Low cost dish

delorehal

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I would like to buy this package :
TEK2000.com (8ft) C/Ku-Band Solid Dish Starter Kit-ND

I know it is not the best quality for it may be good for the money
Does someone have experience using this dish in Ku band ?

The seller told me that it will work OK using the right feed.

thanks
 

Analoguesat

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Its listed as out of stock & I cant get the page to load properly either (although that may be my flaky internet)

As with most of these cheap dishes you get what you pay for. Some of the bigger cheap dishes are very poor indeed, and prone to serious distortion. At the end of the day if you buy it then accept its not going to perform as well as an expensive big dish - especially afte a few storms have blown through.

What are tyou planning on using it for??
 

delorehal

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It will be used for radioastronomy.
It will be protected from wind and rain

I'm concerned by the dish surface accuracy though.
 

Analoguesat

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Ah interesting - radio astronomy is an unusual topic on this forum. :)

If its going to be enclosed then distortion from bad weather can be reduced. You can use a technique known as "stringing" to see how accurate the dish is - run threads across the face and they should be virtually touching in the middle. If there is a gap of more than a couple of mm then the dish is warped / out of alignment. It is possible to correct warped dishes with a bit of time & skill.
 

PaulR

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Are you going to chase the hydrogen line? That's about 21cm which equates to about 1.4GHz. This quite a bit lower in frequency than the Ku band (12 - 18GHz) and even C band (4 to 8 GHz). As you get lower in frequency the accuracy of the dish becomes less important but, equally, you find that you need larger and larger dishes.

Perhaps I'm making a wrong assumption here. Please advise on what you'll be looking for.

Interesting project and interesting question. Thanks.
 

delorehal

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I will stay with Ku band first, which gives me the best resolution (beamwidth) and gain, then try lower frequencies.
The shipping cost is "only" $400, but the problem is that the dish will arrive and stay in a port.
Then I will have to go and pay duties until there.
There is the same dish on sale on eBay.uk (seller tvstand.direct), but there is no polar mount and the packaging seems to be very light.
The seller didn't answer me about it.

It looks like a jonsa dish sold witht he forcet star name.
I would like to know if the parabola is good for Ku frequencies and where to find a polar or azimutal mount with actuators.

What are the other options for 2.4m dishes ?
I know famaval dishes that I can buy in France.
How about Irte and Elite ?
 

sonnetpete

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Neither of these are low cost (by any means) but Transplanet.fr show a large IRTE on their site, though it's out of stock. They (and 2Galli) stock 2.7M Laminas dishes but these retail in excess of €3000. Offhand, I can't think of anywhere in France you can get hold of a 'budget' mesh dish..
 

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The first link has vanished (out of stock). The nearest I can see is

TEK2000.com

Regardless, a dish of 8ft plus shipping could be had for less, you get a receiver you are not going to use, an inclinometer and cable. You do not get the post which will cost a fair amount on its own.

Don't worry about the reflector surface, Ku band tolerance material and construction is fine for radio astronomy.
 

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Yes but the OP says that he's gong to use Ku band first. So he'll need Ku band accuracy.

Not sure what he's going to find though.
 

Channel Hopper

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I never said the dish was substandard, just a tad expensive, even as a kit.
 

delorehal

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Thanks for your help.
The dish I was looking for is a solid dish, close to the petal fortec star dish but with a polar mount.
The price is very attractive even with the shipping cost, but there is no door Delivery, that is my problem with this seller.

What are other manufacturer of 2.3m aluminium solid prime focus dish ?
IRTE seem to be no longer for sale.
I know famaval dishes.
I don't know Elite's prices, or other manufacturers.
 

sonnetpete

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Seperate 80 cm dish on 28E with a Humax Freesat for SWMBO.
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What are other manufacturer of 2.3m aluminium solid prime focus dish ?

You could try a Google search for 'Primesat' or 'Raven'. Raven is I think a rebrand of Channel Master. These are however expensive options, even more so by the time you add on shipping etc.
 

