Installing Dishes In Spain for 2E Chit-Chat

[Menorca Man]

Hi RichardinSpain,

Yep, bought it off the installer who comes over from Mallorca (www.skyservices.tv). Cost of dish plus installation but utilising my original mount and LNB - 600€. Ouch! Not cheap I know but, on this little island, beggars can't be choosers I'm afraid!!

Regards

 

[RichardinSpain]

Hi RichardinSpain,

Yep, bought it off the installer who comes over from Mallorca (www.skyservices.tv). Cost of dish plus installation but utilising my original mount and LNB - 600€. Ouch! Not cheap I know but, on this little island, beggars can't be choosers I'm afraid!!

Regards

Thats what i paid for my 1.2 dish to be installed 11 years ago when i moved here so have gone down a bit in price and if it has given all your channels back then it's money well spent. Did it come with the back mount?

 

[Menorca Man]

Thats what i paid for my 1.2 dish to be installed 11 years ago when i moved here so have gone down a bit in price and if it has given all your channels back then it's money well spent. Did it come with the back mount?

The 600€ I paid included the LNB support arms, dish and complete rear mount assembly. If I had needed a new heavy duty mounting pole and LNB the price would have around 675€.
Considering the installer is based in Portals Nous, Mallorca and had to drive all the way up to Alcudia, then catch the ferry over to Menorca, I think it was a fair deal. Mind you, he had other installations to carry out elsewhere in Menorca so the transportation costs would have been amortised across a number of people.

Regards

 

[Archive4]

Did some tests this morning on my 1.4! Fam test rig. BU single as base result, then swapped out various lnb´s to do test, then put BU single back on to make sure test was valid. Bu at start and end of test recorded same result.

Tested on 10773H

The only problem I noted with the bigsat quad is the back two ports do not like upper frequency signals, but ok for all 2e / 2f

 

[RichardinSpain]

Hi all
Just found a second hand dish, it it being advertised as a 1.4m but it looks like a offset dish to me (lnb arm coming up from base of the dish) but the guy says it is perfectly round so it measures 1.4 *1.4, my question is..can a offset dish be perfectly round? i thought they were all oval

 

[PaulR]

... my question is..can a offset dish be perfectly round? i thought they were all oval

In practice, you're absolutely correct. Offset dishes are elliptical; prime focus dishes are circular.

In theory you can massage dish shapes and then make the feedhorn suit the dish. The commonest one to see around is the $ly minidish, If you open up the matching LNB you can see the specially shaped focus rings.

 

[Huevos]

Most people think a sat dish is round. And when you look at one mounted on a wall above you from the front it looks round. But from the back looks oval. Never heard of a 1.4 x 1.4 offset. Probably a 1.4 x 1.2. Personally, I'd go for a 1.8m anywhere in this region south of 38 degrees.

 

[RichardinSpain]

Thanks Paul, Huevos
You both confirmed what i thought, but he instists that it is 1.4 *1.4 and that it is definatley round, but as you say that most people would think they are round
here is the link, see what you think, you might even know what dish it is
http://costacalida.angloinfo.com/classifieds/viewclassified/441139/1.4m-satellite-dish

 

[PaulR]

That's an offset dish so will be elliptical, taller than it's wide. Huevos has more experience of dishes than I have so should be able to put a name to it but maybe it could be a ChannelMaster.

 

[Captain Jack]

Yes, looks like a Channel Master... 1.2 x 1.35m...

 

[Menorca Man]

Hi again all,

Is no one able to identify the likely model of the dish illustrated in Post #221 above?? Any ideas would be welcome.

Have now fitted the new MTI High Line Universal Quad LNB. Compared to the Inverto Black Ultra Quad, the signal strength is slightly better across the board but no real difference in quality (measured using my Satlink WS-6930). The main improvement is that the MTI isn't intermittent!!

So far, everything is good with this Dish/LNB combination and all 2E & 2F UK spots beam channels via $ly have been available 24/7. Can't comment on rain margin as we haven't had any yet!

Regards

 

[RichardinSpain]

Hi all
Does anyone know what this dish is, it's advertised as 150cm, so could it be a famaval 145cm? comes with a sharp lnb, appreciate the pics are not very good (taken from internet)
Thanks Richard

 

[Huevos]

Not a Famaval. I think it is a Mafara. 133cm as far as RF is concerned. If it has a Sharp LNB it is either wrong or an LNBF with a PF feedhorn glued on. Either way both are to be avoided. With the right LNB and feedhorn the dish will out perform the Famaval 1.4 x 1.25 offset dish by a small margin.

 

[RichardinSpain]

Hi Huevos, thanks for that
I cant find out much info on marafa dishes, do they have a website?

 

[RichardinSpain]

Also i emailed the guy, he says the dish measures 150cm, if this is the case i should imagine that the reflector size is more than 133cm? does this alter your opinion of what dish it may be?
cheers richard

 

[RichardinSpain]

Also i emailed the guy, he says the dish measures 150cm, if this is the case i should imagine that the reflector size is more than 133cm? does this alter your opinion of what dish it may be?
cheers richard

Ahh found the website, i was looking with the wrong spelling

If it is a Marrafa as you say Huevos and it certainly looks like it from the picture then its a Marrafa AF140 with the reflector diameter of 1370mm and a gain of 43db @ 11ghz

 

[Huevos]

its a Marrafa AF140 with the reflector diameter of 1370mm and a gain of 43db @ 11ghz

Yes, sorry I had the spelling wrong. Must be the Famaval 1.4m that is 133cm. Prefer the back mount on the Famaval personally.

Have you got a price on this?

 

[Huevos]

Just had my 1.3 x 1.2 Gilbertini changed to a 1.6 x 1.5 (name unknown). The construction is fairly thick steel and, to me, looks like a reasonable well made item.

Looks like FTE. Brian will know as he owns one.

 

[RichardinSpain]

Yes, sorry I had the spelling wrong. Must be the Famaval 1.4m that is 133cm. Prefer the back mount on the Famaval personally.

Have you got a price on this?

Yes it's up for 70euro, but as you said perhaps would need to get a new lnb

 

[Huevos]

Looked at the pictures again (terrible quality). Wall mount is not appropriate for this dish. You'd need a proper one. LNB is the Sharp with the glued on feedhorn. IMO, 70€ is ok if the dish face is in perfect condition, but by the look of it this has been bounced around on its rim.