Big v small dish

[the_happy_traveller]

Hi all
I remember reading somewhere that it's easier to set up a small dish than a large one.
If this is the case, how come.
(I'm a bit thick when it comes to the techy stuff)
I'm working in the peak district this summer and want to take sat with me (of course!!!)
I have a choice of taking spare 80cm dish and a tripod or my beloved porty.
Which one would be easier to set up?
I'm after 28e by the way.
Thanks in anticipation

 

[edd173]

Not a statement i would agree with, the only justification could be that the sky minidishes are very sturdy insofar as the boom arms dont move about like they do on some larger dishes. And they are designed for easy/quick set up, not many nuts to tighten. Or that you are less likely to do your back in installing one

What size is the portable? A sky minidish (43cm) would do you fine in the Peak District (as long as you dont have a hill blocking the signal of course) An 80cm would be like trying to crack a walnut with a sledgehammer as they say. Then again if you dont have a meter to align it, the 80cm would be much more forgiving and you would have less problems with bad weather.

 

[rolfw]

Yes, a smaller dish has a wider acceptance angle, so is slightly easier to align, but of course will not achieve such a strong signal.

 

[the_happy_traveller]

Thanks folks.
What I was thinking of doing is using the lidl porty dish for 19e (analogue) and the 80cm for 28e.
I know I can set the porty dish up with only a compass and the receiver's signal meter (do it quite regularly when travelling) and I also did my lidl kit dish (57cm) this way but I've never done a larger dish this way.
Is it just the same principle, point in the right general directiion and fiddle??

I have managed to glean the correct compass bearing and elevation for the dish from the net, so that's one less problem.

 

[rolfw]

Better to use the 80cm for 19.2 analogue and the porty for 28.2, the same methods apply for pointing whether 50cm or 1m.