New hobby looms for bored middle aged man - help req

S

Sonicste

Member
My Satellite Setup
none yet newbie learning
My Location
Warrington
Hi all,
I'm a bored middle aged family man looking for a new hobby, and i'm looking to set up my own sat system,
This is totally new to me and have no knowledge.
I'm a serial hobbist running a long list of past hobbies from Marine Fish to Mountain Biking.
I'm looking for everthing to set up a decent system, to cover the full sky Hd channels and hopefully european and EPL footie if it's still available (boat missed springs to mind).
A like for like SkyHD setup + extras is my starting point.
Can you advise on a tried and trusted set up package including motorized Dish etc.
I don't mind spending a bit more cash for something that represents better value.


Thank you inadvance
Sonic
 
Listen buddy you wont get the channels you currently receive via your Sky subscription without a official sub to Sky, you can get the EPL on the cheap & in English (Tring springs to mind) but $ky U.K. channels are only available via a subscription to $ky. In saying that you can use your official Sky sub in a non Sky receiver & record without bloody restrictions & transfer the recordings to a P.C. etc without a problem.
 
Thanks Ghostleader, big learning curve ahead me thinks !!!!!!!!!!!!!1
 
I would go for a "C" & "Ku" band combo setup, there are tons of open channels on quite a few satellites, you just need to know what ones you can receive at your location and what size dish you are limited to, a "C" band dish would start at around 2 meters in size, the better ones are 3 meters or larger, or you can go for a split system, "C" band on one dish and "Ku" band on another.

"Ku" band dishes are much smaller in size then the "C" band dishes, you can get away with a 1 meter "Ku" band dish on a motor and get quite a few satellites. (depending on location)

Also there are many different brands of receivers out there so trying to tell you what to get would be time consuming, it all depends on what your looking at in the Clark belt (where all the TV satellites are located)

Some FTA (Free To Air) receivers can do "C" band but need an external interface to control the big dish needed for "C" band (BUD, Big Ugly Dish) these are called "V" or "G" boxes, they control the linear motors needed to swing the BUDs around.

Most of the FTA receivers can control the H to H motors needed to swing the 1 meter dishes for "Ku" band satellites, so you wont need the external box for them.

Its all up to what you can setup at your location, if you can install a large BUD then go for it.


The following links will give you an idea on what is out there to look at, the Lyngsat one tells you whats up there, the dishpointer on tells you if it can be viewed from your location.

Happy testing and hunting.

hXXp://www.lyngsat.com/atlantic.html or hXXp://www.lyngsat.com/europe.html.....
The ones in green are "Ku" band only, the ones in yellow are "C"&"Ku" band, the ones in pink are "C" band only, and not all are viewable at all locations, some have spot beams.

hXXp://www.dishpointer.com.....
Just enter your location and select the satellite, then zoom into your location and click the mouse on your location, it will give you an idea if your able to receive that satellite at your location, it will also give you an estimate dish size needed to receive that satellite.
 
hi sonicste i started out with a 1.2mtr offset dish using it for Ku band only to get the feel of setting up the dish and experimenting to get the best out of it,i used a jaeger motor to drive the dish,these days you can use a V-box to drive the motor,you need to set a pole vertical in concrete to mount the motor,Ku lnb unless it comes with dish,and for receiver i recommend the technomate 5402HD ci+ super which you can use for Ku and c-band its very sensitive,once you have mastered using Ku band then go on to c-band,the dish i used was a fortec star,you dont want to spend mega bucks just in case its not for you,i know two people who tried it out and gave up because it was not for them,best of luck.
 
I always suggest you first work out where you're going to need to site the dish, to be able to get as many satellites as possible, then you can decide what kind of mount, and size of dish, will suit you best.
With dishes it's usually the bigger the better, especially for some of the satellite feeds. You are legally allowed up to a 1 Metre dish, without applying for planning permission, depending on special rules for historic buildings, local conservation areas, etc..
Check out the members picture gallery, it might give you a few ideas of what kind of set up you would like:
Picture of Members' Setups and general satellite installations
 
Terryl , Pride21, Mickha thanks for your advice i appreciate it ..........cheers
 
Terryl said:
I would go for a "C" & "Ku" band combo setup, there are tons of open channels on quite a few satellites, you just need to know what ones you can receive at your location and what size dish you are limited to, a "C" band dish would start at around 2 meters in size, the better ones are 3 meters or larger, or you can go for a split system, "C" band on one dish and "Ku" band on another.
Click to expand...

Terryl you forget one vital thing - most of us dont have room to put a 9 foot dish up in the back garden!! - You put a 3m dsh in the garden and thats most of your garden gone! Also C-band is very much a minority hobby in Europe - theres almost nothing of general interest available.

Here in Europe there very little open without access to an official subscription so telling someone there is "tons open" is misleading

:)
 
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