Its going to be a very long time before its all working.

TJExcalibur

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:) I keep reading up on all this satellite stuff and decide on one thing one day and chnage my mind the next. One site says the bigger the dish the better and another makes out its not over inportant. Someone suggests one receiver but another tells me the more you spend the better it is. But I have already printed off the good setup instructions from here and now its deciding how big, how many, which one etc. So I am now scouring through here, jotting down bits, weighing up the options. Even though I am retired, you are never to old to learn, but it gets harder.
 

Hitchcock

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Yeah, I agree, all right. There ought to be an ultimate test page somewhere, a place where all things satellite-related, such as dishes, LNBs, receivers, polarizers, DiSEqC-switches etc, all of them were put through the same vigorous test under the same conditions, and all the products then measured against each other and all the statistics provided just to set the record straight once and for all regarding e.g. which types of dishes (normal offset, elliptical, dual-reflector or otherwise) from which manufacters provide the most gain, which LNBs give the best overall signal quality (if necessary then in combination with many different receivers) etc, etc. As it stands, you don't really know these answers, there can be so many conflicting reports...
 

mhku

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To help eliminate your options: are you good with computers? If not, you can rule out the Dreambox from your list of possible receivers. You don't need to spend a fortune and you can always sell your gear if you make a mistake and start again.

Example setup: 80cm dish (<£50), Motor (<£50), cable (<£1m), wall bracket/ pole (£15) and a receiver.

HTH and good luck! :)
 

rolfw

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Hitchcock said:
Yeah, I agree, all right. There ought to be an ultimate test page somewhere, a place where all things satellite-related, such as dishes, LNBs, receivers, polarizers, DiSEqC-switches etc, all of them were put through the same vigorous test under the same conditions, and all the products then measured against each other and all the statistics provided just to set the record straight once and for all regarding e.g. which types of dishes (normal offset, elliptical, dual-reflector or otherwise) from which manufacters provide the most gain, which LNBs give the best overall signal quality (if necessary then in combination with many different receivers) etc, etc. As it stands, you don't really know these answers, there can be so many conflicting reports...

Lovely idea, but who's going to do it?

I try more receivers and dishes than most hobbyists, but that is probably only two or three receivers a year (perhaps more if you include customers' receivers) and a few dishes, as I tend to install the dishes which I know work well.

There are several hundred different receivers out there, so it really isn't possible for a most forums to produce this type of survey, particularly as nobody is going to donate the equipment and most of the people involved have proper jobs as well and simply don't have the time to spare.
 

damhy

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Unfortunately in my opinion whatever you do, satellite is like any other hobby. You end up buying a load of things, developing your knowledge understanding what things do, how to do bits and bobs.

This is the point where you realise that your initial choices were wrong and you need to spend doubly as much to get the next watdoyoucallit and thingymebob. You then step to the next level and play ball from square one again.

Having said that, this is the joys of the beast. And the more you get roped in and understand then the more you enjoy it. Infact I rarely even watch satellite TV, to me it is a case of getting the most channels possible and picking up some of rare ones from weak satellites, that is the challenge. When it is all working perfectly and running smoothly, I have nothing to do.

Having said that I have made some reasonable hardware choices, but still have never made the jump up to the dreambox, I am eagerly awaiting their new release with the high speed processor, divx playback and HD compatibility, then I will jump over two it.

Anyways no real point to my story, just wanted to offload my experience!
 

SeanCorky

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As i have read elsewhere

Setting it up is more interesting than anythin you can watch once its set up
 

damhy

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SeanCorky said:
Setting it up is more interesting than anythin you can watch once its set up
I cant believe I just wore my fingers out trying to say what you have covered in one sentence!
 

SeanCorky

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haha

Its true
 

TJExcalibur

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damhy said:
snippeed
Anyways no real point to my story, just wanted to offload my experience!
:) Thats just it, your experience along with others gives us newbies some idea of the good stuff. I'm a bit of a fiddler, love to mess about with everything. I managed to build my computer with help from forums and its a great buzz when you plug it in and it works. I read as much as I can from this place and try to discover the info I need without asking to many stupid questions. Its getting the hard to get channels, tweaking it about and marvelling at the technology of it all. In some ways it takes me back to my Ivalex crystal radio of the fifties, spent many happy hours in bed listening to Radio Luxenburg when I should have been sleeping. Pity the GPO made me take my aeriel off their telegraph pole across the road.
 

mhku

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What's the best beer? The best car? Personal opinion will affect the results of "the best equipment" as will where you are, how you use it and what you want. Buy what you can afford.
 

TJExcalibur

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mhku said:
What's the best beer? The best car? Personal opinion will affect the results of "the best equipment" as will where you are, how you use it and what you want. Buy what you can afford.

Quite so but I hate to buy something and regret it later, wishing I had got the other one instead. Thought the Triax 1.1m dish was good, now its the bits that bolt on. Wall bracket, motor etc. No rush as I intend to start at the top, do it all correctly. I did see a couple of setups on Ebay but I was not sure if its wanted I wanted and if it doesen't work is it me or the equipment. :-doh!

Not rich as I'm retired but only smoke a few roll ups and I spend what is required, about a £1,000 I'm told.
 

mhku

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£1000! way too much. My pole is a length of 35mm steel tube, the wall bracket was about £5 from screwfix and 100m cable was about £20 and 20 f-connectors are about £2 from ebay; cable clips are about £1/ 100. £50 for a motor.

That's only about £80.

That leaves you £920 for your receiver ;)
 
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