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Silver Member Username: AsharfiPost Number: 463 Registered: Aug-06 | Hey LK, Man, I know that you're the champ in satellite stuff and that's why I respect you. Can you please tell me what's C Band, Ku Band satellites are. As well as different satellites with explanation. And some useful sutff that can help me learn about satellites, FTA, and installations, etc. I'm free these days and wanna learn something useful other than editing bins, etc. Thanks for your time, please reply soon. |
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Silver Member Username: Ke5aqnShawnee, OK USA Post Number: 214 Registered: Sep-06 | I am not Lk but will try to help Lk has a post here with a list of good sites for FTA sites found here https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-video/309505.html if you have any more questions please feel free to ask and I will try to find the answer for ya. |
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Silver Member Username: AsharfiPost Number: 466 Registered: Aug-06 | Thanks Jay, I wanna know what's C-Band satellite and what's Ku-Band satellites? As well as other satellite categories. I know those websites. |
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Silver Member Username: Ke5aqnShawnee, OK USA Post Number: 224 Registered: Sep-06 | C band ("compromise" band) is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies, ranging from 4 to 8 GHz. It is an electronic and electrical standard defined by the IEEE. It is primarily used for satellite communications, normally downlink 3.7 -- 4.2 GHz, (LOF 5.150 GHz, uplink 5.9 -- 6.4 GHz), usually via twenty-four 36 MHz-wide transponders on board a satellite. Most C band satellites serving North America use linear polarization, while most of those serving other continents (particularly Intelsat satellites) use circular polarization since ionospheric Faraday Rotation affects C band frequencies, particularly in the tropics. The 802.11a wireless networking standard operates in the 5 GHz area, and some recent-model cordless telephones use frequencies in the 5.8 GHz vicinity. C band satellite dish C band satellite dish The applications include full-time satellite TV networks or raw satellite feeds, although subscription programming also exists. There are over thirty C band satellites in Geosynchronous orbit serving North America, which provide more than 1,000 video channels and countless audio services. In the past, direct C band reception was the only satellite television option available to consumers. Since the introduction of high-powered direct broadcast satellite systems, which normally used small 18-inch (45-cm) stationary dishes (in contrast to the large dishes and motors required by C band systems) in the mid-1990s, the number of homes using C band satellite systems in the United States for general reception has declined precipitously while small-dish systems enjoyed unprecedented success. Despite this, C band satellites continue to be a key important distribution method for cable networks in the United States (to cable head-ends and mini-dish DBS services) and other network/broadcast users. For example, most satellite-distributed syndicated and network television shows are pre-aired for affiliate and Canadian pick-up by C band. Radio stations picking up satellite-fed programming also constitute an important American user of C band, with a major American radio "neighborhood" located on the AMC 8 satellite at the 139°W orbital position. C band came into domination in the 1970s with the launch of Canada's Anik satellites, and Western Union's Westar and RCA's Satcom satellites. Beginning in 1984, the major networks transitioned to full-time satellite delivery for television programs. ABC established a satellite home on the Telstar 301 satellite and later Telstar 302, and CBS launched two transponders on GTE's Comstar D4, later transitioning to Telstar 301 and Telstar 302. NBC maintained a C band feed for the east coast on RCA's Satcom 1R as part of its Skypath affiliate feed service for many years, but opted for Ku band delivery of West coast programming, and other affiliate feeds. Typical antenna sizes on C band capable systems for home reception in North America range from 7.5 to 12 feet (2 to 3.5 m). In other regions of the world, such as Europe and parts of Asia, considerably smaller dishes can be used due to high-powered satellites in this band and more distance between satellites in the orbital arc (as opposed to the two-degree spacing common over North America). C band usage is less common within Europe, where the Ku band has traditionally dominated. C band has been used for international communications between countries and for this purpose the satellite coverage beams have been made very large, typically covering many countries within a particular hemisphere or zone, for example all of Europe and Africa or China and south east Asia. Indeed, many C band satellites have global beams with gigantic coverage areas. For example, the global beam of the Thaicom 3 satellite, positioned at the 78.5°E orbital slot (over the Indian Ocean) has a coverage range extending over most of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Similarly, a satellite over the Atlantic Ocean Region provides coverage, and interconnection, for North and South America plus Europe and Africa. C band direct-to-home reception contrasts with the newer and now more common direct broadcast satellite, which is a completely closed system used to deliver subscription programming to small satellite dishes connected to proprietary receiving equipment. C band is associated with both television receive-only (TVRO) satellite reception systems and "big dish" systems. Big, expensive, dish systems are used where the number of earth station sites is small and the objective is to reduce the satellite power used, and thus cost, per phone call to a minimum. Small ground antennas are inefficient since they need much more power from the satellite (inversely to their area) but small dishes are very appropriate in large networks where the aggregate total cost of very many dishes is the dominant factor. C band is much less affected by rain attenuation than the Ku band and C band is therefore preferred for telecommunications services in heavy rainfall areas. IEEE C band is used in many countries' weather radar systems. |
