My Wavefrontier T90 install (with pictures)

ncorrare

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Hey all,
After two/three days work (being postponed for weeks as I just moved into a new house, and there were other priorities like not having my clothes on the floor), my brand new WaveFrontier T90 is up and ready.
This was an interesting project, as the first time I saw this dish I absolutely fell in love, but I haven't seen many of those around the South East of England. According to my understanding it is right on the limit of what Councils will permit (1 cubic meter) without planning permission. Still try to hide it from your neighbours, as you probably want to avoid the pain of a non-dish friendly one.
This is a dish I can't recommend enough, even early in my usage. Pointing the dish is not hard, using the calculator in SatLex Digital :: Home it took me all of 2 minutes to get it aligned to the first satellite once it was up, and then it was simply a matter of sliding LNB's through the guide to get the signal from satellites. Still there was a fair amount of previous research involved, and there are always a large amount of questions in terms of "will this fit" (specially with online shopping!).

A bit of generic advice to start:
- This project is a procrastinator dream. It is so complex that it probably can't be done in a day. Split objectives and get it done, otherwise you'll have an ugly mast or half assembled dish in your roof with no use for a while. In my case, stages were:
- Ground assembly of the dish (takes about 2 hours)
- Mount/Mast installation (another couple of hours)
IMG_9997.jpg
- Mount the dish into the mast. In my case I first mounted the dish and then the reflector due to weigh/ladder/operating at heights concerns
IMG_6492.jpg
- Initial Alignment (minutes)
IMG_8454.jpg
- Further alignments (half an hour)
IMG_8633.jpg
- Cabling (6 hours!)
IMG_2440.jpg

- Weather is your enemy, besides the usual rain I did this on the week of Storm Ophelia. Not nice to hold a 1 meter dish at 3 meters height on a ladder with strong winds
- I installed countless VSATs back in the day, and I know install the off dish. This is most definitely *not* your first dish to install. Get a friend that has done this before if you haven't
- While this project looks fun, it easily becomes tedious, as in my case I was using 4 Quattro LNBs to start so everything you do once with a normal dish, gets multiplied by 16 outputs. So I ended up running 20 cables (16 from the dish to the multiswitch, 4 to the PC running TVHeadend), crimping 40 connectors, etc ...
- Invest on a label machine and coloured tape. You'll need to individually identify 16 cables if you're going for the quattro setup (High Horizontal, High Vertical, Low Horizontal, Low Vertical times four satellites)
IMG_4260.jpg

So let's start with sourcing.
- Whatever amount of cable you think you'll need, you will be probably short. And considering that I didn't find any local supplier for Webro cable, I'd advice you to buy a lot. I ended up using 200 mts of cable for an install that was basically set in my garage. Webro WF100 is generally the way to to avoid loss. Available on EBay.
- Mounts are slightly complicated to source. You can get the normal Wavefrontier wall mount (if you're doing it on a wall), but I was going above the roof with a mast (which by the way, I wouldn't recommend it as first option after seeing how it reacts to the stronger winds I've ever seen in SE England). The Wavefrontier T90 needs a 60mm pole, and the best brackets I could find where Konig galvanised ones. Whatever you chose a 60mm pole is not super standard so make sure you find the right ones.
- The mast is the other key element here. I ended up sourcing a 60mm galvanised steel tube, cut to order from Key Clamp Store. They do next day delivery and it's not super expensive. Don't underestimate the mast length, specially if you're going over the roof. Consider that from the antenna head where the mast goes in, the antenna will go down about 15 inches (or 75 centimetres), so you definitely need to raise it. Also consider that depending on what satellites you're looking to hit, the skew angle will make one side of the antenna go considerably lower, so you might need even more clearance. Measure twice, cut once :D
- Crimping connectors. Went with Cablecon. Loved them!
- 4 Quattro Irdetto premium LNBs, also loved them! (Another another 3 single output later for the satellites I'm going to watch less often).
- EMP Centauri 17x4 Multiswitch (Ms17/4piu-6 V10)
- And lastly, my existing receiver setup. I use a linux box with three tuners, one quad and two double, with TVHeadEnd.

