Winegard Question

[bertoman]

I am new to the forums so first I hope I am posting in the right place..

Before we married my wife had purchased a Windgard Quadstar sytem..(1990). One day her son was digging and hit the cable but did not tell anyone.. Mom thought the receiver had gone bad and threw it out.. ;-( the cable had been removed and antenae on the roof was put in place.. I would like to know if I can use this dish for FTA and if so what would I need..

Quadstar
Reflector QD-1000
Mount MT-1075
Quad Feed Support QF-2200
or
Buttonhook Feed Support BF-0100

invoice information ( yeah she saved this )
HTS Tracker Twin C/KU Feed
Echostar 45K LNB
Echostar 12GHZ LNB 1.3DB
TRK VIII+ W/VCII (NO EXPORT)
18" HTS Blackjack W/HDW

Any information in regards if this could be used and upgraded to work I would really appreciate it !

 

[rv1pop]

First welcome to Satellite Guys. You are at the right spot for GOOD help.
Second, the dish is probably going to be great. The 18" Jack should be adequate.
I do not know much more than that without doing research, which others can do better than I can.
Read the forums and then ask more questions. Other will ring in as time permits.

 

[bertoman]

Thank You rv1pop!
I am looking forward to maybe a new hobby! I know I will need a receiver and hopefully someone there can point me in the right direction.. what else I might need will hopefully be posted as well..
The winegard was put in on our hillside nice foundation and looks good even after 20+years .. so am hoping I can get it back up and running.


thanks again !

 

[brentb636]

I'm a little confused about what you have , besides the 10 ft dish. A picture would be nice, if you can upload one, or several. If all you have is the dish and lnbf support, and a useable 18" actuator, then you need some more stuff.
1) Cabling to the place where you will put the receiver.
2) A receiver ( I'd currently recommend and Openbox s9 or equivalent, as both cheap and useful ) .
3) A Diseqc 1.2 controller ( preferably a Gbox, rather than a Vbox) to control your actuator, under both manual control or by the receiver.
4) A C-band lnbf, at the least, recommend a Geosat Pro Dual output.
That all will get you about the $200 mark, plus the cable and connectors , and anything else someone could suggest that I've overlooked.

 

[bertoman]

Hello Brent and Thank You for the information !

The only thing that was removed from the initial setup was the receiver.. and of course the cable was damaged..

I am new to this and so I do feel stupid... I have paperwork for a HTS Tracker Twin Feedhorn.. by Chaparral. Nothing on the dish itself has been disturbed or removed and the connections are under the house so can check all that out..

I do apologize for not being able to upload pictures but my dial up internet doesn't do that well ;-) but hopefully as soon as the ISP puts up new tower I might have line of sight and be able to get some decent internet.

The system was put in around 1990 so am sure there is going to be some major part updating ..

Thanks again and as I begin to understand more of this maybe I can give you a better idea of what I have ..

;-)

 

[rv1pop]

If you can find the break in the line, you might be able to repair it. Depending on what was installed, the repair might mean replacing 5 feet of RG6 -- worst case replace the whole run. Probably was ribbon cable, so would need to know how much is damaged of each part of the cable. You might be able to find another old analog STB (set top box) to move the dish and select polarity. I am suggesting that because you might find that part more familiar that the G box or V box. Then you will also need a digital receiver. They are available fairly cheap, but be sure to get a recommendation from this forum before putting out money for one. Some are WORTHLESS! Some are priceless! Some are good bargains, and others are just OK!
From the list you gave, if all is still working, and it could be, that is all it will take.
I do understand dial up. My "high speed" microwave link seems to be working -- finally.
Next question is what are you wanting to watch?

 

[rv1pop]

It looks like you are reading off the brochure, so, which LNB support do you have, the single pole buttonhook or the 4 tubing 'Quad' support? The LNB looks to be C band only, I think the C/Ku reference is to the receiver, which you no longer have.

 

[bertoman]

Hello rv1pop!