John

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Thanks for your help.
The dish I was looking for is a solid dish, close to the petal fortec star dish but with a polar mount.
The price is very attractive even with the shipping cost, but there is no door Delivery, that is my problem with this seller.

What are other manufacturer of 2.3m aluminium solid prime focus dish ?
IRTE seem to be no longer for sale.
I know famaval dishes.
I don't know Elite's prices, or other manufacturers.



Re: Elite Antennas 2.4mtr PF, painted, one piece.
This is a quoted price from them given in February this year (2017) for a 2.4 reflector and delivery from Elite within the UK of a round trip of approx 220 miles.
** Are you sat down ??.
1 x 2.4 mtr one piece PF reflector, paint finished ......... £2016 inc vat.
Delivery by Elite ...... £425 inc vat. This was to an address within the UK for a round trip of approx 220 miles.
I didn't require an Elite polar mount so didn't enquire but looking at the design and build quality of them suitable for the 2.4 you could quite easily be looking at well over £850 - 950 plus vat, plus delivery.
 

moonbase

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Re: Elite Antennas 2.4mtr PF, painted, one piece.
This is a quoted price from them given in February this year (2017) for a 2.4 reflector and delivery from Elite within the UK of a round trip of approx 220 miles.
** Are you sat down ??.
1 x 2.4 mtr one piece PF reflector, paint finished ......... £2016 inc vat.
Delivery by Elite ...... £425 inc vat. This was to an address within the UK for a round trip of approx 220 miles.
I didn't require an Elite polar mount so didn't enquire but looking at the design and build quality of them suitable for the 2.4 you could quite easily be looking at well over £850 - 950 plus vat, plus delivery.


John,

Was that quote just for the bare reflector face with rear mounting ring attached, excluding feed support arms and any type of feed arrangement? Elite generally quote for individual components and their feed support arms and feed assemblies are quite expensive, particularly Ka Band and C Band feed assemblies.


Rgds
 

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You could try a Google search for 'Primesat' or 'Raven'. Raven is I think a rebrand of Channel Master. These are however expensive options, even more so by the time you add on shipping etc.

Been there, Channel Master don't - currently - have metal dishes in their inventory, and the SMC versions are somewhat more than the budget of the TEK2000. Similarly, the Primesat dealership has added a huge margin to the product cost, at least in the UK, I doubt it would be much different in France.

For astronomy, and at least a cursory investigation into Ku band, there would be no real harm in buying a Jonsa type dish (branded FortecStar and Maplins in this country), though you will need to ensure the ground stand is securely fixed to offset the effect of windloading.

A cursory check brings up this outlet (Ontario based) that has links to Europe, specifically France - in their shipping conditions

Amazon.com: 8ft C Band Polar Mount Solid Satellite Dish: Home Audio & Theater
 
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John

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John,

Was that quote just for the bare reflector face with rear mounting ring attached, excluding feed support arms and any type of feed arrangement? Elite generally quote for individual components and their feed support arms and feed assemblies are quite expensive, particularly Ka Band and C Band feed assemblies.


Rgds





.... thinking on, that was without any feed support arms or ku feed but did include the 600 or 1200 back ring but was painted. Add a bit more onto the price then D. Eeeeeek.
 

s-band

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For astronomy, and at least a cursory investigation into Ku band, there would be no real harm in buying a Jonsa type dish (branded FortecStar and Maplins in this country), though you will need to ensure the ground stand is securely fixed to offset the effect of windloading.

@delorehal Have you seen this thread? The C-band Tin-Dish challenge

As CH says, the Fortec is OK for the money and you may find a freight company who will ship it. Choose the carrier carefully as the packaging is not good for such a heavy item and my one was cheap because it had been dropped. The outer card was not damaged but some petals had twisted. Looking at tek2000 boxes, they do not look very strong either.

You could try asking here Forum feeds TV par satellite - Satelliweb • Page d’index for something more local to you.

This is very nice for the money but it is limited to <6GHz and has to be collected. 3 Meter Mesh DISH 6 Petal
 
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