new to FTA.. what equipment is good?

[CbandLover]

Hello all...
Am new to FTA... it is the only choice I have now, since my wife will not allow a BUD in the backyard. I work for a cable company and get all my subscriptions free, so no need to thieve. I would like to explore FTA as a hobby, so when I recently ran into a DISHNet installer in the field as he was mounting up a SuperDish, I asked him about FTA and if he could install a good mount in my backyard for a 30'' or larger dish.. He said no prob. My question is should I have him install the pole for a SuperDish or is that overkill? I don't know the demensions of the pole though. I was thinking of a larger dish, like a 1 meter I saw on Winegard's website, or if you all think a 30'' is good enough for Columbus, OH where I live. I just want to plan ahead for what I am getting into. I plan to motorize with a sg2100 and use a Pansat 2500a from a local sat. dealer. Would anything bigger than a 30'' dish be too much for a motor?
Thanks for taking the time to listen to a newbie. Any thoughts/suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[Wholeshoe]

You might want to consider the Fortec Lifetime Ultra reciever also. Many on here are recently giving it rave reviews and I can say that I love mine although I do not have any expierence the the 2500a and it may be just as good of a receiver.

Wholeshoe

 

[PSB]

The SG2100 Motor attaches to a pole that can be from.....
35-65mm (1 1/2"- 2 1/2") in diameter. (I have mine on a 2 1/2" pole)
It also says in the manual that it can be used with a dish up to 120cm MAX.
Very nice motor! The bigger the pole the better. Good luck on the install.

 

[CbandLover]

thanks

You guys are great help.. that was what I needed to know as far as the pole size.. I will surely go with 2 1/2'' pole. I would still like input on what dish size is best. I really like the Winegard brand, as I have heard great things about the quality of the dish. Any thoughts? Bigger the better? Or overkill?

 

[beeb]

Depends. I had to buy a 1m Winegard to replace the 30'' in order to recieve better some transponders on G10R and AMC3. Why do they always put the good stuff on the weakest transponders! I had problems attaching the new dish to the mast of the SG2100 motor (the mast wasn't thick enough), but everything worked out fine in the end. But if you are closer to the middle of the North American footprint of the Ku sats than I am (Alberta), I doubt you'll need more than 30'' dish.

 

[PSB]

I just installed a Stab 100 motor with a 90cm Fortec Star Dish yesterday, very nice signals! But I am not too impressed with the Stab mount, it seemed to have around 5mm play in the mounting tube!!!!! No good in the wind! To be fair it may have been damaged by the first "installer" who had been trying for the last three weeks to install it : )

 

[SatelliteAV]

The slop in the STAB motors seems to be QC issue. We tested several samples from the factory and found this azimuth slack in two of the three units that the manufacture provided. The factory stated that this play could be adjusted and we were able to take some of the slop out, but still had too much play. The amount of play can make satellite viewing in the wind a problem!

 

[SatelliteAV]

When installing a post either flatten a portion on the post, weld a tab or drill a hole and secure a bolt before setting in the cement to prevent post rotation. Use a thick wall pipe (schedule 40) or if using a galvanized fence post fill the post with cement to provide rigidity. To prevent damage to the coax by weed eaters and the, use a pvc pipe with a sweeping radius corner to protect the coax from post to underground entry.

 

[PSB]

Thanks for the advice Brian, I have been doing pole mounts for more years than I care to mention both in Europe and North America, the above "play" problem is in the Stab motor and not the pole mount.

http://dbsinstall.com/Whatis/Whatisgood-3.htm

 

[air88]

Hi, PSB:

I was going to buy a STAB100 motor tomorrow. But from your post, it seems it is not that good as I thought before. Any suggestion of motor ?

Thanks

 

[PSB]

I like the SG2100 Motor, the Stab maybe just as good but the few I have seen so far were not too reassuring......

http://www.dmsiusa.com/sg2100.htm

 

[air88]

Thanks, Peter.

One more question: does SG2100 Motor support USALS ? I like the feature.

Thanks

 

[PSB]

Yes it does work with USALS, works great!

 

[air88]

I find a complete system $278 + $35 upgrade to STAB100. It is at: http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Order/Systems.htm , it seems pretty good to me. What do you think? Also which web site or store has good products and good deals if you know?

Thanks a lot

 

[Wholeshoe]

Although I do not have any expierence with the STAB motor if I were buying a system I would go with the SG-2100 just because that is the motor the guys on this forum know and use (including myself) and you will be able to get good support from these guys for that particular product.

Wholeshoe

 

[Stargazer]

You can put the big 2 1/2" pole in the ground and if the dish requires a smaller pole an adapter can be placed on the pole that the dish can be put on.