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Silver Member Username: Ke5aqnShawnee, OK USA Post Number: 225 Registered: Sep-06 | SATELLITE TV Ku-BAND FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Robert Smathers (roberts@nmia.com), author This may be freely distributed provided no modifications are done to it and the header with author and title and distribution policy remains intact. No portions of this FAQ may be posted without the expressed consent of the author -- that means no posting parts of this FAQ on any bulletin board or put in a message. If you are going to post or use it in on a bulletin board or message, it must be complete from beginning header to the end with nothing missing or changed throughout the document. UPDATED 10/04/2002 WHAT IS ON Ku-BAND? There are various types of services on Ku-band. Some of the services include NBC, news feeds, Satellite News Gathering mobile truck uplinks, educational networks, teleconferences, sports backhauls, various other backhauls, international programming, business networks, Single Channel Per Carrier analog audio transmissions and FM Squared audio services. WHAT IS INVOLVED IN A Ku-BAND UPGRADE? If you have an existing C-band system, you will need to check the mesh on your dish if you have a mesh dish. You will also need to purchase a Ku-band LNB and a C/Ku-band feedhorn, and have some coax for the Ku-band LNB. WHAT DISH TYPE IS BEST? A dish that is a one piece or very few pieces. It is better to have a 4 section dish than it is an 8 section or more. The smaller the number of sections, the better parabola shape you have and also the harder it would be to warp the dish (because of the smaller number of seams where the sections come together). With the new generation of powerful Ku-band satellites, one can also get away with a smaller dish, such as a 3 foot, single piece, offset-fed dish. That dish works great for the international services on Telstar 5 Ku-band, Galaxy 10R Ku-band, and for sports backhauls on various Ku-band satellites throughout the arc. WHAT DISH MOUNT TYPE IS BEST? The Horizon-to-Horizon dish mount is the better than a polar mount for Ku-band. Ku-band requires the system to be well aimed and to follow the arc, and the horizon-to-horizon mount follows the whole arc much better than a polar mount. For the 3 foot, one piece dishes, the mount is typically a ring or patio mount, so the user has to adjust both elevation and azimuth to move from satellite to satellite and aiming can become a little tricky at times. WHAT SUPPORT IS BEST? The tri or quad supports are best -- they'll keep the Ku-band feedhorn really stable so winds don't affect critical Ku-band reception. A buttonhook feed can move in the wind and you can easily lose Ku-band reception. It is best to put guy-wires on the buttonhook feed for support if you can't get a tri or quad support. WILL MY SATELLITE DISH WORK FOR Ku-BAND? If you have a solid dish, you should be fine as far as compatibility. If you have a mesh dish, you will have to run a test to see if Ku-band could be done. The test is very simple. You need to measure the "holes" in the mesh. If they are 1/4" or larger, chances are your dish won't reflect Ku-band signals too well and you might want to consider getting a new mesh dish where the hole size is smaller. WHAT KIND OF SATELLITE RECEIVER WILL WORK? For analog reception: You will need a receiver whose IF Block input frequency will match that of a Ku-band LNB. Once you have that matched, you will also need to have the ability to invert the picture polarity as well as tune the Ku-band LNB signal. There is no standard layout for the Ku-band satellites. One type of satellite will usually have a different uplink/downlink frequency format than another type (GSTAR vs. Telstar 400 series, for example). For digital reception: By far the most common digital format used on the Ku-band is DVB using the main profile video format. Some transmissions use the studio profile video format (please consult the FAQ in the "Other Info-files" section for more information about main profile vs. studio profile DVB video. Consumer receivers for DVB can be had for as little as around $200 new. One can even find some receivers in the secondary market for less than that. Several public television stations are fed on Ku-band in Digicipher II format. One can use a commercial Digicipher II receiver, a 4DTV full- blown receiver, or even the 4DTV sidecar receiver to receive some PBS stations. WILL A WARPED DISH WORK? No. You need to have a very parabolic dish. Warpage will cause signal mis-reflection and you won't be getting the best performance out of your system. To check your dish for warpage, you will need to get some string and some tape. Take one string and stretch it as tight as you can and anchor it to the dish edges with the tape. Make this string go "north" and "south" across the face of your dish. Do the same thing with the other string, yet go "east" and "west" across the face of the dish. Make sure both strings are tight. If the strings do not come together in the center, then your dish is warped and you will need to find some way to take the warp out for maximum performance. If the strings touch in the center, your dish looks very good as far as not being warped. WHAT TO DO IF I DON'T HAVE A Ku-BAND CABLE? For any upgrade to Ku-band, you will need another length of coax cable to go from your Ku-band LNB to your satellite receiver. WHAT TYPE OF CABLE SHOULD I USE? I prefer to use RG-6 since it has pretty good low loss figures at the 950-1450 frequencies that your Ku-band LNB will be sending to your receiver. RG-59 works okay if you cannot easily find RG-6 or if you don't want to spend a few more cents a foot on the RG-6 coax. WHAT ABOUT INSTALLATION? (F/D