Two 24" dishes vs. Dish 500

[Jetlag]

I was wondering if anyone else has tried what I am considering. I currently use a Dish 500 for 110/119 and am considering replacing it with twin 24" (Winegard DS-4061) dishes, each with a DishPro single LNB. Obviously I want to maximize reception strength but wondered what kind of increase in strength I might expect. I realize that rain-fade cannot be eliminated, but I do get breakup even during mild-moderate rain.

 

[bradleys]

JetLag,

Where are you?

I rarely get rain fade with my Dish 500 or Dish 300 (148 degrees), even with fairly heavy rain. Up here in Seattle (48 degrees north), our look angle is pretty flat (34 degrees). If you're further south than Seattle, you should have even better resistance to rain. There may be some other problem, and you might be able to save yourself some work.

Of course, if you're in Barrow Alaska, ...

 

[fslove]

With a properly installed DISH500 you should only gain a very rare reduction in rain fade using two 24" dishes. Of course you will get NO quality improvements in audio or video either. As stated above unless you live in Alaska you will gain minimal benefits over a properly installed Dish500. I would suggest you double check your Dish500 install and be sure it is solidly installed and plumb on three side at the top of the mount. Also check you cable/connectors for either sub-standard parts used or damage.

 

[Jetlag]

With a properly installed DISH500 you should only gain a very rare reduction in rain fade using two 24" dishes.

I am fully aware that it is impossible to completely eliminate rain fade, I'm just trying to lessen the chances.

Of course you will get NO quality improvements in audio or video either

I agree.

...you will gain minimal benefits over a properly installed Dish500. I would suggest you double check your Dish500 install and be sure it is solidly installed and plumb on three side at the top of the mount. Also check you cable/connectors for either sub-standard parts used or damage.

Yes, already did all of this. The base is very solidly anchored to a brick chimney with epoxy anchors, and I have trued the mast with a high quality level. Also, I used Belden 1694A cable with Canare connectors, not to mention tweaking the antenna several times using my Digisat II Plus. The problem I run into is that that to improve the signal strength on 110 by moving the dish 500, 119 usually drops a bit and vice versa. With the independent dishes I will be able to max out the signal on both 110 and 119 simultaneously. Finally, the very top of my neighbors tree just barely gets in the way of the 110 signal. By spreading the two dishes apart, I can shoot to either side of the tree top (if that makes sense). I experience most problems when the leaves are wet and the wind is blowing a bit.

FWIW, I found the 24" Winegard dishes for $29ea and also got 2 DP single LNBs for $50, so the total investment was rather small. For those interested, I will post the before and after signal strength indications once I complete the install.

 

[bradleys]

Jetlag,

Now that we have the whole story , your situation makes a great case for two dishes. There's no question that something in the "sweet spot" of the dish will kill your signal. I have seaplanes taking off near my boat, and occasionally they will fly thru the signal, killing it. So, I don't doubt that your trees are a problem.

Definitely let us know how it works. I have a couple of buddies who would like to get satellite, but have tree problems. Using multiple dishes (110, 119, and 148) would solve their problem.

 

[Jetlag]

I agree. The nice thing about doing this with DishPro LNBs is that I will only have to run one RG6 from each LNB (in this case 1 per dish) to the DP34 switch. Then, the DP34 feeds up to 4 receivers from there, or can even be cascaded with more DP34s. Easy!

 

[Mr Tony]

FWIW, I found the 24" Winegard dishes for $29ea

Can I ask where you found a 24" dish for $29...or is that a secret

 

[Jetlag]

I am not sure if I can post that information or not, so I will PM you with it.

 

[Jetlag]

Well, it took me forever to get around to doing it, but they are finally up. Without doing much tweaking (it was starting to get dark), I am now getting 110 at 108, and 119 @ 110, holy crap! Hopefully it will be nice out again tomorrow so I can get up there and really tweak them and tie up the cable.

Now it just needs to snow so I can test it out.