Fortec 180 cm for Dish

[Sat2007]

I am subscribe to Dishnetwork and my system includes 2 small (4 feet) antennas with Aspen circular LNBs.
Because the size of the antennas and my location, when is very cloudy I loss reception. I talked to the dealer and they recommend changing my antennas to 6 feet.
I recently aquire a Fortec 180 cm. with a KU lnb adapter. Even that this antenna is primary for C band, what Ku lnb may be recomended. I installed an Aspen LNB with a plastic adapter, but signal is even weaker than with my original antenna.
Any ideas or recomendations?

[lumpkin666]

Can you clarify a couple things?

You say you have a KU lnb adaptor. Can you explain what you are mentioning here? I'm envisioning one of those c-band scaler rings with the ku lnb mounted to the side in a cutout portion of the scaler ring. Is this what you're talking about?

You say that you installed an Aspen LNB with a plastic adapter. Is this the C-Band lnb? Is it an LNB or an LNBF? The plastic adaptor, what is this? It's not one of those dielectric slabs (of plastic) is it?

Have you properly adjusted your aim for elevation & azimuth, and additionally set the proper focal depth for your lnb(f)?

[Sat2007]

lumpkin666:

The adapter was included with the antenna, it is the "LNBF Collar II for C / Ku Prime Focus Dish".
The LNB is an Eagle Aspen DTV32 Ku lnb (the same provided by Dish).
The adapter to fit this to the "Collar II" is 2 small plastic spacers to fit the LNB to the 40mm size of the "Collar" (the Aspen LNB is smaller).

I properly adjusted the elevation & azimuth with a satellite finder and one of my receivers connected to a tv as sugested in the installation manual. I don't think that this antenna have a focal depth adjustment (focal depth is fixed and determined by the lenght of the arms that hold the "Collar adapter"...

[lumpkin666]

Originally Posted by Sat2007

lumpkin666:

The adapter was included with the antenna, it is the "LNBF Collar II for C / Ku Prime Focus Dish".
The LNB is an Eagle Aspen DTV32 Ku lnb (the same provided by Dish).
The adapter to fit this to the "Collar II" is 2 small plastic spacers to fit the LNB to the 40mm size of the "Collar" (the Aspen LNB is smaller).

I properly adjusted the elevation & azimuth with a satellite finder and one of my receivers connected to a tv as sugested in the installation manual. I don't think that this antenna have a focal depth adjustment (it is fix and determine by the lenght of the arms that hold the "Collar adapter"...

It's starting to make sense now I was TOTALLY envisioning a different setup altogether.

I'm still thinking that there should be some focal adjustments available by sliding the lnbf back and forth in that plastic collar. However, it could be that these parts are all manufactured for this specific purpose and thusly don't require focal adjustment.

Are there any skew adjustments that you may need to make by turning the lnbf one direction or another? I'm a little out of my league giving you advice on this one since I've never really messed with this type of setup before, so hopefully someone else will chime in and give some feedback that is more helpful

[Sat2007]

Originally Posted by lumpkin666

It's starting to make sense now I was TOTALLY envisioning a different setup altogether.

I'm still thinking that there should be some focal adjustments available by sliding the lnbf back and forth in that plastic collar. However, it could be that these parts are all manufactured for this specific purpose and thusly don't require focal adjustment.

Are there any skew adjustments that you may need to make by turning the lnbf one direction or another? I'm a little out of my league giving you advice on this one since I've never really messed with this type of setup before, so hopefully someone else will chime in and give some feedback that is more helpful

Well, what I think is that this circular LNBs (Aspen DTV32) can get signal from about 40 or 45 degrees. That is why they are placed very far from the eliptical dish. The Fortec 180cm is not eliptical, is rounded. The LNB is positioned in the center and is nearest to the dish. So the LNB used for this antenna should get the signal from wider sides ( maybe as 80 or 90 degrees).

That is why I was asking for other type of LNB for this antenna...

[Iceberg]

Would the 4 foot dish happen to be offset?

I know when you put a regular KU Band LNB on a Prime Focus dish (as the 6 footer is) the reception can be worse than a regular offset dish because the LNB is designed for an offset dish.

[Sat2007]

Originally Posted by Iceberg

Would the 4 foot dish happen to be offset?

Yes it is !!!

Is there any work around for this?
Any special LNB or changing the lenght of the arms that hold the collar?

[rainman]

Originally Posted by Sat2007

Yes it is !!!

Is there any work around for this?
Any special LNB or changing the lenght of the arms that hold the collar?

you maybe able to use a invacom QPH-031 it does circular and linear. haven't tried it on a prime focus dish but works well on a fortec 90cm dish.and it also has a 40mm neck so you won't need the spacers.Sadoun sells them ck his web site under lnb's.

[Sat2007]

Originally Posted by rainman

you maybe able to use a invacom QPH-031 it does circular and linear. haven't tried it on a prime focus dish but works well on a fortec 90cm dish.and it also has a 40mm neck so you won't need the spacers.Sadoun sells them ck his web site under lnb's.

Thank you for the advice!!!

However SADOUN recomend this LNBs for "offset dishes, like the Winegard and the Fortec Star 80,90,100, and 120cm dishes."

