Going for a motorised setup - suggestions please

[Dream33r]

Hi all,

I live up in the NE of england next to the scottish borders and have been toying with the motorised idea for a while now....

Can anybody help me with a shopping list and also to source this stuff?

I want to put a system up to primarily watch footy but to also to be flexible as possible so I can pick up most satellites if I need to.

I'm going to need to stick it up on a pole over the roof to get west I can see South->East>north from the side of my house.

Budget is approx £200.

Shopping list:

**85cm PENTA Fracaro - Is this big enough?? looks nice.
**Quad LNB (I want to power 3 recievers inc 1 with pvr) - which one is good?
**Enough cable to run - which stuff?
**cheap meter - which one?
** Motek 120 Motor - Is this good?

There's so much choice I'm hoping someone can give me a hand with this.

Is T&K brakets plus a scaffolding pole the best to mount it on? If so which size brackets do I need? I'm sure I can source a bit of scaffolding pole - how long do I need?

Argh.

What else might I need?

Last question - Where is the best place to get all off this from ? One place for everything would be great.

Many thanks for any help received.


Cheers

John

 

[satelliteman]

Hi,

Lots of questions there and most of the answers are here on the forum but your need to do a search.

In the meantime, The Penta 85cm & Moteck DiSEqC motor would be a good choice.

As for where to purchase the kit from, take a look here:
http://www.satellites.co.uk/index.php?page=sponsors

SM

 

[Dream33r]

Hi,

Lots of questions there and most of the answers are here on the forum but your need to do a search.

In the meantime, The Penta 85cm & Moteck DiSEqC motor would be a good choice.

As for where to purchase the kit from, take a look here:
http://www.satellites.co.uk/index.php?page=sponsors

SM

Hi,

Thanks for the prompt reply..

Yes I have read and read some more It's like I said there is a lot of choice so was asking for some opinions.

 

[satelliteman]

**85cm PENTA Fracaro - Is this big enough?? looks nice.
> They perform very well and are documented as being as good as some 1Mtr dishes

**Quad LNB (I want to power 3 recievers inc 1 with pvr) - which one is good?
> Like for like in my opinion, but remember that all receivers will only see the one satellite that the motor is parked at.

**Enough cable to run - which stuff?
> Double screened benchmarked cabling will be fine eg, tx100, wf100

**cheap meter - which one?
> Cheapo meter would suffice or use the receiver signal screen.

** Motek 120 Motor - Is this good?
> Moteck 2100a or any of the clones are good motors and will drive the Penta dish without any problems.

 

[Robbo]

Before you go any further, check your mounting position. For a start you don't need to see East or North, just South and approx 45 degrees either side of it if possible. The elevation at the top of your arc will be approx 25 degrees, and about 15 at 45 degrees.


You have not stated a budget for your receivers, I assume that it is not within your £200. Unless you want HD, the TM5400 super should do fine.

Robbo

 

[Dream33r]

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

What do you mean like for like regarding the LNB?

I have already checked out the elevation the only wall I can use faces East ish . 30W along the wall due south so I think I'm going to have to put it on a pole above the gutter to get the arc west.

TK brackets & pole & presume?

I already have a DM500 clone working off 28.2e I am planning on wiring the bedrooms upstairs off the bigger lnb an getting more receivers - outside the budget.

Thanks for the info

 

[Robbo]

The LNB is not too critical on a smallish dish, an Inverto would be fine.


The length of T&Ks required is simply a matter of working how long they need to be so that the dish doesn't hit anything when moved by the motor.

 

[netwhizkid]

I am in a similar situation to the OP except I want to do things slightly different.

I already have a 80cms Channel Master Dish (great dish) and 0.3dB single feed LNB. I can get T&K Brackets easily and poles etc.

I plan is to mount the Dish on a south facing wall of my property and track the full arc of the clark belt.

I have a Silvercrest SL65 FTA Digital receiver which supports Goto X.

My plan is to get a USALS STAB Motor as these seem easier plus a better product. I want to be able to set it up easily and have the motor move to whatever position I see fit.

