Installing Dishes In Spain for 2E Chit-Chat

[Archive4]

Looks like FTE. Brian will know as he owns one.

Looks similar, but lnb mount and arms differ, as does back mount assembly. Could possibly be newer model as my dish is a few years old now.

 

[RichardinSpain]

Looked at the pictures again (terrible quality). Wall mount is not appropriate for this dish. You'd need a proper one. LNB is the Sharp with the glued on feedhorn. IMO, 70€ is ok if the dish face is in perfect condition, but by the look of it this has been bounced around on its rim.

Well i decided to go for it, been looking for one for a while now, would have preferred a 150cm offset..I agree with you that the edges could be a bit better but at least it gives me something to play around with, i would just be happy if it gives me a few percentage points for a stronger signal..Being delivered tomorrow but will be a few days til i get to play with it as i have visitors..I'll let you know how i get on
I'm hoping to use my existing stand...if it fits
What lnb do you suggest i get for it? I'm new to prime focus dishes and feed horns etc, i have seen an inverto black pro which has some good reviews but it seems a lot cheaper than the rest
Cheers Richard

 

[Huevos]

Richard, I've got loads of s/h LNBs for that dish. Invacom is slightly better than the Inverto for SNR in my experience. Got late model Famaval PF feedhorn that works really well too. Personally I prefer that dish to an offset. Much better built with a proper backring rather than just a stamped out bit of tin plate. Dish needs a 60mm heavy-duty wall bracket or groundstand.

 

[RichardinSpain]

Well i had a chance to instal the new dish today, must admit i'm a bit dissapointed so far, I thought it might have fitted on my existing floor stand but it doesn't so for now (until i get a stand) i have had to do a bit of a bodge job..Spent all day tweaking but can't get a sniff of 2e and 2f spot beams, well 10994 and 10964 are trying to break through but that's it, all other transponders on non spot are beaming in, done all the usual, skewing and in and out etc..3 problems i can see that would impact on the signal

1, The outer rim isn't in very good condition and there is a bit of a dent in the top left hand corner (about 11 o'clock) the rest of the reflector seems in perfect condition
2, Obviously it's not on the right stand but everything seems to be straight (measured with a spirit level, although there is a bit of wobble when finalising the aligmnent)
3, Feedhorn isn't the correct one??, i know nothing about feedhorns and adjustable feedhorns, only what i have read on the internet over the last couple of days..
I'm using a invacom QDF 031 that i borrowed off a friend, would this be ok? (have attached pic) The lnb is usually used on a 180cm and looks the same as mine but bigger (obviously)
The dish is a marrafa af140 (thanks Huevos) but looks like the tecatel too, in fact on the marrafa and tecatel website they look identical, even the photos, are they made by the same manufacturer?
Think i'm going to put my tecatel 1.2 back on for now as recently that has been performing quite well

 

[Huevos]

Looks in pretty bad shape.

 

[RichardinSpain]

Actually got up this morning and the signals were stronger. Received ch5, ch4 bbc1 wales hd, and itv hd all last night (2f) and although the signal was roughly the same as my 1.2 dish the signals were much more stable, on the smaller dish they steadily rise through late afternoon and peak late evening..I think with the correct floor stand i might be able to get a bit more out of it..Huevos where can i get a Famaval PF feedhorn as you suggest for this dish? and what does a adjustable feed horn do over a normal one?
Thanks Richard

 

[Huevos]

Forget the adjustable horn. DSS in Finestrat do the rihht one and I keep them too. Don't get anything online as it will be the wrong one.

 

[Huevos]

Bought a box of these (150€). Absolutely brilliant for Spanish terracotta hollow block walls. Go down 3 layers and still tighten up sufficiently even in the softest walls. Using with M10 x 80mm hex head screws. Six fixings per install with the heavy-duty bracket and it is solid as a rock. Probably will use these for all my installs from now on.

 

[Lampard25]

Bought a box of these (150€). Absolutely brilliant for Spanish terracotta hollow block walls. Go down 3 layers and still tighten up sufficiently even in the softest walls. Using with M10 x 80mm hex head screws. Six fixings per install with the heavy-duty bracket and it is solid as a rock. Probably will use these for all my installs from now on.

View attachment 66760

Its all ive ever used , any more deals like that.

 

[Archive4]

I normally use the 12 x 60 version with m10 x 60 bolts, box of 25 from local ferreteria 6€ something with discount I get, those would be better and in that quantity probably cost less. I assume it´s 20 boxes of 25 plugs?

 

[Huevos]

The 14 x 70mm are quite a bit dearer, and most places don't stock them or stock them in bags of two with screw for about 3.70€. These are 20 units per box, so 3 boxes means 10 installs. I have 12 x 60mm plugs too but they only go down 2 layers. And these save a lot of time doing up because the screw goes in easier. Also, 12 x 60mm needs a 70mm screw. 60mm is a bit short if you want the full width of the bolt to reach the full depth of the plug.

 

[RichardinSpain]

Richard, I've got loads of s/h LNBs for that dish. Invacom is slightly better than the Inverto for SNR in my experience. Got late model Famaval PF feedhorn that works really well too. Personally I prefer that dish to an offset. Much better built with a proper backring rather than just a stamped out bit of tin plate. Dish needs a 60mm heavy-duty wall bracket or groundstand.

