Inquiry into Larger dishes

[firefoxx5]

hey guys

Is it a substantial or at least noticeable difference with larger dishes in relation to elimination of rain fade and do they increase the quality of tp signals that are apparently weaker than others from the same sat? Also... when your in the more "weaker" area of a satellite's footprint do these dishes help maximizes the reception of the available signal?

I am considering investing so your information and honest opinions on what i asked and things you may feel i need to know are appreciated

[Terryl]

Yes the larger you go on the dish diameter the better the signal will be to the LNB, every 3" increase of dish size will add about 2 to 3 dB of signal gain to the LNB, this may not seem like much but it will make or break the reception on the weaker satellites.

It also will improve your rain or snow fade margins, if you have a problem with the standard 18" pan used for Dish, then go larger, 24" 33" or 39" will do a much better job, this is also true the further north of the US border you live as the Dish satellites CONUS beams are focused on a center location of Wichita Kansas, the signals spread out from there.

Example:

If you lived in Fargo ND, then an 18" dish will work for 110W, if you lived in Winnipeg then a 23" would work best for 110W, if you lived in Saskatoon then you would need at least a 48" dish.

You also need to take into consideration the type of dish your going to use, a round dish is designed for 1 satellite, you might get lucky with 2 LNB's on that dish but they are designed for only 1 LNB, for 2 or more LNB's its best to go to an elliptical, a standard size for that type is 24" x 33" you could get 3 or more LNB's on that size, then there are the toroid's, something like a T-55 or a T-90 toroid dish will be able to get about 10 satellites on 1 dish, but they are more expensive then the standard dish as they need special reverse LNB's for the circular polarized satellites like Dish and BEV use.

Then we come to a motorized setup, 1 good dual purpose LNB (Linear and circular) a 39" dish (you need a bigger dish for the linear birds) with a good H to H motor and you can get every satellite you can see from your location along the Clark belt, the only drawback is that you have to wait for the motor to pan over to the satellite, it can take several seconds to tens of seconds to go from one to the other.

Take a look on lyingsat.com to see what you can get, (select Atlantic or America) every one except the ones in pink or white can be view with that setup.

And dishpointer.com will tell you if you can see it from your location.

[Costactc]

Exactly what Terryl said- bigger is always better in the sat biz.

[firefoxx5]

Thanks alot for the info Terryl........I'll go start finding the dishes.

[tuyo]

Just some additional info. In the Caribbean and Northern Coast of South America, the minimum dish size is 1.8 meter (6ft) and with these dishes one can only capture 1 satellite. I have friends that have 3 of these dishes to capture 119, 110 and 129W. Some even have gone to 2.4 off-set dishes. A 1.8 meter off-set fiberglass dish goes for about US$ 600 in the US, with shipping, duties and taxes the price can double to get it to its location. A solid 2.4 meter off-set is in the order of US$ 1800.

[Terryl]

They should look into a 10 foot (3 meter) "C" and "Ku" band LNB combo mesh dish with a motor on it and they can get all 3, solids are better but the mesh dishes are a bit cheaper, and with the motor on it you only need the one dish.

[Terryl]

The size of dish needed is related to your location in the satellites foot print, this is it's projected coverage area for that satellite and some satellites cover more then one area.

Look here for a list of satellite foot prints, you can zoom into your area and see what is needed for that satellite, and all this is just a recommended size.


http://www.satbeams.com/

Just select the satellite and click on the little globe in it's listing, this will give you its foot print, some have more then 1.

[Costactc]

I agree with Terryl on the mesh dish and you can even find them abandoned and not being used, however a solid dish is better for ku- that's why I have my bands on seperate dishes.

[tuyo]

Can you guys imagine the wife looking at Food Network on 119W, than switching to a channel on 110W than going to another channel on 129W and when she is finally back to watch Rachel Ray on Food Network Rachel has long finished with her 20 minutes meal, and I will get the same old sandwich again on my plate. Motorized dishes have their disadvantegs.

