Newbie Here Upgrading Dish System

The Rascals

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Good Morning all.
First post on satellites forum.
I have 1m motorised no name steel dish for about 10 years, want to upgrade to 1.2m dish or 1.5m dish.
Laminas seem to be the best options for light weight and performance.
Would a 1.5m laminas be ok on a Stab 120hh or should I stick to the 1.2m.
Reception band is currently just Ku but I am hoping for Ka and if the brain is working maybe C band when all this dielectrics and polarisation lingo means something to me.
I am 300 feet above sea level and about 3 miles from the coast on open ground facing south.
Thanks for reading this, and I await the great and wonderful experts on this forum to guide me.
 

Captain Jack

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Good morning Rascals,

A 1.2m Laminas should be OK on a decent DiSEqC motor in a sheltered located - a Stab will be ideal for this, they are tough motors - but don't think about anything bigger unless you throw it all out and go with a dedicated polar mount. I assume you are in Cork, Ireland, which gets its fair share of Atlantic winds, so the sturdier mounting the better.

Laminas are fibre glass, so will be fine near the sea.

For C band, I would suggest a 1.8m - you'll have some very limited success with 1.2 and 1.5m but 1.8m is better (heck, maybe just go for a 2.7m version!).
 
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rolfw

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Some years ago I installed a Gibertini 1.25m on a Stab 120HH and although the motor is rated for such a dish, that's a lot of weight and motor suffers from backlash when the dish is further round the arc, also a 1.2m dish is like a sail and will put extreme stress on the motor arm, certainly wouldn't go any bigger on that motor.

As per CJ above, step up to a polarmount and actuator, it'll move more quickly and will be much more stable.
 

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Agree with all the above.

Had a TD110 on an H-H Moteck and soon shifted it from wall-mounted T&K to a Patio Mount.
 

moonbase

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If you go for a 1.5m dish, another option to possibly consider is a Gibertini with a Gibertini polar mount.

Rgds
 

Captain Jack

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Yes, the Gibby is also an option. It's aluminium rather than fibre glass but should still withstand the salty air.
 
A

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Some years ago I installed a Gibertini 1.25m on a Stab 120HH and although the motor is rated for such a dish, that's a lot of weight and motor suffers from backlash when the dish is further round the arc, also a 1.2m dish is like a sail and will put extreme stress on the motor arm, certainly wouldn't go any bigger on that motor.

As per CJ above, step up to a polarmount and actuator, it'll move more quickly and will be much more stable.
Agree, but will point out that the Laminas 1.2 is one of the lightest 1.2 options available, and weighs about half what the Gibby does (I have both).
So should you want H2H performance, then my understanding is that a Laminas OFC1200 is really the most suitable choice for a normal motor operation.

As with all the other posters, I'd say a PM + actuator is sturdier, faster, and less backlash. But has less range, and requires VBox + actuator, dedicated cables to power the actuator, and room behind the dish for the PM and actuactor. And suffers from market availability - new PMs for 120-150 cm dishes are hard to find these days except for the Gibby one.
 

The Rascals

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Good Evening All
This is my first post

I have a 1M no name steel dish with a STAB HH100 for the last 7 years the motor has died.
Would a STAB HH120 be able to drive a Laminas 1.5M dish as they are light and good performance wise,
or should I stick with a Laminas 1.2m dish.
I have only been a Ku band junkie for 25 years but want to experiment with Ka band now as well, and down the road C band.
My location is 300 feet above sea level facing south and about 3 miles from the coast.
I look forward to the responses from the elite and experience people on this forum.

Regards
The Rascals
 
A

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Welcome to the forum :)

Personally I wouldn't use anything bigger than a 1 m dish on a stab/usals mount, due to the weight involved.

Ka band requires your dish to be 100% spot on and true. In ka band just because you get a "good" signal from say 19.2°E ku band doesn't mean you would get a "good" signal in ka band.

But in my humble opinion ka band is a lot of fun and games, but not loads of channels.

Take 16°E ka band on my 1.5 dish I am dx'ing.
 

The Rascals

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Thanks to all of above for your great information its wonderful to see people helping a blind man through a minefield:p
I posted this tread again by mistake today or is it tomorrow, where is that hour gone
regards
the rascals
 

Captain Jack

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Mod note: I've merged the two similar threads together to avoid confusion
 

sonnetpete

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Seperate 80 cm dish on 28E with a Humax Freesat for SWMBO.
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Just to add a +1 for the Laminas 1.2. I've had it running with a USALS motor (see below for details) for a few years now without a problem.
 

