More Newbie questions...

[Shawn95GT]

Ok as I'm researching FTA equipment and laughing at the OBVIOUS 'hack in a box' kits on ebay I'm wondering this...

Is it worth spending the $$ for the good stuff up front? It isn't much more $$ but I've seen ebay deals like:

Winegard DS2076 30" dish / some cheap Ku LNB & a SG2100 for $120 + $50 shipping.

or

Winegard DS2076 30" dish + Invacom Universal single Ku band LNBF for $85 + $25 shipping. I'd have to pick up the motor seperately.

or

Winegard DS2076 30" dish + cheap Ku LNB + SG2100 + a Traxis DBS2500 for $199 + $50 shipp

I don't think I'll be happy w/o the blind scan and since I'll be installing this on an eve 30' off the ground I don't want to have to mess with the dish once it's up there. On the other hand the Traxis deal would get a reciever for dirt cheap.

Are the higher end LNBs really worth it? I'm thinking it would be due to the smaller dish.

If the difference is going to neglidgable between a generic .6 db Ku LNB vs the .3 of the SNH-031 Invacom?

If the 'cheap' Ku LB is all good maybe I'd be better off with that Traxis combo to start with and then upgrade my reciever to a Coolsat or whatever.

Buying all 'good' stuff will put me up near if not over $400 to get started. This would be the Winegard dish, SG2100, Invacom LNB and maybe a Coolsat 4000 reciever.

I was thinking I should maybe get a cheap LNB for now and step up to that Invacom Dual LNB that does both linear and circular polarity when they are readily available.

On a side note, I noticed that many of therecievers ae throwing in a DiSEqC Switch. If this something you put on the Dish end to combine the multiple LNBs kind of like a multiswitch in the DBS world?

Sorry for all the questions lately .

Shawn

 

[PSB]

Questions are good!

I suggest getting the BIGGEST dish and the best LNBF you can afford now as this will save you money on the long run. I would not get the Traxis to start with as it does not have USALS/BLIND scan. Shop Around!

 

[Mr Tony]

Ok as I'm researching FTA equipment and laughing at the OBVIOUS 'hack in a box' kits on ebay I'm wondering this...

I really am starting to like you Shawn...you're just like me (laughing at the hack in a box)

Is it worth spending the $$ for the good stuff up front? It isn't much more $$ but I've seen ebay deals like:

Winegard DS2076 30" dish / some cheap Ku LNB & a SG2100 for $120 + $50 shipping.

or

Winegard DS2076 30" dish + Invacom Universal single Ku band LNBF for $85 + $25 shipping. I'd have to pick up the motor seperately.

or

Winegard DS2076 30" dish + cheap Ku LNB + SG2100 + a Traxis DBS2500 for $199 + $50 shipp

I would stay away from the Traxis as Pete noted below...no blind scan...you can always get a motor later

I don't think I'll be happy w/o the blind scan and since I'll be installing this on an eve 30' off the ground I don't want to have to mess with the dish once it's up there. On the other hand the Traxis deal would get a reciever for dirt cheap.

The Traxis is a great second receiver but you'll be kicking yourself if you don't have a blind scan receiver (especially if you are a news/sports junkie)

Are the higher end LNBs really worth it? I'm thinking it would be due to the smaller dish.

If the difference is going to neglidgable between a generic .6 db Ku LNB vs the .3 of the SNH-031 Invacom?

The lower the number, the better it is. But if you have a 30" dish and a .3 is it better than a 36" with a .6? I don't know. I do know that larger dish is always better

If the 'cheap' Ku LB is all good maybe I'd be better off with that Traxis combo to start with and then upgrade my reciever to a Coolsat or whatever.

Price stuff in combos vs. separate and see what the best option is. If you can get the Traxis for, say, $50 more buying a combo, then it might be worth it

Buying all 'good' stuff will put me up near if not over $400 to get started. This would be the Winegard dish, SG2100, Invacom LNB and maybe a Coolsat 4000 reciever.

sounds about right...

I was thinking I should maybe get a cheap LNB for now and step up to that Invacom Dual LNB that does both linear and circular polarity when they are readily available.

