dishes and motors - fiddly question

[pantyvest]

I currently have a bog standard small 'sky' dish which I think should be replaced with something bigger ( not that I know anything about it !). What I'm saying is, if I'm joining the revolution I won't be happy to settle for the existing dish if there is a marked difference using a new dish for the extra quids. Would a sixty be about right to give me more chance with reception.

Also, the sky dish is a mesh affair, whereas I have seen dishes which appear solid. They look the business.

The maplin catalogue has two motors, one at around £15 and another at say £50
What is the norm for a good motor ?

The dish is sited beside the bedroom window and two things concern me.

1) Will the motor freeze up in the winter
2) Does it make a noise when operated.

OK ! so it's more than two things:-

3) In order to move to different satellites, does the dish move very far or are we talking a few centimetres in either direction.
4) Will I need a seperate control box to operate the dish.
5) I do not want to pay more than a ton for both the motor and dish
6) Can I use the existing co-ax.

It's slow, but I'm getting there with your help, Thanks Pantyvest.

[BGonaSTICK]

Woah!

And I thought "I'll just check the forum quickly before I go to bed"! :roflmao:

OK, from the top

If you're going to motorise, go for a 90cm dish. We can suggest a few good ones if you like - Triax TD88 is good value, Raven Gemini is another good'un. Plenty of other nice dishes at this size. (£45 or less if you shop around and maybe pick up). Ask us before you buy

Motors? Easiest one of the lot. Buy a Moteck SG2100A. From Germany, can be had for around £40-£45. £65 in the UK. No import duty (EU), and relatively cheap P+P too.

No freezing in a 'normal' UK winter. Don't worry about this.

Moteck is audible, but actually very quiet as it has nylon gears. Don't think you'll have any complaints. Others are noisier.

You'll need at least a 12" standoff from a due south facing wall. The dish sort of twists around the mast axis, but dips it's head too at the extremities of travel to track an arc in the sky. T&K brackets are what you need. Also a 2" steel mast.

You can get a Triax TD88 and a Moteck SG2100A for less than a ton quite comfortably - maybe less if you shop around.

No extra control boxes - the receiver does that. No extra cables - control signals sent via coax.

Yes, unless your coax is pants (i.e very old, or rubbishy TV coax), you can reuse it.

You'll also need an LNB for around a tenner. MTI blue line 0.3 are good VFM.

Well done - you're asking all the right questions

Please have a read of our motorised setup guide. It's very comprehensive, and will give you loads of info.

http://www.satellitehelp.co.uk/forum...hp?topic=401.0

STICK

[BGonaSTICK]

Here's another thread you might find interesting:

http://www.satellitehelp.co.uk/forum...php?topic=99.0