installing a horizontal dish

cmb.

ive heard about this but does it work? if a sky dish is put this way will it be able to pick up the signal (and keep out of sight) & if so will it require a special dish or will a standard sky dish work?

assuming this is a workable solution, is it a more complicated install & would i be best getting an installer to do it and if so any recomendations>

a lot of q's i know but thans for any helpful advice

Nothingbetter2d

no what you heard about is the digiglobe.... its an alterantive to a dish and it looks like a lamp

Compton

this is a decent one, I saw it in the shop and it looks good.

http://satworld.ie/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=104

Zaphod

Any dish will do. If you are doing it yourself, buy a signal meter - about €13 by satworld.ie.

See here for an example.
http://web.archive.org/web/20071225163936/http://www.catv-sat.ch/liegend.htm

and here for dish optics:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055199440

EDIT: The digiglobe mentioned above is also an option. However, it's considerably more expensive and the performance is worse - the digiglobe is slightly too small for Ireland.

cmb.

no im not talkinf about the digiglobe (the do not pick up most sky channels - around 60 i believe) as the dish in them is too small - i have read about placing a sky dish in a horizontal position - has anyone done this and how well does it work? - also will a satellite dish work through patio railings? (they are about 4 inches apart& about 1 meter high) - i know that it would be best not to have to do this but ive no other choice

Sam Radford

Yes, you can mount the dish "upside down" and it will work fine. However, you may need to drill a hole at the lowest point to let rainwater drain out. There could also be a problem with snow in winter. (Wind Christmas tree lights around the underside of the dish to warm it up!)

The railings will almost certainly block certain channels but there's only one way to find out. Please post photos if it works!

They often mount dishes like this in New Zealand because it makes them less prone to picking up microwave interference from 'phone masts etc.

And it's been done in the USA, too:-
http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/12719-upside-down-dish.html

Another:
http://www.rvtravel.com/blog/rvnow/2007/06/rvers-turn-satellite-tv-upside-down.html

TM

Anybody know if/how the OAS Flat 440 performs here in Ireland (in particular D7)? Or is it pointless messing with these more discreet options and better to stick with a regular 60cm or larger dish? Like many others I'm restricted in terms of where a dish can go and the most likely option is the back wall (of the house - not garden) of a front south east facing house with a bracket to raise it above the eaves. But a "discreet" alternative might be an option at the front if it worked....

Compton

The OAS is an excellent dish.
Performs extremely well for the size of it AFAIK.

Zaphod

shblob wrote: »

The OAS is an excellent dish.
Performs extremely well for the size of it AFAIK.

What do you mean by "performs extremely well for the size of it"?

TM

Thanks for the feedback. I'm also curious as to what that means - in particular can anybody estimate if it would give a reliable reception in all weather conditions in my location (D7) or how it might compare to a regular 60cm or bigger dish? Maybe this is difficult to say in theory but I'm just wondering if it's worth even considering such an option or just sticking with a regular dish setup? Thanks.

TM

Also - the Maplin.co.uk link for the OAS 440 suggests that the LNB can be accessed/replaced. Anybody know if it takes a standard one and could take a dual or quad? Or course if anybody knows that this would not really work well (in all weather conditions) in D7 then my questions are somewhat moot!

Compton

it is 47.5 cms and the performance it delivers excellent picture... about like a 60cm dish.
TM> Yes you can change the LNB at the back.

Zaphod

shblob wrote: »

it is 47.5 cms and the performance it delivers excellent picture... about like a 60cm dish.
TM> Yes you can change the LNB at the back.

So you've tested it against a 60cm dish on the weaker transponders on Eurobird in rain?

Compton

my mate has one on his apartment and it looks fairly unoticable tbh. He has a twin in it, and I think he got an MTI single with it.

TM

Is your mate using it on Astra/Eurobird 28.2E?

This eBay store is selling them for £70 + £20 P&P to Ireland =~ €112.

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Colchester-Satellite-TV-08454750192

I'd love if this worked as it means that I could do a DIY installation after all instead of having to worry about this:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055371399

But I'd hate to buy it and be disappointed (he said, stating the bleeding obvious!)...

TM

shblob wrote: »

my mate has one on his apartment and it looks fairly unoticable tbh. He has a twin in it, and I think he got an MTI single with it.

Also meant to ask - where is your mate located? I'm D7 myself.

Compton

dublin 6 but that wont make a differance once your in the dublin area as the signal is good enough. It will work for 28 east. they can be a bit hard to install but if you have time it should be ok.

TM

Does it work OK even in the sort of weather we've had all "summer"?

An earlier poster seemed to suggest that if anything might be on edge in rainy conditions it might be some broadcasts on Eurobird. To be honest I can't see an awful lot that I'd miss on that satellite so if that was the only risk here then I'd be happy to try it.

Are they more difficult than a regular dish to install? If so why? I can't get much detailed technical info about them anywhere although the eBay seller than I mentioned above did offer to scan some of the manual for me if necessary.

I'm definitely leaning towards shelling out the €100 odd to get one and using the other Lidl package gear that I have to do a DIY install. Maybe anybody who sees any significant gotchas here could post and let me know?

Zaphod

TM wrote: »

An earlier poster seemed to suggest that if anything might be on edge in rainy conditions it might be some broadcasts on Eurobird. To be honest I can't see an awful lot that I'd miss on that satellite so if that was the only risk here then I'd be happy to try it.

Eurobird channels:
http://www.lyngsat.com/eb1.html

The marketing guff for flat panel antennas claim that a 47cm FPA performs like a 60cm or 70cm parabolic dish - that's not true. Any review of these antennas that I've read states that they perform like a 47cm dish, if that. And having owned one myself, I came to the same conclusion.

As you're in Dublin, you are in the driest part of the country and you're closer to the centrepoint of the main footprints, so a flat panel will probably work 90%+ of the time. Just don't expect 100% uptime.

TM

Thanks for the comments. Can you link to any of these reviews by any chance? I have searched but cannot find any significant reviews of the OAS 440.

When you say don't expect it to work 100% of the time do you mean that in adverse weather conditions there will be interference or that the reception will fail totally?

Also - can anybody say for sure that the OAS 440 takes a standard LNB and that it can easily be upgraded to a dual/quad? I've heard anecdotally that it does/can but I cannot ascertain this for certain at the moment.

Zaphod

TM wrote: »

When you say don't expect it to work 100% of the time do you mean that in adverse weather conditions there will be interference or that the reception will fail totally?

Both, depending on the channel and conditions.