New to C Band, planning a mini "farm"

[74Dusted]

let's start it off. I'm Chris and I'm in Central PA and Amc 6 is almost perfectly inline with true south from my backyard. I can catch everything as far as G13/Horizons 1 to the west and if I put my BUD up on a tall post (get her up off the ground a few feet), I can go as far east as Eutelsat 12 before the corner of my house cuts into the line of sight.

That is, once I finish clearing out vegetation and pesky trees and set the pole in place. I should have the backyard prepped by the end of the week.

I have a 10' Unimesh BUD (has been dismantled and in storage for 20 years), it's a complete motorized setup and I have every piece of it, even the antique (useless for anything but moving the BUD) analog receiver. My dad left it here when I got the house from him, it's been in dry storage ever since he stopped using it.

I plan to set up the 10 footer for the majority of what I can pick up. Obviously a New Receiver, Disqc Switch, VBox and a few other things are on the list of stuff I need to buy.

My grandfather gave me a 12' Mesh Motorized setup (also 100% complete)... The downside? It's mounted to the roof of his house... I've gotta climb up there and dismantle that beast while avoiding angry wasps.

Since I've got a pretty good view on the spot I picked out for my 10 Footer, is there anything in the opposite direction i can pick up with the 12 footer? Overseas birds?

 

[FTA4PA]

let's start it off. I'm Chris and I'm in Central PA and Amc 6 is almost perfectly inline with true south from my backyard. I can catch everything as far as G13/Horizons 1 to the west and if I put my BUD up on a tall post (get her up off the ground a few feet), I can go as far east as Eutelsat 12 before the corner of my house cuts into the line of sight.

That is, once I finish clearing out vegetation and pesky trees and set the pole in place. I should have the backyard prepped by the end of the week.

I have a 10' Unimesh BUD (has been dismantled and in storage for 20 years), it's a complete motorized setup and I have every piece of it, even the antique (useless for anything but moving the BUD) analog receiver. My dad left it here when I got the house from him, it's been in dry storage ever since he stopped using it.

I plan to set up the 10 footer for the majority of what I can pick up. Obviously a New Receiver, Disqc Switch, VBox and a few other things are on the list of stuff I need to buy.

My grandfather gave me a 12' Mesh Motorized setup (also 100% complete)... The downside? It's mounted to the roof of his house... I've gotta climb up there and dismantle that beast while avoiding angry wasps.

Since I've got a pretty good view on the spot I picked out for my 10 Footer, is there anything in the opposite direction i can pick up with the 12 footer? Overseas birds?

Welcome to Satellite Guys! Sounds like you are good for buds even if you do have to fight the wasps for one of them!

 

[O'Doyle]

Welcome to the forum 74Dusted! Lots of people here with lots of great advice and knowledge to help you and your new found project! We all love to see pictures of folks dish farms and on-going projects, so post up some pictures when you have the chance and that will also help us answer more questions for you about your equipment and LOS (line-of-site) for your buds.

 

[FTA4PA]

I plan to set up the 10 footer for the majority of what I can pick up. Obviously a New Receiver, Disqc Switch, VBox and a few other things are on the list of stuff I need to buy.

If you haven't already made your purchase, make sure you buy a receiver that is capable of DVB-S2, MPEG4. There are several 'deals' out there which will leave you without some channels (DVB only) or at a minimum without audio on some channels (no Dolby decoding). A couple of the old standbys which we used to recommend (Amiko Mini HD SE, GeoSatpro MicroHD) have recently been discontinued by their manufactures (big mistake ) but you may still be able to find them out there. There are a couple of newer receivers that have received generally good feedback. Although I don't have either, the Linkbox 9000i (also available as the Linkbox 9000i Local which can tune your OTA channels via antenna) and the Manhattan DJ1997 seem like good choices. If you are thinking of upgrading to a newer lnbf (phase locked loop vs DRO type), I would highly recommend Titanium (a member here) lnbfs. If you are keeping the existing lnbs you may want to check out his ASC1 dish mover. Both the lnbfs and mover are quality units that you will be pleased with and his support is excellent. More here: http://www.titaniumsatellite.com/products

Since I've got a pretty good view on the spot I picked out for my 10 Footer, is there anything in the opposite direction i can pick up with the 12 footer? Overseas birds?

