Is replacing a single for a dual LNB easy?

gebbel

A girl friend of mine would like to run an extra cable from her dish to her room. The dish has a single LNB. I can get a dual LNB, but before I try to tackle it....I would like to know if there is much skill to it? I have never tried anything like it before now.

Thanks

Tony

What type of dish is it?

gebbel

Tony, it's a normal Sky style dish pointing in the hotbird direction, hope that makes sense!

montgolfiere

maybe better to fit a quad. (as anyway there are no 2x lnb's for sky dishes these days)
you may need to 'fine tune' the dish after fitting the new LNB as the extra weight may cause the arm to drop a fraction and the signal may therefore be reduced...(occasionally of course it may improve the signal if the dish wasn't quite correctly aligned....!!!!!)
it is a good idea to note the readings on the signal meter before removing the original LNB so that you can see if there is any change after fitting the dual/quad.
also make sure you adjust the 'skew' setting correctly.

the Skyman

gebbel

Ahem.....I don't have a signal meter and wouldn't know how to use it if I had!
Perhaps this job is simply beyond me then?

Tony

gebbel wrote: »

Tony, it's a normal Sky style dish pointing in the hotbird direction, hope that makes sense!

Ok as my friend says its a quad lnb for sky minidish you need. Is a very simple job to change, just a plastic pin holding the lnb in place but you do need to chack first if the dish is correctly aligned. A satfinder meter can halp with this and are relatively cheap.

Kashkai

. In the absence of a signal metre, you could use the sky box itself to give you a reading of the strength and quality of the signal when adjusting the dish, if it even needs adjusting. If the dish is in good shape and was fitted correctly in the first place, changing the lnb won't affect the signal unless you give the dish a knock. Some lnbs are screwed onto the dish arm whole others have two plastc prongs that you push in to remove the lnb.

I'd agree that you should invest in a quad lnb as it'll give you flexibility for upgrading to a HD box, pvr, extra satellite receiver etc.

I feel a new career in satellite installs/upgrades coming o.

montgolfiere

gebbel wrote: »

Ahem.....I don't have a signal meter and wouldn't know how to use it if I had!
Perhaps this job is simply beyond me then?

sorry not to have been clearer. i meant just check the signal strength / quality readings you get from the services/system setup/ signal test on your sky box. if they havent changed ( or have improved) all well and good , if they have reduced then the dish may require 'fine tuning'. (in my experience....the extra weight of a quad can alter the signal strength/quality).
BTW it is the QUALITY reading that matters.
the Skyman