Phase III Dish / SL3 LNB camping dish

[PMKS]

After helping others do this, I finally made myself a Phase III Dish set-up with a SL3 LNB to carry around in my camper:

The newer Phase III dishes use the same 2" OD mount that the slimline dishes do, so I had to find an older Phase III dish with the smaller 1 5/8" OD mount to fit my existing RV dish mount.
I ground the "nub" off the SL3 LNB so I didn't have to notch the dish arm.

Set-up at the campsite was longer than normal, I got a signal strength of:
Sat 99: high 60s to high 70s
Sat 101: high 80s to high 90s
Sat 103: high 50s to high 60s

When I tested the set-up at the house, I got slightly better signals on the HD sats, but the dish stand was on a level concrete slab.

Key point:
when you enter your zip code to get the coordinates with this kind of set-up, use the coordinates for the Phase III dish, not the Slimline, this will get you in the ballpark. Then switch dish type to the Slimline to continue set-up.

I didn't get my locals as I was out of my "locals" spotbeam at the campsite.

 

[raoul5788]

The new Phase III dishes use a 2" mast? I hadn't heard that before.

 

[KenStomski]

I can confirm the newer phase3 dishes use the same 2" mount as an SL.

 

[dfergie]

Guess I'm going to have to break down and get the SL3, I use a SL5 LNB now...

 

[jdspencer]

...
Key point:
when you enter your zip code to get the coordinates with this kind of set-up, use the coordinates for the Phase III dish, not the Slimline, this will get you in the ballpark. Then switch dish type to the Slimline to continue set-up.

I'm not sure about this as the coordinates for a Ph III will be centered on the 110 satellite. Yes, you can use that as a starting pint, but would have to swing the azimuth toward 101. But, the skew is also for the 101-110-119 sats which would be slightly different from 99-101-103. Thus your lower numbers on the HD sats.

 

[Hutch1814]

I can confirm the newer phase3 dishes use the same 2" mount as an SL.

All dishes requires a 2" mount now. They're are all universal so 1 mast fits ALL

 

[PMKS]

I'm not sure about this as the coordinates for a Ph III will be centered on the 110 satellite. Yes, you can use that as a starting pint, but would have to swing the azimuth toward 101. But, the skew is also for the 101-110-119 sats which would be slightly different from 99-101-103. Thus your lower numbers on the HD sats.

If you use the SL5 Slimline ( 99-101-103-110-119 sats ) or SL3 Slimline ( 99-101-103 sats ) coordinates it will throw you way off, I dunno why. The Phase III coordinates got me a signal right away, I just had to fine tune it a little. As I said before I got better signals with the dish and mount sitting on my level concrete driveway when I tested it.

One reason for the decreased KA Band signal strength is because of the smaller dish and the LNB designed for a larger dish with different focus angles. The only advantage of this set-up is the smaller dish / mount size for hauling it around, ie: camping, tailgating, etc.

When I'm near my receiver(s) again I'll post the differences opposed to what coordinates I actually used.

 

[dfergie]

My SL5 & Phase III combination has gotten me the World Series the last 2 years in a row camping/hunting... as well as the channels I want.

 

[Joe Diamond]

In addition to what has been said,

Try adjusting the focal distance. Rubberband the LNB to the support arm and try tuning at closer distances,,,see if the 99 & 103 can be raised. This is a slow experiment until you get better results. The next step is extending the support arm beyond what is there. There may be a sweet spot where the dish will serve the LNB better. I have also seen this done with a PrimeStar dish. Much of its' top and bottom were removed. This was done on a Phase III mount with tilt capability.

Play with it! Remove the unnecessary!

Joe

 

[Hutch1814]

I found this on an old thread

 

[schneid]

Not that old. The difference above is the dish. Note it says "Dish Turbo HD" aka a "dish" 1000.2. It is bolt compatible to the Phase III backplate. It produces better results for the 99 and 103. Measures about 18 X 22. No comparison to a Slimline but good enough for camping and way easier to handle.

Photos:

https://picasaweb.google.com/104481...authkey=Gv1sRgCIKfkozFzbTnigE&feat=directlink

Long DBS Talk thread:

Experimental Small Slimline3 Dish - Page 12 - DBSTalk.Com

I use SatelliteFinder on my phone to get the localized AZ, EL, and Tilt for the 101. The 99 and 103 fall into place.

 

[upsss]

Not that old. The difference above is the dish. Note it says "Dish Turbo HD" aka a "dish" 1000.2. It is bolt compatible to the Phase III backplate. It produces better results for the 99 and 103. Measures about 18 X 22. No comparison to a Slimline but good enough for camping and way easier to handle.

