Best 1.2m Dish?

gibertini

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Then either my scales are on the low side (can't tell SWMBO!), or yours are on the high side (perfect gift for your SWMBO). ;)

But seriously, there seems to be several incarnations of the type 12x dish. the type 120 is the Rx only, and probably the most common one. (Those are the ones I have).
The Rx/Tx versions (122, 123 and 125) seems to come with differing reflectors (different pattern of ribs in the back), sporting varying feed-arm sets and Az/El mounts.
As your dish is tooway dish, i specualte you may have a 122 or 123, with a more substantial Az/El mount, and/or potentially a different reflector and feed-arm configuration.


its the standard channel master 1.2m RX face with RX boom arms and the AZ-EL from a 1m tooway dish. i have both but the 1.2m doesnt have the 76mm AZ-EL mount as i got it with the polar mount. all this being said its not advisable to use a usals motor with a gibby 1.25m or CM 1.2m although people do with some success at ground level in sheltered locations
 

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Hi Zorbua,

I'm struggling to install my new Gibertini 1.25 aluminium dish on a 50mm pole as the supplied clamp needs 76mm I believe. Then I stumbled on your post and the photo showing the plate that fits the mounting exactly and would appear to reduce it to what I need.

Can you please tell me where I can get one of these? I'm in the South of France, but have been spectacularly unsuccessful! I temporary piece of wood has already slipped ;(

Thanks in advance,

Spiggy
 

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I bought these two adapters from Stab italia - for 10.50Euro +postage way back in 2011. Try to contact: giusy@stab-italia.it

Their code is DS01
 
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roccky

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Hi again,

Last year I finally bought sac 120, and it was a complete disaster. It was painful to learn that it gets less signal than triax110. Which means lots of signal problems for me. So here we are again trying to find a suitable motorize dish around 120cm... Hopefully this time it will work better.

The main problem is that my roof is exposed to wind, so even if I am ready to assume the risks, I need to be careful. What would you choose?:

-Gibertini 125 with polar mount and actuator? (I have only had usal/disecq motors so far, so no idea about how to move the gibby 125, prices...)
-Laminas 120-130 with my stah hh 120 motor and my clarke tech (I am choosing laminas because it looks the lightest dish in the 120cm range, but open to other options)

Thanks!
 

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Last year I finally bought sac 120
What is wrong with SAC 120? Is it warped? I suppose it is 120cm dish, so should perform better than 110cm one. It is easy to install any dish little bit improperly, get bad results and look for.... another dish :rolleyes:
 

Captain Jack

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A 1.2m dish on a roof, especially on a Stab motor, is just asking for trouble. Yes, the Laminas and the Gibby 1.2m are relatively light dishes (lighter than a 1.2m Channel Master for example) but don't forget to take into account the brackets holding the dish. The one on the back of the Gibby is made out of steel and is very heavy.

Also, don't forget the fact that a 1.2m dish is an excellent sail in the winds, which is prone to basically snapping the tiny motor stub and landing on someone's head. These dishes are just about acceptable on a Stab-type motor in a sheltered location but not on a roof.

If the roof is your only mounting option, I would seriously consider getting a 1.2m Channel Master (or even a 1m one - an excellent performer) and putting it on a polar mount with a jack arm or an h-to-h motor such as Moteck 180 or one of those doing the rounds on eBay. A Channel Master dish, made out of fibre glass, will never warp and will outlast pretty much any dish out there. Prodelins are just as good but quite rare to find here in UK. A Laminas is another option but I don't believe they are as strong as a Channel Master/Prodelin.
 

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Thansk for your answers!

The sac looked ok. We swapped lnbs and nothing happened. We didn't check the cables, which are different, but we didn't think they could create a signal difference... So apart from cables, it looks like sac120 just produces less signal than the triax.

Yes, roof only option. It is scary to think about the dish landing somewhere in the middle of a storm. I thought laminas (11kg) was much lighter than channel master, that is why I thought about it first (Gibby around 27kg). But if you think the stab not a good idea, what would I need to buy? any thread where it is explained? no idea about polar mounts... can I still use my clarke tech? Could I mount even the gibertiny with a polar mount no matter the wind?
 

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Don't get me wrong, the Gibertini 1.2m is a great dish. My only worry is that it's made from aluminium, which is prone to warping. Laminas will be better as it's at least part fibre glass and is probably better for a Stab-type motor due to weight but the sail-in-the wind effect will still very much be there!

You can get a Channel Master with a polar mount quite cheaply on eBay - they turn up quite often. Or you can get a fixed one but invest in this motor to drive the dish. A polar mount would be a stronger option though...

A jack driven polar mount or a 36v h-to-h (horizon to horizon) motor needs a so-called V-box. This will take DiSEqC commands from your Clark Tech receiver, convert them to pulse counts (used to keep track of the dish/motor) and drive the dish to its correct location. Once configured, you don't really need to touch the V-box again.

Alignment is slightly more involved than a normal DiSEqC motorised dish but the principle is exactly the same.