From what I can tell it appears to be the quad feed support system. The manual shows that the buttonhook would have a single tube and the quad assembly shows the support legs which mine appears to have.. The information I posted earlier was off of the actual invoice.. Which listed Winegard Quadstar Ant PKG HTS Tracker Twin C/KU Feed... then listed the two LNB's as Echostar 45K and 12GHz with the receiver being a HTS TRKVIII+

I think I would like to replace all cable .. it has been in the ground a long time and I know it might be costly to replace the whole cable line (yes it is the ribbon cable) but I think it would be best.. I also think replacing the coax from the LNB's might be wise also . The dish is about 40 meters from the house.. cable was buried only a couple inches from topsoil not in any conduit .

I live in a ruaral area.. at the moment we have an antennae on top of the house with about 10 channels coming in so anything would be nice...

My isp is coming out next week to see if can get the wifi at our house.. then I could upload some pictures..

Thanks again for all the information..

 

[Anole]

The elephant in the corner is this:

Back in the day, the Chaparral feed had a little servo to select between vertical and horizontal polarity.
Analog receivers were able to run the servo, as well as power the big motor that moved the dish.

None of the new digital receivers will run the motor to position the dish.
Only a few dinosaurs will run the servo. (non-current)

So, what's a newbie to do?
Well, some would have you install an ancient analog receiver (even though it will pick up only a couple of channels, and likely nothing you want).
That -would- move the dish and control the polarity servo.

Then, slaving a modern digital FTA receiver would be possible.
However, you'd have two non-compatible pieces of hardware to fiddle with, to get anything done.
Some folks do that.
They'll be happy to explain how that's done.
I can't bring myself to discuss such a lash-up, for someone just getting into FTA.

The alternative is a bit of leap of faith, so don't go down this road unless you're sure you'll be happy at the end.
And for that, read the forum and ask a lot of questions.

But here is the basic plan:
- replace the Chaparral feed with an inexpensive voltage-controlled one, such as the C2 from SatelliteAV.
(if at some point in the future you find you need better, there are orthomode feedhorns for more money and better performance)
- get a modern FTA receiver, probably an S9, S10, or one of the AZboxes (short list of equipment to consider)
- learn about and get a Vbox or Gbox (lets your receiver run the dish-mover motor)
This shopping list is the same as Brentb636 described above.

I think it was asked what you want to watch.
That needs to be sorted out first.
Also, there is one somewhat inexpensive pay service on C-band, which may or may not be of interest.

 

[bertoman]

Hello rv1pop!
While you were replying I was checking out the C2 came back and found your post.. I think this is the one -> LNBFs and Brackets » LNBF - C2 - GEOSATpro C-BAND DUAL OUTPUT. I do figure there is much to upgrade..

As to what do I want to watch. I am away from home 12 to 14 hours a day .. and am easy when I get home as to what I want to watch.. Mostly thinking of new hobby and fun .

On the site I found the C2 on they have some receivers there also. GEOSATPRO DSR200c SATELLITE RECEIVER FTA/CAS/USB Is this one anygood ?

Will be researching the gbox later tonight when I have time.. but thanks for all the input and ideas .. Once I get all the information together and can share more of exactly what I have I will let you know.. but you can keep the infor coming ;-)

 

[bertoman]

Hello Anole !
Sorry I responded to you thinking it was rv1pop.... sorry me eyes getting old on me.. ;-) Thanks for the input.. I first was thinking of maybe trying to build a biquad dish antennae out of it but then thought that would be stupid as so much had been put into it as it was.. so re directing that energy to get it up and running again. I am not that concerned about what channels I would get that is all bonus... as long as I can get it up and running that would be really nice as it seems such a waste to have it just sitting there..

Right now I am building an earth oven ;-) so have the time to research what I may need ..

Again thank you all for giving me some great information.

If anybody has list of their favorite receivers and such would love to hear as I put together a shopping list ;-)

 

[bertoman]

Any input on the LNBF - C2 - GEOSATpro C-BAND DUAL OUTPUT ?

So far it looks like general consensus would be the OpenBox s9 or s10 ..... any other recommendations ?

Thanks again for all the great info as I research.. hopefully in the next couple of weeks I might have internet so I can upload some pictures.

 

[bertoman]

Finally got something a little better than dial up so got a few pictures.. if you need anymore or some taken over please let me know...

 

[SatelliteAV]

Looks to be in excellent condition! Probably very little or no work will need to be done to get it up and running.