[vic24551]

as for me as long as you can get a good portion of rice & beans with a little meat or chichen on it, I am happy as a beaver.....lol,,,,,lol,

[Gold]

Just some additional info. In the Caribbean and Northern Coast of South America, the minimum dish size is 1.8 meter (6ft) and with these dishes one can only capture 1 satellite. I have friends that have 3 of these dishes to capture 119, 110 and 129W. Some even have gone to 2.4 off-set dishes. A 1.8 meter off-set fiberglass dish goes for about US$ 600 in the US, with shipping, duties and taxes the price can double to get it to its location. A solid 2.4 meter off-set is in the order of US$ 1800.
Being in the Caribbean, I don't know if you would do very well without the dishes you mention.
SatcomResources has a 6' Offset with a polar mount...It would run me about $900 with shipping. I'm not sure if they can export that far south, but it's worth a look at

[Costactc]

Ouch, steep prices. Picking up my 8' Fortec Star solid for under $300 this week.

[tuyo]

Ouch, steep prices. Picking up my 8' Fortec Star solid for under $300 this week.

off-set ?????

[Tubbs]

Yes the larger you go on the dish diameter the better the signal will be to the LNB, every 3" increase of dish size will add about 2 to 3 dB of signal gain to the LNB, this may not seem like much but it will make or break the reception on the weaker satellites.

It also will improve your rain or snow fade margins, if you have a problem with the standard 18" pan used for Dish, then go larger, 24" 33" or 39" will do a much better job, this is also true the further north of the US border you live as the Dish satellites CONUS beams are focused on a center location of Wichita Kansas, the signals spread out from there.

Example:

If you lived in Fargo ND, then an 18" dish will work for 110W, if you lived in Winnipeg then a 23" would work best for 110W, if you lived in Saskatoon then you would need at least a 48" dish.

You also need to take into consideration the type of dish your going to use, a round dish is designed for 1 satellite, you might get lucky with 2 LNB's on that dish but they are designed for only 1 LNB, for 2 or more LNB's its best to go to an elliptical, a standard size for that type is 24" x 33" you could get 3 or more LNB's on that size, then there are the toroid's, something like a T-55 or a T-90 toroid dish will be able to get about 10 satellites on 1 dish, but they are more expensive then the standard dish as they need special reverse LNB's for the circular polarized satellites like Dish and BEV use.

Then we come to a motorized setup, 1 good dual purpose LNB (Linear and circular) a 39" dish (you need a bigger dish for the linear birds) with a good H to H motor and you can get every satellite you can see from your location along the Clark belt, the only drawback is that you have to wait for the motor to pan over to the satellite, it can take several seconds to tens of seconds to go from one to the other.

Take a look on lyingsat.com to see what you can get, (select Atlantic or America) every one except the ones in pink or white can be view with that setup.

And dishpointer.com will tell you if you can see it from your location.
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So Terryl, your saying a bigger dish will give you more DB gain.

I'm wondering what you would think about receiving spot beams I can't get right now.

Would installing a 48" dish allow me to receive some spot beams directed away from me?

Sorry, don't intend to hijack the thread, but I thought this question is relevant in discussing larger dishes...Thanks for the help...

[WillDekkard]

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So Terryl, your saying a bigger dish will give you more DB gain.

I'm wondering what you would think about receiving spot beams I can't get right now.

Would installing a 48" dish allow me to receive some spot beams directed away from me?

Sorry, don't intend to hijack the thread, but I thought this question is relevant in discussing larger dishes...Thanks for the help...

For example: If there is a spot beam directed at Chicago and you are in Denver, you are NOT going to get it, no matter the size of dish. If you are on a fringe area of the spot beam then yes a larger dish will help. If you are in Seattle, just give up on receiving that Florida spot beam.

Go to Satbeams for the Satellite spot beam footprints and that will help you in determining whether or not you are within any particular spot beam.

[Gold]

Spot Beams, if you can imagine them are like a funnel...They just don't cover large distances...Even people that are close to the edge of the coverage area cant receive them... It happened to me once when the coverage area was changed. They sent a tech out who spent all day here trying to figure it out. He even replaced my LNB, cable, box...& nothing. When he got a hold of tier 3 support they new exactly what it was. It took them about 5 minutes to change me over to the right spot beam. I couldn't believe they wasted the tech entire day, but it didn't cost me a thing:thumbsup:

[tuberadio]

One more reason I like the C-Band. On my 6' I get rain fade on Ku long before C. Because of the difference in wavelength, Ku has higher attenuation in rain and C-band lower. Regularly in the winter that dish will get a solid foot of snow and ice on it... C-band still blasts in....