were very thin metal to begin with.

If you want to try and get a used dish post a pic or 2 of it here and you will get feedback of its desirability.

 

[Titanium]

Location is middle Michigan. Driving around, I see a number of old large C-band dishes, that I assume at one point did the job, so I assume that errecting a C-band dish in this area would still be valid.

Yes. C-band is in use all over the world. This is the way that most cable companies receive a large portion of their programming. Hundreds more c-band channels are available now than were transmitted during the peak of C-band dish popularity in the 80's and early 90's!

I am under the impression that trying to pull in some C-band sats on a smaller dish just won't work, and that a large dish is preferred. I would like to confirm this assumption.

The larger the better. Some broadcasters have link budgets calculated to provide their signal to massive 20-30ft dishes. You can usually receive these services reliably for home use on a 10ft. As the size is reduced, less channels will be received and reliability of reception becomes an issue.

At first, I am looking at just pointing the dish at a stationary bird, and then possibly in the future, adding a motor. For looking at picking up the 99.0W, is a 6-ft dish for this area sufficient in gaining the signals from 99.0W?

Some of the transponders on 99w are weaker. Combine that with the smaller dish not being 2 degree compliant and receiving interfering signals from adjacent satellites, this might make reception of a few transponders more of a challenge. A six foot would be barely adequate.

I am looking at the equipment off of this site, as I get a little bit of a discount - http://galaxy-marketing.com/WS1870P...ime-Focus-Satellite-Dish-with-Polar-Mount.htm - and am wondering if this particular dish would do the job, for 99.0W, and for future expansion.

WSI is out of business. I would have never bought that cheap, crappy dish to start with. Yes it was inexpensive, but the construction was of thin metal and poor finish started rusting immediately. A lot of guys bought them, but a lot of guys spent way too much time trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear! Like others have pointed out. You are much better off rescuing a legacy dish from your community. If you want new, there is a new company in Canada (Tek2000) selling new polar mount dishes that can be fixed or motorized.

At some point in the future, I might consider motorizing, and at that point, would this dish fit the bill? From links on the page, it appears that adding a motor is an option? Correct?

Some dishes are fixed design and the mount must be resigned to be motorized. Fun for machinist, but not for most average hobbyists. I would only install a polar mount design mount or if you can find an AJAK motorized mount. Both could be parked as a fixed dish until you are ready to track the arc of satellites.

Would a C-band LNB be enough, or would getting a C / Ku LNB be better, for future expansion?

Reliable KU-band reception on a large dish is dependent on the surface accuracy of the dish, perfect tracking set-up and a quality feed. Nothing better than KU reception on a big dish, IF.... the dish is high quality, perfectly aligned and the right feedhorn and electronics! Nothing worse than KU reception on a big dish, IF the dish is poorly designed or warping, not perfectly tracking the arc and using the wrong feedhorn and electronics! If you get a used dish with legacy C/KU feedhorn and electronics, let us know what you get and experiment. Otherwise, do what most of us do and have dedicated C-band and KU-band motorized dishes.

If C-band dish were motorized, does it only pick up C-band signals, or will it gain Ku signals from the arc as well, if there was a Ku LNB as well? Are both C / Ku satellites in the same arc? Or are the Ku birds in an arc of their own?

All geosynchronous satellites are in the same arc. Sometimes as the satellite ages, they are allowed to drop slightly in elevation to an inclined elevation orbit, but very few are operated this way. If a quality and appropriately sized dish is outfitted with the correct feedhorn/LNB and aimed at a signal source, it will receive any frequency.

And as far as receivers are concerned, would just about any receiver be able to provide the needs for motorization and receiving the C / Ku signals? - http://galaxy-marketing.com/digital_receivers.htm

DVBS /S2 satellite receivers doesn't care what band of signal it is receiving. The LNB/LNBF down-converts the received signal to the same frequency range (IF 950-2150MHz). To operate a KU HH motor or a C-band positoner, the receiver needs to use the DiSEqC 1.2 and/or USALS (GoTo X) protocol. Most DVBS / S2 satellite receivers (STB) have this function. WSI is no longer in business and this receiver is not suitable for receiving the DVBS and S2 signals that we usually watch. Instead, check out the Amiko HD SE or similar STB. This is a great STB for fixed/motorized, receives DVBS and S2 signals and produces a great deinterlaced image on SD channels outputted on HD TVs. To control a C-band actuator, the DiSEqC 1.2 motor control signal must be converted to send more power and receive sensor counts. This is done with a positioner like the ASC1 or a Gbox or Vbox. These units receive the motor commands from the STB and communicates with the actuator to move it into position. The ASC1 also controls the servo polarity /skew settings on dishes with adjustable feedhorns. This is the optimal way to go so each satellite and transponder can be adjusted for peak performance. You could instead install a LNBF type feed like the C1PLL. It is easy to install/operate and provides good performance on all but the weakest transponders or those having interference.

I am also wanting to have a stationary Ku dish aimed at 97.0W, while adding the C-band dish. The C-band dish would initially be stationary, with the motor in the future, so, would this scenario play into what type receiver to purchase? I see that some receiver protocols might not control certain motors?

see above

Can a single receiver power the motors of both C- and Ku-band dishes?

