Channel Master 1.8/2.4m

[jackson50]

Thanks guys for your help in the past. Just a few more questions. I have decided on a channel master 1.8m or 2.4m dish is there a big difference in the signal quality or gain between those two dishes.Also do you know who may sell these dishes.

I presume the 1.8m is a one piece and the 2.4 is in two pieces.Reading on some other threads people have stated that the more petals you have you may not obtain the required gain for that dish. So going for say a 3m dish with half a dozen petals may not perform as well as a 2.4m channel master.

Pretty new to this game so any help or advice would be great.

Cheers. Happy Christmas.:-snowman

 

[p]

The general rule is the bigger the more gain, but the more sections the harder it is to get it together properly for max gains.

tho there are some big dishes that give crap gains (maplin ones seem to get tarred with this )


Tho the 1st thing is you say 1.8m or 2.4m, think you need to look at what sats you want to watch , you may find everything you want can be got on a smaller scale your 1.2M allready? etc or even 2.4ms are not big enough

 

[Channel Hopper]

A 2.4m is much bigger than the 1.8, almost twice the area and so almost twice the gain.

The mounting system required would also have to be sturdy for nearly twice the wind loading.

A 1.8m is also about the largest that one can safely fit on a wall without special mounting brackets and chemical bolts.

 

[jackson50]

Thank you guys. I need it for nilesat at 7west. Looking at the Andrews web site it mentions the 1.2m has a gain of 42.0dbi, 1.8m has a gain of 45.5dbi, and a 2.4m has a gain of 47.6dbi.

New to this game wouldn't the 2.4m have the double amount of gain as a 1.2m or doesnt it work that way.

Finally guys do you know any one who stocks these dishes in the UK?

Cheers.

 

[p]

take a look at keano's posts hes about 80mile to the north of you, and recently put a 2.4m CM up for 7w

 

[Robbo]

Thank you guys. I need it for nilesat at 7west. Looking at the Andrews web site it mentions the 1.2m has a gain of 42.0dbi, 1.8m has a gain of 45.5dbi, and a 2.4m has a gain of 47.6dbi.

New to this game wouldn't the 2.4m have the double amount of gain as a 1.2m or doesnt it work that way.

Finally guys do you know any one who stocks these dishes in the UK?

Cheers.

A 3dB increase in gain, is double..

Its in decibels 10*log10(G)

 

[keano]

m8 you have a very good chance with the 180cm dish if you set it up right and you get the matched feedhorn.

I have the 240cm dish and get most of everything form 7.0w, I do lose a lot of channels in heavy rain, like now.
Lucky for me showsports ( 11996H ) is one of the strongest transponders.

Don't forget about the cost of the dish, the difference is massive.

There is another member called kimbo who comes on here, he is from Birmingham and has recently got a 180cm CM dish.
He could not get a picture from showsports until late in the evening but he was not using the matched feedhorn and a c120.
I can not stress how important it is that you use the CM feedhorn and a c120.

 

[jackson50]

Thank you guys for your help. Just one other question, The dish will be installed at the top of the garden which is secluded from neighbours, The cable will run down the side of the garden to the house around 100 foot.What is the best cable to use and with that amount of cable will i loose any signal quality.

Thanks guys.:-snowman

 

[Robbo]

If you use wf100 or wc100 you should be OK for 30 odd metres.

wf125 will give less attenuation at about double the cost.

Wf165 even less attenuation, about 21 db per 100m


google cai

 

[keano]

Jacko m8 just hang fire.
Don't know whats going on but power output on 7.0w has dropped today by about 3%.

3% does not sound much but it is.

Today was a fine day but my signal for 11996H never went above 60% (db) and normally it should be about 63% on day like this.
Checked this morning and this afternoon but still the same.

Its not my setup, I have been out there and tweaked but made no difference and tried both receivers I have here.

Its all the same on every transponder.

See what happens tomorrow.

 

[ttime]

For the record guys.