You will only be able to 'see' as far as the clear line of site above your horizon. I don't go past 55.5W at present but I have seen posts where others mention channels they received further east. I believe many of those sats would require you to set up the lnbf as circular (insert the dielectric slab). Perhaps someone who goes past 55.5w can comment on what is available? Good luck with your FTA hobby!

 

[74Dusted]

Thanks for the warm welcome, guys.

At the moment there's nothing really picture worthy, just a chainsaw, a skid loader, and more trees that have gotta go. But as soon as I get the 10 Footer out of storage expect pictures, and questions.

I was looking at the Manhattan 1997 receiver, it seems like a pretty good receiver from what I've read. I was also looking at the Titanium Lnbf's, because I wasn't sure if the old ones on my BUDs would be able to pick up anything?

 

[. Raine]

Welcome to SatGuys, 74Dusted!

Chances are that your old LNBs will work, if you post up some pictures of them, we'll be able to tell you if they're usable or not. If they're not, Fta4Pa's recommendation is good, Titanium's LNBF's work great, I use a few here myself and his customer service is absolutely great.

 

[KE4EST]

74Dusted !!!!!!

 

[74Dusted]

Well, I might not get much done today, working tonight, 2nd job. Off the rest of the week on the 2nd job though, so that frees up some quality "tv prep" time.

Still gonna try to get the 10 footer outside... Fun... She's under the front porch, which was closed in and built into an entry way (mud room?) for the house probably 20 years ago. Drill is on the charger now, so I can pull one of the panels off to crawl under the room and slide the 10 footer out.

After that, load the post into the bed of the truck and haul it around to the backyard. It's a big post! I think it used to be one of those posts that holds up a gas station sign or an overpass sign. Bought it for scrap weight price at the junkyard years ago. My dad cut some off for a project and so did my grandfather, it's been the family go-to for when overkill was needed for a project. What better way to mount a BUD than going overkill.


Edit :

Ok I got some of it out of storage. Only the Polar Mount, Actuator, and LNB mast & assembly were under the porch. My dad must have relocated the majority of the dish itself to another hiding spot. I vaguely remember getting in trouble when I was little, for flipping the dish over and using it as a fort. I'll have to call him and find out where he stashed the rest of it.

Actuator is a SuperJack II.

LNB is a Gardiner Performance Plus 60 (Gardiner C60 / C95-60)

 

[KE4EST]

Well I hope the rest was not "stored" at the dump.

 

[74Dusted]

Small possibility on that, Ke4est. Knowing my dad, though, it's most likely still here somewhere. He hates throwing anything away. The first family computer is still in the attic... Glorious IBM 386 with DOS and Windows 3.1...

If that doesn't show that he hangs on to stuff, this might. I was digging through storage a few years ago and dug out a Betamax player and tapes, a VideoDisc player and cartridges, and a LaserDisc player and discs.

 

[FTA4PA]

Small possibility on that, Ke4est. Knowing my dad, though, it's most likely still here somewhere. He hates throwing anything away. The first family computer is still in the attic... Glorious IBM 386 with DOS and Windows 3.1...

If that doesn't show that he hangs on to stuff, this might. I was digging through storage a few years ago and dug out a Betamax player and tapes, a VideoDisc player and cartridges, and a LaserDisc player and discs.

I save everything as well. Still have the first pc I built (286/12MHz), a Channel Master 8 track recorder, various other equipment, parts, boards, switches, wiring, tubes - you name it, I've probably got it (or something like it ). You never know what you might need!

 

[74Dusted]

Going to yank the 12 footer off my grandfather's roof tomorrow morning, she'll serve as my primary eye on the sky. When I find the rest of the 10 footer I'll set her up to get what I can't on the 12.

