CCTV on an 18" Dish

[newtxsatguy]

[Old thread: Getting CCTV on G3C with 18' Dish??? http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/65042-getting-cctv-g3c-18-dish.html

I tried to reply to this old thread, but the system complained that it was too old to reply to.

However I am curious if this thread is still accurate. I am interested in getting cctv which is still currently on 95.0 West Galaxy 3C. I have two old directtv dishes on the roof of the house I just bought. From all I have read at this site (great info source!), I think I need a receiver and a new lnbf, and probably a lot of patience aiming the dish. Would someone kindly confirm, or offer more info? What/where is the cheapest receiver I can obtain for this limited application?

 

[eurosport]

Iceberg will see this in no time, and will be able to offer his advice. He's gotten a bunch of stuff on an 18 before....there's a thread in here somewhere by him that covers it.

 

[Mr Tony]

It should work....The time I did it that was 3+ years ago and it worked fine.

Since its very strong signal you should be able to. I could get AMC4 and a few strong signals on it just fine

 

[Mr Tony]

some pics of the 18" setup on CCTV9...yeah the pics suck but that was the camera

 

[Mr Tony]

Directv Phase II with LNB's on
91
101 (middle)
110

101 is AMC4

 

[Mr Tony]

and AMC6 with a 18" dish

 

[Morbius]

Sometime (when its not winter here in the northern part of the USA ) we should get out and setup a dish and get a list together of what can actually get (> 40% quality) with a 18" dish. I know there are numerous threads about 18" dishes ,but nothing in one place.

Iceberg ( or anyone )have you ever set up a dish for AMC6 (72W) and tried to get the NBC mux. Seems like it would be really easy since that transponder has a booming signal and maybe slap on another one for 74W (ONN)

 

[toucan-man]

Thanks for bringing this up, I want, I want. :

 

[Mr Tony]

Iceberg ( or anyone )have you ever set up a dish for AMC6 (72W) and tried to get the NBC mux. Seems like it would be really easy since that transponder has a booming signal and maybe slap on another one for 74W (ONN)

see the post above yours

and here is the thread
http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/135926-amc6-18-dish.html

 

[Morbius]

Must have missed that one when I was posting. Love that duct tape and cable tie with just a hint of plastic bag inside.

 

[Mr Tony]

if it doesnt have duct tape, wood or a hose clamp it aint a project

 

[Anole]

small dishes, and their LNB brackets

Here is some reading material for ya -

McGuyver photo gallery has a Dish-500 conversion:
SatelliteGuys Photo Gallery - McGuyver Gallery - Powered by PhotoPost

Look Up shows pix of his DirecTV AT9 dish conversion for 97:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/156250-small-dish-fta.html

Anole pix of Whitesprings on Phase III dish:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-ai...ofitting-phase-iii-ku-maybe-3.html#post883196
(see entire thread, not just the one post)

 

[Tron]

To clarify to the OP, the DirecTV dish in factory condition will not pick up any linear signal. You would have to modify it with a linear Ku-Band LNBF (as shown in Iceberg's pics, note the duct tape ) to receive FSS signals such as Galaxy 3C.

 

[ohre]

Locked on to 123 w with 18"

I did an experiment and was able to lock on to UWTV and some other channels with an 18" DTV dish with LNB bracket and linear LNB. Not the greatest but worked. You really need min. 30" dish for real FTA. But the 18 will work. I think that someone was able to lock onto KUIL on 101w with 18" Cheap way to watch FOX (for a little while longer anyway) without getting a sub.

 

[newtxsatguy]

To clarify to the OP, the DirecTV dish in factory condition will not pick up any linear signal. You would have to modify it with a linear Ku-Band LNBF (as shown in Iceberg's pics, note the duct tape ) to receive FSS signals such as Galaxy 3C.

I understand that I will need a linear LNBF, however, the duct tape is throwing me off a bit. What is under it? From some other threads, it appears as if the new LNBF will not be directly mountable in place of the directtv one, and hence the need for the duct tape. But how do I make sure that the new LNBF is in the proper location and angle for maximum reception if it's not mounted the same way?