Using Maplin's 'rubbish' dish, 2.4m , in London.

All Nilesat, all the time available. In heavy rain - while Sky on minidish fail - Showsport still kicking.

C120 / feedhorn used and a few days fine tuning required.


Putting the dish together is nightmare (2 ppl job), mounting is a piece of cake.

btw, how much are the 1.8m and 2.4m channels masters ?

I hope this is of some help

 

[keano]

Update @ 05.00

7.0w is still not powering out like it was 48 hours ago.

11996H coming in at 59% when at this time of day it should be about 65%.

At 05.00 even 11804H should be viewable but nothing at all this morning.

@ttime, CM180 cost about £550-600 the CM240 cost anywhere from £1800 upwards.

 

[jackson50]

Keano mate - Are you still getting the 11996h transponders even with this drop in signal quality.

 

[keano]

m8 just got in from work, had a look and a little tweak and getting 60% on db.

60% is the min you need for stable picture.

12073H ( TCM ) is on 58% and getting breakup.

I have checked LNB and feedhorn for any insects etc but all clear.

There has deffo been some sort of drop in power or it could be the time of year maybe the UK is moving slightly further North in the winter.

I was shocked this morning at five, clear sky so 11996H should be coming in strong with about 65% ( most i have seen is 67% ) but it was on 59%.

I check signal ever day, morning at 05.00, about 12.00 then again at 16.00 and 22.00.

16.00-19.00 is a weak time for some reason.

Just going to see how it goes over the next few days.

It might be great, while we have a dry week if someone else who gets 7.0w checks 11996H at the same time each day for the rest of the week and makes a note of signal strength.

Cheers

keano

 

[jackson50]

THanks Keano - I have spoken to Kimbo who posts on this site and he said he has just ordered a 2.4m Channel master which should be delivered in the next 2 to 3 weeks, So he may be able to let us know what the signal strength is etc.

 

[keano]

Kimbo is worse than me, this will be his 3rd dish.

M8 just to let you know 11996H here dropped to 58% at about 15.30 and is still on it, does not matter how much tweaking I do can't get anymore from it.

So at the mo showsports is not watchable, breakups all the time.

kimbo with 240CM and feedhorn in Brum will be OK I reckon, I know its only 80 miles from me but that 80 miles could be the extra % needed.

I am only happy that my dish is on a motor so I can swing it to amos or viasat.

My advice to you, is don't go and get the CM180 until kimbo trys the 240cm.

If he gets a picture with the 240 but only just then its the 240cm you need and not the 180cm.

I'll keep a eye on 7.0w tonight and see what happens, the more I think about it the more I think it has to be the time of year.

Just found this BBC site that confirms what I am thinking.
_http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/solarsystem/earth/solsticescience.shtml

See this paragraph below from the site,

Winter

"The day when the north pole is furthest from the Sun is called the 'winter solstice'. The Sun crosses the sky at its lowest point all year. Therefore it crosses the sky in the quickest time so this is the shortest day of the year. Winter solstice happens around 22 December and marks the start of winter. From then on, the days start getting longer".

Look at the date ! we are not far of that date now, so it means its only going to get worse for me.

 

[timbo86]

I agree with you there Keano. I can pull in a small amount of Nilesat in the Summer months, but at the minute, nothing at all. And the MBC channels on 26 East are starting to pixelate. These are normally fine all the time.

 

[keano]

Got 11996H back at approx 19.50.

One thing I've learnt is that I never knew the Earth was tilted at a angle of 23.5 degrees.

 

[shane77]

The signal is stronger at night because the satellite tilts slightly to gain more power from the sun so the beams goes slightly more north.

 

[keano]

yes you're right but up to the start of the week I had 7.0w H beams 24/7 it was just night time that it went even stronger.

Now I don't have much at all during the day and only get enought strength in the evening to pull a picture in.

What I am trying to figure out is when the UK will start to move back South.

Its all interesting stuff:-googly bit like being back at school except this time I am paying attention:-Cgrin