I just spoke with an installer and he said to get a lot of fta sats I could use a 33in dish. But I read that having a dish size of 90cm to 1meter is always the best. Or could I get a lot of sats with a 80cm and a motor?
question about dish size
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You definately need the motor to get the various satellites. 33" is fine, but on rainy, cloudy days you might find youself losing your signal on weaker satellites, bigger is always better. I tell people to get a 36, its only a few more bucks for shipping and well worth it.
I agree with the posters above, a 33" is good but if you can get a 90cm or 1m for $15-20 more than go for it. I started with a 30"(76cm) but upgraded to a 90cm and it it much better in bad weather or on weak transponders. I only paid $20 for the used 30" so it was cheap to get started but a 90-100cm is a lot better if you are buying your first dish new.
Yes the dish will be new. I see a lot of places that have 90cm but not that many 1meter. So I will most likely go with a 90cm/motor
Hello Cosmo,
Hey, there is a way to remove most, if not all, of the guess work out of this question regarding the dish size required.
There are two web sites that you need to become familiar with if you are not familiar with them already.
Lyngsat and SatCoDX.
Both of these sites provide "EIRP" charts or maps for you to use. EIRP is an acronym for Effective Isotropic Radiated Power. Sounds technical, but it is really rather simplistic for the end user like you or me to use.
You have seen topograghic maps. They show the elevation of geographic structures and land masses. Looking at such maps you may discern what your general elevation is by looking at elevation contour lines.
The EIRP maps or CHARTS are similar in appearance, but instead of elevation information, they provide signal strength information. EIRP maps display contour lines in relevance to signal power from from the satellite, instead of feet of elevation.
Accompanying these maps is a "key" that states what size of dish (minimum) is required for that particular satellite when the EIRP level is at a valuie of "X" or "Y".
If you go to Lyngsat.com and scroll towards the bottom of the main page, there is an option for Lyngsat Maps where you may select a satellite and view the EIRP chart for it.
RADAR
The Winegard 76cm dish is just as good as some of the crappy 90cm dishes.
I must agree with this!
Also, the smaller 76 cm dish reduces the wind loading factor and is slightly easier to set up (handle). You will notice the difference when you try to lug the dish up a ladder, in the wind, on a cold day, to a steep roof.
Radar
I did take that into consideration. I found a place in Manhattan and they seem to have dishes from 18in to 10ft cband. I will call them tomorrow to see if they have any in stock.
Here is a picture to show you the difference in shipping boxes for several dish sizes:
BTW, it happened we were shipping all those boxes that same day, so we decided to take a picture for comparison.
thanks for the picture, but why does the last dish on the right look smaller than the 100cm?
Cosmo,
That dish is likely a sectional dish (pieces of pie) that you assemble, so the box is smaller, but deeper.
Radar
smaller is not always cheaper:
That's why sometimes a 1.8m dish (six feet) is cheaper delivered than a 1.2m dish (four feet).
The smaller dish must be shipped in a larger box than the carriers like to haul, so they might charge more than for the big dish that's broken into wedges.
So, all these guys wanting mini-BUDs on 1.2m (4') dishes, often have not considered all the facts.
Fellows who obtained the dishes locally (used), are lucky!
That's why sometimes a 1.8m dish (six feet) is cheaper delivered than a 1.2m dish (four feet).
The smaller dish must be shipped in a larger box than the carriers like to haul, so they might charge more than for the big dish that's broken into wedges.
So, all these guys wanting mini-BUDs on 1.2m (4') dishes, often have not considered all the facts.
Fellows who obtained the dishes locally (used), are lucky!
yep the 1.8m & 2.4m (6 & 8 foot dishes) are in sections to be put together.
Thats why it cost 35 bucks to ship a 6 foot dish to Minnesota and for the same price to ship a 80cm dish
as shown here obviously its in pieces
Thats why it cost 35 bucks to ship a 6 foot dish to Minnesota and for the same price to ship a 80cm dish
as shown here obviously its in pieces
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concerning dish performance:
If you'll look back through the actual Reviews, you'll find one by Iceberg on the 36" Fortec dish.
It's well worth reading.
Then, over somewhere on the www.global-cm.net/ web site is a comparison among various Ku dishes.
Read all the above and make up your own mind.
If you'll look back through the actual Reviews, you'll find one by Iceberg on the 36" Fortec dish.
It's well worth reading.
Then, over somewhere on the www.global-cm.net/ web site is a comparison among various Ku dishes.
Read all the above and make up your own mind.
Check with Sadoun and SatelliteAV. They're both site sponsors and have good dishes. Sadoun ships from Columbus Ohio so it might be closer for you. SatelliteAV has a great deal on eBay and their 90CM has LNB side braces.
I have a Fortec Star 90 from Sadoun and I installed a GEOSATPro 90 from SatelliteAV recently for my brother. I think they are both great dishes, but you need to look at the tradeoffs of shipping costs (and time) versus whether you might want the LNB side supports.
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