Superdish Theft On The Rise!!!

[Stargazer]

Beware, SuperDish theft is on the rise. So far it is showing up in Indiana and Michigan. If you have a SuperDish mounted on a pole or the side of a building/house that a thief has easy access to the dish and switch then it could get stolen if someone in your area knows how much those things are worth ($200+). If it is up on the roof then I doubt they will get a ladder and climb up on the roof to steal it. The situation in some areas has gotten so bad that the retailers have even been contacted by the cops about the issue.

 

[JimMcC]

Stargazer

I'm glad I don't have one. What is the Superdish used for anyway?

 

[charper1]

Some subscribers have local channels that are out on a satellite slot that requires the special dish.

 

[TuxCoder]

What is the Superdish used for anyway?

Why, for SuperReception, of course!

Actually, it's used to receive Dish Network's normal 110 & 119 satellites, along with either 105 or 121 depending on what is needed. They can be harder to aim, being that they have to lineup 3 orbital locations. Some people report that SuperDishes receive slightly less signal from 110 & 119. That could be true, or it could just be they might need an extra 1/16" of movement in some direction for the extra few signal strength points. Or it possibly could be their location, since the LNB spacing does vary around the country, especially in the "corners" (ME, FL, WA, CA).

 

[truckracer]

plenty of alternatives for superdish

Would it not be easier to use a dish 500 system for 110W and 119W, then add a 75 cm KU band dish for the 105W or 121W locals. You could configure a multiswitch to work this arrangement very easily. Plus have much better reception with the larger dish.

My experience with the super dish has shown me that signal strenth on the 105W (amc-2) is not that great. I got about 70% on a clear day and about 45% on a rainy stormy day and sometimes lower.

I tried a 75cm Patriot dish and got 82% on amc-2 (105W).
I realize some people would not like two dish antennas on their house or building, but it would probably yield better results.

 

[charper1]

i thought that additional satellite slot was FSS, thus the need for a special LNB, thus the creation of superdish, but i am not 100% sure

 

[Cyclone]

I guess they steal the switches, but don't get the power inserters.

 

[fataf]

fss

FSS would require a standard KU LNB (which uses horizontal polarization).
your normal dish LNB will use circular polarization. so yes the LNB types are different.

The larger new dish is needed because of weaker signal strength of FSS.

one benefit is you could also use this new dish for FTA reception with right receiver (also a motor to track multiple satellites)
by the way recommended dish size is 90 cm or larger.

there is a FTA forum here for more questions.

 

[bcshields]

Also, many customers do not like the idea of having multiple dishes.

 

[n0qcu]

The larger new dish is needed because of weaker signal strength of FSS.

WRONG!
The larger dish is required because the FSS satellites are spaced only 2 degrees apart.

 

[ComcastOgre]

n0qcu, I think both of you are right. Dish Network themselves have said FSS has a weaker signal than regular DBS frequencies.

 

[ComcastOgre]

I could be wrong since there are many times Dish themselves don't seem to know about their own stuff. LOL

 

[truckracer]

fss lnb

Does the FSS (horizontal or Veritcal) Linear lnb on the superdish use dishpro signal stacking? I guess if it does and combines both polarities on a single feed line you would have to have the "Dishpro FSS" lnbf.

That could explain why the superdishes are being stolen. They are not that expensive around 199.00.

I pulled in an 82% signal quality from amc-2 with a 75cm patriot dish.

A 90cm would do a little better. I have found that if you have a good quality 75cm dish, the signal gain on a 90cm is not that much better. (going by the signal level and quality on my pansat 2500A) while doing the comparison

 

[techdood]

truckracer wrote:
Does the FSS (horizontal or Veritcal) Linear lnb on the superdish use dishpro signal stacking? I guess if it does and combines both polarities on a single feed line you would have to have the "Dishpro FSS" lnbf.


i would assume it does. both fss birds utilize both polarities and some kind of stack or switching is involved. and you are correct, a plus switch would have to be used.
i get away from using a superdish all together by using a simple sw21 in front of a sw64 (non-powered port) and use a 30" collector with single ported lnbf. yes, i'd only get to see the fss bird with only 1 receiver, but that's ok. it's the only receiver that gets the international channel on that 121 bird.

 

[Stargazer]

A power inserter is not needed for the majority of the SuperDish installs. $200 is plenty expensive enough of an item to get stolen especially seeing how there are many items that are a bit less expensive than that in which get stolen all the time. There is a bit of a demand for these SuperDishes and one can get a lot for them on eBay.

SuperDishes are needed because of how they require everything having to be DishPro adaptable to work with each other. If the SuperDish was not DishPro then it would not have such a great demand and there would be cheaper lnbf's and switches that could be used on them. This is what is driving up demand for these SuperDishes.

Once the new FSS satellite is placed at 105 then the signal strengths should go up.

 

[mattb]

and since E* does not sell a DP FSS LNB we cant use a 30 inch Dish without having all legacy equipment.

 

[Stargazer]

I would have thought that E* would have had the DP FSS LNBF available for sale individually by now but we all know the REAL reason why they are NOT available for sale. I guess one has to convert everything over to legacy to get'r done.