Help with Primestar Dish

[Ironsides]

I am sure this has been asked a several times, however the search didn't result in the answers I seek! Or I have overlooked them in the past hour reading past posts...

Out dish hunting today and scored a PrimeStar Dish that's 3 feet wide by 24 1/2 inches high, oval dish. The dish is in excellent condition for its age! I cleaned it using some Mean Green and applied a little 2001 and then some secret dish protector and cleaner! It looks almost new! My own formula I might add...works great for rain and snow and improves the looks! Also to help ID this old man, its a Channel Master and the Mold is 90x63

I also scored the entire mounting bracket and mast had I wanted to dig it out. I opt'ed for the Mount only! LOL! Besides it was raining!

My Question is could is, Could I swap out the LNB and use an Invacom Universal Single LNB model C120? Could I use it for White Springs? I'm sure I could with the Invacom but still using the original wave guide? Or would I need to swap out the entire wave guide? The wave guide appears to be in great shape and appears the C120 would bolt right up!

Or if the original LNB is still working, Could I use it for White Springs? Galaxy 27?

I will give you the information from the original LNB,
NJR2162F is the model, and the serial is 621026633
Made in Japan.

If the orignal is workable, what would the LNB type be on my Pansat 2700?
I guess what would the settings be? Standard or Universal?
LO?

22hz off or on?

I forgot to mention the original LNB only has ONE port, not 2 as some do...

I hope this dish will be great for FTA, it's just to nice of a dish to allow to retire without seeing a few more sunsets!

Thanks in Advance!
Happy Holidays!

 

[dem0nlord]

Standard LNB, so 10750, no 22khz. It's single polarity so you just need to have it rotated to the right position.

 

[Ironsides]

Wow it gets confusing

1st thanks for replying to my thread! You've answered some of my questions. I have been reading and I'm getting conflicting information concerning the LNB.

Model Number NJR2162F ONE INPUT FROM RECEIVER

As I mentioned the LNB in question, everyone pretty much agrees is linear. Standard setting...and so on...LO 10750

Now this is where it gets interesting some say its either vertical or horizontal but not both. So your either going to get vertical channels or depending again on what type of skew Horizontal...I thought skew but now I am confused, Or, I confused myself! LOL!

Some say it is voltages Switched and others say it is 22hz switched!

So confusing for me! I guess one thing is We all agree its KU, Its Standard and the LO....10750

I was reading and even some people claimed that in Primestars last days, Direct TV purchased them and used the New Type LNB as mentioned above so a receiver could receive both vertical and horizontals by what ever means of switching...See.. why I am confused...But here, I have never been steered wrongly so I will proceed at full speed setting it up and hope for the best...

 

[Mr Tony]

googling the LNB part I see this
NJR2162F GlobeCast WorldTV SINGLE Output LNBF

which is a single output LNB and will get both polarities just fine just like any other LNB

The older LNB's for P* were dual but one output was V only and one was H only

 

[Anole]

I've looked these LNBs up before, and you can if you really want.
The key here, is that it's old. So, what they had back then, is pretty simple stuff.
That's why we know it's 10750, and no 22khz, etc.

Newer versions of that dish, or similar dishes, came with, or were retrofitted with, or can take, different LNBs, which bolt right on.
The oldest ones have two outputs, with Vertical on one coax, and Horizontal on the other.
Then some later ones, generally marked Hughes, will have a single output, but select V/H by voltage.

You can also bolt on a bandstacked LNB from a DishNetwork SuperDish 105° or 121°.
Both are now retired, and if you are in an area where they were used, dig 'em out of the trash.

Yes, you could also bolt on a QPF-031 LNB. That's the F (Flange) , not the H (feedHorn) model.

However, catching the one signal on 129°, Whitesprings, is so easy, I wouldn't waste a lot of effort on it.
Don't invest any money in a better LNB - you don't need one.
And frankly, that dish is probably better put to other uses.
Here's the dish I got Whitesprings with a while back.
Their conservative error correction lets you dig their signal out of the mud just fine.


edit: oh, I see Iceberg looked it up. Well, regardless, it's just fine as is.
Let me get my fork and poke you. Yer done.

 

[Ironsides]

Thanks Guys

Thanks Guys! So all I do is stick her up and pray the LNB is still good...LOL

Later I will repoint it to something else but I was just interested in White Springs for now...I had a ding of a time hitting G18 due to my location, nothing here is easy due to hills, trees and just things are always in the way!
The LNB if its ok is something like a .9db so I will upgrade it later down the road if I can....Still like that C120

Anole, I like this one here, will it work with the original wave guide?
hxxp://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=330277990505

I will be looking for one with some cheaper shipping...

By the way, Happy Holidays!

Ice, been reading you for a few years guy and you are the man!

