Dish extensions

C

costas1234

Regular Member
My Satellite Setup
none as yet
My Location
london
I have 90 cm motorised dish, can this be extended by adding more external dish. Simple objective of mine is to be able to get feeds and have a higher signal.

I know if this is possible and is worthwhile then I would have to get planning consent.
 
Just a thought, but why don't you get a Gibertini 1.25 or bigger?

Or are you limited to a diseqc motor?
 
There are "petals" available for extending large dishes, but it would be easier, cheaper and far more effective simply to replace your existing dish with a bigger one.
 
costas1234 said:
I have usals motor. I can't afford to get a new dish just 15 months after my first install.
Click to expand...
Have you seen these extensions?and at what cost please?

I know they are made for 1.8m dishes, but you would be better waiting until you had the money for a bigger dish!

I can vouch for that. Now I have a Gibertini 1.25 fixed on 9°E/5°E & 1°W and a td88 fixed on 26°E and my Gibertini 1.5 on my polar mount. But all of it is built up over time.

And I can understand you wanting more signal from your dish.

What lnb are you using?
 
If your dish is a prime focus dish then, theoretically, petals can be added. Some dishes even have an option for extra petals. It is not practical to add petals to an offset dish due to the complexity of the shape.

Further, if petals are added to a prime focus dish then you need to alter focus of the horn (the F/d ratio) on the LNB so that it can "see" all of the new dish area.

Our moderator Vipersan made some petals to extend one of his dishes a few years ago.

Made a start on my petal extensions ..

Be warned, it's a long thread.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
A better LNB and super high grade coax would work better then trying to add something to a dish not designed for it, about every 3 inches (76 mm) of diameter increase in dish size adds about 3 dB of signal gain.

But just adding more surface area to a parabolic reflector has to be done just right or it would be a waist of time and money.

Here is a handy calculator for finding things about your dish, all you need to know is three out of four parameters and it will give you the unknown fourth.

Code: 
http://www.satcom.co.uk/article.asp?article=22
 
costas1234 said:
I have usals motor. I can't afford to get a new dish just 15 months after my first install.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately that is one problem with our hobby - you are always wanting a bigger dish for those channels that are just out of reach with the existing dish.

You can get Triax 1.1m dishes for reasonable money and they work well enough - BUT the adjuster on the back is the work of Satan - you need about 3 hands to adjust it properly! :D
 
You could try two crushed Viagra in half a pint of water, sprinkled over the dish and see if reception increases ?
Beats growing the third arm for the Triax:D
 
Good idea, but what about that dreaded 4 hour time limit they don't want you to pass.........I have to keep a hooker on speed dial, and her fees are killing me.
 
Terryl said:
Good idea, but what about that dreaded 4 hour time limit they don't want you to pass.........I have to keep a hooker on speed dial, and her fees are killing me.
Click to expand...

Cialis lasts 36 hours folks, no need for Viagra. All the kidding aside, a larger dish will need to be installed.
 
I have an even smaller dish than you, 80cm motorised. Simply changing from a technomate LNB to a Inverto Black Ultra improved things immensely for me. I was getting feeds that I thought I'd have no chance picking up.
 
dankargo said:
I have an even smaller dish than you, 80cm motorised. Simply changing from a technomate LNB to a Inverto Black Ultra improved things immensely for me. I was getting feeds that I thought I'd have no chance picking up.
Click to expand...

hi thanks sharing info, any ideas where the best place to buy it from, and does this need any skilled installation
 
Available from Forum Sponsors and all the other usual sources for around 20Sovs, or less.

Although many swear by them, including myself until it prematurely failed, they aren't the only decent LNB of the current crop, and it must be remembered that the improvement a "better" LNB can seem to give (ie lowering the digital cliff a tiny bit so that some previously marginal signals can be received) is insignificant compared to the benefit of using a bigger dish.
 
An improvement may also be ascribed to a new LNB replacing an old one.
 
Back
Top