NBC related questions

[ftageekyyc]

Just wunderin...

Is there much point dealing with the gymnastics of tuning in NBC on Ku if I'm planning to put up a C-Band dish? Satbeams suggests a 130cm dish for my location which is larger than anything I already have for Ku. I am planning to plant a 10 or 12 foot BUD out in the garden this summer.

Also, how common is it to find feeds of NBC Sports events? Is it likely that I would be able track down America's Cup sailing this summer? I saw some posts from last fall that some of the events in San Francisco were out there.

Thanks.

 

[guacharaca]

I have a BUD, but I really like the 1.2 meter ku dish fixed on 103W for the HD content. They did have a hockey game on this last weekend.

 

[ftageekyyc]

Thanks guacharaca,

Once you got the skew right and everything peaked have you been getting a consistent, stable, reliable signal on the Coolsat?

Just trying to determine how big a dish I would need in real life from my Edmonton area location.

Satbeams footprint map for 103°W — AMC 1 Ku North America says,
Vernon, EIRP level = 46 dBW Recommended dish size = 80cm / 31.5in
Pigeon Lake, EIRP level = 40 dBW, Recommended dish size = 130cm / 51.2in

 

[FaT Air]

Think I'd be looking for a 1.2m. A bit small for Pigeon Lake, and apparent overkill for Vernon. Looks like things may improve with SES3 taking the spot. Whenever that's going to happen.
Now, if it doesn't 'work out', and you're in the area for something else, a 'side trip' may be made for: http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/289882-Anyone-interested-in-an-8ft-offset-dish

 

[Anole]

Hey, pendragon put up an 8' Birdview exclusively for Ku, so why not? :up

I remember that 8' offset!
Is it an early Prodelin, or something else?
Got one like it on my Post Office, but bigger (and not offset).

 

[ftageekyyc]

Minnesota is a wee bit of a journey from here...

I think my immediate priority will be to bag a BUD, then wait for the snow to melt and the ground to thaw.

 

[guacharaca]

Once you got the skew right and everything peaked have you been getting a consistent, stable, reliable signal on the Coolsat?

On the coolsat? No way. That is only SD. I watch 103W for the DVB-S2 HD content. Yes the signal is strong and stable once everything is tweeked. But S2 needs a strong signal to function correctly. NBC on the S2 signals often have four separate audio channels that I wish I could combine to get the complete sound experience.

I see you will receive quite a bit weaker signal up there. The S2 HD signals are at 70% here while the SD feeds are 50% or lower. A one meter dish just does not cut it here.

I found my two 1.2 meter dishes on the roofs of Auto-wreckers. They were very happy to get rid of them now that they use the internet to do their parts inventory. If you can pick one up for free, give it a try.

 

[ftageekyyc]

Thanks, I'll keep my eyes open for a bigger dish.

 

[cyberham]

Just for fun, I've twisted my LNB on my motorized system 26 degrees to see if I can pick up these much-talked about NBC feeds. At this time of day, even the Huntington Beach cam signals are not strong for me. On a clear day at about 6:00 pm local and later is the time I receive strongest signals from 103W.

So far, the dribble of a signal from 11760 H 30000 (about SQ 10%) did not change when I changed the skew. Before and after the skew change, the signal is about the same: much too low to lock or view. It will be interesting to see if it increases later in the day as do most of my quality levels. I have also tried bumping the dish back and forth 1 degree or so just to see if this helps. Not so far.

 

[ftageekyyc]

And you should have better success in Nova Scotia, with a smaller dish, than I will at my location.

This has been a very useful discussion. Spending any time on tuning in 103W from the Edmonton area for NBC HD will be waaayyy down my list of things to do unless I stumble across a bigger Ku dish.

Hopefully by the time I get around to it SES3 will be in place and improve things.

 

[cyberham]

Yes, this seems true. But my 1-metre dish is a touch small for this. According to the footprint, I need 110 cm. I find I usually can't receive satellites where the prediction is for larger than a 1-metre dish. But the same reference says you need 130 cm.

 

[TreyWingbat]

I can get the NBC Mux on 103, using a dedicated LNB on a rail mount. It's even offset from the center, but the signal still comes in well here in Southern Ontario on a 85 cm elliptical (motorized) dish (it's the LNB second from the left in the picture):

I had to compensate for the offset on the railmount of 5 degrees by parking the dish at 108 degrees (based on the center LNB) for AMC1 at 103 degrees, because the signals bounce off backwards off the satellite dish, and the NBC Mux LNB (which is skewed) is to the "west" of the center LNB (so the NBC Mux LNB is actually at 113 degrees). It's a crazy setup, but it works!

 

[Tron]

Not to wander too far off topic, but what are you picking up with the C-Band LNBF, and how are your quality readings on it?

 

[TreyWingbat]

I haven't gotten anything via C-band as of yet, but I haven't tried too hard to get anything either. I should re-try again when the weather warms up (if it ever will) by positioning the LNB a little closer to the center. I wasn't expecting much initially anyways, so even a few C-band channels would be great.

 

[cyberham]

At this time of day, even the Huntington Beach cam signals are not strong for me.

FWIW, I could not catch any of the NBC channels even by peaking by adjusting skew with my 1-metre dish here. However, I did confirm that the funky skew applies to both H and V polarities. With the 26 degree adjustment in skew, the Huntington Beach channels were significantly improved.

 

[catamount]

FWIW, I could not catch any of the NBC channels even by peaking by adjusting skew with my 1-metre dish here. However, I did confirm that the funky skew applies to both H and V polarities. With the 26 degree adjustment in skew, the Huntington Beach channels were significantly improved.

NBC West/Mountain tend to be strong. Snowing here in Moncton, they show 76Q. Not a peep from Cozi or NBC East/Central today.

Catamount, one metre dish

 

[cyberham]

If you check footprint, Moncton appears to fall just within the 44dBW signal strength whereas east of Halifax where I am is 42dBW. A 90cm dish is supposed to be able to catch your signal. Whereas my signal requires minimum 110cm. My work indicated 11760 had strongest signal, whereas 11840 and 11880 were both significantly weaker.

Still, in the snow, 76Q is an excellent signal. What receiver gives you that SQ reading? We know we can't directly compare numbers since they are relative only, not absolute readings of signal strength.

 

[ftageekyyc]

Trey is staring straight into the barrel from his location, the GTA is 27 to 30ish inch dish country.

Edmonton is the outer limits.

 

[cyberham]

Compared to GTA, Halifax east is One Step Beyond.

 

[catamount]

If you check footprint, Moncton appears to fall just within the 44dBW signal strength whereas east of Halifax where I am is 42dBW. A 90cm dish is supposed to be able to catch your signal. Whereas my signal requires minimum 110cm. My work indicated 11760 had strongest signal, whereas 11840 and 11880 were both significantly weaker.

Still, in the snow, 76Q is an excellent signal. What receiver gives you that SQ reading? We know we can't directly compare numbers since they are relative only, not absolute readings of signal strength.

Yes, that 2 dBw would make quite a difference. I never realized that, being so close to NS. I'm using an AZbox Mini-me. I would say that generally, it reports lower Q values than most of my other receivers. Of course, I can only test the differences on Mpeg2 Dvbs signals.

Catamount