I have a triple LNBF and a single LNBF directtv satellite. Which one should I try to install the linear LNBF on? I would assume it would be easier to modify the single, but is that the best way to go?

 

[Mr Tony]

the duct tape in my pics is to hold that bracket because the bottom part is partially busted.

 

[Anole]

If your DirecTV 3-LNB dish is the Phase III, then the link I gave above has complete info for mounting a linear LNB.
Of course, it's just one way of many you'll find posted by the creative guys here on the forum.

Below, is a trick I ran across to verify your new LNB is in the proper location and angle.
I managed before finding this technique, by holding the original LNB in place, then substituting the replacement.
It's not real difficult.

 

[newtxsatguy]

I figured

 

[newtxsatguy]

I started this thread, and appreciate all the advice. Here is a little summary of my thoughts and a few photos after I succesfully finished this project and am now receiving CCTV (95W, Galaxy 3C) on my 18" dish.

Although there are plenty of threads on this site warning that you can't get 'real' FTA on anything less than a 30" dish, there are also several others that state that is it possible. I read through these and then I started this thread with the hopes of getting some clarification on doing this myself, and as you can see above I received some great advice.

With the old directv phase I dish on my roof and 2 cables running from inside the house to the dish, I would only need to replace the directv lnbf & bracket with a linear lnbf & bracket, and aquire a receiver.

I bought the following:

receiver: Coolsat 5000 off ebay ($41 shipped, http://www.satelliteguys.us/fta-mpeg2-equipment-reviews/48118-coolsat-5000-a.html)
lnbf ($34 shipped, http://www.satelliteguys.us/fta-mpeg2-equipment-reviews/57129-sadoun-standard-dual-lnb-4-a.html)
lnbf bracket ($7.50 shipped, Accessories-FTA Satellite Equipment)

I considered the newer, cheaper ($19 shipped) Techsat Tracker II+ single output LNBF (http://www.satelliteguys.us/fta-mpeg2-equipment-reviews/116168-techsat-tracker-ii-0-2db-lnb.html) which has a lower noise figure mentioned above in link from Anole instead of the sadoun, but since I have the 2 cables already running to the dish and I might want to add another room later, I went with the dual. Plus, the sadoun is warrantied for 2 yrs vs 1 yr on the techsat, so hopefully that extra $15 is worth it.

I also could have rigged a bracket, but I'm generally not that handy, so it cost me another $6 over the above mentioned conduit hanger method. This bracket also has the skew scale molded in, so I thought that would help a newbie like me, given the importance of skew esp. on smaller dishes.

So overall I spent ~$83.00, could have gotten by on $62 (or less if I looked harder for a less expensive receiver). Anyway, I didn't have to buy a dish and install it so I'm happy. No duct tape, wood or hose clamps required...

I used the focal point template that Anole posted, removed the old lnbf, installed the new one with the proper skew (I needed to drill a hole to properly position the lnbf). I messed around aiming the dish for almost an hour before I was receiving a signal on 95 (G3)-11780 H 20760 (http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/85225-i-need-strong-transponder-aim-my-dish.html).

Signal quality moves between 66-67%, which as I understand from other posts is close to the minimum necessary to get a picture. That's ok, the picture is beautiful, and I can fine tune it again if necessary.

Thank you to everyone who posted in this thread and thanks to this site in general for the archive of information. : I know others have done this so my project is not cutting edge but I have this working now to my satisfaction and appreciate the help offered. Maybe I will get bitten by the FTA bug and need to expand later, but for now, CCTV on my 18" dish satisfys me.

Attached are some photos for the archive...

 

[Lak7]

Glad you got it working!
I didn't see if you posted your location, but noticed that the LNB looks "straight" in the holder.
You may need to Skew (twist) the LNB to improve signal.
This page can help with that...
Satellite Look Angles Satellite Heading Calculator Azimuth Elevation Skew Tilt LNBF Latitude and Longitude values
Enter you location and select the Sat from the list, then click "Go".