equipment?

[dic-w]

My plans are-
Digiquest, model 6320CS with embedded sim and a smart card slot, has 1 years free subscription to 3 Channels which are FREE X 1 & 2 and XDREAM, at a cost of£60. (is this a good deal and is the box any good? are the channels good?)

85cm dish and lnb (what is a good db?)

I was going to get a lidl set up but decided that a card reader was in order so i could get extra chanels if i want, any one know a good place to buy cards?

I live just south of glasgow (ayr, west coast) planning to use the hotbird sat. where is the hotbird in relation to astra (sky) so i can put the dish on the correct wall.

Now here is my final question - is the above possible or am i an idiot?

[Analoguesat]

Free-X 1 & 2 went off air a couple of weeks ago, so ignore them. Dunno what the replacement situation for them is at the moment. XDream is a typical European hard-core p*rn service

[BGonaSTICK]

Based on what Analoguesat has said, I'd forget that receiver. Have a look at the Technomate TM-1500 CI+ Super. There's a review in our utilities and FAQs section.

What's a good LNB? One that has a noise figure of 0.6dB or less, is of a known make, and drags in the signal well.

MTI blue line are good (and good value for money). Inverto, Syntec and Invacom are great. Humax, Fortec Star and Triax are OK.

Loads of places to buy cards. Shop around and find a good price. Use Waferworld and Satcards as a yardstick, but you may be able to do better on price. Depends on which cards too.

Hotbird is only 15.2 degrees further West than the Sky satellite(s) (or to the RIGHT if you're standing BEHIND the dish) - so the same wall may well be OK still.

As for your final question, yes everything's possible and no, you're not an idiot - although strictly speaking - that's sort-of TWO questions! :spite:

[fergiz]

Hi dic-w,

Nice to see another native of Ayrshire on here, I live near you, 17 miles to the west in Cumnock.

I have the TM1500CI+ receiver that BGonaSTICK suggests you consider, I have to say that I think it's the dugs bollux, the support for it is superb as well.

I don't have any cards as I have been able to get almost anything I have required by "other" means : My dish is motorised, something I would recommend if you have an unrestricted view of the southern sky.

[nanochickin]

I've had good results using the two 0,3dB Amstar LNB's that i purchased of ebay. :

We had a bit of a storm here this morning, well alright a lot of rain and wind. The signal from my Sky minidish virtually disapeared from an 80% signal to the point where my receiver couldn't display anything other than "No signal or bad signal".

My other 80cm dish with the 2 above LNB's only lost a 2 or 3% of the signal off Hotbird and Astra 1 during the same bad weather.

I have had good results with these very reasonably priced lnbs. Don't get suckered in to buying cheap LNBs which state they have a really low noise figure (dB) its usually not always the case. :?

The first lnb that i tried on hottie was Chess Platinum Edition 2 with a listed figure of 0.2dB. I found that it was not as good as the Amstar one with 0.3dB figure which shouldn't have been the case. I definately got a better signal with the Amstar ones.

As Stick said stick to the better branded LNBs like MTI bluelines if you can afford it or recommended ones. you can always ask on the forum for recommendations for "Value for money LNBs". ( I might just start a thread on that one you know)

I definately think these Amstar ones are worth a look at for £3.99 + P&P.

You could try the £3.99 Silvercrest ones at Lidl, however i have no idea how good these are. I will be playing with them soon so i will be more than happy to share my findings.

Nano

[BGonaSTICK]

I think the Lidl ones are 'OK' ish. They're 0.6dB - and that's fine.

Nobody should be impressed by a quoted 0.2dB noise figure. It's a load of crap. 0.3dB is pretty near unobtainable in the real world. 0.2dB just isn't happening.

STICK

[nanochickin]

I can see exactly what your talking about. Check out ebay item number 220020516520. They are advertising an lnb with what they reckon a 0.1 dB noise figure. Cant really see it myself. :?

[BGonaSTICK]

LOL, I'm not a slaphead scientist, but someone who is once told me that it was not scientifically possible to produce an LNB that could achieve 0.2dB outside of a super-chilled vacuum in the laboratory (...or something like that...).

That may not be true (how would I know?) but I have no reason to doubt him and lot's of reasons to doubt the manufacturers :P

STICK

[nanochickin]

I would buy it just because i like the colour. Brightens up the dish somewhat don't you think. :clap:

Nearly as bright as the yellow Televes ones.

[Mickha]

Hi nanochickin,
you shouldn't have lost signal from your Sky dish, unless it's not set up properly or a fault in your LNB or cable, these set ups should give you a steady picture in most bad weather.
The only time you should lose it is during a bad snow fall, and during that you will lose signal from all your dishes, it happened to me last year with a 1.2 Metre dish, but the snow was the worst I can remember !!!!!
I'd call them out to see to your sky set up, but don't pay them, if they ask you for the call out fee, or any money, tell them to forget it and you'll cancel your subscription, that should have them round fixing it for free, it's always worked for friends of mine !!! Equally threatening to cancel your subscription usually gets you some great deals.
Best wishes
Mickha