Any advice for 1st time setup FTA

lol_leo

Hi All,

You probably had this Q asked 1000 times before but here goes again.

I'm going to install a satellite system in my Dads house for first time and would appreciate any advice on what I need and best buys.

The house is in Co.Meath just outside Navan..not sure of co-ords yet.

I have a budget of about €200 and would like to have a motorised system with 2 seperate receivers.

I came across this on ebay...good value or could I do better?

http://cgi.ebay.ie/darkmotor-gold-lnb-sat-motor-90-dish-satellite-full-kit_W0QQitemZ200348112038QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_ConEle_SatCableFreeview_RL?hash=item2ea5ad94a6&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1301|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

Would a 90 cm dish pick up good signals in my area?

What recievers would you recommend. I was reading about Technomate...are they any good?

Im not really sure where I should be spending my money. Should I go for bigger dish and cheaper receiver or viceversa

Any help appreciated

Tony

Just on using two motorised receivers this is not really feasible unless both receivers need to watch the same satellite position at the same time e.g both waching channels from hotbird or some other position. The ebay link does not seem to include a receiver so obviously you need to factor that in to your budget. Size wise 80cm or bigger is fine. Technomate receivers have a very good reputation.

lol_leo

Thanks Tony,

I guess I need a twin LNB with one mororised receiver for satellite tracking and one non-motor just for tuning into whatever is available at the time.

About the dishes...is there a difference between say a 90cm Triax dish and a 90cm Comag or Fortec or is it just a question of longetivity. I do remember Alan Sugar describing it once as taking a dusttbin lid, turning it over and beating it out.

lol_leo

another Q

I was thinking to pole mount the dish on chimney to the rear of the house. Our next door neighbours to the south about 10 feet away have slightly higher roof line. My question is what angle of clearence do I need to receive unobstucted signals?

Do I need a clear horizontal view to bottom of the dish?

Tony

The triax in my experience is better than the others in terms of signal gain and longevity.

lol_leo wrote: »

Thanks Tony,

I guess I need a twin LNB with one mororised receiver for satellite tracking and one non-motor just for tuning into whatever is available at the time.

About the dishes...is there a difference between say a 90cm Triax dish and a 90cm Comag or Fortec or is it just a question of longetivity. I do remember Alan Sugar describing it once as taking a dusttbin lid, turning it over and beating it out.

Tony

You would need to figure out the elevation of the satellites you wish to receive on either end of the arc to get an idea of this.

lol_leo wrote: »

another Q

I was thinking to pole mount the dish on chimney to the rear of the house. Our next door neighbours to the south about 10 feet have slightly higher roof line. My question is what angle of clearence do I need to receive unobstucted signals?

lol_leo

Tony wrote: »

You would need to figure out the elevation of the satellites you wish to receive on either end of the arc to get an idea of this.

Wow great site for working this out plus whats available from your location. http://www.dishpointer.com/

Martin_F

Is it wise to mount a large dish on a chimney ? I thought it was generally discouraged.

Sonic_exyouth

Martin_F wrote: »

Is it wise to mount a large dish on a chimney ? I thought it was generally discouraged.

Yeah, it's a crazy idea that you'll regret in about 5 years

lol_leo

Sonic_exyouth wrote: »

Yeah, it's a crazy idea that you'll regret in about 5 years

Why? There is a aerial already up there on a 12 foot pole for years and no probs!

I was just planning on having it strapped to the chimney rather than having a long pole extending upwards.

Please advise

Tony

Sat dishes are not aerials and really need to be located in less exposed areas

lol_leo wrote: »

Why? There is a aerial already up there on a 12 foot pole for years and no probs!

lol_leo

Mmh...so what is the consequence if I do put it on the chimney brest.

My only other alternative is the south facing wall of the house which means everybody passing by can see it plus neighbours house will block angle of view South East.

Tony

You may have to carry out maintenace more often but if you are happy to do this yourself then its maybe not much of an issue for you.

lol_leo

Tony wrote: »

You may have to carry out maintenace more often but if you are happy to do this yourself then its maybe not much of an issue for you.

Thanks Tony,

I was waiting to hear that the dish could pull the whole stack down through the roof of the house on a windy night.:( I think its built with 4" cavity blocks so should be fairly solid.

I guess by maintenance you mean tightening the lashings and straightening pole every now and again.