Fortec star 1.8m dish Ain't that bad after all / c-band

[guest poster]

Because of the very low price, you could consider including strengthening it if you're into basic DIY /engineering. Also, the thread'ees dish was, I believe, very exposed. A sheltered location and fixed would also help. They take some setting up though.

 

[1066ben]

Hi there I am looking for a 1.8 off set dish for a house in cyprus. I am intersted in the dish from Maplins I know there are better dishes but I need one I can get on a plane. I know what an lnb is but dont understand the difference in the different ones.. I have been told that I will get away with a 1.8 meter off set dish but wont get bbc or itv. Is there any thing I can add to the dish to give it better reception or will it even work?. I dont understand what else I need or how to set it up. Can anyone give me some info as I am a complete beginner
Ben

 

[guest poster]

Not sure how well a 1.8m will do there, there is another using a 3m in Cyprus to get all of 28e, certainly you could expect to lose 2D channels (see lyngsat.com and 28e and look at the channels and different beams- especially 2d)

The Fortec Star 1.8m is a prime focus, that just means that the LNB is in the middle rather than lower down. In your case it's better to have a prime focus because the dish will be lower and less exposed to wind than an offset pointed to 28e there.

All you can do is try to get the best LNB (either C120 type with feedhorn or 40mm LNBf type- see LNB thread posts today) to try to get the best out of it and very fine tweaking of its position on the dish and dish position and on that dish very fine setting up of the petals.

They do a 2.4m at about £160 too but even more difficult to set up and needs better strengthening.

You need others to give you more local info on dish sizes-

 

[divibi]

I have a 180cm Jonsa that I bought in Kuwait for 27€ (no joke) and took it back home on the plane with no overcharge.

I use it here in Brussels to receive Nilesat.

I have compared it against a 150cm Gibertini, and yes with the Jonsa I get a much stronger signal.

Yes, it is difficult to set up the dish; it took me weeks - yes weeks - to get it right. It took so long because I played a lot with it and I had to order a flange LNB + feedhorn, something I was a total stranger to, coming from offset. But the fuss was worth it.

The dish has a very bad reputation. I believe this is so for 2 reasons:

1. People don't know how to set it up and most likely use a normal LNB.
2. The built quality is poor, but look at the price.

What matters are the results: the strength of reception is simply there.

Here is picture of mine:

View attachment 8488

RTG is a local dealer in Kuwait.

Hello,

I've just checked the Jonsa website and found out that they also manufacture 180cm one piece pf dish as well as 320cm (9 panels) and 420cm (10 panels) dishes.

Would you say that one piece Jonsa 180cm dish could also cost
27 euros in Kuwait??? I read that there is a satellite market in Dubai? They call it a 'suk' and the sat dishes and accessories are considerably cheaper than in european retail.

How much are 180cm one piece, 240, 320, 420 cm dishes at a Kuwait, or Dubai dealer, or a factory source in the far east???

 

[BombedOne]

Let me clarify some things about these petal dishes, since I've installed a lot of them.

1. Sometimes they do come with "standard" LNB. But this is not offset LNB, this is LNB for prime focus, but without C120 flange, It just looks like standard LNB.

2. Such dishes exist in various thickness and quality. Of course, if you have caliper, go and measure thicknes of sheet - they starting from 0.4mm (this is metal thickness, coating adds additonal 0.1mm) and best one I've seen was 2mm aluminum one. Another way to check quality of dish - just weight it, while at shop. Low quality ones weight 20-25kg, including package, while good quality ones, made of 0.8mm steel can weight up to 70kg. So this is very rough method to determine quality of dish, without buying it. Just look up for weight.