[ant_thomas]

I'm going to be moving into an apartment within the next month or two so there is no doubt going to be a limit to how large a dish I can mount. Either based on rules or just me generally being polite and not wanting a big dish outside!

The place will most likely have Dual feeds for Sky+ so I'm covered on the 28.2E front but I often watch a few bits on 19.2E and 13E that I would rather not lose.

So, if I have a south facing balcony I will probably mount a dish as neatly as I can.

It will be City Centre(ish) Manchester, and assuming I have a clear line of sight what satellites can be picked up on a Zone 1 Sky MiniDish?

Are 13E and 19.2E possible on the 43cm or 50cm Zone 1 dishes?

Also, what else can be picked up on a Zone 1 (either 43cm or 50cm)?

[logiciel]

13 or 19 should be each be OK on their own on a 50cm.

[pedro2000uk]

With a zone 1 sky dish aimed at 13e, 28.2e - 13e - 5w is possible (33.2 degrees) & maybe a bit more ... signal strengths are stretching it for practical use on those outer lnbs but it can be done.

[logiciel]

19 and 13 are plenty strong enough, and I guess 23 and 9 might be too?

[ant_thomas]

Good stuff! Better get looking for a South facing balcony!

[kevkbuk]

Motorised Zone 2 Sky dish???

[ant_thomas]

Originally Posted by kevkbuk

Motorised Zone 2 Sky dish???

Tempting, but possibly going to be too big. If I can get away with a Zone 1 then I'll definitely go for that. I can only really seem to find 43cm Zone 1 dishes rather than the larger 50cm dish which you see around (well, I do!)

[logiciel]

My understanding is that Zone 1 dishes are 59 by 43 and Zone 2 are 80 by 60.

[pedro2000uk]

Originally Posted by logiciel

My understanding is that Zone 1 dishes are 59 by 43 and Zone 2 are 80 by 60.

On area, Raven sky dishes are equal to the area of circles of 45cm 54cm & 64cm, (it's Raven that make the 54cm btw), the midi if you like & better for DVB-S2 in zone 1 areas IMO -

there are other makes of sky dish that vary the zone one size & their quality & other brands equal to Raven (Invacom etc)

don't think there's a zone 2 that is 80 wide - I'd buy them if there were & of decent quality, even better if they'd make one about an 80 or 85 on area.

Even on a zone one on a motor done well (they need a mod or 2) you can get over 30 satellites & over 5000 channels- .. Ideal to put 'very' high up to get big arcs.

[logiciel]

Zone 2 Sky Satellite Dish Quad LNB Freesat PVR HD Plus | eBay
?

[ant_thomas]

There is an inbetween dish which I have asked about before. I know it exists because there is one on my parents house.

There is the 43cm high Zone 1, the large Zone 2s and a dish inbetween, I'm guessing that is the 50cm high dish.

Wikipedia mentions them - Minidish - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not sure how accurate the information is though.

[ant_thomas]

What size are the Hughes dishes that are on a lot of shops and supermarkets?

[pedro2000uk]

Originally Posted by logiciel

Zone 2 Sky Satellite Dish Quad LNB Freesat PVR HD Plus | eBay
?

They are about 74 x 54 = 128 / 2 = 64cm on reflector area.. hence the size 64- you don't add the rim or raised area at the edge.

[pedro2000uk]

Originally Posted by ant_thomas

What size are the Hughes dishes that are on a lot of shops and supermarkets?

I think they are about 80 on area. Did try to get hold of some a bit back- what bothers me is they go rusty on the face & so quickly & not in coastal areas- poor show there IMO. The L brackets they use are decent though- that's how an L bracket should be made - not the thin, malleable rubbish you see so much of on fleebay etc...

[Ghostleader]

Originally Posted by pedro2000uk

I think they are about 80 on area. Did try to get hold of some a bit back- what bothers me is they go rusty on the face & so quickly & not in coastal areas- poor show there IMO..

Your not kidding, any that have been placed where theres rain water passing over slate before then falling on to there dish face rust up like a muther f-er.

[Ghostleader]

A rare beast I captured today:

A Raven G90 with botch job WNC $ky LNB on it.


