--Hi, all. I am about to have my big dish tweaked by an installer in the next few weeks, and I was wondering something. Will I need a larger dish? I currently have an 8.5 foot KTI. I told the installer I was having trouble getting some of the sats in, including G1, and he said it was possible I needed a bigger dish where I am (I'm in southeast Oklahoma). The installer sounded legit., and he was NOT trying to sell me a bigger dish. So, do you think I might need a bigger dish? Are there any folks south of me on this forum that have an 8.5 foot or smaller dish they currently use to get the whole arc of 4DTV (and analog) C band satellites? IF there are people out there with a similar setup as mine that live south of me, I will then know that my 8.5 footer will be just fine. Thanks for your help.
Dish size with 4DTV question...
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I use a 7.5 foot SAMI dish for 4DTV, DVB and analog. It works fine with excellent signal quality on most satellites. I'm located in Canada. I have had subscriptions to the Starz movie pack, the NPS channels on G3, and some of the original feeds on the lower satellites - no issues at all with the 7.5 foot dish. Most of the satellites these days seem to kick out a pretty good signal strength.
--Thanks. I looked at this map Galaxy 15 at 133.0°W - LyngSat Maps and it shows that I am pretty much in the hottest area of G1 coverage. I know that "bigger is better" when it comes to dishes, but if my 8.5 footer will work, I won't mess with getting a larger dish.
How old is your LNB? I am using a 35 degree Echostar LNB on my 7.5 foot dish with very good results. If you need more signal strength and your LNB is really old, a new LNB may be the cheapest way to squeeze a little more signal out of your dish.
I agree with Davage on this, plus you might want to try to peak (re-align) your dish for optimal performance.
--My LNB is brand new. The current Norsat 8115 LNB replaced an Eagle Aspen SLT12017+ LNB a couple of weeks ago. I bought the new Norsat 8115 to replace the Eagle Aspen thinking it would improve on my G1 signal (which was only 37 at the time). Well, when I put on the new Norsat, the signal was exactly the same as before. I even wrote down the signal quality on several different satellites, and my new Norsat had the exact same signal quality as the older Eagle Aspen. The specs on the Eagle Aspen are 17°k, 65dB, LO stability +/- 1 MHz. The specs on the Norsat are 15°k, 55 min. dB/70 max dB gain, LO stability +/- 100 kHz. So, really, the main difference is the much better LO stability that the Norsat 8115 has. The Eagle Aspen LNBs are really good little LNBs.
--I tried moving that silly dish up, down, left, right and every which way but loose. Also, I even messed with the focal point of the dish, moving it from .40 to .42, etc. but nothing seems to improve it. That's why I wondered if it was a dish size problem. Hopefully the satellite installer can fix this.
In my opinion, if I had an installer tell me an 8.5 foot dish might not be big enough I'd be asking the installer for his qualifications. If you have a j-hook mount, have you check that its still centered and not sagged? Is the feedhorn pointed to the center of the dish? Are there any wasps' nests or other things in the feedhorn blocking the signal? Are you sure the cable and connectors are in good condition? Just some thoughts. Good luck.
I'm new to C-band world, I got tired of Directv so installed my 7.5 foot system last summer and still learning how to get all my adjustments just right, but here in eastern Iowa on G1 my signal is 90 with quality 32. Question, have you checked to make sure you feedhorn is centered in you dish, I purchase a laser led assy from Skyvision to help me center my feedhorn in the dish, expense but it sure makes life easier.
I had good HBO/Max signals on the old G-1 satellite with my 7.5' SAMI mesh dish.
If I remeber right 65 to 68 percent most of the time with a dsr-905 sidecar.
The other tp was 58-60 percent quality. Never had macroblocking.
Your 8.5' is fine if it is in good shape. use a good lnb and make sure it is tracking the arc properly.
Be sure there are no trees or buildings interfering with your line of sight.
If I remeber right 65 to 68 percent most of the time with a dsr-905 sidecar.
The other tp was 58-60 percent quality. Never had macroblocking.
Your 8.5' is fine if it is in good shape. use a good lnb and make sure it is tracking the arc properly.
Be sure there are no trees or buildings interfering with your line of sight.
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