There are plenty of thread on this.. but here's mine from when I refurbished a polar mount for the Channel Master... https://www.satellites.co.uk/forums/threads/my-new-toy-d.150708/
 

skomedal

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Dish weight has nothing to do with it taking flight, its the wind load factor.

Regards
 

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I would like to think that a dish flying is a very rare thing... but I guess a dish needing realignment is more frequent after a heavy storm :)

Do you know how size and weight matters on alignment issues by any chance? I would say pressure due to wind in every component should somehow be proportional to the size and the weight of the dish, but not completely sure...
 

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Last year I finally bought sac 120, and it was a complete disaster. It was painful to learn that it gets less signal than triax110.

Found the spec. on your SAC "" 120 "" dish seems its a 110 measured horizontally if same dish: -

S.A.C. 1.2m Steel Dish CHARCOAL


ee4351c0-2b9a-45f6-8e4c-e04c40137f6f.jpg

Click to Enlarge
0278711d-86ff-43ae-aec6-5e1764d0b0eb.jpg


S.A.C. 1.2m Steel Satellite Dish with pole/bracket fixing kit. Individually boxed.
  • Type: Offset
  • Diameter (mm): 1100 x 1200
  • Focal Distance (mm): 710
  • F/D Ratio: 0.64
  • Reflector Material: Electrozinked Steel
  • Reflector Thickness: 0.8
  • Offset: 22º
  • Elevation: Min-10º Max-90º
  • Azimuth: 360º
  • 40mm LNB collar
  • 2' Mast Clamp
  • Gain @ 10,7 GHz (d:cool:: 40.8
  • Gain @ 11,7 GHz (d:cool:: 41.5
  • Gain @ 12,7 GHz (d:cool:: 42.0
 

RimaNTSS

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Diameter (mm): 1100 x 1200
That is old seller's trick! Now we can clearly see that antenna is 110cm and can not perform as 120cm antenna.
 

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Yes, it is that one. Although same trick with triax "110", which is also smaller than 110. I measured it, but I don't remember the exact figures. In sat shop they say 100 x 105.

So in the end sac 120 is bigger than the triax, and worse.
 

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So in the end sac 120 is bigger than the triax, and worse
That could easily be installer's fault. If we have two different size antennas, both are in ideal shape, LNBs are placed properly, that bigger one will perform better... physics. :rolleyes:
 
A

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Hi again,

Last year I finally bought sac 120, and it was a complete disaster. It was painful to learn that it gets less signal than triax110. Which means lots of signal problems for me. So here we are again trying to find a suitable motorize dish around 120cm... Hopefully this time it will work better.

The main problem is that my roof is exposed to wind, so even if I am ready to assume the risks, I need to be careful. What would you choose?:

-Gibertini 125 with polar mount and actuator? (I have only had usal/disecq motors so far, so no idea about how to move the gibby 125, prices...)
-Laminas 120-130 with my stah hh 120 motor and my clarke tech (I am choosing laminas because it looks the lightest dish in the 120cm range, but open to other options)

Thanks!
Best option: A Channel Master 120 on a non-rusty CM polarmount, 18" actuator and a V-box.
As others have written, get a CM off e-bay, they pop up regularly (albeit with the polar mount in various states of deterioration - be prepared to refurb the mount as other have documented on this site).

Second best option: Any of others - but do get a proper polar mount or h-to-h motor. The polar mounts are IMHO more sturdy (and simpler to fix when they wear out or go bust), but the H-to-H motors have better resolution at the extremes.
SMC dishes last longer and withstand handling damage better, but alu dishes are easier to find.
And remember, by-and-large you get what you pay for. Get a DiSEqC motor and a steel dish - not the same as a SMC on a polar mount.

Re mounting: Get a proper (right size, e.g. 3" for CM + Gibby) steel pole put in - it will make sure the dish stays, and stays in alignment.
 

mariust5

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That could easily be installer's fault. If we have two different size antennas, both are in ideal shape, LNBs are placed properly, that bigger one will perform better... physics. :rolleyes:

1.2 Channel Master performs better than no name 1.4 ... i'm talking about experience not what i've heard .. where is the physics there ? can you explain ?
 

RimaNTSS

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1.2 Channel Master performs better than no name 1.4 ... i'm talking about experience
Can you prove your statement by some facts and figures or it is just bla bla bla? Did you ever had 1,4m antenna at all?
 

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Just bla bla bla mate ... sorry .
 

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I really think there is no installation problem at all with ths sac 120, RimaNTSS. It was so strange that the bigger dish produced less signal, that we checked everything and we tried to improve that signal once and once again.

Of course there is always some percentage of doubt... who knows! But I am quite confident that that sac 120 is worst than the triax110.

Thanks to those trying to help me with polar mounts and actuators. I will try to learn a bit about all that stuff. Would that set up be much stronger to deal with wind and storms than the stab hh 120 and a lighter dish like laminas...? (to decide if it is worth the effort...)
 

roccky

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It doesn't look cheap to upgrade with brand new components. Failed to find a healthy CM dish in ebay, I will keep on looking
 
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