Thoughts on Chinese built C band dishes

[Captain Jack]

Saw a few on Alibaba/Express and wondered what people think on them. There are quite a few choices there...

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/180-...180cm-Prime-focus-antenna-Drop/444834942.html

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/C-Ba...us-dish-antenna-Withstand-Wind/346617171.html

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2-4m...band-dish-Antenna-satelite-TV/1494567674.html

 

[sonnetpete]

I can't comment about the quality but they seem dear to me.......as you're paying (to France) €3, 313 for the dish and the shipping. If I had the dosh, I'd spend a bit extra and get a fibreglass offset 2.4M dish from the guy here that I use. Sure it's €3480 plus shipping but I'd be more sure of the product and it's not coming such a long way and be more subject to damage in transit.

 

[Captain Jack]

Yes but you do get 15 dishes for that It's a lot price for the 2.4m one....

 

[sonnetpete]

Yes but you do get 15 dishes for that It's a lot price for the 2.4m one....

Ah ok, didn't see that.....but what would you do with the other 14???

Edit : The smaller ones are quoted for one unit though and the 1.65M costs you 10 times the unit price for carriage....

 

[Captain Jack]

Well, I'd only buy one There are other listings available...

Carriage does seem a little on the steep side...

 

[gibertini]

the first one seems a good deal but over £500 for shipping!! theres no way it costs that as they are petalised and when packed dont look to bad. id say £250/£300 max inc shipping for the 1.8m/pm

 

[smoggy07]

The good thing about Alibaba/Express is you can barter and haggle over the price

 

[aceb]

Going to bring this thread back from the dead following a surprising conversation with the boss. I was reading a thread on one of the US forums on a mesh dish refurb project which she spotted on the PC and said she'd prefer to see a 3M black mesh dish instead of the 1.8 white solid!

Making the most of this revelation I've been looking for one which of course isn't easy to find this side of the Atlantic. The only realistic options are to wait (forever?) for one to appear on Ebay or buy one of the Chinese ones on Alibaba but before I go any further, does anyone have experience of them?

I know the pitfalls of parting with cash via TT/WU etc and haven't even asked on unit price + shipping yet but would like any user reports on build quality and performance before pursuing this one.

 

[Channel Hopper]

I've have a four piece 3metre (may be a 3.2 actually) mesh dish in the garden, but I was never happy with the performance and ended up fitting stainless steel panels in the sections.

Yours if you can come to SW London and disassemble

 

[aceb]

Hi CH, that's quite an offer, thanks! I'll have a measure up at the top of the garden and see how visible a 3.2 will be over the fence at the top as it was put up with a 3m in mind. Can you send me a couple of photos to show what I might be dealing with please, PM if you prefer. Trust me to be without the Landrover atm and stuck with a Corsa, I bent it last week and it's at the garage but I'm sure I can arrange some suitable transport if need be.

 

[Archived-1]

Trust me to be without the Landrover atm and stuck with a Corsa

Your Corsa should be fine aceb .
http://www.satellites.co.uk/forums/...r-smc-3-0m-pf-restoration.157034/#post-827146

 

[Channel Hopper]

Hi CH, that's quite an offer, thanks! I'll have a measure up at the top of the garden and see how visible a 3.2 will be over the fence at the top as it was put up with a 3m in mind. Can you send me a couple of photos to show what I might be dealing with please, PM if you prefer. Trust me to be without the Landrover atm and stuck with a Corsa,

I brought the dish down from the Midlands on the top of a Passat Estate quite a few years ago, but this was with the mesh intact. The panels are a lot heavier with the stainless insets.

I think it was a four piece branded Uniden dish, but don't quote me on that

Picture before I camouflaged her (you also get the Ajak H to H mount and inclined motor, they are of no use to me since I am making room for the 3.8m.)

 

[aceb]

CH, I fear I may have to decline this really generous offer of yours. I've just come down from the garden, I think a 3.2 is just going to poke above the fence too much and annoy the grumpy old neighbour behind us. It may not but it's hard to get a good idea of just how visible it will be from their side, I'm going to mock up the top part of the parabola using some lengths of pipe and string attached to my 1.8 later just to see how bad it is. The other problem is SWMBO only likes the idea of black mesh as she isn't keen on going any larger with a solid dish. As I'm only going to use it for C band this is a good compromise for me.

Unless of course you want it removed anyway and I'll gladly come and dismantle it from you then work if and how I can make it fit, to the extreme of slicing the top foot off it, even got the helper and van organised! SWMBO has suggested that next summer we raise the fence height to hide it which is do-able. Do you still have the mesh inserts?

 

[Captain Jack]

Wow! That's quite an offer! Ah, if only I had the room with a view to the south... Or just room!

There's Finish sat shop, which has these mesh C band dishes at reasonably decent prices.. http://www.satshop.fi/antennit/satelliittiantennit.html

 

[wod]

Off topic slightly, 3.8m what you after picking up with that size dish channel hopper?

 

[Captain Jack]

According to his system details: a lot more crap!