If you could remove the plastic cone protecting the feedhorn and LNBs, snap a few photos and copy down the brands, model, temperature, noise figures we can let you know if you could start with what is already mounted on the dish to start watching TV.

 

[bertoman]

Hello Brian!

Thank You for the quick response to the photos and the comments as well. I got some photos but not really great ones... also could not find much information on the parts..

The Chaparral feedhorn is only called that with a patent pending mark on it no other name..

The LNB

both EchoStar
EchoStar LNB 45K
EchoStar looks like 12GHZ LNB 1.3DB

This system was put in around 1990 ...
I am sure it all needs to be updated with the newer digital stuff.. ( we do not have a receiver for it ) and really don't mind updating it ...

So far I have recommendations of
1. Cabling - old and needs replacing
2. Receiver.. seeing a lot of likes for the OpenBox S9
3. LNBF C2 .. saw one LNBF - C2 - GEOSATpro C-BAND DUAL OUTPUT
4. GBOX

I can not find any information on the motor.. over the years all stickers are unreadable and nothing on the original invoice.. I guess I can try taking it apart a little ..

Any recommendations or suggestions are much appreciated.. I just had to update two new routers in the house for the new internet.. so will have a wait a little on this but hopefully won't take too long..

Thanks !

 

[rv1pop]

EVERYTHING I see locks good. My experience is not as complete as others, so, with grains of salt, the motor or jack looks to me to be bigger than 18 inch. All I see you needing is a digital receiver and maybe an old analog unit to start the dish a-movin'.

 

[SatelliteAV]

Your dish is set up for C-band and KU band reception. If the electronics are still working, they probably would provide very acceptable performance.

As previous posts have indicated, the separate C-Band and KU-band LNBs are set-up to be powered with 18+ volts and the polarity is controlled by the servo motor on the back of the feedhorn. The motor is powered by 24 - 35vdc. This technology is used by commercial controllers or older analog or digital (4DTV) receivers. You could pick up a cheap analog receiver to control the motor and polarity and slave a digital set top box to act only as a receiver of C and KU band channels with no control of dish functions. This would be the least expensive way for you to get your feet wet and give you time to choose the right equipment for your optimized system.

The other way that you could go is to replace the feed horn and LNBFs with a C band (or lower performance combined C/KU band) LNBF (I personally would go with the GEOSATpro C2 and use this dish only for C-Band reception then add a smaller 90cm or 1.2M motorized dish for KU band at a later time). Interface the DVB S2 receiver to control the dish motor with a VBox X. The VBox X takes the motor commands from thye SRB and converts them to move the motor.

 

[bertoman]

rv1pop and Brian !

Thank You both.

As I mentioned I just upgraded to two new routers for the house so will take some time putting this all together. It is really nice hearing from you both that things look good.

I will look around for an old analog receiver.. and see if I can pick one up ..

If I choose or could not find an older analog receiver what do you think it will take..

Would say the gbox supply the right power to the motor or should the motor be replaced at the same time ?

Brian , I just noticed you are in Roseville CA .. I live in Jackson Ca just up the hill and work in Elk Grove..

 

[Anole]

nice looking dish

If getting an analog receiver and seeing some demo (useless) programming on your TV, is what it takes to get you fired up, go for it! - :up
Somewhere around here, we had a (short) list of what's still on C-band Analog
Likely supplied by our forum moderator, Iceberg.
I don't think there's any more analog Ku. (?)

But, I'll stand by my comments earlier in the thread.
And add that I prefer the Gbox controller (in my signature).

 

[FaT Air]

An analog receiver used it to move dish and select polarity. That's what I did for WAY TOO LONG What a pain, you know where. For about the same money,(unless you can find an operational unit free) a C band LNBF and Vbox makes for a much simpler installation, and convenience in operation that isn't available with an analog doing most of the "work". Add Ku later, on it's own 36 to 48 inch dish. I dare say: You won't be disappointed.
The One thing I would do, first, is to check the actuator and lube up the pivot point's on the dish first. Spray some aerosol grease (Preferably "plastic safe") on the extension tube, and wipe off the excess. Then connect a battery, or other source, of anything from 12 to 36 volts DC on the motor leads, and make sure it goes from retracted to extended OK. (use just the large diameter wires, small wires are for sensor)