Depending on the Invacom price, it is a possibility. I strapped a DBS LNB next to the KU one I use to get best of both worlds

On a side note, I noticed that many of therecievers ae throwing in a DiSEqC Switch. If this something you put on the Dish end to combine the multiple LNBs kind of like a multiswitch in the DBS world?

yep. It allows you to choose from 2 or 4 different dishes. The 4x1 works good for fixed dishes


Honestly, the best thing to do is figure out what it would cost you if you got the Traxis/30"/LNB vs. the Coolsat. You may want to start "simple", but will be kicking yourself when you decide to upgrade.

When I first got into FTA, it was for the audio channels on ExpressVu. So I got a $60 receiver on Ebay (Viacast 2000). Then I found out about NoDkaota hockey so I got a 30" dish and LNB.....I've been slowly piecing my system together (and spending a hell of a lot of money) sadly ala carte style.

There are a few of us who bought a receiver....and then wanted a Blind scan or got a 30" dish...and really wanted the 36"

I wish we had this area when I first got into it...then I wouldn't have pieced my system piece by piece.

But shop around as Pete noted...sometimes getting stuff alacarte is cheaper

 

[Shawn95GT]

Pete has some great prices and I like his attitude. I'm sure I'll be dropping some $$ there in a bit.

I think what I'm going to do for now is order up the CoolSat 4000 and hook it up to the Voom dish to watch the international promo off of e*'s sat. I know this accomplishes little to nothing but I can at least fire the box up and play with it.

The next order of business will be to order up my dish / motor / LNB. Pete has an attractive alternative to the Invacom that I'm pretty sure I could live with. Until Voom goes dark (a little over a week from now) I'm not going to mess with the Voom dish.

In the mean time... assuming I have this stuff in hand and am not quite ready to climb 30' up and de-com the Voom dish... I could put the Primestar dish to use out in the yard with the new LNB.

Shawn

 

[carload]

I'll second what the folks here have said so far. Pay a little extra for a more sensitive LNBF. Pay a little extra for the largest dish you can use. Pay a little extra for a really good receiver. If you don't, you'll either buy some of those components later as an upgrade, or you'll wonder whether one of them would have helped you lock on to a finicky signal. Good luck!

 

[Shawn95GT]

another question... if I have the Coolsat 4000 and let's say a FTA PCI card in my PC, can they share the dish? I'm mostly concerned with the motor function. Would the recievers need to be effectively cascaded so they aren't fighting for motor control? Do I need some kind of multi-switch to do this? Will my voom one work?

Obviously the recievers can't be watchign programming on two different sats... well with a single LNB anyways.

Shawn

 

[Mr Tony]

another question... if I have the Coolsat 4000 and let's say a FTA PCI card in my PC, can they share the dish? I'm mostly concerned with the motor function. Would the recievers need to be effectively cascaded so they aren't fighting for motor control? Do I need some kind of multi-switch to do this? Will my voom one work?

Obviously the recievers can't be watchign programming on two different sats... well with a single LNB anyways.

Shawn

if you have a dual LNB (Which the voom should), hook one line to one receievr and the other line to the card.....there is a command in the units for a motor...just don't turn that on one of them

 

[Shawn95GT]

if you have a dual LNB (Which the voom should), hook one line to one receievr and the other line to the card.....there is a command in the units for a motor...just don't turn that on one of them

So only one can drive / steer the dish. That would be livable.

I'm getting confused on the 'hook up' part now.

Two LNBs, one reciever you'd do:

                                         D* LNB
Reciever ---RG6---Motor---DiSEqC Switch<
                                         Ku LNB

What do you do with two recievers? Multi-switch between the motor and the reciever or do you get another DiSEqC switch that will accomidate two recievers in place of what I diagramed above? all i'm finding poking around is 4x1 and 2x1 which appear to be 4 or 2 LNBs to one reciever.

If not a switch do you just cascade the recievers via the 'loop out' connection?:

Thanks,

Shawn

 

[Mr Tony]

correct on the 2 LNB idea above

you can use the loop out, but the 2nd receiver (the one using the loop out) will only be allowed to view the same polarity as the main.

You could hook 2 LNB's to 2 receivers...but you would need 2 switches

really crude drawing attached....this would allow either receiver to view either dish independently

D-DBS dish
K-KU Band

 

[Shawn95GT]

I see - that makes sense. You'd tie in the motor upstream of one of the switches.

Now I see why they made that new C/L LNB from Invacom a quad LNB (2 of each).

Shawn