Questions about DishNetwork in D.R...

YES. with a 6' fibreglass dish, available here, you can pick up all the programming you get at present. If you presently have 2 working on the same account, you can leave one with a friend or relative back home or bring both.

"I Want My "ABC"!...and "NBC" and "CBS" too!!!!

Is it just me,or have all the subscribers to TeleCable National in Santo Domingo been without the "Big Three" National USA Networks for the last two days????
Cris Colon

fibreglass dish

Eddy, I heard that they were manufacturing dishes here. Do you know where? Any idea of quality?

As a rule, all satellite people, for example SIPODOM in Sosua, sell both local made and imported dishes. I don't know what the current price is. The imported are more expensive than the local made. Some local mades out there as "Nearly" as good as the imported. I have 3 local and 1 imported and I can't really tell the diffrence in signal quality. It all has to do with the installation. A local well aligned will give you a better signal that an imported out of alignement.

SIPODOM?

What's that? Where's that? How much? An acquaintance in Cabarete mentioned that that there was a factory making these dishes. I thought he said in La Vega. Have you heard of them?

That depends on the size of the mesh screen. For 1-2GHz you're going to need holes in the metal to be no larger than what you'd find on a window screen as a general rule.

First it is less cost effective to import the 8? dish than it would be to purchase a comparable dish here. If you already have the dish in your possession and are willing to neglect the cost of the dish than it will probably be slightly cheaper to bring the dish you have. However the headache of transporting, shipping, costums, transporting and finally finding and paying an installer may not be worth it for you. Usually when you purchase a dish here they will deliver and install it or that can be negotiated as part of the purchase deal.

In general a solid dish is better than a perforated dish regardless of wavelength. The only real benefit offered by a perforated dish is a lower wind-loading footprint. Eddy hit the nail on the head. The key is alignment. You are better off with a well-aligned 6? dish than a poorly aligned 8? dish. Also, the bigger the dish the harder it is to aligned properly because as the parabolic reflector increases in size, it will decrease in aperture (its beam width) reducing its field of view. ? Think of it like when you zoom in with a camcorder, the more you zoom in the bigger the main object gets but the less scenery you?ll have in your field of view. Therefore it is imperative that you focus on the main object (satellite) or you will miss it completely. Note that 1/4 degree of alignment error at the antenna equals a few miles at 22,500 miles away ? were the satellite is

All locally made reflectors are not created equal and you should get recommendations for the manufacturer you are considering before you buy. The locally made dishes or NOT solid as are the imported one. The dishes are made with a wire mesh (window screening) sandwiched in fiberglass resin and affixed to a ?MT? tube rib. The surface error of these reflectors is mediocre at best. The better manufacture will install 2 sheets of mesh in the fiberglass resin at 45 degrees from each other, doubling the amount of screen mesh used and doubling the effective reflective surface area of the reflector obtain better overall results (gain).

Mostly true NL.

But remember even though we're not in one of the spot beams for dbs here this is a highpower signal. So this kind of minutae really matters not. Because of the high signal strength it's not difficult to find and align.

I have always found though that you need to do your best to eliminate as many variable as possible so when you finally ending up searching for the reason you're not getting a signal there's less ground to cover. Make sure that the dish mount tracks the satellite band properly. Make sure that the arms holding the LNB keep the LNB right at the dish's focal point. Then set an approximate elevation and sweep back and forth slowly to the highest signal. Then peak the elevation and go back and do the azimuth all over again.

As to shipping it in, if it's a mesh dish, I wouldn't. Along with all the other points NL made I would add that mesh dishes are very easy to destroy. And Aduana will tear it up if your shipper doesn't. I had a few torn to shreds like that. Not worth it. If it's not already here, buy one here.

SIPODOM is a local company operated by a friend of mine. His name Dolphy Miltz 571-2217. He is the only one in Sosua. I have recommended him to a few people that were satisfied with his prices and services. I've beeng using his company for about 15 years now. He just finished an installation in Puerto Plata and the customer e-mailed me that everything was working fine. I'm sure he has some in stock.

Not Lurking was pretty clear in his response concerning a metal dish. Unless you're using it for C or Ku bands, you'll get a much better signal from a 6' Fibreglass. Heck I've thrown away a couple of 16' mesh dishes.

Cool!

Thanks Eddy! Nice to have another resource like that around. Sometimes you get tired of scrounging things up on your own all the time.

After reading all the above, I'm still confused!?!?!
Is it possible to buy a complete system here in DR and get all the chanels???
Alternately, I have a Sony system with a standard(small) dish purchased from Sears in the US and am wondering if I can use it here with a larger dish??? I'm not sure if the d--- thing is still functioning or not. Where can I get it checked out, a NEW card, a NEW dish, and get it installed without having to register it in the US and STILL get the US, English speaking chanels I want??
All comments, advice, instructions greatly appreciated.
If needbe, email me.
The 8 chanels I get here are all in Spanish with the associated novellas, etc. and I need more international input.

Texas Bill

Bill, do a search on the word 'satellite' and you'll find tons of info here. We just had a long discussion about this subject a month ago too: http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24640&highlight=satellite

Well splicing definitely no, hijacking yes. The Dish Network and DTV systems supply a phantom voltage to the LNB from the receiver. You could damage your equipment or his if you simply insert your stuff inline with a 'y' type split. Connect your equipment via cable from the receiver to LNB with nothing else in between.

Are you sure your buddy is picking up Echostar on a metal dish? Although probably possible, I never heard of it in the DR. The loss would be (*&%^$%&^). Unless a "Full" metal dish. If that's the case, welll........I'm wrong. You will need to hook up directly to his LNB or put in a dual LNB and run your coax from the 2nd. PLEASE don't try to splice into his line or use a splitter It won't work. Check with him to make sure what type of receiver he is using.

Yes.

NV_ said:

Would being on top of a 6 story building be of any help?

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You'll be sixty feet closer to the satellite.

*And this is my 'Gold' post? How troubling! OK. Now I can quit! Bye Robert!

NV_ said:

Would two receivers work off one LNB? Or would I have to disconnect his connection to the LNB?

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No! Disconnect his system or you could damage both your receiver/LNB or his! If you need to have both active at the same time you need to get a dual LNB which has outputs/RF connectors for both. DO NOT connect yours and his at the same time or the phantom voltages the LNB's use will be fighting each other!

Tom (aka XR Gold! Now where's my moniker? Hmmm!?)