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View Full Version : Super Mega Novice Noob Needs Lots Of Help & Advice For First Satellite System!



Bazzy
19-10-15, 20:56
Hi All,

I am very new & extremely novice to the world of satellites so please forgive in advance not my naivety & ignorance. I have been seeking help/advice on another Home Theatre Type forum but feel I may be troubling them too much & may get faster responses here!

Basically, we are getting rid of Sky in our house & wish to replace it with satellite TV in 3 rooms for now - the downstairs front room, an upstairs bedroom & my bedroom. In my room, I have been advised to get a Motorised System which I would really like as I have wanted to for a while but by ignorance of things kind of put me off. In the other two rooms, a non motorised system would be sufficient. We have a Sky Dish to which all the rooms are connected to with twin cable. The Dish is South facing.

I was advised to get something like the Vu+ Solo 2 receiver for my motorised room as I want something that has lots of features & options & is as integrated as much as possible (Smart Options, Internet, WiFi, expandability, multi-media, connect with tablets & phones etc) - ideally watch one & record two (but understand it might only record one whilst watching another). For the other two rooms, the Technomate 5402HD M3 was mentioned as being very good but it is not an "E2" box so I do not know how that handicaps things & what the advantages/disadvantages are, There are so many makes out there, it is very overwhelming for someone who does not even know what most of it means - I go by how cool the box looks!

I would want a brand that is really well supported, easy to use (especially for the family folks in the other two rooms), have great menus/EPG's (like Sky or similar?) and ones where there is plenty of online help, advice & guides - at this stage, I am "Monkey See, Monkey Do"!

I was told to go for a 1.2m dish (minimum) for my room & use the existing sky dish for the other two rooms - one of my neighbours has a 1.2m Dish & get channels from all over the middle east etc. I just want to explore the infinite world of what out there to do a bunch of exploring but would like to have channels from places like Korea & other Oriental places, India, Dubai etc as well as seeing what else is out there! I do not have a clue what tuners to get as I am clueless about the various designations!

A Major concern for me is the Dish - anything above 1m seems limited in choice & quite expensive but I think I read although just a small difference in size, a bigger dish is much better even if is only like 10cm-20cms? I cannot (at this stage) to spend many hundreds on the dish & accessories needed but I have read the two good ones - a 1.2m Channel Master & 1.25m Gibertini are so heavy that they need special 36v Motors, Controllers, Feed Horn, Pole Mount etc which can really push the price up massively? If so, as a total package, what sort of figure are we talking out of interest?]

I ask as possibly, from local sources, I may be able to source either a CM Dish fairly reasonably but need to know what all the various extras needed might cost. Same for the Gibertini 1.25m dish - I have found just the dish for around £105-£125 brand new which (in the scheme of things) is not that much more than some of the few other 1.1m/1.2m dishes I have found by googling but again, do not know what is needed for for them & how much all the parts needed will cost. I prefer to get the best I can at the start & do things properly the first time round but am limited in budget so really have to consider that. I have even been looking for used deals to mitigate against this - how working class of me!

As regards placement of the dish, ideally, I would like it high up at the end of rear wall of the house, where the dish part is above the roof line so it does not hinder my bedroom window & then re-position the Sky Dish underneath so they are both in-line - is this doable? we live in a semi so have connected neighbours but they are pretty cool (even have quite a large dish on the back wall s well - looks like a 1m one)

I have seen some other 1.2m Dishes from the likes of Ebay, Amazon & some other places but most seem think these are all poorly performing Turkish/Chinese stuff that are pretty pants? They all seem to go for around £90 anyway so not *that" much cheaper than say a new Gibertini or used CM but I understand they can be used with the easier "DiSEqC" motor thing which keeps things very simple & allows the dish to turn via the receiver remote control as they are much lighter?

So far, I have seen a 1.1m Triax (apparently not that great?) & 1.2m dishes from Maxx Digital, Faval, MX Digital, SystemSat etc but have no idea exactly how good/bad they are & if they are worth the money & which of them is the best? Can anyone recommend what is considered the best behind Gibertin/CM that does not need the expensive motors, controller, mountss etc? How much worse are these?

How many inputs on the LNB will I need if I want to watch one channel & record others - should I get a 4 input one just to have the extra flexibility for the future? Something Called "Inverto Black Ultra/Premium" I read was one of the best - any others I should consider? How much in total are we talking for one of these set-ups to include dish, DiSEqC motor, LNB etc?

What are the alternatives to the Vu+Solo 2 as it is a bit more than I want to spend - I wish it could record two other channels whilst watching one. Ideally I also wanted one that uses 3.5" HD's as opposed to 2.5" ones. Is it that much better than the 5402HD M3?

