Gathering parts and pieces

[jbo]

So far I have gathered a few parts -- other than the primestar dish, is any of the rest of this stuff worth keeping.
Also -- is the lnb on the primestar dish good for fta

 

[Anole]

good haul !

Yes, lot of folks here use the Primestar dishs and LNB for FTA.
There are many discussions on using the existing LNB, replacing it, living with it if it's a bit odd, putting extra LNBs beside it, etc.
What's the diameter of your particular dish (should be some mold markings on the back side)?

That DishNetwork SuperDish has a linear LNB right at the end of the arm.
It's not a big dish for weak FTA, but it'll do for medium usage.
That's assuming you don't mind having a second dish up in the air.

The two LNBs off to one side are circular.
Depending on your interest, one of them could be used for NASA or Angel on 119º...

See our satellite list for more info on what is available, but feel free to ask questions.
The gang here is happy to discuss all aspects of real FTA with you.

 

[Mr Tony]

The Primestar LNB works fine for FTA...Use 2 of them

The SD will work for most signals...you may not get the best signal quality due to the smaller size but should work

 

[jbo]

The dish mesures 42" -- the lnb has a h and v outputon it so this means I need some sort of combiner?

 

[Anole]

A 2x2 or 2x4 multiswitch would combine the two inputs.
Outputs would go to two or four receivers.

If you plan ahead for more primestars, you might get a 4x4 switch.
That would let you feed two of those type LNBs to up to four receivers.
You'd select which LNB by turning the 22khz tone on or off.

In all cases, the 13v input goes to the V side of your LNB, and the 18v input to the switch goes to the H side of your LNB.



Note: 3x4 or 5x4 switches just have an extra input for your off-air antenna, but otherwise they are interchangable with 2x4 or 4x4.
Here's a 3x4 from one of our supporting advertizers.
And here is a nice assortment of switches from another of our sponsors.

 

[jbo]

Would a direct or dish net switch work?

 

[Mr Tony]

Would a direct or dish net switch work?

A DirecTV multiswitch (2x4, 3x4, 4x4, etc) will work just fine. Dish Network switches wont work

 

[Tron]

If you want to replace the LNB on the Primestar, you can use the stacked linear LNB (FSS) from the Superdish. The feedhorns on both dishes use C-120 flanges.

If you do decide to use the Superdish LNB, either on the Superdish or on the Primestar, you will need a blind scan receiver to find the horizontal transponders (or you will have to figure out where they are by subtracting the horizontal transponder frequency from 24600). The Dish stacked LNBs send down both polarities on a single cable by stacking the horizontal transponders in a frequency range above the vertical ones. Some newer receivers have a DishPro (DP, stacked) setting built-in.

All in all, looks like a great find!

 

[jbo]

Might be more goodies in the trash pile --I'll have to dig and see what I can find.
Me being Mr. Cheapscape I'll dig till I find the right parts.

 

[Tron]

Hey, nothing cheap about dumpster diving, I do it all the time I've got a Superdish (which I cannibalized for its FSS LNB ), a 36" steel FTA dish, a Paraclipse BUD, and countless (and I do mean countless) Dish 500s and DirecTV dishes that way

 

[jbo]

what are the settings for the primestar lnb -- standard 10750 ?

 

[turbosat]

10750 for the standard Primestar lnbf, yes.

 

[Mr Tony]

yep 10750..its a standard LNB

 

[jbo]

OK -- Got my Merc 11 and my multi switch in this week so I will try this out tomorrow and see if all goes well.
Any last min instructions?

 

[Mr Tony]

Any last min instructions?

1. have fun
2. dont get frustrated
3. were here to help
4. have fun

 

[jbo]

I'll try that in that order

 

[jbo]

OK -- Got everything together and going. Found a couple of sats and then up jumped the devil --- My remote quit working --- ANYWAYS got to sit and watch a few things.
This hobby is kinda like drugs -- the more you have the more you want !!!

 

[Mr Tony]

This hobby is kinda like drugs -- the more you have the more you want !!!

didnt think of it that way...but OK

 

[Anole]

--- My remote quit working ---

That bug has bitten us all in the butt from time to time.
Hope it's no more problem than...
Press the SAT or STB button on the remote.
...unless of course the kiddies stole your batteries for their Xmas toys...

 

[mastermesh]

nothing cheap about dumpster diving,

Any tips on how to dumpster dive legally other than use freecycle? Just curious. I am slowly seeing more and more places that may be worth dumpster diving in my area, and don't want to do something illegal.

remote quit working

Buy a replacement remote on ebay if you can find one cheap. My pansat's remote is a piece of junk. I think getting accidentally dropped in a glass of water once didn't help much. Anyways, it is at the point where you have to push one button, wait about 1-2 seconds, and then push the next one or else it will screw up and stop working and need to have batteries taken out and put back in before it works again.... We bought a replacement remote, and it works perfect! Now the wife uses the replacement and I use the replacement when she's not around. The other piece of junk sits next to my recliner since I at least can function with it's slowness if I have to. My wife's patience with electronic gizmos has a much lower threshold than mine.