Yes. In fact we talked about this on the Satellite Nation radio show last night!

Good luck with your project!

 

[FaT Air]

My recommendation: separate C and Ku dishes, al-la

Combination of fixed and (one) motorized for Ku and a BUD on a polar mount - for the most 'resources'
of FTA entertainment.
Go out and knock on some doors - or at least take some pictures of the dishes in your area and post them here for opinions and pointers on which to 'snag'. (may even locate a commercial Ku that's 'out of service')

 

[Dee_Ann]

Is there a place to download a copy of last night’s program? I had trouble recording it, I found it late into the program and it was cutting in and out frequently so I really couldn’t listen.
I set it to record in the background but that sort of went badly..

Thanks..

Oh and BTW, I had one of those WSI 6’ “specials” and it was rubbish! It was paper thin and I bent it just trying to assemble it.
It started rusting within a few days and within a few months it was severely rusted. I never was able to get a usable signal on it.
It sat on the pole rusting away for a year or so until I finally pulled it down and stomped it onto a big rusty ball and rolled it to the curb.

I did keep the motor and the mounting hardware off the back of it, I might adapt it to a 1.2m ku offset dish because, well, I don’t have enough trouble in my life already.

 

[hillsmi]

I've thought of a few additional ?s...

If a small Ku dish is motorized, is it normally not an actuator arm, but a small contained unit that clamps onto the mounting pole, then acts as the mast for the dish?
And if you are motorizing a BUD, 6' or more, those are moved by an acuator arm, correct?

My quandry is, where do the motors get their power? From the receiver of course, but if the only feed to the dish is from the single coax, doesn't that go to the LNB? or do the motor and actuator arms have pass-through connections that also provide power to motors as well as to the LNBs?

I just remember an old BUD I used to have, had a 4-lead wire to the dish. Wires for the motor itself, and also for the LNB. But with the advancement of all this tech, I don't see extra outs on the back of these small FTA receivers for supplying power to the motors.

I guess a couple of pics would clear things up for me; one of the connections on a motorized Ku, and also an actuator arm on a BUD.

Thanks

 

[Dee_Ann]

http://www.titaniumsatellite.com/asc1

 

[drunk247]

The small motors for the KU dishes can be powered and operated over the coax line from the set top box. You shouldn't need anything else. The actuators would need something similar to what Dee Ann has posted.

https://www.google.com/search?q=pic...7jIKYBA&ved=0CBwQsAQ&biw=1517&bih=714&dpr=0.9

 

[Dee_Ann]

HH USALS motors get their power and commands from the tuner. Set top boxes usually have enough juice to do that.
PC tuner cards rarely do. I could not have a PC operate a HH USALS motor so I ended up with multiple dishes instead.

The controller for a BUD has it’s own power and doesn’t draw power from a set top box or tuner card in a PC so that’s not even an issue.

 

[KE4EST]

Is there a place to download a copy of last night’s program? I had trouble recording it, I found it late into the program and it was cutting in and out frequently so I really couldn’t listen.
I set it to record in the background but that sort of went badly..

Thanks..

Yes Skype was giving us some issues last night. Here is the replay:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/threads/satellite-nation-august-20-2014.340898/

 

[hillsmi]

So, a C-band dish cannot use the same STB as a FTA Ku-band system? The pictured ASC is in-line between the BUD and the FTA STB, connected to a multi-switch (which has two inputs; one for the BUD, and one for the Ku dish), then the output of the multi-switch is then connected to the LNB in of the STB? Am I tracking and thinking this out correctly?

 

[Dee_Ann]

You can put both KU and C-band on the same STB. There are tons of different ways to do it but you absolutely CAN do it.

 

[gabshere]

I would agree with the others finding a local dish probably for free is a great option.. also for ku if you like keeping it on a separate dish the old primestar dishes work great.... If you need a receiver to start with and play around with send me a PM i've got a couple older boxes that are sitting around and i can let you have one.

but be forwarned this is a hobby and its addictive... and much like computers, another receiver will come along quickly with shiney buttons and more bells and whistles...

 

[dotbatman]

You will get better performance with a larger dish. In FTA more than any other hobby, bigger is better. Just about any 10' dish is better than the best 6' dish for C-band. I had a 7.5' that I got for free and never could get it to pick up some of the high FEC signals, and it is made by one of the better manufacturers. I put up the my 10' dish had them as soon as I got it pointed. I've fought with Ku on both my 10' and 7.5' prime focus dish, and I get better results on a Superdish that's 36" wide. Some people are able to get Ku no problem, but I think it's best to just pick up a 10' or larger from someone for free and then get a small motorized dish for Ku. C-band is much more forgiving and I would advise everyone to start with C-Band, even though it's a big dish and commitment. Once you get a ten footer tracking the arc, you'll love it, and you'll want to get a small offset for Ku so that you can record from Ku and C at the same time. Heck, I'm looking at putting up one or two more C-band dishes so I can record from multiple places at the same time.

 

[gabshere]

Robert

here's a pic of the receiver , there should be a receiver section here on satguys or ask.... i'm sure someone here has the same receiver its a solomend hd-pvr800 I think it was also commonly called a Skybox S9 HD PVR800 or Openbox S9