Side view with a view of the absolutely shocking Fortec type mount, oof garbage:

[ant_thomas]

Damn, North facing balcony that isn't on the corner of the building.

I also have a feeling there's only one satellite feed inside the apartment for 28.2 rather than a twin socket. I will find out for sure in a month though.

[Ghostleader]

Originally Posted by ant_thomas

Damn, North facing balcony that isn't on the corner of the building.

I also have a feeling there's only one satellite feed inside the apartment for 28.2 rather than a twin socket. I will find out for sure in a month though.

Sounds bad mate, ma fingers are crossed for you.

[pedro2000uk]

Originally Posted by ant_thomas

Damn, North facing balcony that isn't on the corner of the building.

I also have a feeling there's only one satellite feed inside the apartment for 28.2 rather than a twin socket. I will find out for sure in a month though.

That's not the end of the world - there's still plenty of tricks to still get just about any satellite/ multi lnb access down to the flat.

[ant_thomas]

Originally Posted by pedro2000uk

That's not the end of the world - there's still plenty of tricks to still get just about any satellite/ multi lnb access down to the flat.

I'm intrigued!

I will definitely find out just how restrictive the building management are with these things when I move in. And I'll no doubt be asking plenty of questions!

What are the usual methods in these situations?

[pedro2000uk]

Originally Posted by ant_thomas

I'm intrigued!

I will definitely find out just how restrictive the building management are with these things when I move in. And I'll no doubt be asking plenty of questions!

What are the usual methods in these situations?

Number one is there are European rulings & legal implications if you are prevented from having a dish that you might want to read up on ..... or without actually installing a new dish or coax run, you could use offset LNBs on the existing main system dish & use a custom bracket so that nothing actually interferes or touches the system dish & then splice into your feed with a diseqc switch after the multiswitch (if there is a multiswitch).

[ant_thomas]

It seems I may actually have a corner balcony so mounting a dish looks like a possibility.

The horizontal balcony pole isn't round but flat.

There's plenty of balcony mounts for round poles. What's the best way to mount a dish on a flat balcony rail?

[ant_thomas]

Also, what's the general view on flat coax cable to bridge windows/patio doors?

Worth using?

[davemurgatroyd2]

Originally Posted by ant_thomas

Also, what's the general view on flat coax cable to bridge windows/patio doors?

Worth using?

I use them on holidays with a portable camping dish and they are OK although I found some signal loss and an increased risk of interference from things such as DECT and WiFi devices. If possible I try to use air bricks and other forms of ventilation with normal cable if possible in semi permanent installls.

[ant_thomas]

Still looking for a suitable balcony mount.

Hopefully this picture will help (it is a bit poor though)

The purple line points south/south east. I need a mount to attach to a flat balcony rail

and here without the added drawings.

[ant_thomas]

No suggestions or am I better making a new post for the topic?

I've thought of buying two poles. One fixed to the rail with some metal or wood and bolted with some of the pole mount style fittings. Then the other fixed to that and the dish via a balcony mount.

Does that sound sensible?

[logiciel]

It looks like the situation defeats our expert installers!
How far out does the horizontal tube have to go?

[ant_thomas]

Not sure yet, I will find out later this week but I'm hoping less than 60cm.

[pedro2000uk]

Originally Posted by ant_thomas

No suggestions or am I better making a new post for the topic?

I've thought of buying two poles. One fixed to the rail with some metal or wood and bolted with some of the pole mount style fittings. Then the other fixed to that and the dish via a balcony mount.

Does that sound sensible?

There's quite a few brackets, poles & clamp designs that could be modified to do the job- I'm not sure of the construction detail there - is that steel plate on brick edging the wall vertically? & the detail on the railing & that thin mesh don't look best to fix to easily, otherwise you could have clamped to / through it with either an L bracket or swan neck with (custom) plates to match the holes to get that standoff round the corner - a zone one AZ/EL bracket will help to add standoff.

Maybe a swan neck bolted inside the railings.. (if there's anything to bold to)

The last one I did anything like that we welded it to the railings but they weren't bothered.

[ant_thomas]

Thanks for the replies. Once I get the keys I will have a proper idea of what is required and I'll take a few photos.

What's the best place to get two suitable poles from if I go down that route? Somewhere like B&Q?