Dish size question from Newb.

[freetowhat]

Hello guys,

I'm very new to this FTA, but been reading some posts and articles on very general topics.

My question is what size dish is good for getting a good quality signal? (assuming that the size of the dish corresponds to signal reception strength)

I could be wrong w/ that, but I heard that 30" dish or larger is required for general Ku band Sats.

My plan is to get:

viewsat MaxHD receiver and 36" or 1 meter dish w/ no motor (yet), single LNB and no switch.

This is just to start getting a clearer signal and more channel than what I have now.

I live in SE Phoenix, Az with relatively clear view of the south eastern sky.

I don't have a particular sat I want to aim, but want a good sat w/ many HD channel as I can pick up. (any suggestion would be very appreciated)

Ultimately, I would like to receive Asian signal, particularly Korean and Japanese channels (if available).

I heard that some are down now for ? reasons...

Any help w/ any/ all my equipment choices will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for educating the newbee!

Also, if you would point me to a online store to avoid, that would be cool too.
Thanks again.

John.

 

[ikki]

There are three Korean channels on 101 West

2119 V 30000

1. Rotates programming
2. MBC
3. SBS

Also on 97 West

11999 H 20000

All winter I was able to watch Arirang, however that is now just a black screen. Unknown if it will return.

As far as programming from Japan, that is a CBand issue and requires a 6 foot dish.

As far a KU band satellite dish size. I am a fan of 90 centimeters or larger if space and politics allow, the first LNBF that I purchased was a Invacom QPH-031 ($55.00) and it works great.

However if you not planning on having multiple receivers I would also recommend a Techsat Tracker II Plus ($20.00) both work incredibly well for me.

Let me add one more thing,

If you do not want to mess with a motor, and decide to go with a larger dish. Many of the sponsors sell a dual LNBF kit, which will allow you to receive both 97 and 101 at the same time. (Two of my favorite satellites) which will only work with the smaller Techsat Tracker II Plus type LNBFs. (IE will not be easily done with the Invacoms)

 

[Anole]

My plan is to get:

viewsat MaxHD receiver and 36" or 1 meter dish w/ no motor (yet), single LNB and no switch.

This is just to start getting a clearer signal and more channel than what I have now.

The 36 or 40 inch dish is a good idea.
1m dishes cost a lot to ship, so unless you can find one locally, you might want to order a 36" size.

I don't believe the fellows here have too much good to say about that receiver.
So, you might want to get a 3rd opinion before laying down your money.

I'm kind of fond of the new motors Sadoun sells: the 280 and 380's have been well received.

Concerning your locals you get now, an outdoor antenna and an ATSC tuner will give you pretty good local service.
Try the site TVfool for info and help.
We also have a comprehensive HD and OTA Forum here at SatGuy's.

I don't have a particular sat I want to aim, but want a good sat w/ many HD channel as I can pick up. (any suggestion would be very appreciated)

The bird at 125° w has PBS in HD, full time.
I belive that's the only 24/7 HD regularly scheduled for Ku in FTA.
There may be other HD programming available part-time, temporarily, or for special events (feeds).
Many members here are addicted to finding concerts, sporting events, and news feeds, but they are not reliable.

edit:
Back to SD -
I believe there's some NHK Japanese programming on C-band around 58° w, but you should look that up.
Try: The List, or Global-CM.
Would you be able to install a large dish? Probably 8 or 10 feet?

Also, there is Tan TV, a subscription Korean service on Ku (you pay for a card and shove it into your receiver).

 

[AcWxRadar]

Hello guys,

I'm very new to this FTA, but been reading some posts and articles on very general topics.

My question is what size dish is good for getting a good quality signal? (assuming that the size of the dish corresponds to signal reception strength)

I could be wrong w/ that, but I heard that 30" dish or larger is required for general Ku band Sats.

Any help w/ any/ all my equipment choices will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for educating the newbee!

Thanks again.

John.

John,

I can help you with a really excellent website that will provide you with the information needed to determine the dish size you will require.

Google for: "Satbeams.com". You register as a member and use more of their features, but you can use it just anonymously to find really nice footprint (EIRP) maps for all satellites around the world.

I must warn you that this site is very, very slow to load its map images. If you get a message regarding aborting a script because it may cause your computer to become unresponsive, click NO - DO NOT ABORT. It will eventually load up, it just takes a long time.

Also, another forewarning, I think their estimation of the dish size required for each specific EIRP level is over-exaggerated. I know for a fact that i can receive some of the satellites with a 76cm dish and they are stating that I need a 100 cm dish.

This website may very well be correct in regards to getting some of the weaker TPs or channels. But, I also might have a dish and LNBF and receiver combination that aids me in this endeavor.

I think they are basing their minimum recommended dish size on some very low quality dishes and LNBFs and receivers (just to play it safe in a CYA approach).