ADJUSTMENT) The best advice is to follow the instructions that come with the dual-band feedhorn. From the instructions I've seen (for a Chaparral and an ADL feedhorn), you want to first measure your dish's F/D (focal length over diameter) and slide the throat of the feedhorn through the scaler ring and tighten it down where the F/D ratio marked on the throat matches up with the marking on the scaler ring that it has to. WHAT ABOUT INSTALLATION? (FOCAL LENGTH ADJUSTMENT) Once you have set the throat/scaler ring assembly to the right F/D ratio, you want to attach the feedhorn to the support (quad, tri, or buttonhook) and, without disturbing the F/D setting you did in step 4a above, move the feedhorn in and out until the focal length is set. You want the focal length to equal the length from the center of the dish to about 1/8" inside the throat of the feedhorn. Tighten down the feedhorn to the support once you have set the focal length. WHAT ABOUT INSTALLATION? (CENTERING) The final step in the process is to make sure you feedhorn is centered in aiming into the dish. There are various gadgets to do this (one being a laser pointer to tell you where the feedhorn is pointed to), but I have had great luck doing the F/D ratio and the focal adjustment correctly and then "eyeball"ing the centering part to make sure it looks like it is properly centered. WHAT ABOUT INSTALLATION? (RE-TRACKING THE ARC) In many cases, you will have to retrack the dish. Ku-band has a smaller wavelength signal, and therefore it is not as forgiving for reception as a C-band signal is. That provides a benefit. It is best to use the Ku-band when tracking a dish because of its unforgiveness. Once you track up a dish perfectly on Ku-band, you will also have very good tracking on C-band as well. I prefer the three satellite method of tracking due to its simplicity. What you first do is peak your dish on the satellite due south of you. After that is done, you move you dish to a satellite that is as far east as you can see and peak up on that. Make a mark on the elevation adjustment screw. Move your dish back to the center satellite and peak up on it again. Next, move your dish to the extreme western Ku-band satellite you can get and peak on it. Make another mark. The final step involves you finding the center of the two marks and setting your elevation adjustment. That is a very good, easy-to-do method of tracking for do-it-yourselfers. WHAT ABOUT Ku-BAND FREQUENCIES/FORMATS? There are many various formats for the Ku-band satellites. Any good reference book or satellite channel chart will have a list of these satellite formats and the downlink frequencies. TROUBLE-SHOOTING: WHAT IF I DON'T GET A SIGNAL? No signal could mean (and the suggested solution): 1) You are not tracking the arc -- check the tracking of your dish 2) You are not on a Ku-band satellite -- move your dish east and west in search of a Ku-band satellite 3) Water in your feedhorn -- make sure there is no water in the feedhorn throat or waveguides -- water is a good signal blocker 4) Coax cable bad -- make sure the cable is continuous and not chopped or have rusted wires. Check and make sure the connectors are still on properly and are not rusted, loose, etc. 5) Improper focal length -- check your focal length 6) Your Ku-band LNB is bad. Borrow a friend's LNB or have someone hook up your LNB to see if it works on their system. TROUBLE-SHOOTING: WHAT IF I GET A C-BAND SIGNAL? You have the wrong coax connected to your Ku-band input. With your C-band LNB connected to the Ku-band input, you'll get inverse video C-band signals that will show up on channels they are not supposed to be on. A switch of the C and Ku-band cables should get the cable to the right input and correct that problem. TROUBLE SHOOTING: WHAT ABOUT A WEAK SIGNAL? A weak signal could result from the feedhorn not centered, the focal length wrong, you not being right on the arc, you not being right on a Ku-band satellite, a cable that is slowly going bad, water in the feedhorn, nests in the feedhorn among other factors. WHAT PROBLEMS OCCUR IN Ku-BAND RECEPTION WITH A PERFECT ALIGNED SYSTEM? The major problem with Ku-band reception with a perfect aligned system is rain fade and what I call "snow fade". "Snow fade" is what I call the situation when snow accumulates on a dish and changes the focal point of the dish. The focal point affects Ku-band much more than C-band (since you have some tolerance in reception of C-band signals). Another problem is the wind -- you can be right on a Ku-band satellite and a gust of wind can come and move your dish off of the satellite. Horizon-to-horizon mounts are better fighters of wind gusts than polar mount systems are. |
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Silver Member Username: Ke5aqnShawnee, OK USA Post Number: 226 Registered: Sep-06 | Their you go Those are good copy's I have saved on my computer here. If you have any more questions feel free to ask |
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Silver Member Username: SatscannerBeaversbush, Sportsmans P... Great White ... Post Number: 749 Registered: Nov-06 | Hey jay, your really good at finding info and links.Maybe you can help me find info/ pics on pulling cardless 322 cams without destroying them.Not meaning to hijack the thread but no one answered my post regarding this,thanx. |
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Silver Member Username: AsharfiPost Number: 467 Registered: Aug-06 | Thanls A LOT, Jay! You rock! |
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Silver Member Username: AsharfiPost Number: 468 Registered: Aug-06 | Jay, I work with this website ( The second website is NOT a DSS website, which means they don't carry files for FTA receiver, but they let you put links on that webiste (file links, etc.) |
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Silver Member Username: TapemanPost Number: 384 Registered: Oct-06 | Scanner Can you snap a photo Post it in "Ask King" If I can't I know someone that can But I have to see its connection I'm good at this |