Should I buy this equipment?

[Anole]

It would have been easier to follow your exploits , if you'd kept 'em all in one thread.
However, I remember the unique fiberglass dish story, so I'm up to speed. - :up

From what I've read here, I doubt there would be any significant drawback using that, or similar LNBf for C-band.
I won't argue actual signal levels or quality, as you should have so much safety margin it just won't matter on a 10 foot dish.

However, many folks have been very disappointed in Ku performance with that LNBf.
They have reported it difficult or impossible to focus C- and Ku- band signals at one focal point.

Tuning the LNBf for Ku on a BUD is more difficult than C-band.
So, maybe some users have had problems for that reason.
Positioning a BUD for accurate reception of Ku is more difficult than C-band.
Some users may have had difficulty aiming at the Ku birds, and just not realized it.
These are just possibilities.

However, Linuxman has had pretty acceptable Ku performance on a BUD using the SatelliteAV CK-1 LNBf.
It's priced about the same (inexpensive), and worth a try.

As you say, if your dish doesn't work out, there is always a good fall-back position with a 90cm dish.

 

[Mr Tony]

I use a 621-2 on my 6 foot Fortec dish for C-Band only..works just fine as my ASC421 C-Band only LNB

I havent tried the KU on it because I have plenty of dishes for that

 

[Mr Tony]

merged the three threads into one

 

[gabshere]

heres a thought

Sadoun is in columbus you could take a lil trip over and have a look around see what they have, .... have him show you a setup ..... should be very informative

i don't know if he has a c band dish setup but you can call and ask or PM him and see

 

[huertaaj]

OK, thanks to all for so much help! Your guys are great! I'll keep my threads on this topic all in one place from now on.
I have decided to purchase the CK-1 LNBF from SatelliteAV for $45. Please tell me if I'm correct in my next step.
With the CK-1 LNBF mounted on my dish, I will need to purchase a switch (I believe it is a Diseq...or something) which joins the C and Ku signals from the LNBF into one single RG6 cable which then goes to the Coolsat 5000 in my house. Then the Coolsat 5000 will automatically tell the the CK-1 LNBF which signal it needs (C or Ku) based on the satellite and channel I'm on. It will also automatically take care of polarity switching at the LNBF. The only other thing I will need is a way to aim the dish which I can do using my old Uniden UST-4500 (if it works) or a new GBox. I will also need to purchase a new actuator since my old one is pretty much dead ( thought it was working but no deal). How does the Coolsat 5000 communicate with the Uniden or the GBox?
Do I have all my ducks in a row or am I missing something?

 

[truckracer]

I had horrible ku reception with the BSC-621 on my 10' dish. It is true that you can't get the focal point set without losing one or the other. If C is tuned in good, you have NO ku and vise versa. I also had a ton of sidelobes with the bsc-621. I would have to bump the dish east or west a few clicks to get Ku to come in on a given sat. My Bullseye and Corotor II - both bands are in the same place.

biggest waste of 60.00 I ever spent.

Get a good Corotor II or Bullseye orthomode feedhorn. Bullseye requires a multiswitch for switching polarity from a fta receiver. It costs more and requires a total of 4 lnbs.
2 C-band lnbs and 2-ku.

I have a pair of cheap DMSI-BSC-211 c-band lnbs that I bought from ebay that work great.
I only paid 14.00 each for them.
I can get hard to lock signals like equity G3-C channels and HBO/MAX from G1 with high signal quality.

My ku lnbs are Norsats that came with the feed horn used. The work great.

 

[Anole]

sounds good

Yes, the diseqc switch operates as you've described.
The receiver automatically sends commands to choose which LNB to use.
The receiver actually selects Vertical or Horizontal polarity using 13 or 18 volts to the LNBf.

Your Uniden can run the positioner motor, or consider a Gbox 3000 from Sadoun.
There is a good review of it in our Equipment Review department.

The Coolsat communicates with the diseqc switch and Gbox using diseqc commands.
They are bursts of 22 khz tone sent up the LNB cable with power.

 

[huertaaj]

OK, I finally took the plunge and bought some stuff to get my 10' fiberglass dish working. I hope that the stuff I got works since it is all used. I'm starting low (everything used and cheap) since I don't want to get into trouble with the wife (you know how it works). Maybe when I get rich I'll get better stuff. I do have some questions on how to set it up...

Here is what I have now...

1) 10' fiberglass dish with f/D ratio = 0.36 to 0.37 (give or take)
2) Coolsat 5000 receiver
3) Chaparral Corotor II Plus with feedhorn
4) Ku-band LNB = Eagle Aspen 770 Ku
5) C-band LNB = EMSI extended C-band Model BSC211
6) C-band LNB (second LNB) = California Amplifier Mini-Mag PN 140011
7) Two satellite splitter
8) One 4x1 DiSeqC switch
9) 500' of RG-6 dual coax cable
10) Bag of 100 outdoor Rg-6 connectors, crimp tool, coax stripper
11) SuperJack XL - Ballscrew VBRL 3024 24" actuator
12) Cheapo signal meter for tuning dish
13) I have the old Uniden UST-4500 C/Ku analog receiver to turn the dish (I hope)

Question 1) Which of the two C-band LNB's should I try first?
Question 2) Will my Uniden control the actuator I purchased
Question 3) Any recommendation on what kind of wire I need for the actuator
Question 4) I'm not sure how and where to connect the 2-way splitters and where to place the 4x1 DiSeqC switch
Question 4) Anything else I need to know before I start to put everything together?