 

[Mr Tony]

The LNB if its ok is something like a .9db so I will upgrade it later down the road if I can....Still like that C120

dont let the .9db fool you. I've seen those Primestar LNB's work just as good as some LNB's that "claim" a .3

 

[Ironsides]

Soon as the

As soon as the weather clears, I'll try and get out and test her out a little, see if that Old LNB is still got some life in her. I wish I had a way to test it out INSIDE! My wife would kill me if I started moving stuff to get to a window!

Just wait for her to leave for work! If the weather don't ease some...

Iceburg, only reason I would replace it for 2 reasons one if it is bad of course and two how well it works. I figure it sitting all these years with no power on it, and I try and wake it up it might last a while before it goes south. Course I have to C-Band LNBs been playing for nearly 20 years fine as wine..they sit for long periods...sometimes...

 

[Mr Tony]

I got a P* this fall that hadnt been used in years (probably a half a decade ore more....if you saw the bugs and bird crap on it you'd believe me) and it fired up right away. The signals were about the same as my .4 LNB

 

[Anole]

That Invacom you're dying to spend your money on, is a nice one.
But... I'll bet $5 you don't -need- it! The old one is probably fine.
And, you certainly do not need it to watch Whitesprings.
Did you read the links I posted above??? -
I think we need a little emoticon for slapping someone silly.! -

A while back, some other vendor had the same thing for sale on eBay.
He even had the Invacoms with two outputs... and I kicked myself for not getting some for future uses.
Well, it's been a few months or a year, and I have come to the conclusion that the inexpensive Hughes or the nearly-free Dish Network LNBs would be just dandy.

As a matter of fact, I'm negotiating right now, with someone who's going to send me a similar dish.
(see below)
I have no plans at all, to change-out the LNB!

 

[Ironsides]

Hope I am so Lucky!

I got a P* this fall that hadnt been used in years (probably a half a decade ore more....if you saw the bugs and bird crap on it you'd believe me) and it fired up right away. The signals were about the same as my .4 LNB

Ice, Hope I am so lucky! My luck is never good so I tend to expect the worst...Yes, I would believe how dirty your dish was because this one was full of wasp nests, spiders and all sorts of stuff. The LNB cover was full of dirt and the arm was also filled with so much dirt the Coax was stuck solid. Took me 5 to 10 minutes of washing to get it all out and break the coax free! LOL! However, the LNB appears to be in very good shape and doesn't appear as some I have seen, burnt black. I once took down a C-Band dish that had been hit by lighting and that was a sad sight! Poor thing had No grounding on it whats so ever other than the main mast. It was embedded in cement which insulates and doesn't provide good grounding. Something often over looked or in the past with C-Band dishes was proper grounding! When I installed my C-Band dish, it has 8, 10 foot grounding rods driven into the ground and we used 10 gauge solid copper wire and ground straps. 8 was overkill but I used 4 of them on 2 other projects!

Anole,
I'm in no hurry to spend money and as I said, only reason I would replace it, is if it does not work or has degraded to the point it will no longer pull in a decent signal. Yes the Invacom is very nice and I like the quality of Invacom but again that isn't a reason to just buy it for no reasons as you've pointed out. Also note, that I said, I would find an LNB that was cheaper because of Shipping if the need exists!

I'm no expert with LNB's or for that matter FTA, but, I do have some experience with Electronics and repair. Over the years electronic parts degrade, especially certian types of capacitors. Note also, Electronics will degrade in function due to weather changes, such as heat and cold. Not to mention Lighting and Static discharges! This LNB has been exposed to the elements for many years. No need to explain all that as I am very positive you're aware. Just thought you read a little to much into what I had posted.

Hopefully I will be as lucky as Iceburg and be able to enjoy the dish with No Changes for many years! Something else to consider, I've seen the dish, talked to the original owner, his exact words was "oh it hasn't worked in years", "you are welcome to it". Ok, he could have meant several things by that. I assume he meant Primestar went south not the dish/lnb. Least, I can hope that's what his meaning was. I would have asked but he was eating supper:, it was raining and I had already bothered him long enough. I removed the dish and left...

I read the postings and enjoyed them and learned a little, also enjoyed your pictures! If you still feel the need to find a means to slap silly, slap away! It would be my pleasure! I would like to "try" the P* out on Whitesprings and as I said, later I will try for something else. At this time, WS is where my interests are. Once I see how well it preforms then sure it will move on to something else like G19 or whatever I decide!

By the way the DirectWay dish is the Exact Same dish as The DirectPC dish that I mod'ed. I hope you are pleased with it! I hope the LNB is Okay, the one I have is toasted...

