1.2 m Dish - Greater Toronto Area

[Mark2074]

You know it might be easier to point an OTA UHF yagi at Buffalo and get COZI on 56.1. It comes in here on and off with a CM 4221 on the roof.

Whereabouts are you? I am in North York. With a Winegard flying arrow/ CM 7777 pre-amp / CM rotor mounted on my chimney and I think I got COZI twice this summer for about 10 minutes. CBS/ABC/FOX come in at 98% (Sony Bravia meter doesn't reach 100%). NBC is my most troublesome Buffalo station that usually comes in at 65-71%. On good troop nights I frequently get Rochester's WXXI (PBS) & WROC (CBS) if I turn the antenna. I get ION about 60% of the time from Batavia NY. I was considering changing the antenna out with a 91XG to pull in ION and NBC better. But, I may not have time to before winter. The existing antenna system is a b*tch to take down and was only installed about 4 years ago. I paid a fortune to have an installer put it up in winter.

If you check the WBXZ website their have repairs to do on their transmitter. But, this has been months month. I'm surprised you can get this.

http://www.wbxztv.com/about-us.html

 

[jorgek]

In Mississauga, Cawthra/Dundas area. I have LOS across Lake Ontario. Antenna is about 40 ft above ground pointing at approx 140 degrees true.

 

[pacificrim]

I put two straps and a turnbuckle on each side of the dish to pull in the sides of the dish. The weight of the LNB and the side arms were pulling the dish out of shape. Now I have a cband, ku and ku circular lnb on it and there is no warping or pulling.

The other mod was to add a fine tuning elevation adjustment

They were super cheap and easy mods and made the Fortec 1.2 a good dish.

 

[pacificrim]

I also have a 1m Winegard (ex Starchoice). If I had a choice between a 1m Winegard and a 1.2m Fortec - I would (and did) pick the 1.2 Fortec. With the mods I did I get everything on Ku and lots on Cband.

 

[Mark2074]

I also have a 1m Winegard (ex Starchoice). If I had a choice between a 1m Winegard and a 1.2m Fortec - I would (and did) pick the 1.2 Fortec. With the mods I did I get everything on Ku and lots on Cband.

Wow really? what mods did you do? Are they difficult?

 

[Mark2074]

Wow really? what mods did you do? Are they difficult?

Give these guys a call

(905) 602-1382
Angel Electronics
1515 Matheson Blvd E, Unit A100
Mississauga, Ontario L4W 2P5

I spoke to this guy today at in Mississauga. He was not informative at all and was not interested in answering my questions. He couldn't even tell me what the maker of the dish he has and its on the website.

I was on the phone with a retailer in Oakville called Dr. Sat. We actually spoke for about half an hour and was very informative. I bought my Geosatpro MicroHD from them. He mentioned they will be launching their own brand of 1.2m dishes for residential use in about 2 weeks. They are suppose to be more sturdy then the Fortec Star ones. If I can't find a good quality dish, without have to modifying it, by then I wait to try that one out.

 

[jorgek]

Too bad about Angel. I have dealt with them in person and have received good service. Dr Sat is a good choice. Also been at his shop and received excellent service.

 

[Mark2074]

Anyone interested in getting a Geosatpro dish and live in the GTA? I received an e-mail from rpssat.com and said he can quote me on one, but if I pool it, it would be better.

Any takers?

 

[Mark2074]

I guess there are no takers.

 

[laurienicol]

As some are aware, I posted in the "what's up there" thread. I have readjusted my dish and SG2100 motor, I should be able to get 82W tomorrow. I want to post here to get a broader sense of what to do and advice.

I am having some difficulty in trying to find a dealer/supplier in the GTA (Ontario) that sells 1.2M dishes. There is a small dealer called Dr. Sat (don't know if he is a member here) that used to sell the GeoSatpro 1.2m. Spoke to someone at the store this afternoon which said that due to high supplying costs to Canada they have discontinued supplies up here. There is another place called Save and Play that only sells 33inch dishes. I've done some more searches on google, but have come up with nothing. These two places have told me that there is not much of a market here in Canada for FTA. Is this really true?

