I'm a super newbie with a question. I have an 8' mesh B U D w/a 30volt acuator I understand this can be fitted w/a ku lnbf and if I change the actuator to a 36 volt one it can be driven through a converter box from diseq 1.2 commands from a set top box. I plan on getting one w/ blind scan feature. Will this setup be as functional as a new 3 meter dish and motor setup. The cost to do either setup would be about the same. Will the B U D give me better reception or am I waisting my time and would I be better off scrapping out the B U D. Any light anyone can shed on me will be greatly appreciated.
smudge
Are you trying to compare a retrofit of a 8' dish to one of the 3' smaller dishes/motor setups (or do you truly mean a "new 3 meter dish and motor setup").
I think the 8 foot dish will be fine if the mesh size is proper for ku-band reception. You need to reaim the dish for Ku-band and the get a VBOX positioner to interface with the FTA box for the mover and either use an old c-band receiver for polarity or get a FTA receiver with servo control built in. I like the idea of a well aligned 8' dish as you can separate out sats at 2 deg spacing - some with the smaller 75-90cm dishes have a tough time, as witnessed by the AMC-21 thread in the main FTA area of this site.
I also like you have more signal margin to help with rain fade issues - when a 90cm goes out due to rainfade, chances are your 8' is still able to receive the signal unless the rain is so hard or cloudcover so thick that your margin on the 8' dish is also gone.
My friend has a 10' c/ku dish - I got him into FTA with a VBOX and a Pansat 3500SD (has the servo control built in). It's nice for him as he can punch in a satellite or service and the VBOX interfaces with the receiver to go to that sat and the 3500SD controls the polarity he wants so it's pretty integrated for him with just a few keystrokes into the 3500SD receiver. For instance, he doesn't have to figure out where he wants to go, tell his Uniden C-band analog receiver to move there, tell his Uniden C-band analog receiver the polarity he wants, and then tune it with the FTA receiver after the Uniden has done its job of controlling the dish to the bird and polarity desired.