Hi Huevos

You mentioned before the famaval feedhorn, i have taken some pics of the lnb i borrowed, can you tell by the look of it what make it is? It was being used on a 1.8 which looks identical to my 1.5/1.4 (marrafa). Is the feedhorn on a 1.8 the same as one for the smaller dish? The thing is i first tried the modified sharp lnb which i wasn't expecting too much from and then swapped it for the invacom with feedhorn in the pic and was getting roughly the same results as the sharp, no 2e but ok on most 2f transponders, so not sure if the invacom lnb is ok, when the owners of the 1.8 come back i'll be able to put it back on their dish and see how it performs

 

[Huevos]

That is not the late version feed that performs really well.

 

[RichardinSpain]

That is not the late version feed that performs really well.

Yes it must be a few years old now, Does the new one have a model number? I'll see if my local shop can order it as finestrat will be a bit of a drive for me..Also is it still the case that the invacom quad out performs the single..I prefer a single as i only have one feed but if the quad is much better then i'll go for that

On a different note, what is the strongest pb transponder on 2e, currently 10714 and 10744 are my strongest (7.5db) followed by 10906..my weakest ones at the moment are 10729, 10758, 10788 and 10818 all at 6.3db..10847 non existent in the day time, i thought i read somewhere that 10818 should be the strongest but that might have been just for bbc1

 

[Huevos]

If you go to a local shop you will never get the right one. I've got accounts with 5 wholesalers and each is adamant that their feedhorn is the correct one.

 

[RichardinSpain]

If you go to a local shop you will never get the right one. I've got accounts with 5 wholesalers and each is adamant that their feedhorn is the correct one.

Oh, it's a difficult one then, so if i went to finestrat and asked for the latest famaval feedhorn, how would i know which one would be the correct one, do they only do one model there and does it look different from the rest?

Also was just editing my previous post when you replied with this so you wouldnt have read it
On a different note, what is the strongest pb transponder on 2e, currently 10714 and 10744 are my strongest (7.5db) followed by 10906..my weakest ones at the moment are 10729, 10758, 10788 and 10818 all at 6.3db..10847 non existent in the day time, i thought i read somewhere that 10818 should be the strongest but that might have been just for bbc1

 

[RichardinSpain]

Ah, just seen it in their catalogue...Ref 2k00, it has 5 rings including the outer ring, where as the one i used was 4 rings

 

[terryashbyash]

Oh, it's a difficult one then, so if i went to finestrat and asked for the latest famaval feedhorn, how would i know which one would be the correct one, do they only do one model there and does it look different from the rest?

Also was just editing my previous post when you replied with this so you wouldnt have read it
On a different note, what is the strongest pb transponder on 2e, currently 10714 and 10744 are my strongest (7.5db) followed by 10906..my weakest ones at the moment are 10729, 10758, 10788 and 10818 all at 6.3db..10847 non existent in the day time, i thought i read somewhere that 10818 should be the strongest but that might have been just for bbc1

After much realignment(1.5 hours) on my 1.1 after things dropping off, I assume due to seasonal fluctuations as well as my poor alignment I now have a full set of freesat transponders again.
I had lost 10817 most of the day but still had 10788, now everything showing signal quality(Skybox F3) 67-73 all day even 10847 which I had lost when 1N left.
Using my trusty 10 year old digital 1200 as a sat meter I slackened off the bolts and peaked on 12207, then 10906 and finally 10729. For some reason now the lnb skew is less critical than it was but position along the throat(not sure of the technical term) made a huge difference. For me now 10729 and 10906 strongest transponders. Pick a cloudy day to realign, the sun is just too hot.

 

[RichardinSpain]

After much realignment(1.5 hours) on my 1.1 after things dropping off, I assume due to seasonal fluctuations as well as my poor alignment I now have a full set of freesat transponders again.
I had lost 10817 most of the day but still had 10788, now everything showing signal quality(Skybox F3) 67-73 all day even 10847 which I had lost when 1N left.
Using my trusty 10 year old digital 1200 as a sat meter I slackened off the bolts and peaked on 12207, then 10906 and finally 10729. For some reason now the lnb skew is less critical than it was but position along the throat(not sure of the technical term) made a huge difference. For me now 10729 and 10906 strongest transponders. Pick a cloudy day to realign, the sun is just too hot.

Thats strange 10729 is one of my weakest (your strongest) and like you 10906 is also one of my strongest, perhaps i need to do a bit more tweeking

 

[sinbadmarino]

Good news?

These days I have seen a stronger signal. Taking advance of that I re-pointed the dish (prodeline 180) and now I can see BBC (1 to four), ITV (1 to 4), Channel Four, Standard Definition. For some hours of the day, pixeling. About 7 db
I am thinking about setting the dish a little higher in order to get rid of the negative effects of the wall I have in front of the dish. Maybe the wall is too tall to disturb my waves.
Good news because after several months thinking the dish I bought was useless, I have renew hopes.
How long does this good signal last?

Sinbad
20 kms souther Pamplona
Prodeline Offset 1.80
Invacom + Raven feedhorn