What is the cheapest way for me to get my hands on a 1.2m dish (preferably a GeoSatpro)? I want to replace my existing Fortect Star 90cm (doesn't really measure 90cm) that is wall mounted with a SG2100 motor.

I'm having a similar problem. Glorystar sells (reluctantly) the GeoSat 1.2 m dish. but to ship the $200 dish here to Canada it's an additional $200. Drop shipment to just across the line in the US is almost as expensive.
On a brighter note Dr. Sat says it will be introducing it's own brand soon. Their shipping costs may be more reasonable. The Fortec they sell is cheaper because it's shipped to them in bulk, no individual crating, so the only sell them in store.

 

[catamount]

Sat/AV 's distributor is based in Trenton/Belleville area. you would think that you could order from a dealer and pickup at their warehouse

 

[Kraven]

Sat/AV 's distributor is based in Trenton/Belleville area. you would think that you could order from a dealer and pickup at their warehouse

Cant one just go buy it from the warehouse directly and bypass the middle man?

 

[Kraven]

On a brighter note Dr. Sat says it will be introducing it's own brand soon.

Wonder if its going to be a clone ?!?!

 

[Mark2074]

I don't think so. I was at Dr. Sat's in Oakville and I saw the new 1.2m dish in his store. I asked about it and he said that they should be releasing it in about two weeks. There were a few modifications they had to do to it. I mentioned that I was interested in buying it when it was available. I think the weather should hold out that I would be about to do a switch from the 90cm to the 1.2m by the end of October. If not, it may wait until next year. I am happy with the set up thus far.

I bought a new LNBF from Dr. Sat and the Azbox mini Me. The signal with the new LNBF is a lot better with the LNB because of the lower noise figure (0.1dB). The pervious Fortec Star was a 0.4 dB. With the Azbox, I can't change the audio channels. What I mean is the NBC feeds are in 5.1 and when I had the MicroHD I was able to switch the channels so I could hear all the sound. The Azbox is not capable of this from what I see. I have a Sony Bravia TV that is about 6 years old. Should I have to buy a 5.1 system to decode the sound? Any suggestion on how to set it up would be great.

 

[jorgek]

Re the Azbox audio, is it firmware that needs updating or is this a limitation of the box?

 

[pwrsurge]

... and the Azbox mini Me. With the Azbox, I can't change the audio channels. What I mean is the NBC feeds are in 5.1 and when I had the MicroHD I was able to switch the channels so I could hear all the sound. The Azbox is not capable of this from what I see.

The AzBox miniMe American Edition certainly supports switching audio channels. Press the LANG key on the remote while tuned to the desired video channel and you will be able to choose which audio channel to use. The selected audio channel will then be saved as the default one for that channel.

As an added benefit, you are also able to adjust the volume offset for each channel from that same menu in order to normalize those that broadcast too loud or not loud enough.

 

[Mark2074]

Does anyone have an update on the AMC1 / SES 3 replacement? It was to take place back in August, but there is some issues that have delayed it to December 2014. Will it happen by the end of the year?

For the NBC feeds I've had to skew the lnb and because of this, some borderline feeds I've scanned in (MPEG2 / DVB2) have given me problems. I've never managed to replace the 36" dish because I was waiting for Dr. Sat to launch his new 1.2m dish. It was suppose to be released in October. He still doesn't have it ready.

The NBC / COZI feeds are very strong (on MiniMe) even in bad weather so I think the dish should be ok for almost all KU when I can un-skew the lnb.

 

[Titanium]

According to some recent FCC filings, Dish Network also has interests with this transition. Looks like this will be a long battle between the platform providers.

 

[Conky]

shouldn't all this have been sorted out before the satellite was launched?

 

[Titanium]

No, it is a standard C/KU/KA platform design and it used in another slot then was moved into this position.

IMO, the FCC should grant the SES3 C/KU band operation and deny the KA operation. Then the corporations could fight out the KA permissions. I suppose that will never happen as it make too much sense! LOL!

Maybe SES is waiting for an AMC1 "failure ", receive "emergency" FCC clearance to operate SES3, then say "Hey, we have KA capability on that bird. Can't we turn it on as well"?