Is there a Vu+ (or any Linux based) model that are sort of the same level as the 5402HD M3 or any other models that may be better? they would need to be easy to use as my non- techie family will mainly be using them. I ask as I am wondering if it might be best to have everything from the same brand and/or tech, the "E2" thing etc?

My nearby neighbour who is an electrician has a Satellite guy that will install things but he said he will probably supply the cheap stuff & this is the reason why I wish to supply the items & have him fit only!

in case it might help, I have attached an image of the set up one of my nearby neighbours currently has (is it any good?) & what I would ideally like mine to look like - would welcome comments on this! Apologies for the first long post but the more I research, the more confused & lost I get - I really need help!

Many Thanks,
Bazzy!

djz46
19-10-15, 21:32
Hi Bazzy,

If you can get the Gibertini 1.25m dish for £105 snap his/her hand off because that is very cheap. This dish is what i have and outperforms my friends 1.4m the only dish close is the channel master 1.2m.

If you heading for the middle east this is the dish to have. Although i would not want it above the roof line if the wind catches it!

Also you are right in saying it needs a 36v motor (superjack arm)

Everything is totally up to you and this is only my opinion, from my experience with dishes!

I have the black inverto pro LNB with c120 feedhorn too and it works quite well although i bought an invacom quad and the gain was slightly better for pulling the 7.0w nilesat signal in. I use the Black inverto though due to me moving house soon and not bothering with 2 twin tuners yet.

Hope this helps.

Bazzy
19-10-15, 21:49
Hi Bazzy,

If you can get the Gibertini 1.25m dish for £105 snap his/her hand off because that is very cheap. This dish is what i have and outperforms my friends 1.4m the only dish close is the channel master 1.2m.

If you heading for the middle east this is the dish to have. Although i would not want it above the roof line if the wind catches it!

Also you are right in saying it needs a 36v motor (superjack arm)

Everything is totally up to you and this is only my opinion, from my experience with dishes!

I have the black inverto pro LNB with c120 feedhorn too and it works quite well although i bought an invacom quad and the gain was slightly better for pulling the 7.0w nilesat signal in. I use the Black inverto though due to me moving house soon and not bothering with 2 twin tuners yet.

Hope this helps.

Hi,

Many Thanks for replying - I just found that price online. Do the dish come with anything or is it just the round bit? I ask I am wondering what else will be needed for this dish & what the final costs will be - any idea? I thought this was a super heavy, very strong dish requiring very strong brackets - will this the still be a problem in the wind if I can place to where I would like?

What is a Feedhorn may I ask - as I thought that was just a CM specific thing - I just assumed to receive signals just the dish & LNB are needed? Based on my image of my place, how would you advise any dish be located? Is it any more complicated/expensive to install a Gibertini/CM as opposed to standard ones?

How good/bad is my nearby neighbours one?

Many Thanks,
Bazzy!

djz46
19-10-15, 21:57
Hi, Bazzy

The dish comes as it is. You need the Gibertini polar mount to make it motorised. estimate about £60 i think. For a jack arm 18" would be suitable about £25 then you would need a v-box (goes with your receiver)about £50.
Thats it really. Apart from coax etc. The C120 feedhorn is just a bigger diameter LNB to get more gain on the signal to go through the LNB it is bolted with 8 tiny bolts. Usually found on prime focus dishes.

The bracket i can't really say as i made mine myself (over engineered) lol but judging from your house i would be tempted to put it on the corner and make a bracket which wraps around both the walls that way the arm would be tucked in and sat closer to the wall. You would get maximum coverage as well.

Just to give you a rough idea here are a couple of pics of mine and a friends

Bazzy
19-10-15, 22:36
Hi, Bazzy

The dish comes as it is. You need the Gibertini polar mount to make it motorised. estimate about £60 i think. For a jack arm 18" would be suitable about £25 then you would need a v-box (goes with your receiver)about £50.
Thats it really. Apart from coax etc. The C120 feedhorn is just a bigger diameter LNB to get more gain on the signal to go through the LNB it is bolted with 8 tiny bolts. Usually found on prime focus dishes.

The bracket i can't really say as i made mine myself (over engineered) lol but judging from your house i would be tempted to put it on the corner and make a bracket which wraps around both the walls that way the arm would be tucked in and sat closer to the wall. You would get maximum coverage as well.

Just to give you a rough idea here are a couple of pics of mine and a friends


Hi Again,

Wow, those look like pretty heavy duty set ups!! How much do they stick out? So, with the Dish, The Gibertini Polar Mount, 18" Jack arm (is that the actual motor then?), Vbox I am looking at around between £240-£265 then - does that include the feed horn thingy?

Unfortunately, I am not knowledgable or skilled enough to make my own mount so will have to get something ready made - are there particular wall mounts/ploes one should get for these heavier types of dishes?

