I've been thinking about trying to receive Ku-Band signals. But I'm stuck between two options: buying a separate dish for Ku-band or buying a C/Ku LNBF. I'd like some repose on this. Which would be better?
Need Some Help
- Thread starter TheBUDGuy
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Your (BUD) dish has to track perfectly for reliable Ku as the beamwidth is extremely narrow. It also must have a reflector that is Ku friendly, as near to solid metal as possible. Some FG dishes from BITD were poor at Ku. The FG is NOT the reflector. It is embedded in the FG. Best is solid metal, next is a PERF with no larger than 1/8 inch holes. Expanded metal is usually the poorest. (Mine) A dedicated Ku dish is the easiest to set up. and the most reliable. I use one Ku dish 'motored' by the BUD and 6 other fixed Ku dishes.
My vote is for separate ku dish(es). I tried c/ku reception on my 8' and it was just not worth the trouble IMO. Just make sure you get one big enough (90cm or better) and you should have no problem. 
Go with a dish just for Ku. Much better. You can also have fun adding more if you have the room.
Yes. When I can't get a signal, I call him up and he comes from space and makes everything work purrrrrfectly. WOW! I never saw that in the picture taken last year. I just went out in the light rain to check. Some of it is dirt and some is just the surface material coming off. Looking at it just now, you can not see what shows up in that picture.
Maybe I caught one of the spies from another planet that is/was checking up on us to see if they want to visit. I hope they are smart enough to stay away.....
What kind of BUD do you have? That would be the first consideration, to see whether it's even suitable for Ku use.
Separate is definitely easier and depending on your C dish, it could be a moot issue altogether.
I've played around a little bit with C/Ku combos on my 9' dish and was having real good results until the C section of my LNBF crapped out. My 9' dish was designed for both C and Ku though.
Others on here prefer C/Ku setups like Magic Static in the post above, Lone Gunman I believe only runs C/Ku setups also. But it all depends on your C dish, whether it's even feasible or not, post up what it is and let others give their thoughts on it's possibilities for Ku.
Separate is definitely easier and depending on your C dish, it could be a moot issue altogether.
I've played around a little bit with C/Ku combos on my 9' dish and was having real good results until the C section of my LNBF crapped out. My 9' dish was designed for both C and Ku though.
Others on here prefer C/Ku setups like Magic Static in the post above, Lone Gunman I believe only runs C/Ku setups also. But it all depends on your C dish, whether it's even feasible or not, post up what it is and let others give their thoughts on it's possibilities for Ku.
I prefer separate dishes for several reasons (most have already been mentioned).
One that hasn't is the ability to be viewing 2 different satellites and accessing channels on different birds without having to move a dish.
Not a big deal but handy, especially when things are frozen up in the winter around here.
One that hasn't is the ability to be viewing 2 different satellites and accessing channels on different birds without having to move a dish.
Not a big deal but handy, especially when things are frozen up in the winter around here.
While a separate dish for ku feeds might be decent, the big missing question is what size dish is in use already?
While we have several large dishes here 8 & 10 footers each has a ku lnb on those dishes as well as C-band.
So much less confusion when every dish has both but nowadays not everyone can get the larger dishes.
If the c-band dish is less than 8' then go with a separate dish for ku, but if you have 8' or better then add a ku feed to the dish.
While we have several large dishes here 8 & 10 footers each has a ku lnb on those dishes as well as C-band.
So much less confusion when every dish has both but nowadays not everyone can get the larger dishes.
If the c-band dish is less than 8' then go with a separate dish for ku, but if you have 8' or better then add a ku feed to the dish.
Years ago when I had an eight foot steel Wilson bud up, that had both and worked very well. Last I knew it was up by Traverse City picking up WiFi.
Has anyone tried to mount KU dish to a BUD? Not trying to hijack thread but I am having this dilemma right now. I have a Titanium C1-PLL on my 10 ft fiberglass dish. I can only get C band, obviously, but, because I like to feed hunt and many or on KU band, I want to get KU. I mounted a KU lnb right next to the C1-PLL but focal point does not allow signal to reach it. I thought about mounting a small reflector to redirect signal but totally manual. I have a 90cm oval dish (old DirectPC dish) that I have mount on side of house not being used. I could mount a bunch of LNBs on it but that requires a lot of cabling and switches, not to mention the wife wants it gone.Thought about mounting to side of big dish. Any thoughts?
Side mounting a KU LNBF works fine. Just add a 2nd KU motor position that is 4 or 5 degrees east/west of the C-band position. The dish just needs to be bumped a few degrees so the KU LNBF is in the sweet spot for the reflected signal.
A few members have mounted a dedicated KU dish to the bottom edge of their c-band dish with good results.
A few members have mounted a dedicated KU dish to the bottom edge of their c-band dish with good results.
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