Mini-Bud Test Results - Day 1

[Mikey11]

my first day playing around with a mini-bud....only had a few hours but was actually more successful than i expected....my setup is a 39 inch dish with SG9120 motor with an invacom LNB....

i started by peaking in the signal for 91w ku-band and saved the position....then i shut it all off and swapped the LNB for a DMX-241 c-band and conical scaler ring....i removed the plastic end cap from the lnb and taped a zip-lock bag around the lnb to prevent water damage....i hoped this might add a bit signal quality....

started by moving the lnb in and out and the ring in and out to see the best reading i could get which was about 25Q (using a viewsat ultra) which is enough to lock on this receiver....i then removed the conical scaler ring completely and the quality stayed the same with it off....i installed the flat scaler ring and the quality went up a bit to about 35Q....

the weather was very cloudy so who knows maybe i could even do better on a clear day....i was able to get a few TPs from 91w and a few from 99W at about 35-40Q which is more than enough to watch without any pixelation....

i have not adjusted the vertical dish setting yet, i only adjusted horizontally with the motor....so im not sure if that is peaked or not but seems pretty good when im using it for ku....

all in all i think its a good start for only a couple hours work....i have attached some pics of the dish and tv screenshots....one of 91w and one of 99w....

 

[costactc]

Impressive and very informative, nice pics.

 

[Anole]

Not that I encourage mini-budding, other than for bragging rights . . .

Your C-band LNB holder puts your LNBF higher than the original Invacom (?)
That means, your dish now looks lower than it used to (!)
I'd mark the elevation on your dish mount (not the motor) and raise the dish slightly looking for a better signal.
It's quite possible you won't actually be able to measure a difference, so don't worry.
May want to come back to this later.

Here's info on scalar tuning for both flat and conical units.
Note the flat scalar setting is very critical, so keep that in mind.

Quote of ACradio and MikeKohl on scalar tuning:
1.2 Meter miniBUD Modified Scalar Ring

 

[Mikey11]

Your C-band LNB holder puts your LNBF higher than the original Invacom (?)
That means, your dish now looks lower than it used to (!)

i wasnt aware of that, what would make you think this?.....it seemed the same to me

 

[Anole]

i wasnt aware of that, what would make you think this?.....it seemed the same to me

The Ku LNBF face is usually an inch or two above the mounting bracket, depending on the particular design.
When you replace the little Ku LNBF with a big (large diameter) C-band LNBF, it's pretty hard to get the center of it at the the exact same height.
I've not seen any after-market brackets which could do the job.

Likewise, the giant C-band scalar doesn't fit between your side support struts, and that tends to make you move the C-band LNBF higher above the proper focus point, too.
Just another reason I don't recommend mini-budding as a serious pursuit.
(some serious people have done crazy things like spread the side supports or notch the scalar to get the lnbf & scalar down to the actual focus)

So, if you're happy with what you've got, then try the scalar tuning suggested above.
That may buy you a little more performance.

 

[Mikey11]

the giant C-band scalar doesn't fit between your side support struts

yes it does fit....it is not touching anything, not the lnb arm or support arms....and it will not touch the support arms or lnb arm no matter how far i slide the lnb or scaler ring in or out....

the lnb bracket is made for my particular offset dish and arm, it takes into consideration the focal point and scaler ring size, and fits perfectly on the support arm....i have used a laser level to compare the two and it is aiming at the exact same spot on the dish as the invacom was....

in any case, if what you are saying was true then i will get even better results after i adjust the vertical dish setting....so its a win, win situation for me....

 

[Mikey11]

Impressive and very informative, nice pics.

thanks!!

 

[Anole]

the lnb bracket is made for my particular offset dish and arm, it takes into consideration the focal point and scaler ring size, and fits perfectly on the support arm....i have used a laser level to compare the two and it is aiming at the exact same spot on the dish as the invacom was....

Then you are far better off than most who go mini-BUDding. - :up
Which dish 'n bracket are you using with such qualities?

in any case, if what you are saying was true then i will get even better results after i adjust the vertical dish setting....so its a win, win situation for me....

No, if you are correct, then there is nothing to be gained by vertical adjustment of the dish.

Please proceed to the scalar adjustments described by ACradio and MikeKohl, above.
And best of luck.

 

[Mikey11]

Then you are far better off than most who go mini-BUDding. - :up
Which dish 'n bracket are you using with such qualities?

No, if you are correct, then there is nothing to be gained by vertical adjustment of the dish.

Please proceed to the scalar adjustments described by ACradio and MikeKohl, above.
And best of luck.

The dish is an ROC, the fine people at "hypermegasat" told me it would fit perfectly on my dish which it does,

The holder basically slides right over the end of the lnb arm and stays in place securely even without the nut and bolt, and the scaler ring is about an 1/8-1/4 inch away from the support arms, a very nice fit, better than I expected,

The only reason I want to try the vertical dish adjustment is because I'm not 100% sure it was peaked in to start with, although I seem to get the entire arc very well on ku-band so I must be very close, if not right on,

The only two birds I have tried are 91 and 99, not sure what else to try next,

One problem is my dish is mounted about 10 feet up on my wall to clear my neighbours house, so all my adjustments need to be done on a ladder,

Thanks for your help and advice, not sure when I will get more time to "play" but I will keep the thread updated in the future,

 

[Jim S.]

I tried on a 39" GeoSatPro dish, the commonly-found bracket and conical scalar seemed to fit that one perfectly too. I could only get one or two transponders on 91 and 99, and nothing on other satellites, although I didn't have LOS to a few satellites that are supposed to be really hot on C-band such as 118 and 58.

 

[Mikey11]

I tried on a 39" GeoSatPro dish, the commonly-found bracket and conical scalar seemed to fit that one perfectly too. I could only get one or two transponders on 91 and 99, and nothing on other satellites, although I didn't have LOS to a few satellites that are supposed to be really hot on C-band such as 118 and 58.

thanks.....maybe i will try those next....i dont know where alot of "hot" tps are....that is one of my problems....