Who Are The Big Dish Men & Ultimate Dish Men ?

[Channel Hopper]

I'm in for that extended C lnb too , marked as modern PLL type !

A DRO type would have stability like that quoted, but not a PLL.

 

[moonbase]

• LO Stability: +/- 500 kHz
• Noise Figure: 35K

I was expecting slighly better figures for modern technology

If it is good enough for the top men like John, Feedsat_DXer and satosk then it is good enough for me.

 

[John]

There are extenced C band LNB's on eBay with shipping to the UK should anyone wish to organise a group buy to keep shipping costs down?

New Norsat 8000RI, C-Band DRO LNB 3.625 - 4.8 GHz ±500 kHz F Type 75Ohm 854580007542 | eBay

.. just a quick summary as to why i used this Norsat 8000RI
Compared to the SMW Ext Cband lnb, the Norsat was a fraction of the cost but never having had the opportunity to do a side by side comparison of the two units i can't say how much better (hopefully) in performance the SMW unit is.
The Norsat unit is a simpler unit to use with having only the one LO of 5.750 that enables it to cover from 3.600 to 4.800GHz and so is a bit of a compromise re: performance divided up by cost / frequency range / DRO circuitry/ component quality.
The lnb's used on my 2.2 Elite PF all go through an AV-Comm poloriser barrel and have motorised polarity / skew control for maximum signal tweaking - I did compare the Norsats 4.5 to 4.8 GHz range performance with a dedicated JRC 4.5 to 4.8 GHz only lnb and the JRC was virtually the same but not any worse.
I have also done a side by side comparison of the Norsat's 3.600 to 4.2 GHz performance against a Zinwell 3.4 to 4.2 GHz lnbf and the Zinwell + barrel gave me on average an extra 1/2 to 1dB on signal reception which on some of the very weak or awkward FEC related signals sometimes made the difference between a lock or no lock.
There is another Extended Cband lnb offering from Philtech but again is on the expensive side but below the SMW offering.
Overall i'm quite happy with the Norsat for what it cost - i got mine from the same guy that's in the link and he was very good with communication and speed of delivery.
The cheap items from Brazil look tempting for evaluation purposes as well.

 

[s-band]

It depends what you want from it. PLL with ext ref is important for saddos like me who look for beacons and other narrow band signals. The last dB of s/n on DVB doesn't matter to me most of the time. It would be very tempting to mod an 8000RI by adding a PLL LO as it is very good value.

This pin polariser design is interesting: https://www.researchgate.net/profil...r-Metal-Post-Circular-Waveguide-Polarizer.pdf

My experience of the Zinwell was not good. Even my replacement (for a completely unstable one) is bit flakey. However, it can give better sensitivity than some others on some frequencies. My Titanium modded for 4.5-4.8 just about worked but at least it could be fitted with a decent reference, shame they won't be doing one soon, especially as the chip can switch 5150/5750.

 

[John]

... here's a positive response back from Brazil and thanks to @frank-sinatra for the heads -up. This was a response for one (1) poloriser tube shipped to me in the UK.
Response here - -
Good morning, John.



Welcome.



We can send and payment via Paypal.

We'll need your shipping address in England.

1 TUBO PROLONGADOR PARA LNBF BANDA C CIRCULAR TURBINADO u$ 25,00 TUBO PROLONGADOR PARA LNBF BANDA C CIRCULAR TURBINADO - E-shop Satélite

1 INTERNATIONAL EMS SHIPPING - Via Correios do Brasil. u$ 48,00

Tota: u$ 73,00



Kind regards.

 

[moonbase]

... here's a positive response back from Brazil and thanks to @frank-sinatra for the heads -up. This was a response for one (1) poloriser tube shipped to me in the UK.
Response here - -

Good morning, John.
Welcome.
We can send and payment via Paypal.
We'll need your shipping address in England.

1 TUBO PROLONGADOR PARA LNBF BANDA C CIRCULAR TURBINADO u$ 25,00 TUBO PROLONGADOR PARA LNBF BANDA C CIRCULAR TURBINADO - E-shop Satélite

1 INTERNATIONAL EMS SHIPPING - Via Correios do Brasil. u$ 48,00
Tota: u$ 73,00

Kind regards.

Sounds promising. Shipping cost per unit should hopefully reduce quite a bit for a multiply buy of the "pin pipes"?

 

[moonbase]

Table Update - added Terryl with his 10ft BUD

 

[Lazarus]

Any women with big dishes?

 

[s-band]

Table

Sorry, but I don't think it counts if the owner can't get it up

 

[moonbase]

Any women with big dishes?

Not sure about that, none come forward asking to be in the table. There are plenty small dish men and mini dish men though, myself included (mini dish man).

 

[moonbase]

Sorry, but I don't think it counts if the owner can't get it up

Do you wish me to remove you from the table

 

[dreadnutz]

I just replaced mt 2.4M Prodelin 1251 with a 3.8M Prodelin era 2002.
The thing is a beast at about 1500lbs total weight!!! I got it second hand for a reasonable price, the previous owner really wanted it badly but it got damaged when it was taken down from some telco company when he tried to get a crane to remove it from the 15ft tall pipe. So he got it home in a truck and they stowed away the pieces for 5 years as he just could not contemplate how to fix it or set it up. Then I came into the picture.

I got the whole thing trucked to my house, the truck had a small crane for lifting in the heavier parts. We put it all out on the lawn and over the next six weeks we did fiberglass repair, sanded the surface, resprayed it with the factory paint and then cut the 11 1/4" pipe down from 15ft to 5ft and welded back on the support ring.

