Multi Satellite System or Motorised System

newtosatellite

I'm looking for a bit of guidance here.

1. What's the approx cost difference between having a Multi Satellite System installed and a Motorised System. The multi system would need to pick up just Astra at 19.2 and Hotbird at 13E. I've heard that the Humax 5400 is a good receiver so could someone give me an indication of price for both systems ( including installation - no particular access difficulities) . Size of dish 1m.

2. Does the Motorised System give a hugh difference in choice of channels or would the two satellites above have just about everything. I'm not interested in news feeds or in receiving channels from the middle east. I also understand that I would need a bigger dish to get the Nordic channells but I'm not sure about this either.

3. If I need to get a bigger dish and would this then add a lot to the price.

Any information would be welcomed.

chernobyl

A Humax 5400 is great box, but soon to become a "used2b" great box, for a particular kind of sat user.


If you gonna buy your Subs and CAM's. then any box will do.

Now back on track.

Cost difference..hmm dunno, so lets break it down, a see what extra equipment you need.


Compulsory : Reciever, Coax, Dish (1m).

The Difference : Astra/Hotbird Monoblock with inbuilt Diseqc switch = €70

Or if you want to go motorised with that same 1M dish, and aslong as your reciever has Diseqc 1.2 built in [most likely], the only thing you need is a Crptik Diseqc Motor mount : €150.

Not much in the difference eh?
But worth the extra cash.

newtosatellite

Thanks Chernobyl for your comments. The difference in price is not as great as I thought it would be. When the overall cost is considered I suppose €80 is very little.

Is the Humax becoming out date when you say that it will soon be a "used to be" great box." If so what other receiver would you recommend?

I read in one of the satellite magazines that installing a motorised system can take a lot of time. Is there much of a difference in the installation cost between the two systems.

chernobyl

What made the Humax 5400 great was that, a pretty clever guy in "Project Hemp" created a piece of software called the "+CAM" patch, which allowed the embedded Irdeto CAM to be used to emaulate Seca/Viaccess/Betacrypt/Nagra and Irdeto, which is a magor saving on CAMs but that was only good for those using pirate cards as i believe [admission coming] that offical viewing cards will not work with the patch applied.
Very soon, encryptions systems are changing or been updated, so it will be FTA for a while.


Irdeto now have a "FreeCAM" which does all the encryption emulation, but because its an external CAM you can use any reciever to view the channels.


They guy who runs www.irelands-satellite.ie (Tony) has a very resonably priced reciever and also the Irdeto FreeCAM, which together cost less than a Humax 5400, i think a 5400 is over €500.

Setting up a motorised system, without some form of real time meter when two conditions apply :

1) you have never aligned a dish before

2) you have aligned a dish before

is a fools game.

A cheap sat beeper will save you so much time, its laughable.
Ps, if going motorised get a solid mount, and dont bolt the dish to your house, as you want the dish to get an unobstructed arc from 45E to 45W if possible.

newtosatellite

Thanks again for your very helpful reply.

What sort of price would a real time meter be and I suppose more importantly what does it do. Is this the same as what you term sat beeper? (I can guess what that does).

No I have never aligned a dish before but if I had the right equipment I might give it a shot.

I understand the importance of having a wide arc but it does look as if I could be stuck with the back of the house which is facing straight south.

From what you know, if the dish is put onto a wall facing straight south what arc would it have?. Could the mount be extended out a bit from the wall so that the dish could have a wide east to west swing?.

chernobyl

Mouting the dish on a wall is fine as long as you remember that @ some point in the arc, this dish will be completely flat on its back.

A sat beeper should cost no more than €50 and once you have the dish aligned for one satellite, say hotbird, as the Diseqc motor has 20 other positions built in, it should automatically find the other 20, assuming you have aligned to dish with some accuracy.

MrAnarchy

I am finalising my arrangements for buying a motorised system.
I need a bit of help though.
In relation to the Dish ,does it need to move in both a vertical and horizontal plane or only horizontal ?
Is there much of a difference between a standard Stab Mount and a H to H Mount ?
I am going to get a 1 or a 1.1m dish and I was wondering if it matters whether the dish is solid or mesh for reception and weight considerations.
When is the dish flat on its back ?

chernobyl

Originally posted by MrAnarchy
.
In relation to the Dish ,does it need to move in both a vertical and horizontal plane or only horizontal ?

The dish rolls on an arc do as you go from east to west it will move on both.

