New to cband

[mkv7196]

I'm looking to get a cband dish and am in Vancouver. Is a 10ft dish sufficient for my location for even the high fec transponders or should I be looking for a 12ft dish? I'm only interested in American/Canadian fta (87w - 139w).

I checked around the local stores here and they only have 6ft dishes. Does anyone know where I can get a new 10-12ft dish?

Do people use a solid mounting pole or is it hollow on the inside?

I've also read that the combination ku/cband lnbs aren't particularly good and result in diminished performance for both. I looked around lyngsat and there isn't much on ku fta there, so I'l probably stay with just cband for now. Are there any recommendations for quality c band lnbs. Also, what models do people recommend for the actuator and positioner?

There are a few obstacles near my backyard that might get in the way of some satellites. Before putting up a pole in concrete, I'd like to test out a couple of locations to see how the signal reception is from there. Has anyone done this and do you have recommendations on how to position the dish for temporary testing? I was thinking maybe just moving my basketball hoop to a certain position and then leaning the dish on that. The dish would be touching the ground. Would this be a problem? Most dishes I've seen are about 1 - 1.5 ft off the ground.

 

[FTA4PA]

I'm looking to get a cband dish and am in Vancouver. Is a 10ft dish sufficient for my location for even the high fec transponders or should I be looking for a 12ft dish? I'm only interested in American/Canadian fta (87w - 139w).

I checked around the local stores here and they only have 6ft dishes. Does anyone know where I can get a new 10-12ft dish?

Do people use a solid mounting pole or is it hollow on the inside?

I've also read that the combination ku/cband lnbs aren't particularly good and result in diminished performance for both. I looked around lyngsat and there isn't much on ku fta there, so I'l probably stay with just cband for now. Are there any recommendations for quality c band lnbs. Also, what models do people recommend for the actuator and positioner?

There are a few obstacles near my backyard that might get in the way of some satellites. Before putting up a pole in concrete, I'd like to test out a couple of locations to see how the signal reception is from there. Has anyone done this and do you have recommendations on how to position the dish for temporary testing? I was thinking maybe just moving my basketball hoop to a certain position and then leaning the dish on that. The dish would be touching the ground. Would this be a problem? Most dishes I've seen are about 1 - 1.5 ft off the ground.

Welcome to Satellite Guys mkv7196! Can't comment as to what size is needed for Canada but best if you can find a used one in your area as the construction will likely be far superior to most that are sold today. If you can't there is www.tek2000.com. Several of us, including myself, have purchased from them. Quality is fair, shipping has been an issue for some (damage from not using enough packing materials to protect contents). Yes, have to agree that for most a combo lnb will result in poorer performance for both c/ku. After trying it I chose to do separate ku and c dishes. For an lnb I would recommend the Titanium C1-PLL. For a positioner, on the lower price end there is the Vbox7 but quality has been hit and miss lately and it may not have the power to move a heavy dish. Venture makes good actuators (http://www.venturemfgco.com/satellite-actuators.html), also Von Weise. Try www.dishpointer.com to see what locations in your yard would be best. Simply enter your location, zoom in to a spot in your yard and select different satellites. The green line will show you the direction your dish needs to point to 'see' the satellite and there is even a height checker to make sure you can see over potential obstructions.

 

[fred555]

Do people use a solid mounting pole or is it hollow on the inside?

Hollow poles are used, schedule 40 steel pipe.
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/ansi-steel-pipes-d_305.html
Best to purchase locally from a metals supplier or welding/fabrication shop.
Notice pipe is sized to internal diameter. A 3 inch schedule 40 steel pipe will have
an external diameter of 3.5 inches.

 

[fred555]

Before putting up a pole in concrete, I'd like to test out a couple of locations to see how the signal reception is from there. Has anyone done this and do you have recommendations on how to position the dish for temporary testing?

I live in the woods with lots of obstacles (trees) so I have a rig I use for scouting purposes. It costs some bucks to build and having a welder is a must:



I put it where I want to test then pile cinder blocks on it then proceed to mount the dish and aim.

 

[KE4EST]

to SatelliteGuys mkv7196!!!!

A good LNBF to go for is the Titanium Satellite C1-PLL. That is a very good LNBF if you go with an LNBF set-up and not a separate Feedhorn and LNB with polar rotor.
Also the Titanium Satellite ASC1 is the only mover I would recommend. Very solid built unit and great support right here in North America.

I would just go with something like I mentioned above and stick with C-Band only on a 10-12 foot dish.
If you ever decide to go with Ku later, just set-up a separate dish for that.

 

[mkv7196]

One other question I had is about receivers. How is the picture quality of the linux based receivers that work with cband like Vu+, Dreambox vs. the ones that cable companies probably use by manufacturers like Motorola, Scientific Atlanta, etc.

Are there reputable sources online to get legitimate linux DVB receivers and avoid the people selling clones?

 

[FaT Air]

DEALERS I've dealt with (in no particular order):
KE4EST
SAT-AV
GotCband
Titaniumsatellite
HYPERMEGASAT
The first 4 are regularly on this forum, the 4th has their own forum,
The picture on my TV with the Amiko HDSE is 1080perfect

 

[mkv7196]

Is there any performance difference between the Titanium Satellite C1-PLL and Titanium Satellite C2W-PLL? If not, I might have 2 receivers in the future so it would be good to have a dual output lnb. Is there something like a separator for cband where you can connect the 2 outputs of the lnb to it, have one cable run into the house and then separate that out to 2 coax cables so that you don't need to do 2 direct runs from the satellite to house?

Anyone bought a 10ft dish from skyvision (skyvision.com/store/mi1514015.html)? It's quite a lot more than what tek2000 is selling it for. There's not really any detailed pictures on their site, but I haven't seen any North American manufacturer of large mesh dishes for the consumer market, so they both probably source their stuff from China?

 

[FaT Air]

It's called a One Cable Solution. Or 'stacked' LNBF: B1 SAT STACK C-Band LNBF
Your receivers must be programmable for 'stacked'. (IIRR, there's one member who is 'all stacked'. Don't ask for the name. IDK.
Give 'Skyvision a call about the 10 ft mesh dish. Ask for more detail. AFAIK, there's no one in the US making them any longer. (3yrs??) A 'Cadillac' dish would be a DH IMHO.