Hope this helps! If anyone has any kind of doubts please reach out and I'll be happy to assist!
 

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Lazarus

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Thanks for the best first-Post I've seen! (Shame it took five years, mind o_O)

Very interesting :Y

Next task? Update Forum User Profile :D
 

PaulR

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Excellent work. The tidiness puts my domestic efforts to shame. But I do have plans...
 

Lazarus

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Excellent work. The tidiness puts my domestic efforts to shame. But I do have plans...


Plans are easy ....... just hold them together with a bulldog clip. Job done.
 

Channel Hopper

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All it needs now is a bigger dish.
 

Journey

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great stuff, loving the photos and that watermark is awesome too !
 

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Congrats. & nice cabling!.
 

ncorrare

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I've been very busy lurking looking at what other folks are doing and drooling over some real nice C-Band setups.... if only I didn't have neighbours.....

Thanks for the best first-Post I've seen! (Shame it took five years, mind o_O)

Very interesting :Y

Next task? Update Forum User Profile :D
 

Channel Hopper

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I've been very busy lurking looking at what other folks are doing and drooling over some real nice C-Band setups.... if only I didn't have neighbours.....

It can be arranged.
 

a33

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Nice setup!
Did you already discover the 'rain caps' at the bottom of the rt LNBs, that can be pulled down as extra rain protection for the F-plugs?

greetz,
A33
 

Adam792

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Hey all,
After two/three days work (being postponed for weeks as I just moved into a new house, and there were other priorities like not having my clothes on the floor), my brand new WaveFrontier T90 is up and ready.
This was an interesting project, as the first time I saw this dish I absolutely fell in love, but I haven't seen many of those around the South East of England. According to my understanding it is right on the limit of what Councils will permit (1 cubic meter) without planning permission. Still try to hide it from your neighbours, as you probably want to avoid the pain of a non-dish friendly one.
This is a dish I can't recommend enough, even early in my usage. Pointing the dish is not hard, using the calculator in SatLex Digital :: Home it took me all of 2 minutes to get it aligned to the first satellite once it was up, and then it was simply a matter of sliding LNB's through the guide to get the signal from satellites. Still there was a fair amount of previous research involved, and there are always a large amount of questions in terms of "will this fit" (specially with online shopping!).

A bit of generic advice to start:
- This project is a procrastinator dream. It is so complex that it probably can't be done in a day. Split objectives and get it done, otherwise you'll have an ugly mast or half assembled dish in your roof with no use for a while. In my case, stages were:
- Ground assembly of the dish (takes about 2 hours)
- Mount/Mast installation (another couple of hours)
View attachment 120164
- Mount the dish into the mast. In my case I first mounted the dish and then the reflector due to weigh/ladder/operating at heights concerns
View attachment 120166
- Initial Alignment (minutes)
View attachment 120167
- Further alignments (half an hour)
View attachment 120168
- Cabling (6 hours!)
View attachment 120169

- Weather is your enemy, besides the usual rain I did this on the week of Storm Ophelia. Not nice to hold a 1 meter dish at 3 meters height on a ladder with strong winds
- I installed countless VSATs back in the day, and I know install the off dish. This is most definitely *not* your first dish to install. Get a friend that has done this before if you haven't
- While this project looks fun, it easily becomes tedious, as in my case I was using 4 Quattro LNBs to start so everything you do once with a normal dish, gets multiplied by 16 outputs. So I ended up running 20 cables (16 from the dish to the multiswitch, 4 to the PC running TVHeadend), crimping 40 connectors, etc ...
- Invest on a label machine and coloured tape. You'll need to individually identify 16 cables if you're going for the quattro setup (High Horizontal, High Vertical, Low Horizontal, Low Vertical times four satellites)
View attachment 120170