Photos:

https://picasaweb.google.com/104481...authkey=Gv1sRgCIKfkozFzbTnigE&feat=directlink

Long DBS Talk thread:

Experimental Small Slimline3 Dish - Page 12 - DBSTalk.Com

I use SatelliteFinder on my phone to get the localized AZ, EL, and Tilt for the 101. The 99 and 103 fall into place.

Bolting the Directv arm on top of the original Dish arm offsets the LNB by the thickness of the arm. Wouldn't that greatly degrade the LNB focus? Wouldn't the gain of the larger dish (Dish 1000.2 vs. Directv Phase III) be offset by the poor focus?

 

[schneid]

It is not a "Dish" arm but instead a DirecTV Phase III mounting assembly, backplate and arm, with a second Phase III arm scabbed on top. The "Dish" reflector is taller and wider so that may justify the positioning. The Dish birds are 10º apart while the DirecTV birds are only 2º apart which I imagine is a factor. It is probably wrong to assume focus is maintained as the arm is lengthened or shortened. Their are many other angles introduced by the dissimilar hardware used. That is the sweet spot arrived at via two different routes by "mikestock" and me. Hard to argue with success. There is NO signal if one moves away from the sweet spot too much. Very small adjustments have huge results. Who said, the focus is poor? It is optimized for the equipment used and the results are impressive considering the the size of the dish. It is BETTER than using a Phase III reflector or why would we bother? It does not come close to a Slimline but for our purposes, good enough, plenty good enough.

Slug through the DBSTalk posts to get a greater understanding of the effort.

 

[schneid]

If you use SWM for tailgating don't forget you need a 21v PI too. I started with an SL3 on a Phase III, then swapped in a "Dish" 1000.2 reflector, and have now swapped in the "Dish" 1000.2 mast assembly. Get 90's off the 101 and 80's off the 99 and 103. "Dish" geometry is a little better.

https://picasaweb.google.com/104481...authkey=Gv1sRgCIKfkozFzbTnigE&feat=directlink

 

[dfergie]

If you use SWM for tailgating don't forget you need a 21v PI too. I started with an SL3 on a Phase III, then swapped in a "Dish" 1000.2 reflector, and have now swapped in the "Dish" 1000.2 mast assembly. Get 90's off the 101 and 80's off the 99 and 103. "Dish" geometry is a little better.

https://picasaweb.google.com/104481...authkey=Gv1sRgCIKfkozFzbTnigE&feat=directlink

This is what I want to play with tomorrow with a SL5 LNB to see what I can get as hunting seasons are coming up...

 

[schneid]

I think I really have a Dish 1000.4 on a Dish 1000.2 mast assembly. I bought the dish off eBay as a 1000.2 but it measures 25" across making me think it is a 1000.4. I also have what I think is a a dish 1000.2 which is 22". It is really flimsy and I am afraid I'd bend it if I moved it around a lot. Dish has several dishes with different paint schemes, all oval, so I don't really know what I have. It used to say "Dish Turbo HD". There is also a Super Dish that is Slimline size so no point trying that.

 

[Joe Diamond]

It is not a "Dish" arm but instead a DirecTV Phase III mounting assembly, backplate and arm, with a second Phase III arm scabbed on top. The "Dish" reflector is taller and wider so that may justify the positioning. The Dish birds are 10º apart while the DirecTV birds are only 2º apart which I imagine is a factor. It is probably wrong to assume focus is maintained as the arm is lengthened or shortened. Their are many other angles introduced by the dissimilar hardware used. That is the sweet spot arrived at via two different routes by "mikestock" and me. Hard to argue with success. There is NO signal if one moves away from the sweet spot too much. Very small adjustments have huge results. Who said, the focus is poor? It is optimized for the equipment used and the results are impressive considering the the size of the dish. It is BETTER than using a Phase III reflector or why would we bother? It does not come close to a Slimline but for our purposes, good enough, plenty good enough.

Slug through the DBSTalk posts to get a greater understanding of the effort.

Actually both Dish & Direct main sats are nine degrees apart. The Direct HD sats at 99 and 103 are in a lower position on either side of the 101 position. It is an FCC thing. This clever manipulation of the regs produced the single dish solution.

Joe

 

[schneid]

Not sure what you are getting at.

 

[schneid]

After conferring with the other "Dish" dish user, it seems I do in fact have 1000.2 although a .4 be the same thing. The suffixes may be something used to distinguish between eastern and western arc dish setups.

Bottom line is that the approx. 25" "Dish" dish is the one you want.

 

[Joe Diamond]

Not sure what you are getting at.

Just pointing out a tech detail. Launch positions are nine degrees apart for communication sats..........eg 101.....+9degrees........ 110...+9.....119 etc. There are many more up there. Directv was able to use lower power & freq sats at 99 & 103 to group around the 101 sat position. There are many sats in each of these positions. There is much more to it than that but as a simple statement it works out for Directv; HD SD HD sats very close together.

Joe