Multi LNB Set up on a Sky Dish

[Offtensive]

Hi all,

I currently have a Zone 1 minidish that I use for Sky Q along with their hybrid lnb and I am looking to add on a second or possibly third lnb. I'm quite new to this so have a few questions.

With the Zone 1 dish, realistically what would be the max width/span that I would be able to cover? I currently have a spare Inverto Ultra Black lnb and an old Sky Quad LNB. I've seen the alps lnbs, I'm happy to buy them if that means I can squeeze in more.

I'm quite interested in getting 19.2e, if I could say squeeze 13e on to that dish too that would be great.

In terms of multi bracket options, I've been recommended the Gibertini Multi 4 (below). As my Hybrid Lnb is 37mm, if I was to tape around it, would that be secure?

Robust Multi 4 Way LNB HOLDER - Gibertini - MF-2140 / beware of copies

A few people have recommended to me just using tape/cable ties to add the second lnb. And if my Sky Q lnb is not secure in a 40mm holder, I'm quite open to that. What I am curious is, if it is possible to tape 2 lnbs to one side, so get 19.2e and 13e with 28.2e in the centre? I'd be interested to know if that could work on either the Zone 1 or Zone 2 dish.

Alternatively I have looked at the lnb holders like the one below. As I understand with them, they just go around the lnb and don't attach to the arm. So if I need to attach tape my Q lnb to get it to 40mm, I'm happy to use a holder like the below if that means the Q LNB is more secure as it would be attached directly to the boom arm.

Multi-LNB Holder for All Satellite Dishes Holds up to 3 LNBs With 40mm Diameter | eBay


In terms of upgrading the dish, due to the high risk of me having to sleep in the shed, I'm limited to an elliptical dish. Upgrading to a Zone 2 dish is a possibility, ideally I would try on the Zone 1 first and then upgrade if need be.

Thanks in advance

 

[Analoguesat]

The biggest problem you will have is how close you will be see along the orbital arc with an adjacent lnb with such a small dish On a 1m dish the closest you can see is about 4 or 5 degrees. So you could see 9E & 13E for example. You might struggle to get the desired satellites.

Yes you can zip tie lnbs together - Ive done it for years, although be aware if a pigeon lands on the arm off the dish, the none clamped lnb is likely to get misaligned! You may struggle on some of the weaker 13/19 frequencies on a 40cm dish too with the offset lnbs.

you cant go 28E in the middle then have 13E & 19E on either side

The satellites line up like this:

13E -- 19E -- 28E

so you would need 19E in the middle.

 

[Offtensive]

If I upgraded the dish to a zone 2, would that be possible with 28e in the middle? As I saw pic on here from William1 where he managed to get 5 lnbs on Zone 2 dish I believe.

If I just stick to zip timing 19e onto the 28e lnb, can anything be zip-tied onto the other side of the lnb?

 

[Analoguesat]

Theres not really much of interest past 28E until you get up past 40E. You might get some of the west beam frequencies off Turksat at 42E - thats nice & strong

 

[Offtensive]

Thanks, is there any multi lnb holder out there designed specifically for 37mm lnbs?

 

[peapod1]

I used the Gibby multi LNB holder in a fixed dish setup at my holiday cottage in France . The dish (a 1m Gibertini) was aimed at 28.2 East with the prime focus LNB on one end of the arm, and the other lnb's hanging off to one side. I needed this arrangement to pull in Astra2 near the Med. However, if you can attach the bracket to a stylish Fracarro Penta 85 dish, you might just get permission from the senior partner to upgrade. That could give you a choice of 13,16,19.2,23.5 and 28.2 on the bracket

 

[statalite]

When I ordered my zone 2 from eBay it came with a 40 mm adapter which suited me for this purpose, if I ever wanted to go back to the 37 mm then that came with it's own I would just swap that back on. I've followed the advice on here and had 19.2e in the centre.

 

[RimaNTSS]

is there any multi lnb holder out there designed specifically for 37mm lnbs?

Could you show some picture of your dish? Especially end of the feedarm where LNB -holder is connected.

 

[Offtensive]

 

[Offtensive]

These were the best I could manage now, I’ll get the ladder out tomorrow

 

[RimaNTSS]

I do not know how rigid the antenna, feedarm and their joint. Are you sure if you attach another 2-3 LNBs to the end of the feedarm the system, mechanically will sustain that? Speaking about the multifeed.... it is pretty easy to construct any multifeed from parts bought in nearest Home-depot style shop. Even galvanized parts will serve you for many years. But if you really like that multifeed survive longer than the dish itself, then you can buy stainless parts. Attached are some pictures you can get some ideas for making the multifeed really cheap&easy. I, personnaly, do not like mutifeeds, unless they are installed on multifocus antennas. Multifeeds "steal" signals.

 

[Gladstones]

in bad weather you will loose lot of signal on side lnbs especially on weak tps better get zone 2 dish
you will easily get 13-19-28

 

[Adam792]

I have a zone 2 dish with three LNBs - 28.2°E - 19.2°E - 13°E (with 19.2°E at the centre).