So let's start with sourcing.
- Whatever amount of cable you think you'll need, you will be probably short. And considering that I didn't find any local supplier for Webro cable, I'd advice you to buy a lot. I ended up using 200 mts of cable for an install that was basically set in my garage. Webro WF100 is generally the way to to avoid loss. Available on EBay.
- Mounts are slightly complicated to source. You can get the normal Wavefrontier wall mount (if you're doing it on a wall), but I was going above the roof with a mast (which by the way, I wouldn't recommend it as first option after seeing how it reacts to the stronger winds I've ever seen in SE England). The Wavefrontier T90 needs a 60mm pole, and the best brackets I could find where Konig galvanised ones. Whatever you chose a 60mm pole is not super standard so make sure you find the right ones.
- The mast is the other key element here. I ended up sourcing a 60mm galvanised steel tube, cut to order from Key Clamp Store. They do next day delivery and it's not super expensive. Don't underestimate the mast length, specially if you're going over the roof. Consider that from the antenna head where the mast goes in, the antenna will go down about 15 inches (or 75 centimetres), so you definitely need to raise it. Also consider that depending on what satellites you're looking to hit, the skew angle will make one side of the antenna go considerably lower, so you might need even more clearance. Measure twice, cut once :D
- Crimping connectors. Went with Cablecon. Loved them!
- 4 Quattro Irdetto premium LNBs, also loved them! (Another another 3 single output later for the satellites I'm going to watch less often).
- EMP Centauri 17x4 Multiswitch (Ms17/4piu-6 V10)
- And lastly, my existing receiver setup. I use a linux box with three tuners, one quad and two double, with TVHeadEnd.

Hope this helps! If anyone has any kind of doubts please reach out and I'll be happy to assist!

Very nice and neat! What satellites are you aligned to?

I’d love one of these T90 dishes but the problem I have is that to keep my set-up low key and there isn’t a single spot in the garden from which I have LOS to the sats I would want (19.2°E/13°E/5°W/30°W and a few slotted in between - 30°W would always need the dedicated dish too being so far round).

Any chance we can have a look at your Linux TVHeadend box? What tuners did you go for? I love the TBS one I have (6905) for multistream!
 

jeallen01

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@Adam792
Not wishing to "state the obvious", but might it not be possible to use a 90-100cm motorised dish for all the sats except 30W and then add a "discretely located" fixed smaller dish for that?
 

ncorrare

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Honestly I can't imagine how much smaller a traditional 1 metre dish is as opposed to this one. I'd say the main difference is the reflector in front of this one. And I'm going to be using a smaller dish for 30W.

@Adam792
Not wishing to "state the obvious", but might it not be possible to use a 90-100cm motorised dish for all the sats except 30W and then add a "discretely located" fixed smaller dish for that?
 

ncorrare

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WaveFrontier T90.
SelfSat 50 with HH90 rotor
Linux / TVHeadEnd
2x TBS6981
2x Cine S2
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I know them.. they are coming... if Amazon can ever deliver them :D

Nice setup!
Did you already discover the 'rain caps' at the bottom of the rt LNBs, that can be pulled down as extra rain protection for the F-plugs?

greetz,
A33
 

ncorrare

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SelfSat 50 with HH90 rotor
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Very nice and neat! What satellites are you aligned to?

I’d love one of these T90 dishes but the problem I have is that to keep my set-up low key and there isn’t a single spot in the garden from which I have LOS to the sats I would want (19.2°E/13°E/5°W/30°W and a few slotted in between - 30°W would always need the dedicated dish too being so far round).

Any chance we can have a look at your Linux TVHeadend box? What tuners did you go for? I love the TBS one I have (6905) for multistream!

PM Me, happy to arrange a tour :D
 

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I know them.. they are coming... if Amazon can ever deliver them :D

Those covers are already attached to the Lnb's , all you have to do is pull them down :)
 

mike1

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great work! what sat have you got setup along side 19 & 13
 

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Yes very nice installation. Very tidy and professional.

In my opinion, this is one of the ugliest dishes that you can get. But... Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and function over form, right?

I am receiving from 28e to 5w, though with a bit of swearing, I can get a little further. Gain drops off quite rapidly around the edges. The centre of the dish probably provides the same gain as an 85-90cm dish. I'd say my Penta 85 outperformed it by a small margin (certainly no issues with 5e on that but very unstable on the T90).

Next year, I am hoping to get to some of my projects, one of which would be a total replacement of the rail with more versatile LNB adjustment mechanism and a wider arc... We'll see...
 

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