If you check this site out, I am sure that you will like it. They have EIRP maps for all satellites over the globe whereas Lyngsat and SatCoDX might lack them or be a little non-up-to-date.

This is an interactive website so you can comment and post corrections if needed. Not sure how to do that yet, but they state that it is an option and they welcome your input there. It is kinda like WikiPedia.

I urge you to fool around with it as I find it quite informative and very exceptional.

Gordy (RADAR)

 

[B.J.]

....

My plan is to get:

viewsat MaxHD receiver and 36" or 1 meter dish w/ no motor (yet), single LNB and no switch.

......
I don't have a particular sat I want to aim, but want a good sat w/ many HD channel as I can pick up. (any suggestion would be very appreciated)
.....

There are more HD channels on C-band, than on Ku, although there is more on Ku than just the PBS stuff. One channel has been around for about 10 months now, a few others have been around for a couple months. Nothing on satellite is permanent though, even PBS.

HOWEVER, and the reason for replying, is that particularly with HD channels, the growing trend is for channels to be in MPEG4 mode, mainly because they can squeeze more channels onto a transponder. That Viewsat MaxHD receiver does not seem to be MPEG4 compatable from looking at the specs.

The more expensive Viewsat says it supports mpeg4, plus several other brands do also. I really wouldn't recommend anyone to save a few $ by buying a high priced receiver that doesn't do MPEG4. I'd recommend starting out with a cheap SD receiver, possibly even a PCI computer card receiver, until you're familiar with what's up there, and probably once you've played with that a bit, the price of the higher end receivers that do both DVB-S2 and MPEG4 will come down a bit.


EDIT: Actually, I'm a bit confused about the Viewsat MaxHD receiver's capability. I read it's specs and it didn't mention mpeg4, then I read the specs of the more expensive Viewsat 9000HD, which does say that it does mpeg4, however I just noticed that it says that the MaxHD actually replaces the 9000HD, which seems weird to me, that a supposedly more capable model would eliminate an important capability like mpeg4. Perhaps someone who owns these receivers might have more info, as I just commented from reading the specs. The Pansat 9200 supposedly does mpeg4, but you have to pay extra for the DVB-S2 module. The Diamond 9000 does DVB-S2 AND Mpeg4, however it seems to have been discontinued. About the only one left is the Coolsat 8000 and 8100, and while both of these are good sensitive receivers, many people (including me) have had problems with freezing and rebooting, etc.
There are a couple other models about to hit the market, so I'd still recommend starting with SD, and waiting for the HD market to stabilize.

 

[freetowhat]

There are three Korean channels on 101 West

2119 V 30000

1. Rotates programming
2. MBC
3. SBS

Also on 97 West

11999 H 20000

All winter I was able to watch Arirang, however that is now just a black screen. Unknown if it will return.

As far as programming from Japan, that is a CBand issue and requires a 6 foot dish.

As far a KU band satellite dish size. I am a fan of 90 centimeters or larger if space and politics allow, the first LNBF that I purchased was a Invacom QPH-031 ($55.00) and it works great.

However if you not planning on having multiple receivers I would also recommend a Techsat Tracker II Plus ($20.00) both work incredibly well for me.

Let me add one more thing,

If you do not want to mess with a motor, and decide to go with a larger dish. Many of the sponsors sell a dual LNBF kit, which will allow you to receive both 97 and 101 at the same time. (Two of my favorite satellites) which will only work with the smaller Techsat Tracker II Plus type LNBFs. (IE will not be easily done with the Invacoms)

Ikki,

Thanks a lot for your advice, I will aim for 97 and 101. I'll get the dual LNBFs.

 

[freetowhat]

The 36 or 40 inch dish is a good idea.
1m dishes cost a lot to ship, so unless you can find one locally, you might want to order a 36" size.

I don't believe the fellows here have too much good to say about that receiver.
So, you might want to get a 3rd opinion before laying down your money.


Also, there is Tan TV, a subscription Korean service on Ku (you pay for a card and shove it into your receiver).

Thanks for that insight. I heard that Max HD was the best selling HD receiver now. Plus it's got HDMI output which I want. I'll do more diggin' and reconsider getting other HD system or even a cheap SD.

 

[freetowhat]

John,

I can help you with a really excellent website that will provide you with the information needed to determine the dish size you will require.

Google for: "Satbeams.com". You register as a member and use more of their features, but you can use it just anonymously to find really nice footprint (EIRP) maps for all satellites around the world.

I must warn you that this site is very, very slow to load its map images. If you get a message regarding aborting a script because it may cause your computer to become unresponsive, click NO - DO NOT ABORT. It will eventually load up, it just takes a long time.

Also, another forewarning, I think their estimation of the dish size required for each specific EIRP level is over-exaggerated. I know for a fact that i can receive some of the satellites with a 76cm dish and they are stating that I need a 100 cm dish.

This website may very well be correct in regards to getting some of the weaker TPs or channels. But, I also might have a dish and LNBF and receiver combination that aids me in this endeavor.

