Advice Needed: Setting Up C-band Reception with a 90 cm Dish

[marclmao]

Hi there,
I'm looking for guidance on setting up C-band reception using a 90 cm satellite dish. Here are the details of my current setup and what assistance I need:

• Current Setup:
  • I have a 90 cm satellite dish.
  • Location: Toronto, Canada.

Specific Questions:

1. C-band LNB Recommendation: Could anyone recommend a suitable C-band LNB that would work effectively with a 90 cm dish? I'm particularly interested in receiving signals from Intelsat 21(Intelsat 21 at 58.0°W - LyngSat Maps) at 58W.
2. Where to Purchase Equipment: I'm looking for reliable sources—online or local suppliers—that offer C-band LNBs and other necessary accessories for satellite dish setups. Preferably places that cater to customers in Canada.
3. Installation Tips: Any tips or recommendations on aligning the dish, optimizing signal strength, or dealing with potential interference in an urban setting like Toronto?

 

[cyberham]

C-band reception on a 90 cm dish is VERY tough for a number of reasons. I will go so far as to say you won't receive the 58W satellite on a 90 cm dish. You would be lucky to receive anything on C-band. You can read my signature to see the C-band LNBF I would recommend. It's the only one I've tried but I think it is one of the best.

The minimum small dish size for experimental C-band reception is a 4-foot (1.2-metre) offset dish. This is still too small to receive most C-band transponders reliably. But it is fun to try.

Take a look at these threads for feedback on this subject. Remember that it is even harder now than it was a few years ago.

Thread 1: Download attachment in Post #95 in this thread for a listing of some of the stuff I received on a miniBUD.
Thread 2
Thread 3
Thread 4

 

[cyberham]

I was going to ask what exactly you are trying to receive from C-band? There may be easier ways to receive it such as streaming or maybe even from Ku-band satellite.

 

[primestar31]

Hi there,
I'm looking for guidance on setting up C-band reception using a 90 cm satellite dish. Here are the details of my current setup and what assistance I need:

• Current Setup:
  • I have a 90 cm satellite dish.
  • Location: Toronto, Canada.

Specific Questions:

1. C-band LNB Recommendation: Could anyone recommend a suitable C-band LNB that would work effectively with a 90 cm dish? I'm particularly interested in receiving signals from Intelsat 21(Intelsat 21 at 58.0°W - LyngSat Maps) at 58W.
2. Where to Purchase Equipment: I'm looking for reliable sources—online or local suppliers—that offer C-band LNBs and other necessary accessories for satellite dish setups. Preferably places that cater to customers in Canada.
3. Installation Tips: Any tips or recommendations on aligning the dish, optimizing signal strength, or dealing with potential interference in an urban setting like Toronto?

Here's my guidance: Forget it, it's not going to happen.

 

[marclmao]

I was going to ask what exactly you are trying to receive from C-band? There may be easier ways to receive it such as streaming or maybe even from Ku-band satellite.

Im trying to recieve KCTV (Korea Central TV) from North Korea for archival purposes. It isnt archived properly anywhere and any a general lack of *public* non paywalled content without frequent outages available

 

[primestar31]

Im trying to recieve KCTV (Korea Central TV) from North Korea for archival purposes. It isnt archived properly anywhere and any a general lack of *public* non paywalled content without frequent outages available

The absolute smallest C-band antenna that's worth bothering with, is one at least 7.5 feet in size, and very well tuned. Even then, that size will only be good for maybe 90% of what's out there. Pretty much should lock any signal DVB-S2 8psk and below, if you are in the beam reception area. Unlikely to work at 16psk and above, but luckily anything up there in that range is still fairly rare.

 

[Martyn]

Im trying to recieve KCTV (Korea Central TV) from North Korea for archival purposes. It isnt archived properly anywhere and any a general lack of *public* non paywalled content without frequent outages available

Hi Marc, I think we have corresponded before!