Happy Holidays! Again, thanks guys, for the help and time! Your Opinions are very much appreciated! :up

 

[BarneyBean]

I found 3 of those old dishes and all the LNB's worked fine. I'm using one now and it works just fine on Whitesprings and others as well

 

[turbosat]

mine worked very well

Still have mine, same exact one that Anole's picture shows, and it was used for 3yrs for internet, until dsl finally made it to my area. It was the first dish I had to use for fta, and on top of the house. It was pointed at Satmex5, and you can imagine what kind of fun a greenhorn had trying to point it at 123 and get a signal. Took me a couple of days I think, finally dragging a small tv and extension cord up the ladder with me. That dish has a great pointing mechanism, but its hard to aim at some sats.
The whole thing is heavy, even with the transmitter removed.
Brent was right about the southeast's pointing angle for 123/125, thinking about putting that direcway dish back up and leaving it on AMC21 since it seems to reject the adjacent sat's interference pretty well.

 

[Ironsides]

Directway

I agree, the DirectPC or DirectWay dish is a great dish for FTA! I agree also it's hard to aim at some satellites. It seems very narrow but once you get a lock it is very good and stable. I have the exact dish Anole pictured above and sadly the LNB was toasted. I was lucky that nothing had been removed and got the entire dish from a Thrift store who had already made arrangements to have it thrown away! They charged me something like $5 dollars for it which I complained about due to the fact it was on its way to the dump.

I had the dish pointed at 61.5 for a couple of years and never used it for anything. Just had a regular LNB cable tied to it and never had very good "Q".
I research some of the modifcations others had done for a couple of years before ever taking it down and trying my own design.

My first attempt proved a success so I proceeded to plan B and used a Fortec Universal on it for Galaxy 18. I then decided I wanted to Try for White Springs and purchased a 2nd LNB for that. When some of my supplies arrive I will add a 2nd LNB back for White Springs as I have decided to just leave the DPC dish pointed at Galaxy 18 for a while. :up

Now that I have the P* I will try it for Whitesprings a day or so and move on!

Over all, I think Anole will enjoy the DirectWay Dish and have great fun setting her up. I sure have!
hxxp://www.winnfreenet.com/primestar.html found this link about P* dishes...thought I would share!

 

[Ironsides]

Well I do know the LNB is Working

Update, enduring high winds I managed to lock a satellite just moving the dish around on a stand. What satellite I have Not a Clue although I am searching for something that will give me a clue as to which one the dish located when I placed it on a stand...Main thing is We're all pleased to know the LNB is working and no need to bother replacing it!

This is what I found for those interested,
MS90
MS91
MS92
Test Channel
FedEx
FXTV Channel2
FedEx
FedEx
Fed
TV English
TV Latino
Hope Church
ESPERANZA TV
Hope Channel
ATN/ACN Channel
ATN Service
Gala-1
Gala-2

Radio
MS61 Scrambled
3ABN Radio
Radio 74
Lifetalk Radio


Its Strong and the video is outstanding on these TV feeds...

 

[phlatwound]

Looks like at least some of those channels are on AMC 4 Ku @ 101W.

AMC 4 at 101.0°W - LyngSat

 

[Mr Tony]

you're getting a mix of AMC1 (103W) and AMC4 (101W)

 

[Ironsides]

That is what I thought

That's what I thought guys but wasn't sure! Good news is it works, don't know if you will believe this but I have an old motor stand. It's actually for a water pump and a briggs motor. At any rate, the motor went bad and pump but I kept the old stand. It works great for holding dishes and cleaning or replacing parts.

How I came to this unknown satellite, I just sit it down and My meter went to 100 and was making a good solid tone. It being late, I decided to stop before dark, so I cut everything off and unhooked for the day. Not wanting water to get in the LNB I just re-hooked the feed. Came inside to warm up and decided I would just do a blind scan and hey got something...

I think its funny I just laid it down and it locked a couple of birds.... Gotta love FTA!!!

 

[Anole]

Those $10 meters just read the total IF signal out of the LNBf.
So, if there's a DBS satellite on the same orbital location as the FTA bird you are seeking, there's often plenty of signal spill-over to light up your meter.
... even though you are using a linear LNB.
101° is a big DirecTV location.

I found Whitesprings on 129° the same way.
It's got a Dish Network bird at the same orbital location.

 

[savoy9020]

Still have mine, same exact one that Anole's picture shows, and it was used for 3yrs for internet, until dsl finally made it to my area. It was the first dish I had to use for fta, and on top of the house. It was pointed at Satmex5, and you can imagine what kind of fun a greenhorn had trying to point it at 123 and get a signal. Took me a couple of days I think, finally dragging a small tv and extension cord up the ladder with me. That dish has a great pointing mechanism, but its hard to aim at some sats.
The whole thing is heavy, even with the transmitter removed.
Brent was right about the southeast's pointing angle for 123/125, thinking about putting that direcway dish back up and leaving it on AMC21 since it seems to reject the adjacent sat's interference pretty well.

I've been doing the same thing wth my Hughesnet. Haven't been able to get a blip on it, but can find G18 freehand with my P*.. Since you went through the pain with the DirecPC LNB, and suggestions? My Hughesnet Dish/LNB are only about 3 years old. Have the TX removed..