I think they are basing their minimum recommended dish size on some very low quality dishes and LNBFs and receivers (just to play it safe in a CYA approach).

If you check this site out, I am sure that you will like it. They have EIRP maps for all satellites over the globe whereas Lyngsat and SatCoDX might lack them or be a little non-up-to-date.

This is an interactive website so you can comment and post corrections if needed. Not sure how to do that yet, but they state that it is an option and they welcome your input there. It is kinda like WikiPedia.

I urge you to fool around with it as I find it quite informative and very exceptional.

Gordy (RADAR)

Thanks Gordy,

I'll try the website and other resources before making final decision. I was ready to buy yesterday, but because of the new info. I'll re-think it. I really don't want to have C band dish (reminds me of the 80s) in the back yard.

 

[freetowhat]

There are more HD channels on C-band, than on Ku, although there is more on Ku than just the PBS stuff. One channel has been around for about 10 months now, a few others have been around for a couple months. Nothing on satellite is permanent though, even PBS.

HOWEVER, and the reason for replying, is that particularly with HD channels, the growing trend is for channels to be in MPEG4 mode, mainly because they can squeeze more channels onto a transponder. That Viewsat MaxHD receiver does not seem to be MPEG4 compatable from looking at the specs.

The more expensive Viewsat says it supports mpeg4, plus several other brands do also. I really wouldn't recommend anyone to save a few $ by buying a high priced receiver that doesn't do MPEG4. I'd recommend starting out with a cheap SD receiver, possibly even a PCI computer card receiver, until you're familiar with what's up there, and probably once you've played with that a bit, the price of the higher end receivers that do both DVB-S2 and MPEG4 will come down a bit.


EDIT: Actually, I'm a bit confused about the Viewsat MaxHD receiver's capability. I read it's specs and it didn't mention mpeg4, then I read the specs of the more expensive Viewsat 9000HD, which does say that it does mpeg4, however I just noticed that it says that the MaxHD actually replaces the 9000HD, which seems weird to me, that a supposedly more capable model would eliminate an important capability like mpeg4. Perhaps someone who owns these receivers might have more info, as I just commented from reading the specs. The Pansat 9200 supposedly does mpeg4, but you have to pay extra for the DVB-S2 module. The Diamond 9000 does DVB-S2 AND Mpeg4, however it seems to have been discontinued. About the only one left is the Coolsat 8000 and 8100, and while both of these are good sensitive receivers, many people (including me) have had problems with freezing and rebooting, etc.
There are a couple other models about to hit the market, so I'd still recommend starting with SD, and waiting for the HD market to stabilize.

You're right about the spec on the MaxHD. I heard that it was replacing 9000 model. I'll look into a cheap SD and 1 meter dish w/ dual LNBFs just to start.

 

[Tron]

A 36" dish will perform very well, and is far cheaper to ship than a 1 meter. A 1 meter dish costs about 3 times as much to ship, since they have to go freight. You won't get that much improvement from a 1 meter versus a 36". A 36" also is easier to motorize (lighter, not as large) if you decide to get a motor in the future (you will )...

 

[freetowhat]

A 36" dish will perform very well, and is far cheaper to ship than a 1 meter. A 1 meter dish costs about 3 times as much to ship, since they have to go freight. You won't get that much improvement from a 1 meter versus a 36". A 36" also is easier to motorize (lighter, not as large) if you decide to get a motor in the future (you will )...

Tron,

Awesome! That's exactly the answer I was looking for (at least one of them) .

Is motorized dish like having a fixed w/ multiple LNBs? Or can you use one / single Lnb and move to different sat. and receive it's signal?

 

[Tron]

Motorized dishes usually have 1 LNB. The motor moves the entire dish to the desired satellite. Advantage: You can hit all satellites you can see from your location. Disadvantage: You can only see one satellite at a time, and it may take a little time for the motor to move from one satellite to the next.

 

[freetowhat]

Since my aim is to get Asian channels, I'm also looking into getting a C band dish. I read that 1.2 meter dish can get some C channels, so I'll read more on that. I'm sure looking into HD or even SD receiver w/ C or Ku band will work. I think motorized may be the way to go for me also.

So much info, so little time...
Thanks to Tron and everyone who took the time to educate me.

 

[Tron]

For C-Band, it is really best to use at least a 6 foot dish, unless you don't have the space or are not allowed to erect a dish of that size. 1.2 meter dishes will pick up SOME C-Band, but are more of an experimental project than a reliable C-Band reception solution. Let us know when you decide on a system, and the members here can give you plenty of opinions, based on experience, on how best to proceed

 

[Mr Tony]

I guess what are considered "Asian" channels? Lots of different areas over there so I cant comment on if getting a C-band dish what channels are out there

I guess here is a list of the 24/7 C-Band stuff
global-cm.net/MPEGlistCBandUS.html