Satellite Camping Kit

[Archive7]

Well, I am not going camping anywhere. I just need a kit that I can use to practice catching satellites.
This Telestar kit is the cheapest I could find so far
Telestar Camping-Sat-Anlage 35 cm0,1dB: Amazon.de: Elektronik
It includes a 35cm dish, LNB, compass and cable but no receiver. I have several spare receivers so there is no point in buying an "included receiver" option.
My problem at home is that I don't have a clear line of site to any satellite because I am surrounded by high buildings, and I may need to go to a friend's home to practice.
I think I will buy a tripod for mounting the satellite dish, as it makes life easier while standing up.
My concerns are as follows:
1 - Is 35cm good for catching anything? I suppose I should be able to catch the strongest satellites in my area Amos 4W and Nilesat 7W and maybe Hotbird 13E if I am lucky.
Perhaps I should buy a 60cm dish locally instead of this kit (the shipping cost is a bit too much 40 Euro), but I shall need a decent satellite dish tripod, like this one.
https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B003NVVBVU/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1GVDZAHBLW19Z
2 - Can a simple satellite finder like this one be of any help or I should save my money and either buy a better one or work without any instruments?
Any recommendation for a cheap gadget would be much appreciated.
https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B003K170TK/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF
3 - How long would it take me to catch a bird and lock on it with repeated practice?
Is 5 minutes a reasonable target, for someone with hardly any practical experience yet?
Thanks.

 

[Channel Hopper]

Do you have a receiver that runs off a 12v power supply though ?

As for the rest, only you will know, after experimenting that the small dish is good for what you wish or needs enlarging.

 

[Archive7]

Do you have a receiver that runs off a 12v power supply though ?

As for the rest, only you will know, after experimenting that the small dish is good for what you wish or needs enlarging.

Good point. I shan't use it for camping, only indoors so 12V is not needed at this stage.

 

[Terryl]

Some receivers come with an external AC to DC power adapter, if your lucky you may find one that puts out 12 volts DC to run the receiver. (The TV may be a problem)

This way you could go out in the boonies away from those nasty tall buildings and play to your hearts content, just watch out for any bulls in the field.

They also make some good DC to AC converters, but you will need a good one as some use a modified square wave as an output, this may fry the AC power supply in the receiver.

A tripod setup is a good start, but make up some way to anchor it down as a strong gust of wind can ruin your day, also dishpointer.com is a great way to find the birds at the location your testing at, that and a good compass app for your phone, or a real compass.

 

[skomedal]

Satbeams - World Of Satellites at your fingertips

Satbeams is a good indicator but not always accurate.

Open this side,zoom into your location, then start searching dish sizes for each bird/beam from your location.

Good luck

 

[archive10]

Well, I am not going camping anywhere. I just need a kit that I can use to practice catching satellites.

Well, it can be done even simpler.
For Proof-of-Concept at one point, I bought a 40 Gibertini of HM sat ( Gibertini Antenne 40cm weiß | Gibertini | Antennen | Digitale Sat-Receiver, Anlagen und Zubehör - hm-sat-shop.de ), attached it to the vertical tube part of a bar stool, put an inverto BUQ on it, and pointed it out an open window at work (office building) to catch Europe-wide beam from 28.2E.
Worked really well - my old Sky+ box would happily receive NHK and other FTA channels on this.
Pointing was one using dishpointer.com to get the approx direction, then the STB itself for fine tuning.
Would probably have been even easier with a sat-identifying meter (e.g. Satlook Lite), but it wasn't that difficult.

Sorry I don't have any pics, but you get the general idea...

 

[Archive7]

attached it to the vertical tube part of a bar stool

Oh brilliant. I hope the bar owner will not mind me taking one of his stools next time I buy a beer. I can always pretend I had too much to drink.
I think a tripod is the best solution for me. I won't buy the 35cm or 40cm kit and would rather invest in a 60cm aluminum dish. It is not too small or too big to carry around to the nearest park.

 

[archive10]

Oh brilliant. I hope the bar owner will not mind me taking one of his stools next time I buy a beer. I can always pretend I had too much to drink.

Well, it was the nearest vertical metal tube I could find, so...

I think a tripod is the best solution for me. I won't buy the 35cm or 40cm kit and would rather invest in a 60cm aluminum dish. It is not too small or too big to carry around to the nearest park.

The 40 cm is currently lying unused, as it is really too small for anyting meaningful.
My 60 cm Triax TD64 got a good deal of travelling Europe, before being relegated to Summer cottage duties.
The 60 cm fits into the spare-wheel well of a medium sized car, so it travels easily (unless you have a spare wheel too!).
For tinkering it is great, and not too expensive should you drop or damage it...

 

[Archive7]

I now all have the parts for satellite camping kit.
1 - Tripod 150cm maximum height
Microelectronic 360015 Aluminium Deluxe Camping: Amazon.de: Elektronik
2 - Telestar Digirapid 60cm dish.
I figured that 40cm will probably only catch Amos 4W while with a 60cm I might have a better chance of catching Nilesat 7W or if I am lucky few strong transponders from Hotbird 13E
3 - Satlink WS - 6903 satellite Finder-Black
Satlink WS-6903 Messgerät Digitale angezeigte: Amazon.de: Elektronik
4 - Inerto LNB single for testing.
Inverto IDLB-SINL41-PREMU-OPP Single-LNB: Amazon.de: Elektronik
The kit didn't cost much. Shipment cost was reasonable considering the weight of the dish.
In addition I ordered Satlink WS 9816 HD which would save me carrying a receiver, monitor and power source for the LNB, as it has a small LCD monitor which I can watch the TV channels with. It has support for DVB-S and DVB-S2.
Hopefully it will arrive during June.
SATLINK WS-6916 HD Digital Satfinder Messgerät: Amazon.de: Elektronik
Cheaper to order from China,
Tried the whole kit from inside my home today, but as expected I have no line of sight to any satellite unfortunately.
The building next door got permission to build six floors while the standard in my area is 5 floors and they blocked all the satellites for me.

 

[Adam792]

2 - Telestar Digirapid 60cm dish.
I figured that 40cm will probably only catch Amos 4W while with a 60cm I might have a better chance of catching Nilesat 7W or if I am lucky few strong transponders from Hotbird 13E

You should get Turksat 42°E easily as well. Maybe the Greek channels off 3.1°E too - the strength is about 47dBW over Israel but the use of low FEC (3/5) means the signal is quite easy to lock.

 

[Archive7]

You should get Turksat 42°E easily as well. Maybe the Greek channels off 3.1°E too - the strength is about 47dBW over Israel but the use of low FEC (3/5) means the signal is quite easy to lock.

Thanks. Will try that when I have the chance.