New to C-Band

[gabshere]

yeah finding a satellite can be frustrating but it isn't super hard
aiming the dish and tuning the satellite with a finder is probably quicker for a installer , most of us just use the receiver & tv as opposed to spending 2 or 300 on a good finder.

so with that said i think most anyone here can walk you through setting up a c-band dish or ku dish with little problems.

the best thing to finding an older unused c-band dish locally is its mostlikely already setup just might need to tweak it a bit. maybe update a lnb.
cost is low , shipping is low ( since your doing it) and setup is low ( since your doing it)

 

[kshavo]

Thanks Iceberg. Iceberg, you mentioned a 6 foot dish is needed. Is that 6 feet tall? (sorry if the questions seem silly but I just don't know this stuff). I was told that I need a 1.8 dish to do what I want. What's 1.8 mean?

 

[voomvoom]

Something everyone seems to be overlooking? This channel is in Digicipher II mode, you will need a 4dtv receiver to get this channel. You won't need a subscription though, it's a free channel, I think?
Look here at TP #21:
Galaxy 11 & Nimiq 1 at 91.0°W - LyngSat

Al

 

[gabshere]

good catch AL
i think you are correct, i'm not at home to verify but as listed its VCII

 

[kshavo]

I am considering buying this reciever.
FORTEC MERCURY II SATELLITE RECEIVER - Glorystar.tv - Glorystar Christian Satellite Systems
Can it do the job for me? Can it accept the Digicipher2 mode?

 

[Mr Tony]

Thanks Iceberg. Iceberg, you mentioned a 6 foot dish is needed. Is that 6 feet tall? (sorry if the questions seem silly but I just don't know this stuff). I was told that I need a 1.8 dish to do what I want. What's 1.8 mean?

1.8 would be in meters (1.8m is 6 feet)

The dish is about 7 feet tall tops.

 

[Mr Tony]

Something everyone seems to be overlooking? This channel is in Digicipher II mode, you will need a 4dtv receiver to get this channel. You won't need a subscription though, it's a free channel, I think?
Look here at TP #21:
Galaxy 11 & Nimiq 1 at 91.0°W - LyngSat

Al

ah schmuck...you're right

 

[dfergie]

No, because the Digicipher2 is a 4Dtv box while the Fortec is a DVB box, different technologies...

 

[kshavo]

Hmm..lots to think about. I gotta go to bed now. I'll be back.

 

[kshavo]

CBand

I'm back, and I've gotten started on hunting down a dish. There is a local radio show here that sells/swaps items that callers make available. I called up and said i'm looking for a 6 ft dish and i got 4 calls right away!! One dish that I may get is a Unidyne (spelling may be wrong). Can i use this old unidyne dish with a reciver that accepts the Digicipher II mode? I'm excited about trying this project!

 

[Mr Tony]

yep

As long as the dish is 6 feet or greater it will work

 

[kshavo]

Awesome, thanks iceberg. Next what should i look for when i look at this used dish? Any signs that it may not work right? I'm trying to get the owner to test it out first before I take it. Also it's cband can it work for both C and Ku?

 

[gabshere]

go out and look at them , take a camera and take some shots
will post a link to some other threads later on the do's and don'ts
but there are some threads on what to look for here on site

good luck

 

[htownjoe]

well it depends on how much money you are willing to spend. it cost me 400 dollars to get my setup which is an used 8 ft c band dish,a 40 inch ku dish,a chap monterey analog receiver,and a pansat 2700 digital receiver. i am currently getting around 1300 free channels with my setup. if you want to dish out the big bucks you can pay 2000 to 2500 for a 12 ft dish with a c and ku band feedhorn,a 4dtv, and a digital free to air receiver, with this setup you will be receiving channels from all 3 formats and have a pro installer set up your system, there are some serious dish guys that put a dish up in every direction, east,west,north,and south to get virtually all sats up there in the other countries as well as the states. a setup like that can run you about 5000 or so and cost for someone to cut down trees. it is an addictive hobby! good luck!

 

[kshavo]

Quick and Dirty

I'm very close to getting a system to my home. I'm not sure where to put it. I have searched the forums but does anyone know of a quick and dirty way that I can at least approximate if I have an adequate spot on my land to pick up c-band satellites?

Ken

 

[Mr Tony]

Um, there might be a slight problem

Just tuned the big (well 6 footer) dish to G11 and get a couple free channels (paid program type stuff) and Bloomberg...when I go to 802 I get

GMC and the dreaded "please contact your provider to subscribe"

so it doesn't look like its free

 

[kshavo]

I assume you used a 4dtv reciever? Anyone out there able to confirm what iceberg found?

 

[Mr Tony]

yep it was the trusty 905 (digital 4DTV sidecar)....got other channel on there that are free but 802 gave me that message

Had good signal too (+5.8 on the diagnostic C ebno menu)

 

[kshavo]

Everywhere I see it listed it says it's free. I wonder what's up. I am still a BUD man, there's other stations I want like TLN, JCTV, TBN. I won't get them anymore when Skyangel changes there service.

 

[Mr Tony]

TLN is really cool. There are 5 different feeds.
Sky Angel
TLN cable
3 local stations they own

Lyngsat sometimes is out of date. The owner is across the Atlantic so he can't see our satellites here and relies on people sending updates