New to Cband, what do I need..

[goaliebob99]

Ok I have never setup a cband dish before. I have years of experience in KU and KA setup on an offset dish. I have Specrum analyzers, signal meters, ect. My wife an I are making a bid on a house that has a big back yard and you know whats the first thing going up in that yard! You got it!

I want to do C / KU on DVB and the possablity to add 4dtv later
8 foot min, but the larger the better
The ablity to drive the dish with a pansat 9200 would be an added benifit.
I want to track the whole arch.
and have it all work

I will be doing a setup in the next 30 days (if everything goes right) The hight from the dish to the ground will be around 8 feet, I need to aim over a privacy fence. I also would need anywhere from 50 to 75 feet of cable at the most.


Pricing.. I would like to remain resonable.

Go shopping

 

[Anole]

Welcome to home-ownership! And a big, bad, BUD ! - :up

If you've been reading this BUD section much lately, you'll have noticed many fellows find used dishes, and transplant them to their back yard.
Once you have selected a suitable dish, which is in good shape, you put it up however high you think is necessary.
But remember, you'll need a way to get up to the LNB and mount to tune it.

Most BUDs are probably moved by the jacks, or linear screw motors.
Some have horizon-to-horizon mounts, with gears, chains, and worm screws.
Since you sort of take pot-luck when shopping for a used dish, it probably doesn't make sense to have too restrictive a list.
Many fine dishes are out there.
Read through the thread: Adventures in Dish Hunting 2009 for ideas.
Or the 2008 version. It's quite long, but has many pictures and ideas.

For moving the dish with a Pansat 9200, you want to get a Gbox from Sadoun.
They're reasonably priced, and are far better than the whole family of Vboxes which went before it.
Repeat: do not get a Vbox!

Of course, if you should go 4DTV, it's probably best if it moves the dish.
I'm sure the 4D'ers will have better info on the matter.

Then, for the LNB/LNBF . . .
An old BUD will probably come with a Chaparral feedhorn and one C-band LNB (and possibly one Ku-band LNB).
You can spin the polarity servo for changing between V & H with the 4D box, but the Pansat cannot.
So, there are choices.
- when Sadoun ships the new Gbox, it'll have polarity servo control ... but it's not out yet.
- C-band feedhorn with two LNBs (not expensive)
- C & Ku band feedhorn with two C and two Ku LNBs (big bucks)
- C & Ku band LNBF , SatAV CK-1 (not expensive)
- C-band dual-output LNBF, SatAV C2 (very cheap if you order it now)

As with most things, getting the biggest, baddest, most all-inclusive solution is not always the best.
Often, two small solutions are better than one big solution.
And by that, I mean, a motorized 1m Ku dish provides tremendous performance, so the need for Ku on the BUD is not so serious.
Aligning a BUD for C-only is a lot easier than both C and Ku.

But having said all that, I currently plan on an 8½ foot Birdview, rebuilt with a high-count magnet wheel, the current Gbox, and a dual band CK-1 LNBF.
If I get extra BUDs, I'm thinking about not motorizing them at all, and equipping 'em with SatAV C2 LNBFs.
Of course, everybody has their own idea of what's best.

There's my 2¢ worth... or less.

 

[starman345]

The Gbox and CK-1 lnbf like Anole has already said is a great setup. I have it and am impressed with the CK-1, I had an ADL c/ku feedhorn with Cal-Amp lnb's before the CK-1 and I can't say that it was any better.
Good luck with the bid on the house

 

[Lone Cloud]

It's the old "look for a big dish that has a little dish set up for the same house" .

I got two big dishes that way, both aluminum solids and one a Birdview. Both for free.

I personally have mine on my roof, but I can get to the lnb by turning the dish all the way west. I realize that others have not had luck with this lnb, but I have been getting both C and Ku in abundance. It's the BSC 621-2 (ku universal) .

I think, though, that if you are going 4dtv at some point, mine is not the lnb model you want. All I can say is, it's working for me very well right now.

Personally, I'm glad I never went with a mesh dish. Those always look ratty, with dents and warps and sections missing. A lot of guys like the mesh Paraclipse dish though.

Good Luck!