Freesat Dishes - DIY installation and which one should I have?

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I have just purchased a Panasonic TX P42G10 plasma with built in freesat. My problem is I have never had satellite before, as Sky is far too expensive for my TV watching habits. But know I have a TV with freesat I want to "dish up." I am proposing to do this myself as it should be well within my capabilites but would like any advice on doing this although I have been reading up on it from other web articles. I live near Peterborough so we should get reasonable reception even on a 43 cm dish but there have been some articles saying that during bad weather quality deteriorates, therefore the plan is for a 60 cm dish unless someone tells me otherwise and with at least a dual LNR unit as I will want to feed at least two TVs eventually.

Here is my problem, I can buy a solid or mesh dish off Ebay but then I have just read an article that long term performance depends on quality as with everything but I do not know what is good/bad or indifferent. Can someone recommend a supplier of a reasonable priced dish or should I just do the Ebay thing and replace it every couple of years? I would prefer a mesh dish due to the aesthetics of it but is this going to be waste of time and effort?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers

 

[daveh75]

165237:

I have just purchased a Panasonic TX P42G10 plasma with built in freesat. My problem is I have never had satellite before, as Sky is far too expensive for my TV watching habits. But know I have a TV with freesat I want to "dish up." I am proposing to do this myself as it should be well within my capabilites but would like any advice on doing this although I have been reading up on it from other web articles. I live near Peterborough so we should get reasonable reception even on a 43 cm dish but there have been some articles saying that during bad weather quality deteriorates, therefore the plan is for a 60 cm dish unless someone tells me otherwise and with at least a dual LNR unit as I will want to feed at least two TVs eventually.

Here is my problem, I can buy a solid or mesh dish off Ebay but then I have just read an article that long term performance depends on quality as with everything but I do not know what is good/bad or indifferent. Can someone recommend a supplier of a reasonable priced dish or should I just do the Ebay thing and replace it every couple of years? I would prefer a mesh dish due to the aesthetics of it but is this going to be waste of time and effort?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers

As a general rule the bigger the dish the better the signal will be, and with Astra2 which freesat is broadcast via the further south you are the stronger the signal will be also, and less likely to get deterioration in bad weather... though you should only really have this problem in very very extreme weather if at all.

As for dishes a standard Zone 1 mini dish(45cm) will work perfectly well with no issue's that far south though there's nothing to stop you going bigger if you feel the need.

As for type of dish i wouldn't worry much about whether it's of mesh,pressed steel/aluminium, glass fibre or even clear perspex reflector design.The important bit is the LNB and would advocate using a decent LNB such as a TITANIUM 0.1db LNB over the standard ones available on ebay/Sky use. SEE http://www.satellitesuperstore.co.uk/dishes.htm for dish kit's and the titanium LNB i linked to above.

HTH

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks a lot for your advice. I am glad the smaller dish will do as this will please the "Boss" and I will search out a decent LNB from your link.

Cheers