Originally posted by MrAnarchy
.
Is there much of a difference between a standard Stab Mount and a H to H Mount ?

Isnt Stab just a make of H2H motor just like cryptic?
If your looking for a ready to go, quality motor both Stab HH100 or Cryptic are good but the best are Jaeger SuperJack DG-120 DiSEqC 1.2 or Moteck SG-2100 DiSEqC 1.2 motors.

Originally posted by MrAnarchy
.I am going to get a 1 or a 1.1m dish and I was wondering if it matters whether the dish is solid or mesh for reception and weight considerations.

A mesh dish is roughly 80% of it soild sized counter part and if you want a mesh dish then go big, but alot of mesh dishs are setup for C-Band reception so make sure it is made for Ku band, else you will have to resize the LNb arms.
psss...weight considerations, if the dish is over 90cm dont bolt it to your house, sink a 2inch pole in concrete on the ground, if you want to bolt it to your house you may have neighbours and planning authorities at your door.

Originally posted by MrAnarchy
.When is the dish flat on its back ?

This is completely gepgraphically dependant, and if go to nail the westerly satellites.
AFAIK i was only exaggerating but your dish will go as far as 30 degrees in elevation.


hope thats the info you need.

Lennoxschips

I suppose people living on the equator have to point their dishes straight up?

MrAnarchy

Thanks for that info.It is just what I needed.
I live in a detached 2 Storey house on a 1/3 Acre site ,1mile from my nearest town so the neighbours arent a problem.
The Neighbours on my due East live behind a 15ft row of Conifer trees and on the West they live behind a 10ft row.This row of trees is about 40yds from my house so it isnt a problem.I have a large field due South of me.
The trees on my East side could interfere with a ground based Dish so I may have to raise it,i.e attach it to the house.
If I were to put it on the house (15 ft up ),same height as my Sky Dish I'd have a clear view ,50 degrees East and 70 degrees west.
I dont know if the house will take it though as it is exposed on the west side so any West winds could damage it ?
Would a 1m solid steel dish be heavy ?

chernobyl

Originally posted by Lennoxschips
I suppose people living on the equator have to point their dishes straight up?

[homer voice]They sure do[/homer voice]

Originally posted by MrAnarchy
Would a 1m solid steel dish be heavy

Just weighed a 1.2M solid and it came in @ 7.88 KG, not that heavy, and i also have another 1.2M bolted to my house with a Sky Digi mount.

newtosatellite

Is there any web site that sets out in any detail a step by step approach to a DIY approach to dish installation.

Also for a motorised dish I presume you need a power supply going to the dish. Is this correct?

chernobyl

Dr Dish might have something in his knowledge section.
Check him @ http://www.drdish.com/eng/

For Diseqc motors the LNb cable runs into the motor and then a supplied cable runs from the motor to the LNb.
Obviously when the dish is moving the LNb does not need any power so it makes sense to use the same cable to drive the motor, but for the bigger dishs you would need a positioner system which are usually about €150+ but supply a much higher voltage of 36v.

Mossy Monk

edit: better answer above

MrAnarchy

Youll find a good step by step guide here

http://www.stab-italia.com/english/rotors/rot100.htm

Download the manual.
This will tell you how to install a Stab motor but the principal for all Diseqc motors is essentially the same.
It seems easy enough.

newtosatellite

Thanks for all the info.

There's quite a lot to consider but maybe once started it may be easier than it seems.

A couple of questions:

1. What is the most commonly made mistake?

2. What is the main thing that can go wrong?

I just want to avoid doing anything stupid.

byte

Well I have soon to install my first motorised sat system. The person who is getting it installed already has a motorised dish from an older analog system. It's a prime-focus dish! I have been sussing out the receiver he bought before installing it. It's a Strong 4375 and to be honest I don't find it user-friendly and the instructions are useless. When I go to Digital Installation, I get a choice of birds, but Eurobird and Astra 2 aren't listed which is strange. Can anyone offer any help on Strong receivers?

pbirney

Originally posted by irishbyte
Well I have soon to install my first motorised sat system. The person who is getting it installed already has a motorised dish from an older analog system. It's a prime-focus dish! I have been sussing out the receiver he bought before installing it. It's a Strong 4375 and to be honest I don't find it user-friendly and the instructions are useless. When I go to Digital Installation, I get a choice of birds, but Eurobird and Astra 2 aren't listed which is strange. Can anyone offer any help on Strong receivers?

Try thier website at http://www.strongsat.com/
.

byte

thanks for the link:)