The right fta equipment

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Sparky7

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Original poster
Oct 24, 2008
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Jackson Michigan
New guy on the block. I ordered some equipment to start up a fta site and after reading one of the threads on this forum, I discovered that I ordered the wrong dish. I am looking for some suggestions on equipment. I have two HD tv's to connect, my plan is to connect One, see where I'm at and then add another drop. I ordered a 1000.2 dish I thought would be good for HD but the "Sadoun site" which I was referred to by one of your elite members (Turbosat) says the fta signals are weaker requiring a larger dish and different lnb's. Sure would be nice to hear someone say you need this setup...... I'm not even sure I can get HD from the fta sites, recommended was 123W to start out with. Someone please point me in the right direction..:confused:
 
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The only regular HD programming on Ku band is PBS HD at 125W, AMC21. There are frequent HD sports feeds and special event feeds, but to access these, you'll need a motorized system, since they show up on various satellites, and a blindscan receiver to identify them by their symbol rate ( generally close to 30000) . 123W is probably the best single satellite for it's programming, but There's not much HD on that bird.
:)
 
The D1000.2 is for Dish Network and wont work for FTA....you need a 30" (prefereably 36" dish)

With the 2 degree spacing between the new powerful birds Galaxy 18 and AMC-21, I'd go with the 36" dish as a minimum due to the ability of the larger dish to focus in on each bird better... I'm going out to buy a 39" dish maybe tomorrow :) The bigger the better.
 
Thanks for the responses, I was shopping and that was the dish in the "HD package bundle" on sale. I might bump into you Davage, in the 39 inch dish isle. Thanks for the help. Will the 39 inch dish have the right lnb's for fta or do I need to know what to buy there also? and what does that do for me on hd, does that depend on the lnb's I get?
 
Thanks for the responses, I was shopping and that was the dish in the "HD package bundle" on sale. I might bump into you Davage, in the 39 inch dish isle. Thanks for the help. Will the 39 inch dish have the right lnb's for fta or do I need to know what to buy there also? and what does that do for me on hd, does that depend on the lnb's I get?

Definitely get a 39" if you can find one locally or find shipping that isn't too bad. I have a 36" and wish it was bigger. :)

You need to decide if you want a motorized rig. You do. You should get a fixed setup working first and add a motor later. Or at least leave the motor on the bench for the first week or two so you get familiar with adjusting the dish to find satellites and peaking signal. Check out the Newbies Gone Wild thread for more about that.

You also need to decide if you want dual output or circular support in addition to linear.

I love my Invacom Quad (QPH-031) LNBF. It does circular and linear in the same LNB and has two outputs for each. With a 22Khz switch (or two) and a motorized dish you have access to pretty much all Ku satellites. I think 118.8° is the only one that you can't get as it is in the linear frequency range, but circular polarity. It is Dish Network though, so nothing there anyway except maybe some hold music.

With a 36" or 39" dish, a matching motor, 22Khz (or DiSEqC) switch, and an Invacom Quad, you'll have some of the best gear outside for FTA. If you don't care about scanning Dish Network once and awhile or watching NASA TV, you could get a less expensive LNB. With a linear only LNBF setup you could add a cheap (free?) 18" dish and point it at 119° to have a permanent feed for NASA TV.

The dish & LNB is not specific to SD or HD, but a bigger dish will get you better signal which is better for HD. Unless you want HD off C-band, that is a completely different discussion.
 
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