I have all the necessary tools and a Satlook Micro Digital satellite meter that I bought for aligning Sky Minidishes and Teles SkyDSL satellite internet dishes. So I can align the dish to either Astra 28, 13 or 19 and work from there.

I am located in SW Ireland so obviously won't be able to pick up everything on the 80cms but that doesn't phase me.

My big question is Motor related how good are the STAB USALS Motor? Will it do what I want? i.e by aligning the dish to one satellite like Astra 28 will it find the rest itself? I don't want to preprogramme it for every position.

How will the Silvercrest SL65 (lidl version) handle the motor and does what I am doing sound plausible?

thanks in advance

 

[Robbo]

Yes, USALS will send the motor to the correct angle, once you have lined it up on one satellite, and the STAB will do it, just as well as any other USALs compatible motor.

I use USALS very successfully, but in order to do so and to get the OPTIMUM signal on every satellite, I tweak the satellite positions slightly in my receiver menu.

I do find that my STAB motor shaft wiggles around a bit too much though with my dish on it. The Moteck I have, although some external parts of it look poorer quallity compared to the STAB, has little or no play in the motor shaft.

 

[netwhizkid]

I do find that my STAB motor shaft wiggles around a bit too much though with my dish on it. The Moteck I have, although some external parts of it look poorer quallity compared to the STAB, has little or no play in the motor shaft.

Thanks for the speedy reply robbo, I have seen alot of Moteck motors and some sites claim they are the best. However would a Moteck motor do the same as the STAB USALS and send the dish to the correct angle as long as I had it aligned properly to one satellite? Or would I have to align every position individually and preprogramme them into the Moteck?

thank you very much!

 

[Robbo]

Yes it would. Although the Moteck sg2100a is not USALS approved, it has the equivalent goto X, and will thus work with USALS.

Check though that the Silverscrest has USALS or GotoX or Diseqc 1.3.

 

[compufunk]

Yes it would. Although the Moteck sg2100a is not USALS approved, it has the equivalent goto X, and will thus work with USALS.

Check though that the Silverscrest has USALS or GotoX or Diseqc 1.3.

I've tested the Silverscrest SL-65 and it quite happily drives my Motek SG2100 with USALS.

 

[netwhizkid]

I've tested the Silverscrest SL-65 and it quite happily drives my Motek SG2100 with USALS.

Great news, I think I will opt for the Moteck so as they seem to get good reviews plus alot of places sell them unlike the STAB, (the STAB is also more expensive).

What positions did you pick up compufunk? and what size dish had you attached when you tested it? (if you can remember!)

And finally (sorry for all the questions) what position did you use to align the dish and motor to for the original setting?

From what I've read they recommend the one closest due south which for me would be Atlantic Bird 2 at 8° West as my co-ordinates (from google earth) are 51°54'13.43"N 9°26'24.36"W.

Thanks very much both Robbo71 and compufunk I greatly appreciate your help and input!

 

[compufunk]

What positions did you pick up compufunk? and what size dish had you attached when you tested it? (if you can remember!)

Hi netwhizkid,
Have a look at this attachment, It lists pretty much everything I was picking up. This was with a Dreambox, the results should be similar with the Silvercrest.
http://www.satellites.co.uk/satelli...85cm-reception-@-55-north-8-west-services-zip

Your results should be similar, although there will be differences with some sats, Have a look at the footprints on _http://www.lyngsat-maps.com

The dish I was using was the Fracarro Penta 85cm.
Have a look here.
http://www.satellites.co.uk/satelli...o-penta-85cm-reception-@-55-north-8-west.html

And finally (sorry for all the questions) what position did you use to align the dish and motor to for the original setting?

I used 8W, If you are in the Kingdom or west Cork you should be using this one.

Also have a look here,
_http://www.dishpointer.com/
C

 

[Dream33r]

Hi peeps, What about attaching the freeview aerial to the mast as well? Is that possible without causing any other issues?

 

[compufunk]

Hi peeps, What about attaching the freeview aerial to the mast as well? Is that possible without causing any other issues?

That should be fine I think.

 

[Dream33r]

Thanks does th T&K's from HD come with u /v bolts?

I tried ringing/emailing them but they not interested!