I use a 40mm LNB adapter and standard 40mm LNBs for this, with a similar multi-LNB bracket to the one in your second link @Offtensive - Astra 1, 2 and Hotbird on a zone 2 mini dish?

Looking at the Hybrid Sky Q LNB in your pictures, the problem you might have is that it doesn't have much 'neck' so you might struggle to push it far enough in the multibracket to ensure it's at the right distance from the dish face compared with the other LNBs.

I've never tried with the Q LNB, but I did try with some standard Sky quads a while back with the same bracket. The problem is similar on those in that the 38mm part of the neck is short, and ends up not being the bit you need to clasp the LNB holder to to get them close enough to the dish face. They have a thicker (thicker than 40mm) bit of neck at the back which is where the bracket needs to sit, so it doesn't fit at all.

As others have said, even with Zone 2 I'd recommend having Astra 19.2°E in the middle with the other two either side. My Astra 2 signal is still hugely strong with this setup, and Hotbird 13°E is also fine - a couple of the transponders are a bit more susceptible to rain fade in very bad weather on there as 13°E is a little weaker than the other two, but most of the time it works perfectly.

 

[ozumo]

Just had a go on a Zone 2 with 28.2E at the centre, using skinny LNBs like Inverto MultiConnect, 28.2/23.5/19.2E is possible. I couldn't get any lock from 13E (though that may be a line-of-sight issue here)

 

[Offtensive]

@RimaNTSS I am not sure of rigidity of the lnb feedarm. I've been quite naive, as I've seen others do it and just assumed it would be ok. Is there a good way to check without me actually breaking the lnb arm?

@Adam792 the neck of my Q lnb is my main concern. As 28.2 is used extensively and 19.2e will only be used on the ad hoc occasion, that's why I'm trying to keep 28.2e in the middle, if I can.

I like @RimaNTSS's idea of just making my own bracket. So what I was thinking is of using Sky LNBs with their LNB Adapters/Holders, and making my own multibracket using some aluminium strips that would hold the LNB adapters together.

On a side note, I am thinking of adding a separate dish for 42e. I can't do this on my current dish due to line of sight. Looking at lyngsat, I guess doing this with a Zone 1 dish should be ok? Would the Zone1 be able to capture both 42e and 52e? I was thinking of centring the dish at 42e and having 52e as the offset.

 

[Offtensive]

Just had a go on a Zone 2 with 28.2E at the centre, using skinny LNBs like Inverto MultiConnect, 28.2/23.5/19.2E is possible. I couldn't get any lock from 13E (though that may be a line-of-sight issue here)

Would it possible to share a link of the LNBs you've used, and possibly a picture too please of the dish?

Many thanks

 

[ozumo]

Sorry I've dismantled it now. As my dish is an older mk2 the central LNB is 40mm and has a different holder. The skinny LNBs are Inverto IDLB-SIN24-MULTI-OPP which doesn't appear to be widely available at the moment. Venton Rocket LNBs are similarly slim.

 

[jeallen01]

Pics of some of my dishes to show how the feedarms are braced - mainly "flexible" steel construction bars from B&Q, screwed to the dishes edges and clamped to the feedarms with "car exhaust clamps" of various diameters (to suit the dimensions of the feedarms)



NB: fit the bracing bars BEFORE you fit any LNB clamps & LNBs to avoid the feedarms being weighed-down and thus not being correctly aligned.

Also, the 3 or 4 way LNB brackets which are generally available quite cheaply on ebay - NB: get the 4-way versions, even if you only need 3 LNB clamps, because the plastic clamps sometimes break!



Then, if I needed to brace the ends of the LNB brackets, I used easily bent perforated steel "exhaust" hanger brackets (ebay, Halfords, etc.) bolted to the ends of the brackets (M6 bolts & nuts) and clamped to the feedarm braces with small "jubillee clips"

One of those 3 holder brackets will comfortably support 3 LNBs for 13E, 19E (Centre) and 28E on a Zone 2 dish - ALSO, note how the brackets are tilted to compensate for the fact that 13E is higher in the sky than 19E, and the latter is higher than 28E.

PS: the feedarms on most of the dishes ARE thus braced because those dishes are right above some of my veg beds and thus regularly get "disturbed" by me going past/under them - that's also the reason why the dishes are also braced to the fence or trellis behind them!

 

[ozumo]

What 'mk' are those Zone 2 dishes? Do you have any issues with the LNB holder sagging? On my mk2 I have to add a brace under the arm to support the holder.

 

[jeallen01]

What 'mk' are those Zone 2 dishes? Do you have any issues with the LNB holder sagging? On my mk2 I have to add a brace under the arm to support the holder.

Frankly I can't don't know which versions the 3 of them are (and one was a freebee with the used TD110 & TD5402M3 that I got for £45 about 5 yrs ago!).

As for "sagging", the white one on the conservatory roof has a SKY Quad, and even that + the 4 cables would have caused the feedarm to sag slightly &/or "wave about" in the wind. It's "surprising" how much effect the wind can have in causing the feedarm+ LNBs to do that - and the effect gets more pronounced as the length of the feedarm, and the mass on the end of it, increases, which also makes critical alighnment much more difficult with multiple LNBs installed.