The LNB support arms had been left lying on the dirt so they were encrusted in rust. We used Crud cutter and got all the rust off to the point that they were rust free. Then I did a few coatings of cold galvanized spray on them and sealed them in aluminum epoxy type paint. All new stainless bolts for the petal seams and a general clean down for the rest of the parts bought it back to looking new. The finished dish would be very hard for anyone to know its not brand new.

The dish was installed on a concreate roof on a pedastal we made using 19"x19"x3/4" steel plate for the upper and about 24"x24"x3/4" for the lower base plate. 75lbs for one and way over 150lbs for the other. The bottom plate has arms welded on going outward that are made of 3"x3"x3/8" angle iron and the support between upper and lower plate is made from the same iron. A total of 14x (3/4" Rawl/ concrete bolts) were then used to secure it in it's 4'x4' area and cement was poured into a boxing that went to just a few inches below the top plate. This was all done next to a corner support beam for the roof.

The dishes pipe weight is about 450lbs at the 5 ft length and had to be lifted by a small crane onto the roof and next the pipe top and the back plate, about 250lbs each.
The Pipes plate to the roof plate was held together by 8 x (1"x4" Nut and bolts).

Don't ask what I am receiving with it as that has backfired on me in the past. Needles to say that I am picking up twice as many transponders across several satellites than I was with the 2.4M dish. And it works all day on all transponders, not only at night. I suspect in the summer it should be fine where as the 2.4M would lose signal for 3 months in the summer.

John

 

[RimaNTSS]

John! And you waited ~9 years to come up with this message?! Sure, it is better later than never. Some pictures of the process you just explained would be nice to see.

 

[moonbase]

Table updated to include the 3.8m Prodelin dish from forum member "dreadnutz"

Shocking state of affairs in the UK, not a single representative in the table with a big dish in service. A sad reflection on what was once was a thriving hobby in the UK, now in tatters as the rest of the world looks skwyards.

 

[dreadnutz]

I did not post any pictures because it’s still a work in progress. The LNBS are held in place with clamps and wood as we needed to use that to find and hold the two non centered LNBs. Also the wiring is a mess! I will be working on fabricating the holder for the 3 LNBs this coming weekend and probably have the wiring neatly done into the service box by the following weekend. Kinda needed a break as I took a week off from work to push through the work. I will upload some pictures of the process and final dish when it’s done.

John

 

[moonbase]

Table updated with "not in service" status for the Prodelin 3.8m dish of forum member "dreadnutz"

 

[Channel Hopper]

Table updated to include the 3.8m Prodelin dish from forum member "dreadnutz"

Shocking state of affairs in the UK, not a single representative in the table with a big dish in service. A sad reflection on what was once was a thriving hobby in the UK, now in tatters as the rest of the world looks skwyards.

Not sure if you have the right to make that claim.
There are plenty of owners of larger dishes out there that may not have subscribed to this forum, or are just keeping quiet (planning permission reasons or just inconsiderate neighbours).

You can add my Unimesh - modified, 12' dish to the chart if you wish. Certainly not standard and it is currently locked on 24.4 West, it does get signal but I am awaiting the last of the fauna to vacate the garden this Autumn before removing a tree that gets in the way of the Easterly movement.

What systems you got then.

It will come down at some point to make way for the 3.8 offset.

Have you checked with Alpi (Rhodes) with his Prodelin 3.7m steerable ?

 

[moonbase]

Not sure if you have the right to make that claim.
There are plenty of owners of larger dishes out there that may not have subscribed to this forum, or are just keeping quiet (planning permission reasons or just inconsiderate neighbours).

You can add my Unimesh - modified, 12' dish to the chart if you wish. Certainly not standard and it is currently locked on 24.4 West, it does get signal but I am awaiting the last of the fauna to vacate the garden this Autumn before removing a tree that gets in the way of the Easterly movement.

What systems you got then.

It will come down at some point to make way for the 3.8 offset.
Have you checked with Alpi (Rhodes) with his Prodelin 3.7m steerable ?

The claim was made on the basis of reading this forum and forming a personal opinion. I made no definitive claim that it was an official view of some UK dish regulatory authority.

I expect there will be large dishes owned by non forum members, the table scope is dishes owned by forum members only. I cant really see how a dish owner can keep a 3.8m dish in their garden hidden from inconsiderate neighbours.

That post you linked to is 17 years old, I was trying to maintain a more current table of dishes owned by forum members. I will update the table with your dishes at some point in the future when you have finalised your installations.

If you are referring to the dish residing in Rhodes owned by forum member "3virgul14" it is in the table.

 

[Channel Hopper]

That post you linked to is 17 years old, I was trying to maintain a more current table of dishes owned by forum members. I will update the table with your dishes at some point in the future when you have finalised your installations.

If you are referring to the dish residing in Rhodes owned by forum member "3virgul14" it is in the table.

Yes, but the Unimesh install is current and functional (of sorts), Alpi has also made a couple of changes to his Prodelin, plus he has an existing 2.4m on site that acts as a respectable backup.

 

[moonbase]

Yes, but the Unimesh install is current and functional (of sorts), Alpi has also made a couple of changes to his Prodelin, plus he has an existing 2.4m on site that acts as a respectable backup.

Yes, Alpi needs a backup for his business activities, did he show you his setup while you were there?
According to the classification of a 2.4m dish as a small dish by Elite Antennas they are excluded from the table.