Advice Needed 1.5m GIBERTINI or 1.8m Raven?

[mapperuo]

Afternoon!

Bit of a tough one here. I have a 1.3m dish, I couldn't even tell you what brand it is, it's off fleebay. I use it to get feeds for various space launches for a project I work on. The dish is fine for these - usually - there have been occasions where the feeds are weak, especially during rain. I live in Fife, Scotland so reasonably north.

Feeds are usually on 10e, 4.9e. I also have a bit of a hobby of scanning for other feeds when I'm not working so I can't lie, having a larger dish to play with sounds exciting.

I've been thinking of what to upgrade to and I see two options but with big price differences:

1.5m Gibertini - Could risk putting that on a diseqc as I have a sheltered location. Dish, motor, concrete etc probably £380 range.

1.8m Raven - This is the tricky one, All the second hand ones on ebay are pick up only and I've yet to see one in Scotland, so the option I see if buying one from a certain store that does a complete package - £1600 range.

HUGE difference clearly. Both within budget however.

Question I have is, am I likely to see a huge difference between these dishes?

I have no experience in installing a polar mount with V Box motors etc, I like the sound of it though, And the photos of other folks installs they look very solid compared to a diseqc.

 

[Channel Hopper]

For £1500 I'd travel ooop north and install a motorised Precision 1.8 for you

 

[gibertini]

1.5m Gibertini - Could risk putting that on a diseqc as I have a sheltered location. Dish, motor, concrete etc probably £380 range.

theres no way a diseqc motor will carry a 1.5m gibby and it needs a polarmount/jack combo. i guess its down to price but be aware a 1.8m dish is huge, as is the 1.5m gibby but going from a 1.3m isnt that much bigger

 

[sonnetpete]

The 150 Gibby is available with either a polar mount or an AZ/EL mount but having looked at the photo I've attached you'd only get it on a Stab usals motor where the stub is mounted upwards. Even then it's not a project I'd contemplate, go for a polar mount and jack...

 

[wod]

You would be better off with 36volt system for a large dish/setup.

The speed of moving the dish too is better with a actuator motor for feed scanning.

What about a laminas dish from Poland, similar construction to a cm dish but lighter and still fibreglass based.

 

[sonnetpete]

I was going to plug Laminas myself Wod but thought it was a bit nepotistic having one LOL. My supplier in France has a 1.8M with a polar mount for just over €1000

http://www.2galli.fr/boutique/fiche_produit.cfm?ref=AS1800POL&type=30&code_lg=lg_fr&num=21

 

[zorbua]

Don't even contemplate of putting a Gibby 1.5 on an diseqc motor. No way. I have two 1.2 m Gibbys on a diseqc motor and although they haven't given me any trouble I can 'sense' that's the limit they can take when moving along the Arc. The 1.5 Gibby that I have is mounted on polar mount. The first photo shows a 1m Gibertini Dish, the middle one is a 1.5, and the far end one a 1.2 Gibby mounted on a Diseqc Motor. Second photo shows a 1.2 Gibby. Photos taken the day before yesterday.

 

[mapperuo]

Understood. So any larger dish for me will need ditch diseqc motors - which makes me think, 1.8m is the ideal upgrade then rather than 1.5m as I have to replace everything anyway.

For £1500 I'd travel ooop north and install a motorised Precision 1.8 for you

Quick google shows this to be a Primefocus? How does that compare in signal strength to the 1.8m Offset Raven?


Appreciate all the answers so far!

Aaron

 

[Captain Jack]

I believe PF dishes are of lower efficiency but never tried it out in reality.

 

[mapperuo]

Google shows

1.8 Precision:
Gain @ 10.95 GHz 44.8 dB, Gain @ 11.70 GHz 45.6 dB, Gain @ 12.70 GHz 46.4 dB

1.8m Raven:
Gain 45.5 dBi at 11.95Ghz.

Couldn't find an exact match for freq but would seem the PF is a tad better, which is odd as like you say, I always thought PF's were lower efficiency as the lnb arm is in the view.

The PF is a bit cheaper.. Food for thought indeed.

 

[PaulR]

I know that Raven make an offset 1.8m but is this a 1.8m PF? Size for size an offset dish will have higher gain (but lesser selectivity) than a PF due to the different f/D figure - i.e. a PF dish is deeper.

If the Raven is an offset then I'm baffled and suspect that the figures are not measuring the same thing.

 

[Captain Jack]

Raven is offset and is the same dish as Andrews and Channel Master

 

[mapperuo]

Raven is offset and is the same dish as Andrews and Channel Master

Thats correct and from what I read about, is the Apple Computing of dishes.. quality wise etc, Everyone rates highly of it. Precision I have heard less about...

 

[Journey]

I recently purchased the raven 1.8m from a certain online store and it actually has the "channel master" branding on the back of the dish

 

[wod]

Thats correct and from what I read about, is the Apple Computing of dishes.. quality wise etc, Everyone rates highly of it. Precision I have heard less about...

Precision dishes are made under another name now elite antennas something like that.

They are excellent quality as they are one piece spun aluminium dish, a lot lighter than a cm but much more easy to damage in transport etc.

 

[PaulR]

Raven is offset and is the same dish as Andrews and Channel Master

Yes I know that. My point was that the gain figures are not explainable with the data given. As there are both 2.4m PF and 2.4m OS Channelmaster dishes available I was wondering if there was a little known 1.8m PF dish as well.

As I said, I am at a loss to explain it otherwise.

 

[Captain Jack]

Yes, I am not sure either. My information came from others' say-so. I don't know whether PF will actually perform the same as a similar sized offset.

I guess a PF will pick up less ground noise as it's pointing further up towards the sky. But offset doesn't have various LNB arms in the way. I suspect there will be a number of factors in this. Manufacturer's gain quotes are likely to be theoretical rather than based on practice.

 

[mapperuo]

Googling around I'm being confused by a Primesat 1.8m PF, Is that the same dish as a Precision 1.8m?

 

[Captain Jack]

I think they are different but not sure...

 

[wod]

These are who make precision dishes under a new name http://www.elite-antennas.com

Primesat are a brand name used by sat superstore I believe.