I think I might have found another Gem while searching for the rest of the 10 footer. My dad isn't sure where the rest of the 10 footer is stored, but he says he kept it. While searching the attached garage, I noticed something tucked way up in the crawl space... So I called my dad. "What in the world is that long pole sticking out of the space above the garage." "That? It's an old tv antenna. Not sure if anything is even on them anymore."


Score? Do the old "Porcupine"/Tree OTA antennas still work? The ones with multiple branches.

If they do, I'd be looking at a different receiver to add OTA to the "farm", but it would expand my viewing options

 

[FTA4PA]

I think I might have found another Gem while searching for the rest of the 10 footer. My dad isn't sure where the rest of the 10 footer is stored, but he says he kept it. While searching the attached garage, I noticed something tucked way up in the crawl space... So I called my dad. "What in the world is that long pole sticking out of the space above the garage." "That? It's an old tv antenna. Not sure if anything is even on them anymore."

Score? Do the old "Porcupine"/Tree OTA antennas still work? The ones with multiple branches.

If they do, I'd be looking at a different receiver to add OTA to the "farm", but it would expand my viewing options

Does it look anything like this? http://cs.yrex.com/ke3fl/Articles/Antennas/BuildingThePorcupine.htm

 

[74Dusted]

Does it look anything like this?

Not really. It's metal (aluminum, I think. Didn't check though), must be at least 15' tall and has arms that are probably 5' long. Pretty sure at least some of the arms were L shaped too

 

[FTA4PA]

Not really. It's metal (aluminum, I think. Didn't check though), must be at least 15' tall and has arms that are probably 5' long. Pretty sure at least some of the arms were L shaped too

If you get a chance post a pic - would like to see that! Sounds like a monster. People are still using their antennas from the 'analog days' to get digital so I bet it would still work. Only one way to find out!

 

[Titanium]

There is not such a thing as an antenna for digital OTA. OTA TV still uses the same frequencies today as they did 50 years ago.

 

[FTA4PA]

There is not such a thing as an antenna for digital OTA. OTA TV still uses the same frequencies today as they did 50 years ago.

Yep, that's what I meant by putting 'analog days' in quotes with the . An antenna is an antenna. Design and build quality will determine how well it works. Give 'er a try and post the results.

 

[74Dusted]

There's more than 1 hiding up there, it's like playing a game of Jenga getting stuff out of the crawl space, there's tv stuff, audio stuff, lawn tools, etc up there.

I grabbed the smallest of the OTA Antennas, because it was all the way at the front. Holy dust and cobwebs batman!

 

[FTA4PA]

View attachment 117528 There's more than 1 hiding up there, it's like playing a game of Jenga getting stuff out of the crawl space, there's tv stuff, audio stuff, lawn tools, etc up there.

I grabbed the smallest of the OTA Antennas, because it was all the way at the front. Holy dust and cobwebs batman!

Like you said, a bit dusty, but as long as the elements aren't damaged it should work for you. Probably made better than many newer ones!

 

[armadillo_115]

There is not such a thing as an antenna for digital OTA. OTA TV still uses the same frequencies today as they did 50 years ago.

Ummm,not totally true,but I know what ya meant Titanium. The old antennas still work.... there is no such animal as an HDTV antenna. But the bandwidth is much narrower today.UHF used to go to channel 83.We lost 52 and above,with limits restricting 51 as well.(Possibly about to lose even more channels)

So an old UHF will have some elements wasted on unnecessary higher channels and have a lower "Q" than a modern UHF antenna cut specifically for Channels 14 thru 51. Provided it is built correctly.

In areas where there are no longer any VHF channels: Chop the mast and remove the VHF off an old antenna..Reset the mount on the UHF section to center of gravity,and you'll have a darn good UHF antenna. People give the old antennas away and any damage is usually on the VHF elements,not the UHF section. ( I made one like this and installed it for the man who gave me my first BUD.He's tickled pink with all the channels he receives OTA now and dropped his pizza box service. )

Just my 2 cents.

Once again I wandered off topic...