I've been receiving KCTV from Intelsat 21 since 2016. My main dish has been a 2.4m dish and the signal strength is sufficient. A 90cm dish will struggle on KCTV. The signal is not very strong and there isn't much error correction on it. You will possibly receive the NHK transponder because of the generous error correction, but probably little else.

Earlier this year I had to upgrade to a 3m dish due to 5G interference. I'm not sure if Canada has reallocated C-band spectrum to 5G as the US has done, but it meant constant break up on the 2.4m dish. The 3m dish is larger and gathers enough signal to once again provide stable reception of anything above 4GHz.

Here's the difference between the dishes.

A 90cm dish has an area of 6,362 cm².
A 2.4m dish has an area of 45,239 cm²
A 3m dish has an area of 70,686 cm²

So, a 90cm dish has less than 10 percent of the surface area of a 3m dish to collect the signal, it's a huge difference.

You can buy an LNB from Titanium Satellite that includes 5G filter. If the dish is designed for C-band, which is unlikely at that size, you can fit it and have a try. If it's an offset dish for ku-band, you'll need to find C-band adapters and almost certainly will not succeed.

It is sometimes possible to find people giving away old C-band dishes, and that is how I got all of mine. But you still need someplace to put it.

Sorry it's not better news.

Martyn

 

[cyberham]

Im trying to recieve KCTV (Korea Central TV) from North Korea for archival purposes....

Probably not available from other sources. When I was in Halifax a few years ago, I tried very hard to receive 58W using a 4-foot dish. Over a period of years, I never succeeded in receiving any transponders from that satellite. Though the footprint is supposed to be 4 dB lower there than in Toronto according to satstar.net.

The difficulty in predicting reception without trying is that besides the actual signal strength, when using a small dish for C you must consider adjacent satellite interference. The beamwidth of a small dish is broader than 2 degrees at these frequencies so you receive adjacent satellites simultaneously even if pointed perfectly at the target satellite. You also don't know the power the broadcaster uses for this particular transponder.

There are others like executive in Ontario with small dish experience. And JFOK wrote a good thread about chasing 58W with an 8-foot dish. Martyn on the east coast has received this transponder in past I believe.

 

[cyberham]

It is sometimes possible to find people giving away old C-band dishes...

For example, this one just came available in Mississauga and for free:

FREE satellite dish | Free Stuff | Mississauga / Peel Region | Kijiji

Free satellite dish. Must take it down.

www.kijiji.ca

 

[Brct203]

Hi Marc, I think we have corresponded before!

I've been receiving KCTV from Intelsat 21 since 2016. My main dish has been a 2.4m dish and the signal strength is sufficient. A 90cm dish will struggle on KCTV. The signal is not very strong and there isn't much error correction on it. You will possibly receive the NHK transponder because of the generous error correction, but probably little else.

Earlier this year I had to upgrade to a 3m dish due to 5G interference. I'm not sure if Canada has reallocated C-band spectrum to 5G as the US has done, but it meant constant break up on the 2.4m dish. The 3m dish is larger and gathers enough signal to once again provide stable reception of anything above 4GHz.

Here's the difference between the dishes.

A 90cm dish has an area of 6,362 cm².
A 2.4m dish has an area of 45,239 cm²
A 3m dish has an area of 70,686 cm²

So, a 90cm dish has less than 10 percent of the surface area of a 3m dish to collect the signal, it's a huge difference.

You can buy an LNB from Titanium Satellite that includes 5G filter. If the dish is designed for C-band, which is unlikely at that size, you can fit it and have a try. If it's an offset dish for ku-band, you'll need to find C-band adapters and almost certainly will not succeed.

It is sometimes possible to find people giving away old C-band dishes, and that is how I got all of mine. But you still need someplace to put it.

Sorry it's not better news.

Martyn

excellent explanation! I also think the only thing a 90 cm dish might be able to receive on 58W C-band is the NHK transponder

KCTV requires 9.5 dB and I think even a 6-ft/1.80m dish would not be sufficient