Complete newbie: will this work for balcony install?

Irish lad

All,

I have scanned through many of the threads on this page and would like to put a system together now. I consider myself technologically-savvy (e.g. build my own PCs) but find this stuff confusing at the start! My situation is as follows:

I live in a flat without a communal system. There is scaffolding up at present and for some months ahead so I can not install a dish on the back of the building as my neighbours have done (scaffolding right up to the edge). However, I have a balcony that is S/SW facing and would like to install a satellite on there. I already have a Sky subscription from my old flat but would rather do the new install myself! My questions are:

1) I am intending to buy a Triax dish. Is 80cm too large? Would, say, 60cm be enough?
2) I was going to fix a Titanium 0.2dB LNB. I assume a dual one is enough, will there be any advantage in installing a quad one?
3) Is there any particular make of cable from LNB to receiver that is recommended?
4) Does anybody know a reasonably priced tripod? This seems to be the trickiest bit as lots of stuff is meant for wallmounting and I have no idea how stable the tripods are.
5) I am assuming the signal will be able to come through the scaffolding as there is a gap of around a foot between each horizontal spar. Is this a dumb assumption?
6) Finally, finally, should I aim for a motorised system or, as I suspect, does it make sense to start with the basics?

I appreciate these are pretty basic questions but at the start of the week I did not even know about Triax dishes and titanium LNBs so I have made some progress! Any help much appreciated.

rolfw

Can you take a couple of photos from your balcony, sounds like you may have problems.

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Irish lad

Of course, hopefully this will give some idea. The second photo shows the sun setting from the West so gives some sense of direction.

My slight concern is that the satellite will be too low. The scaffolders have moved the satellite of a neighbour and mounted to the front of the scaffolding itself. No idea if it has been aligned properly!

rolfw

You could probably use a curb stone and bolt a patio mount to it, they have a 1m mast on as standard, but you can get a mast coupler and add a short length of scaffold, probably some nearby. .

In the interim you will probably have difficulty getting a decent range of sats, as you will have to put the dish too far back to clear the netting.

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pedro2000uk

You could ask the company who is doing the work (or who have commissioned it) to install it for you on the outside of the scaffolding.

There may be in place a contractual agreement to do this for free for all residents existing satellite dishes and aerials so they should have allowed for any new installs that take place while the work is carried out- and it should really include any non Sky .. possibly a moving dish.
These companies subcontract aerial/ sat contractor to routinely move & refit dishes/ aerials or have their own engineers. Once it's set up and you get it back they should re-install it on your balcony however you wanted (subject to any restrictions on the residence).

Perhaps without giving anything away.. try finding out if they will arrange the free install but also if what you want to install is OK ..

bornfree

i agree with pedro,ask the neibour if the contractors moved the dish for nothing?,if not if your fealing brave !!

Irish lad

Thanks for all the replies. Took the advice and looks like I will be able to get it attached to the outside of the scaffolding. Very pleased!

One more quick question: should I buy the Triax 60cm dish or will a Sky dish be suitable. And, if so, is it worth the extra for the larger (Zone 2) Sky dish? Many thanks again!

pedro2000uk

very glad that helped.. free pro install then..


If you use a z2 sky dish it will look like a sky dish and that might be an advantage to the residence aesthetics wise, but you have to help/modify it a bit to best fit/work on a motor (a good z1 or z2 sky dish/ lnb can do very well though for their size).

Most ordinary lnbs wont be best suited to the oval shape of the sky dish as they want to see a round dish... but may still work OK if you try one.

There are some very cheap quad lnbs available for sky dishes another plus for sky dishes.....

I would have thought a Sky z2 would be better than a 60 Triax if you can get a really good lnb on the Sky dish and modify it properly for the arc... but have never seen them compared.

..... it's swings and roundabouts really..