Run a dish under glass?

Forums › Freeview (DVB-T/DVB-S) › Run a dish under glass?

wally22

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#34642 26-May-2009 19:02

Hi there,
1st time posting to the Geekzone Forums. 1st time satellite user. or going to be in a day or so.
Have an el-cheapo satellite kit arriving, ex Trademe seller free2view, 90cm, 811u and bits. Just wondering, as I have line of sight from inside, is there any reason I can't point it through the (closed) window to get a feel for it all? I have just the spot on the kitchen table and it would save all that going outside in the cold weather.
Any other comments? Thanks,
Wally

mjb

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#218106 26-May-2009 19:09

Nope, not at all. should operate fine.

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cyril7

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#218111 26-May-2009 19:17

No glass is a problem it will create a loss that will probably render no go, some folk have managed to make it work, but you need to have glass of an approprate thinkness and most commonly available window glass is not it. Perspex is ok.

By the way a 90cm dish on the kitchen bench is a little inconvenient, no? bit like an elephant in the drawing room. A small amount of time in the cold to set it up and you never go there again for years on end.

Cyril

mjb

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#218112 26-May-2009 19:20

Dammit, you're right Cyril7 - I was thinking about a different scenario, not satellite. duh. (Microwave linking)

Anyway, I think he means dish on kitchen table for testing till it's all working, then external mounting :)

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wally22

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#218118 26-May-2009 19:34

Exactly. Setup and play around with it inside and install outside later when I "know" what I am doing. It is the kitchen table, and it is a large table. What sort of losses would there be? I thought with a 90cm that some loss would be OK.
It just means I will have to plonk it on the ground outside while I familiarise myself with things. Being a newbie I want to take it slowly, and I do not want to scramble up onto the roof 6 times to fix my stupid mistakes.
Thanks

cyril7

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#218122 26-May-2009 19:51

The losses will make it not work, simply save youself the hassle play with it outdoors.

Cyril

Brunzy

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#218149 26-May-2009 21:31

wally22: Hi there,
1st time posting to the Geekzone Forums. 1st time satellite user. or going to be in a day or so.
Have an el-cheapo satellite kit arriving, ex Trademe seller free2view, 90cm, 811u and bits. Just wondering, as I have line of sight from inside, is there any reason I can't point it through the (closed) window to get a feel for it all? I have just the spot on the kitchen table and it would save all that going outside in the cold weather.
Any other comments? Thanks,
Wally

Probably better keeping it inside,most of the trade me stuff is junk ie poor quality

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cyril7

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#218152 26-May-2009 21:40

Satch

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#218281 27-May-2009 11:57

How about just opening the window in the kitchen? :)

wally22

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#218284 27-May-2009 12:20

Too cold and too many bugs!

Jaxson

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#218303 27-May-2009 13:16

Take an extension lead with you outside and run a tv outside, or put it in the window so you can see it from outside if you have no one else around to scream out to you when they see a picture.

It's both easy and difficult to get a dish locked on, but it really helps if it's pre programmed for freeview, so you'll get a picture right away when you hit the spot. I've done it with the dish leaning on a plastic outdoor table and held in place with a garden fork temporarily to test all the gear worked.

If you want to try inside, then we can't persuade you anyway. Otherwise, don't make life harder by trying to lock on through a window, it will frustrate you and introduce another hassle to testing if it's ok.

my 2c

gumboot

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#218342 27-May-2009 15:07

If you can do it on the ground first it is way easier to prove all your gear works.

If you are getting good signal strength but no quality rotate the LNB around.

For the one you have bought you will have to, from memory, standing behind the dish with the cable attached underneath the LNB rotate it about 45 degrees to the right.

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allstarnz

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#218361 27-May-2009 16:14

yeah, you could always make a ground mount. All you do is just get a couple of solid railway sleepers or similar, and bolt the mount of the satellite stand to it.

bazzer

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#218371 27-May-2009 16:34

gumboot: If you can do it on the ground first it is way easier to prove all your gear works.

That's what she said!

wally22

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#218378 27-May-2009 17:10

Hey, thanks for all of your inputs to my query. I have assimilated all of the advice and decided to mount it temporarily onto a old pallet sitting on the ground. Railway sleepers are in short supply.
I know that the gear I have purchased is not the Audi of the STB world but I am not expecting miracles.
My next project, however, is another story...

allstarnz

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#218382 27-May-2009 17:16

if you want sleepers you can buy them from somewhere like Bunnings. But as for the ground mount, make sure it's well stuck into the ground if you plan to leave it there unattended on a windy day. I had my dish blow over a few times. I ended up attaching 250mm stakes to my sleepers and now it's all good.