When you say place the dish in the corner, you mean near the AC unit? Sadly that might not be an option as it will block the view from my sisters room (& maybe the light?) so so will most likely object!!

So, this V-Box is another box that one must have in the room then? I thought one just selected a channel on the receiver & the dish automatically moved where it needed? Is there anyway to avoid having this VBox thing - any sat receivers with them built in?

Bazzy!

djz46
19-10-15, 23:04
Well the corner is out of the question then.

The v-box is used with the jack arm yes. It stores the sat positions.

If your going to use a usals motor to avoid the v box then this would not suit this dish as it is to big. a good gust would break it. Maybe look at a 1m dish then.

You still have to program your sat positions in your receiver anyway.

Bazzy
20-10-15, 00:05
Well the corner is out of the question then.

The v-box is used with the jack arm yes. It stores the sat positions.

If your going to use a usals motor to avoid the v box then this would not suit this dish as it is to big. a good gust would break it. Maybe look at a 1m dish then.

You still have to program your sat positions in your receiver anyway.

Hi djz46,

Thanks again but what is a usals motor - is the the same as a DisSEq one that the lighter dishes use like my nearby neighbours?

How much is a compromise is a 1m Dish over a 1.2m dish - I ask as I have read that it will make a big difference! Would say a 1m Gibertini that can use a usals/DisSEq motor thing offer better performance than say the 1.2m dish my neighbour has & will it pick as many if not more satellites/channels due to it being a superior quality dish like you found out when yours outperformed your mates 1.4m one?

Bazzy!

Bazzy
20-10-15, 13:50
Hi,

I was doing some reading yesterday & found some interesting comments from a seller called ***** regarding the Gibertini 1.2m Dish (that I have read can weigh around 27kgs with all the stuff attached) - they say that this dish can be used with the Stab HH120/Stab Rotorsat DiSEqc motor & that is what they recommend? I know they seem to be a very well respected seller going by their ebay ratings but everything I have read to date seems to suggest that on a dish this size/weight, it is not advisable? Has anyone had any experience of this?

I also found something quite interesting - there is a very light 1.2m Dish called "Laminas" - there are 3 models - OFC-1200, OFC-1200P & OFC 1200G (not sure what the differences are) but these are Fibreglass Dishes that only weigh about 6.5Kg on their own & 8Kgs with the (OFZ-1200) Polar Mount attached. I ahem read that some have had great successs using these with the DiSEqc motors due to their being so very light but they are quite difficult to find in the UK - most of them using them had to buy them from somewhere in Europe. This dish has me intrigued and again, was wondering if anyone has experience of them & their use with a DiSEqc motor is true?

If they might be a possible good option being both fibreglass & so very light, does anyone know if they are available in the UK at all for a reasonable price?

I have attached some details below so you can check the specs & details:

Many Thanks,
Bazzy!

http://www.laminas.com.pl/page_eng/products.html

Bazzy
26-10-15, 18:39
Hi All,

Having considered cost, complexity & availability, I will now probably just be going for the Triax TD-110 Dish with something like a Technomate TM-2600 or Dark Motor Superior/Supreme motor. Which of these would you recommend? The Heavier Dishes & all the extras were getting prohibitive tbh - my apologies for the change of heart.

I have now bought the following receivers: Vu+ Solo 2 (for the Motorised Stuiff) & a Technomate TM-5402 HD M3 for the family downstairs which will be connected to the existing Sky Dish. It is the smaller 60cm one - would there be any benefit to changing it for the bigger 80cm one - like more channels, better/more stable reception?

Are there any total newbie step by step guides that I can refer to on how to set up, what to do, what/how to install things properly etc so someone totally unfamiliar can do it easily without making bad mistakes? I would really appreciate any help on this!

On the motorised dish, I have been told that usually, there is only one cable/LNB coming out of the dish. I would like to ask then, will this allow one to watch one channel & record others? If so, how many? I ask as on my Sky box, it had to have a Quad/Octo LNB and two cables going into the back of each sky box just to watch one channel & record just one other?

If only one cable is normally attached to a motorised dish, then why do I see motorised dishes with either a) Multiple Single LNB's or b) a Dual Quad LNB? What is the purpose for these & why are they needed/desired/advantageous? I would like to build in some redundancy to the system so I do not have to re-wire stuff in the future so should for example, I just install a Quad LNB over a Single one seeing as there is not much of a cost increase or should I have say a few (how many?) single LNB's like some I have seen?

I absolutely want the ability to watch one channel & record others (the Solo 2 has two tuners so I presume I can only record one & watch the another) but if I upgrade the receiver in future with one with more tuners, I do not want to run out of input cables an/or LNB's if that makes sense? Also, if ever the Motorised dish might also be connected to them downstairs, the the cabling & LNB options ideally would already be in place without having to hire an installer later on at extra cost.


Many Thanks
Bazzy!