Is this possible / will this work?

[kryscio23]

A friend of mine asked me today that since he has the older 3 LNB dish and wanted to upgrade to HD ... would it work if he was to replace JUST the 3 LNB connection and replace it with a 5 LNB connection? What I mean is, unbolt the 3 LNB head and replace it with a 5 LNB head? I know parts are easy to get, see eBay.

He rents his house and the landlord really doesn't want any more bolts in the roof/house than necessary. The 3 LNB dish has been there a few years and the landlord is OK with that. But since HD is now the way to go, he wants to get in on the revolution.

I know the reflector is a little different in shape/size, but do you think that will make a real difference or any at all?

Do you guys think this will work?

Thank you in advance for your thoughts/opinions.

[Rockaway1836]

Yes it works.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=139735

[davring]

A friend of mine asked me today that since he has the older 3 LNB dish and wanted to upgrade to HD ... would it work if he was to replace JUST the 3 LNB connection and replace it with a 5 LNB connection? What I mean is, unbolt the 3 LNB head and replace it with a 5 LNB head? I know parts are easy to get, see eBay.

He rents his house and the landlord really doesn't want any more bolts in the roof/house than necessary. The 3 LNB dish has been there a few years and the landlord is OK with that. But since HD is now the way to go, he wants to get in on the revolution.

I know the reflector is a little different in shape/size, but do you think that will make a real difference or any at all?

Do you guys think this will work?

Thank you in advance for your thoughts/opinions.


Sounds like you are refering to the old 3lnb oval dish, it will not easily work. If he upgrades, D* will supply/install the proper dish, N/C with the HD upgrade.

[evan_s]

Yes it works.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=139735

It might work in some limited extent but it's definitely not recommended or supported by directv and probably isn't a good idea for a regular full time install. You'll note that it ends up being very touchy to align and not able to peak signals as high. Since the old 3lnb dish is centered on 110 and a new 3 or 5 lnb dish is centered on 101 he'd definitely have to re-aim it.

[joe diamond]

Well, it won't work exactly.

The Phase III dish (3 LNB for 101-110 & 119) mounts on a 1.66 inch mast. The 5LNB ka/Ku dish mounts on a much stronger 2" mast. As mentioned above, the Ka/Ku centers on the 101 satellite. The Phase III centers on the 110. Alignment is required in any case.

If what I said is clear there is also a 3LNB Ka/Ku dish that also centers on the 101 satellite but "sees" the 99,101& 103 BUT NOT the 110 & 119.

Got it? Well, also, the 3LNB Ka/Ku is not compatible with anything earlier the D12 SD receiver. Check me on that part.

So there is a 3 LNB and a 5LNB dish but you have to know which one you are using.

Joe

[harsh]

Yes it works.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=139735You should note that the dish in the thread you refer to is not a Phase III dish and it has been heavily modified. The OP seems to be asking if the LNB assembly can be attached to an unmodified Phase III.

The answer to my interpretation of the OP's question is a resounding no.

The dish needs to be significantly larger and differently focused to reliably catch Ka signals as evan_s points out.

[kryscio23]

The dish needs to be significantly larger and differently focused to reliably catch Ka signals as evan_s points out.


Ok, thats cool and I am glad to see all of the responses so fast. It was simply a thought and idea to quickly deal with a possible upgrade.

I, too, had my reservations as to if it would work because of the size of the reflector and was wondering what kind of signals it would be able to reflect into the LNBs. At the same time I saw the thread in an earlier reply here and it seems as though it IS indeed possible, but it's not an optimal option.

Hey, this is why it's a discussion board! :)

[Rockaway1836]

You should note that the dish in the thread you refer to is not a Phase III dish and it has been heavily modified. The OP seems to be asking if the LNB assembly can be attached to an unmodified Phase III.

The answer to my interpretation of the OP's question is a resounding no.

The dish needs to be significantly larger and differently focused to reliably catch Ka signals as evan_s points out.

If you follow the whole thread above you will see that the phase 3 is mentioned. I, in fact use one now. To modify the dish arm is quite easy, and in some cases no modification is needed at all. It would depend on which LNB and who made the dish. I have done this several times. I found so far, that using a 5 LNB requires a some modification. While also finding that some of the Slimline 3LNBs can require none.

Would I recomend this for everyone ? No. A Slimline is better for sure. Would I recomend this for in certain circumstances ? Yes. In the thread above it is mentioned (I believe) several times that this is not suported by D. It's just a do it yourselfer's work around.

In my case I have one using a SWM 3LNB, that I am using for my HD DVR. It is sitting right next to my Slimline, that is used for the rest of the house. I have been using this setup for a couple of months now. We have had a couple of good rains in that time and have had no real difference in rain fade from either dish.

EDIT: Just to give you an idea of signal, strength here are some readings form TPS 1-8 These are using SWM3 LNB.

101: 95-98-95-98-94-99-95-99

99c: 83-88-82-89-81-85-80-89

103c: 94-83-88-80-90-82-86-81

Using a 5lnb will yeild low numbers for 110 and 119 when you get the others as I high as I show here. But, at this point do we really need them ? I would use a Slimline 3 LNB over the 5LNB. All around it's just easier.

[joe diamond]

Hmmmmm!

I had never considered modifying the Phase III. The 3LNB SWM and the 5LNB SWM LNBs to interchange. Then the size of the Phase III dish is smaller......the KA signal is harder to tune even with the standard slimline dish..............This could be a new one for the tool box.

There is a web site with a picture of a DTV dual LNB mounted on an old PrimeStar dish that also worked. The duct tape and wood block were its' most important features.

Good to know!

Joe