Will it work efficiently in a "Prime Focus Dish" as the Fortec 180cm ?

[pmb1010]

Originally Posted by Sat2007

"I am subscribe to Dishnetwork"..

where are you located?
Isn't the Dish network signal not legally available outside the US?
I must admit, I'm not up on any subscription TV since I'm been on cable TV for decades, so I could be way off base here. But it sure seems as though needing a dish that size you must not be in the defined footprint their sats are on...

Is DISH Network available outside of the United States?

Unfortunately, DISH Network is expressly prohibited from distributing programming services to anyone outside the U.S., its territories and possessions as indicated by DISH Network's programming contracts with the programmers.

[Sat2007]

Originally Posted by pmb1010

where are you located?
Isn't the Dish network signal not legally available outside the US?
I must admit, I'm not up on any subscription TV since I'm been on cable TV for decades, so I could be way off base here. But it sure seems as though needing a dish that size you must not be in the defined footprint their sats are on...

Is DISH Network available outside of the United States?

Unfortunately, DISH Network is expressly prohibited from distributing programming services to anyone outside the U.S., its territories and possessions as indicated by DISH Network's programming contracts with the programmers.

I am located at P.R. (USA)...

At this location signal with a 4 feet dish is acceptable, but you can have signal problems during cloudy and/or rainy days (almost all days). A lot of Dish customer here change their dish to 6 feet "Dish Master antennas" to minimize this problem. That is why I tried to use this Fortec to get better signal..

And YES, Dish is legally available here. Dish Network is available in PR about 10 years ago. They brought a company called Alpha Star..
If you need more information just go to Dish Network's website...

[pmb1010]

hey no problem. Good luck resolving your issues!

[lumpkin666]

Wow, a little digging and I'm starting to see your plight! There doesn't seem to be much support at all for prime focus circular KU band. So far, I found one lnb by Chaparral, but it's a polarotor and won't work with your dish system. I also found a company that sells a non-polarotor style prime focus circular lnb, but it only supports one polarity (same problem!)

[Iceberg]

Originally Posted by pmb1010

where are you located?
Isn't the Dish network signal not legally available outside the US?
I must admit, I'm not up on any subscription TV since I'm been on cable TV for decades, so I could be way off base here. But it sure seems as though needing a dish that size you must not be in the defined footprint their sats are on...

Is DISH Network available outside of the United States?

Unfortunately, DISH Network is expressly prohibited from distributing programming services to anyone outside the U.S., its territories and possessions as indicated by DISH Network's programming contracts with the programmers.

PMB
Once you're outside of the 48 you need a larger dish. Hawaii needs a 24" for 119 (30 recommended)....Alaska can get by with a 36" for 119 but a 48" for 110. Puerto Rico needs 6 foot dishes for reliable reception. The locals they can use a 18" dish for those only due to spotbeam

[rainman]

they do make a circular lnbf for a prime focus dish it is built into the scalar ring. PM me and i will give you more info on it.

[javrua1]

Hey I'm also in Puerto Rico and wanted to improve signal strenght so I bought the Fortec 6 ft dish. I had no idea of the offset vs circular issue.

Any new info on how to get a dishnetwork satellite such as 61.5 (hd channels) with this Fortec dish? Any news on a special LNB to do this?

Thanks.

ps: if not does anybody want to buy a new Fortec Star 6 ft dish? ill sell it for under a hundred bucks!

[wejones]

Originally Posted by javrua1

Hey I'm also in Puerto Rico and wanted to improve signal strenght so I bought the Fortec 6 ft dish. I had no idea of the offset vs circular issue.

Any new info on how to get a dishnetwork satellite such as 61.5 (hd channels) with this Fortec dish? Any news on a special LNB to do this?

Thanks.

ps: if not does anybody want to buy a new Fortec Star 6 ft dish? ill sell it for under a hundred bucks!

I'll pay $150 if you pay the postage.

But to the above, I don't think that there is any "offset vs circular issue". I think the main issue is that most lnbs made for DTV and DishNet disher are designed for dishes that have a high F/D ratio, ie a long focal length compared to size of the dish. THe small DBS dishes have F/D ratios around 0.6 while most big C-band dishes have F/D ratios in the 0.25 to 0.35 range. This means that the DBS lnbfs are attempting to look at a smaller angle, and may not see the outside edges of a dish with a low F/D. If the big dish is a high quality dish, as long as you have the lnbf at the focal point, you'll always be better off with a bigger dish, regardless of what lnbf you are using. One thing though, if you try using one of those multi-sat lnbfs, they will not work, because the spacing will be wrong, but if used for a single satellite, there should be no problem. It would be better if you could find an lnbf designed for low F/D ratio dishes, but I would bet that even the regular lnbf should work OK if the dish is a quality dish. I agree though that if off center, and with a low quality dish, you're better off with a small dish. I put a DTV lnbf 8" or so off center on a warped and dented 10' dish, and the results were worse than with an 18" dish, but I'm convinced that if I had put the lnbf at the center rather than sharing the space with my C-band feed, and if my dish wasn't in such bad shape, I would have done much better. I don't know anything about the quality of the Fortec dish.