What 'n' LNB do I need, quad, octo?

[serialhobbyist]

I've currently got Sky+. I'm about to move house and there's no dish so I'm going to have to get one installed. I'm also thinking about getting a DVB-S/S2 card for my HTPC so I can get the Freesat (HD) channels.

I've done a bit of poking about the forums and it seems that I can use the same dish for Sky and Freesat, as long as I have an LNB with the right number of 'doo-dads'.

What's not clear to me is how many 'doo-dads' I need. Is it one-per-cable (i.e. two for each Sky+ box and one for each PCI card? (the one I'm looking at is an Hauppauge HVR-4400 which seems to have one F-connector).

I'm planning ahead and thinking of getting extra cables put in for another room - will it do the 'doo-dads' in the LNB any harm if they're connected but unused for an extended period of time?

SH

P.S. Sorry about the repeated use of 'doo-dads' but I can't work out what they're called.

 

[ciaran2506]

I've currently got Sky+. I'm about to move house and there's no dish so I'm going to have to get one installed. I'm also thinking about getting a DVB-S/S2 card for my HTPC so I can get the Freesat (HD) channels.

I've done a bit of poking about the forums and it seems that I can use the same dish for Sky and Freesat, as long as I have an LNB with the right number of 'doo-dads'.

What's not clear to me is how many 'doo-dads' I need. Is it one-per-cable (i.e. two for each Sky+ box and one for each PCI card? (the one I'm looking at is an Hauppauge HVR-4400 which seems to have one F-connector).

I'm planning ahead and thinking of getting extra cables put in for another room - will it do the 'doo-dads' in the LNB any harm if they're connected but unused for an extended period of time?

SH

P.S. Sorry about the repeated use of 'doo-dads' but I can't work out what they're called.

As you are planning to expand into other rooms, you may as well buy an octo, as the price difference between them is nothing really

 

[choddo2006]

Doodads=connections or outputs. Yes it's one per cable. You can get distribution boxes which can use a single pair of cables to serve multiple tuners but generally it's easiest to just run twin wires to each box.

And yes, probably is just one for the pc card. Only allows recording or watching one channel?

And no, connecting them up wont do them any harm.

 

[Tight Git]

Yes, you can never have too many "doodads", otherwise known as future proofing.

I installed an octo LNB a couple of years ago, even though I only had a couple of standard digiboxes at the time.

I've since replaced one with Sky+ and have just added Sky HD.

Come DSO in 2012, I expect to add another Sky+ which will then mean all 8 cables are in use.

The only downside of an octo is that they are quite heavy.

So, expect to check the dish alignment after a couple of weeks, or arrange extra support for the lnb arm using piano wire or similar.

Good luck.

 

[davemurgatroyd2]

Doodads=connections or outputs. Yes it's one per cable. You can get distribution boxes which can use a single pair of cables to serve multiple tuners but generally it's easiest to just run twin wires to each box.

And yes, probably is just one for the pc card. Only allows recording or watching one channel?

And no, connecting them up wont do them any harm.

The days of two input multiswitches in this country are long gone. I have just removed two from my loft from the analogue days which have not been used for over 15 years (although on testing them they were still functioning). Any full range multiroom system now requires a four input multiswitch fed from a quattro lnb (quad compatable ones now seem to be no longer made).

 

[serialhobbyist]

Thanks, everyone, for your replies: octo it is.