The Rascals

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Thanks to everyone for their help and advice.
I should have put "helping a blind man through a minefield" like this as I am not blind its the way we use words on the Costa Del Cork.

Regards

The Rascals
 
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Ka band requires your dish to be 100% spot on and true. In ka band just because you get a "good" signal from say 19.2°E ku band doesn't mean you would get a "good" signal in ka band.
Ah, yes, OP mentioned Ka.
For this your normal SMC (plastic) dishes may not be quite up to scratch.
Ka requires very high surface accuracy, which I don't know if the Laminas has. (The OFC1200 is not rated for Ka from the manufacturer.)

Other SMC manufacturers (Prodelin, Skyware) have special reflector models for Ka in the 120cm sizes, which are a lot more expensive than the "normal" Ku band ones.

This doesn't mean it won't work. It just means your mileage will vary.

C-band is probably easier than Ka; you can use normal Ku dishes fine - although there the bigger the better is the rule. anything <120cm will give yoy very limited reception.
But - choice is yours.
Be carfeul - you may find that you will want multiple dishes, one for Ku, one for C, one for Ka... ;)
 

The Rascals

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Hi Folks
Sorry could not reply sooner "cutting grass 3 quarters of an acre garden"
St1 thanks for the heads up on Ka reception.
Has anybody used a fibreglass dish for Ka reception ?.
Would a 36V HtoH motor be better if I go for a 1.5m dish, than a PM as it may give me a wider arc.
If I go for C band how would the LNB be mounted on offset dish ?.
Thanks for your help

The Rascals
 

moonbase

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Hi,

If you can source a second hand Jaeger 1224 H-H motor it will be a good match with a 1.5m dish, they are very good motors and even if they look old and rusty they clean up well. I will leave it to others to advise about mounting multiple LNB's on an offset dish, there are some experienced members with similar setup, you have plenty options.


Rgds
 

Captain Jack

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+1 for 1224 motor - excellent with Gibertini 1.5m. It's also OK for the Laminas 1.8m if you're in a sheltered location. I did have mine on a Jumbo motor (beefed up version of 1224) but my dish is in a very exposed location, so it was rather wobbly in the westerlies...

For C band - get a Gibertini multi-LNB rail with some 63mm holders and attach the LNBs on either side of the Ku one. I used one for linear and the other for circular. The only caveat is that neither will be at focus but around 5-6 degrees off-centre. So, 1W would chime in when you dish is pointing at 5e or 7W, depending on which side of the dish the C band LNB is on.
 

The Rascals

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Good Evening All
Thanks for your help and advice.
I have decided to go with Laminas 1.2M and try and get a bracket for a c-band lnb later for experimenting, and if I get the c-band bug, I 'll have to consult with the lady of the manor and the bank manager (sometimes both the same).
My new motor (TM-2600 M2)will only move between 30W and 45E I am at 8W would anybody have a manual for this motor, was not in the box with it.
Do anybody know how to set the satellite positions for new sats so they are not at the end of the list, in other words the positions follow the arc, this if for the Clarke Tech HD 5100C receiver.
Sorry for all the questions, and in a few months I will contribute to this great forum as I will have more time

The Rascals
 

moonbase

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...Do anybody know how to set the satellite positions for new sats so they are not at the end of the list, in other words the positions follow the arc, this if for the Clarke Tech HD 5100C receiver.

You can use a channel editor to arrange the satellites in polar arc order. Have a search on the internet for the Clarke Tech channel editor, it can edit several different channel list file types. Provided your satellite receiver uses a compatible file type for the channel list editor to work with then you will be OK.


Rgds
 

sonnetpete

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Laminas 1.2M fibre dish with an IBU, on a Clarke Tech USALS motor, covering 57E - 24.5W to an Octagon SX88. Displayed on a 20" Dyon LED TV.

Seperate 80 cm dish on 28E with a Humax Freesat for SWMBO.
Free Sat V8 meter. Sony Bravia 46" LCD, Sony BluRay and Home Cinema.
My Location
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I have decided to go with Laminas 1.2M

Have you sourced a supplier for the dish? According to their website, Laminas have no dealers in the British Isles. I ordered mine from 2Galli here in France, who are very reliable, though I suspect their carriage charges to you in Cork may be a little on the high side...
 
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