Which Dish???

[steddie2.5]

I'm going to buy a motorized dish but don't know what to go for. It'll be at the back of the house so size is not a problem. I don't want to spend a lot so might go for second hand.
Do I go for a dish and motor package or buy them separately. If some one can recommend a good make and model it would give me some where to start. I'm in the uk and want to get as many satellites as possible. What do i need??

[odysseas1991]

Re: Which Dish???

Since your in the UK, to have a dish that will be able to pick up mainly all satellites, you will be looking for around 0.9-1.1m. I have a 1.1 and it picks up nilesat quite well also... I have a TM 2300 super diseqc motor for my TM5402HS box and it runs perfectly, very quite and fast. It depends from where you would buy it about whether you should get a package or separately. Make sure you get a good LNB because that's important to define your picture quality from very good to amazing...

[astr1d]

Re: Which Dish???

Actually, I would not go second hand. You can almost get a dish for free if you buy a bottle of milk at Tesco!

Seriously, you better pick up a dish at a local supermarket than buy one on e-bay. The motor is another story: there are better found on e-bay. Make sure you get a good one, do not opt for the cheapest version, spend at least 50 quid on a motor with a metal gearbox.

Nowadays usals is a must on your motor. Diseqc 1.2 is OK but you need to manually find all birds. With usals you tell the motor where you are, point it south, adjust the elevation and it will find all satellites for you.

With respect to receivers: you can either opt for a set top box or for a PC card. Set top boxes are a bit more stable and robust than PC cards, but PC cards have lots of options!

However, if you buy a STB, the dish is generally included, or can be bought at great discount. Check for special offers from Sky UK and Freeview!

In order to watch Sky etc. you might need a card reader. However, here a PC offers great advantages, because all can be emulated in software. If you want the same flexibility on a STB, you are looking at a Dreambox, AZBox or other linux-based projects, and your investment will be sky-rocketing! You should be aware that most of these boxes have serious performance issues and are not for the faint of heart!

I've been watching sat-TV over my PC for 15 years using Hauppauge and Technotrend gear. I can recommend both. Get a decent PC-software like ProgDVB or DVBViewer and you won't be disappointed. Investment is low, software mostly freeware or shareware.

Once HD-TV came, I switched to STB, but I was rather disappointed with the stability of the 5 different brands I've owned. I'm currently using an AZBox HD premium+, it's OK but not great. I would not recommend it to newbies. Yet it's thusfar by far the best HD STB I've owned.

My advise would be to get a DVB-S2 PC card or USB box (Like the technotrend S3200-2) and a motor, both on e-bay. A word of caution: make sure the card supports your motor! The technotrend needs a plug-in for diseqc 1.2 and does NOT support usals. More expensive cards will be less cumbersome in this respect!

For the dish and LNB, go to you nearest supermarket and get a 80cm offset dish featuring a universal LNB. You'ld spend 40 quid max on the dish, 80 to 100 quid on the DVB-S2 card and 80 quid on the motor. And do not forget good quality coax, approx. 0.8 per meter, which you get at the shop where you get your dish and LNB.

[steddie2.5]

Re: Which Dish???

cheers guys, Odysseas what make and model is your dish and do you have to have a certain type of motor depending on what dish you have?

Astr1d I've all ready got a cheap clone dreambox with a fixed dish and now want to get a bigger motorised dish.

[odysseas1991]

Re: Which Dish???

I purchased it from the technomate shop and its a triax dish. I am not entirely sure about whether you need a certain motor for a certain dish but I think it does make a difference in some cases. Iv pm'ed you a link of the dish I got along with its motor so take a look if you like.

[steddie2.5]

Re: Which Dish???

OK I'll take a look, a bit more research I think

[astr1d]

Re: Which Dish???

Motors usually specify the maximum size of the dish, which is based on wind load rather than anything else.

Make sure you get a good rotor, one with a metal gearbox. I've got a Stab HH 120 on my 1.2m dish and a SG-2100 on my 80cm dish. The difference in price really pays off.

[steddie2.5]

Re: Which Dish???

What about driving the motor will my dreambox work with any motor? am I right in thinking that all the power comes from the box???

[tonybod]

Re: Which Dish???

I bought a 1m dish/motor pack on ebay. £115 I think it came to in total, had everything needed to get up and running.

I haven't had a single problem with it (once I got it all aligned correctly).

[peremacedonia]

Re: Which Dish???

my motor is for 80 cm dish but it has 1.2m dish 4 years without problem,only strong wind shake dish(not motor)

[satfan]

Re: Which Dish???

I have 80 cm dish without any problem - 2 years

[redhezuk]

Re: Which Dish???

Buying a pack is the most cost effective route for you as you can pick up a decent 1m dish and Motor (TM 2500 or higher) for around £120 at online sat stores.

[kiss_ro]

Re: Which Dish???

I found in the stores two types of motors - the old one with the "arm" (and it was a surprise for me to found this b'cause I think is obsolete) and the H-H motor (horizon to horizon), it would be better for you the H-H, even if the old one is a robust stable motor (I have used it for more than 5 years - never complained even with strong winds..).