Not so newbie - buying advice needed

[willow5]

Hi all -

It's been a while since I've been on the sat scene. I started off with a TM5000DAPCI and motorised set up but moved houses so starting all over again. I am looking to you experts for some advice please.

So onto my requirements/questions/random thoughts:

1) I would ideally like to pick up Ku and C bands with the same set up but not sure how practical this actually is
2) Is CS the only way for picking up premium channels these days or can you still program a card/cam ? If so, are there any card/cam recommendations please?
3) I was looking at getting a Dreambox 8000 but struggling to understand whether I need a seperate positioner for the dish - please can someone advise ? What is USUALS and do I need a seperate 48v positioner ?
4) Looking at this forum, it seems like a VU+ box is also good, what are your recommendations between a dreambox and VU ?
5) Can I install a quad LNB on a motirised set up ?
6) What is the best motorised dish and motor to get ? Is it a H-H one or something else ?
7) Can anyone recommend any decent suppliers ? It seems that there is only one key supplier for dreamboxes in the uk based in Slough ?

Thats all I can think of for now, I will update if I think of anything else...thanks in advance for all your replies

Cheers

[ramjet]

Hi all -

It's been a while since I've been on the sat scene. I started off with a TM5000DAPCI and motorised set up but moved houses so starting all over again. I am looking to you experts for some advice please.

So onto my requirements/questions/random thoughts:

1) I would ideally like to pick up Ku and C bands with the same set up but not sure how practical this actually is
2) Is CS the only way for picking up premium channels these days or can you still program a card/cam ? If so, are there any card/cam recommendations please?
3) I was looking at getting a Dreambox 8000 but struggling to understand whether I need a seperate positioner for the dish - please can someone advise ? What is USUALS and do I need a seperate 48v positioner ?
4) Looking at this forum, it seems like a VU+ box is also good, what are your recommendations between a dreambox and VU ?
5) Can I install a quad LNB on a motirised set up ?
6) What is the best motorised dish and motor to get ? Is it a H-H one or something else ?
7) Can anyone recommend any decent suppliers ? It seems that there is only one key supplier for dreamboxes in the uk based in Slough ?

Thats all I can think of for now, I will update if I think of anything else...thanks in advance for all your replies

Cheers

1) generally this can be done with 2 boxes and one feed , or 2 boxes and separate feeds, KU being the common one
2) more or less , although some channels can be got using softcams and ucas , like irdeto bulsat on 39e, little on cams or cards now
3) most motors are diseqc v1.2 and usals , google it , so no vbox positioner required unless you get a superjack and polar mount, so up to 1.1 metres is usually usals/diseqc so no positioner , and no 36 volt motors either
4) depends on which box you actually want to buy , and budget , various models in both ranges , and some clones too
5) yes , single , twin , quad or octo can be used
6) some say stab , others say darkmotor, some say tm2600, I just upgraded to a diseqc/usals darkmotor superior myself

[willow5]

Thank you Ramjet, very useful answers. Just a couple of clarification points if I may:

1) For 2 boxes, 1 feed for Ku and C band, what type of dish do I require for this, is it a standard dish or does it require a special LNB ? I previously understood that C band dishes require the LNB's to be in the centre of the dish, is this not the case ?
2) what can I pick up using ucas / softcams - is there a list somewhere ? I am keen on picking up some of music channels on 19.2 or 13 degrees east. Can I clear any of the following encryptions using ucas/softcam:

Conax
Cryptoworks
Mediaguard 2
Nagravision 3
Viaccess 2.5
Viaccess 3.0
Viaccess 4.0
Viaccess 5.0

Also are all CS sites/servers chargeable or are there any free ones ?

3) On the USALS/Diseqc v1.2, do I only require the LNB cable to be run to the dish and no other cables as the motor is powered from the LNB cable ?

Also I thought of two other questions:

a) Does the dish need to be a solid dish or can I put up a 1m mesh / clear dish without affecting the gain ?

b) Are there any receivers that automatically update the channel lists or do you need to do a manual scan every time there is a change on a transponder ? What is a blind scan by the way ?

Thanks once again for your help

[ramjet]

Thank you Ramjet, very useful answers. Just a couple of clarification points if I may:

1) For 2 boxes, 1 feed for Ku and C band, what type of dish do I require for this, is it a standard dish or does it require a special LNB ? I previously understood that C band dishes require the LNB's to be in the centre of the dish, is this not the case ?
2) what can I pick up using ucas / softcams - is there a list somewhere ? I am keen on picking up some of music channels on 19.2 or 13 degrees east. Can I clear any of the following encryptions using ucas/softcam:

Conax
Cryptoworks
Mediaguard 2
Nagravision 3
Viaccess 2.5
Viaccess 3.0
Viaccess 4.0
Viaccess 5.0

Also are all CS sites/servers chargeable or are there any free ones ?

3) On the USALS/Diseqc v1.2, do I only require the LNB cable to be run to the dish and no other cables as the motor is powered from the LNB cable ?

Also I thought of two other questions:

a) Does the dish need to be a solid dish or can I put up a 1m mesh / clear dish without affecting the gain ?

b) Are there any receivers that automatically update the channel lists or do you need to do a manual scan every time there is a change on a transponder ? What is a blind scan by the way ?

Thanks once again for your help

1) I have no idea about C band , but standard dishes tend to use ku band universal lnb,s on an offset arm , like the triax td88 and td110

2) the softcams tend to list the packages they open , so check the dreambox , vu and technomate sections

I dont think you will open any of those newer encryptions with ucas and softcams - so no (again check the softcam lists and any biss lists)

most freebies are c**p , most are payment jobbies unless you actually do CS in the true sense of the two actual words

3) yes, one long cable from receiver to motor , also one short cable from motor to lnb on the dish , any other cables go direct to lnb itself

4) various arguments exist regarding mesh versus solid dishes, I am not convinced it matters apart from hard to get low signal satellites , sly use small mesh on 28e due to high signal levels. I use both

5) only receivers that use the epg like sly or freesat. I would say all the others I have come across require the owner to update the lists themselves by ethernet or usb or by scanning

blind scan is where you set a start and finish frequency etc and the receiver incrementally goes through everything in between and scans , and stores whatever it finds, sometimes breaking the limits of the box parameters (too many transponder or channels or both) it also results in a lot of dross to clearout too, mainly used by feedhunters

I prefer to selectively manually scan using forum updates or ones listed on kos or lyngsat or wherever

some programs like dreamboxedit can download updates from KOS or wherever, then you transfer to the box

most people use premade lists like catseye or likra or billybits or other forum members lists too (depends on the box, no 2 are alike)