[jdcolombo]

Hi everyone.

Is there anyone out there from whom I can by an SL3 dish?

I'm going to help my son do a self-install at his apartment in Seattle. He does not have LOS to 119, but he does have excellent LOS to 99, 101, 103. We need to do a self-install because (1) his apartment complex has a "no drill" rule, meaning that we'll need to use some flat cable, which I understand is no longer approved by DirecTV (but the cable run is only going to be about 20 feet through a door to his balcony that he never uses, so I'm not worried about it) and (2) he works odd hours and doesn't want to wait around for an install appointment.

If I have to, I can order an SL5 dish and get an Eagle-Aspen SL3 LNB off of E-bay to replace the 5LNB that comes with the dish. But it would be a lot simpler if I could just buy a pre-packaged SL3 dish somewhere.

Thanks for any info.

John C.

 

[BattleZone]

I don't believe the SL3 dishes are available from retail yet; they're still in limited rollout with DirecTV, so it might be a couple of months before they hit the retailers.

 

[brockley]

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

Check that thread. Looks like you can save some money and buy a 3lnb Phase 3 Oval dish and mount the 99/101/103 lnb to it.

 

[BattleZone]

I would NOT recommend people start doing that. It is being done as an experiment, by people who already have a working dish and aren't depending on this one for normal, interrupted TV.

It is very likely that there will be much more rain fade with that Triple-Dish configuration. That's acceptable for experimenters, but not what most folks are going to want to put up with.

 

[Matt9876]

I would NOT recommend people start doing that. It is being done as an experiment, by people who already have a working dish and aren't depending on this one for normal, interrupted TV.

It is very likely that there will be much more rain fade with that Triple-Dish configuration. That's acceptable for experimenters, but not what most folks are going to want to put up with.

The phase three dish is Directv's core product for delivery of the 101 SD channels.

On the experimental phase three dish this 101 signal is the same and will react to rain fade like any other dish so as far as SD services go it will be the same.

As far as Ka band HD channels the smaller dish gives around 10-15% less in performance and would cause longer rain fade delays.

 

[sungam]

There were 10 available on eBay earlier today... down to nine last I looked. SL3 LNB-only, no dish and mount.

 

[BattleZone]

The phase three dish is Directv's core product for delivery of the 101 SD channels.

On the experimental phase three dish this 101 signal is the same and will react to rain fade like any other dish so as far as SD services go it will be the same.

As far as Ka band HD channels the smaller dish gives around 10-15% less in performance and would cause longer rain fade delays.

I understand all that completely. But recommending an experimental setup to some random person who doesn't understand the consequences (more Ka rain fade, etc.) is a bad idea. You and I may know what that means, but if some one goes and installs such a config, they and their family may not be very "understanding" when they lose their HD signals all the time. Then, someone is going to call DirecTV to solve the problem, and now some tech has to go and sort out a non-standard config.

Unless you are dealing with folks with lots of experience, and the ability to solve dish-related issues themselves, folks should stick to the STANDARD equipment and configurations as recommendations, IMO.

 

[kevinm34232]

I understand all that completely. But recommending an experimental setup to some random person who doesn't understand the consequences (more Ka rain fade, etc.) is a bad idea. You and I may know what that means, but if some one goes and installs such a config, they and their family may not be very "understanding" when they lose their HD signals all the time. Then, someone is going to call DirecTV to solve the problem, and now some tech has to go and sort out a non-standard config.

Unless you are dealing with folks with lots of experience, and the ability to solve dish-related issues themselves, folks should stick to the STANDARD equipment and configurations as recommendations, IMO.

I agree. The job I did it on was one where there used to be an 18" dish hidden down on the bacony corner. When they remodeled the condo, the owner wanted HD, and completely had the wiring redone, and bought all new equipment and $15,000 in TV's.
Because of the overhang on the balcony, the dish could only go in 1 spot. Of course the 18" dish fit nice and compact there, where the Slimline needed a special bracket to extend it further away from the wall, and had to sit higher for the LNB to clear the railing.
After installation, the wife came down and saw the dish and freaked out. She wanted it gone. So they were going back to an 18" dish. This is the same day I saw the post on the experimental dish and tried it. They had nothing to lose.

I will not recommend this to anyone either unless there is some special circumstances and you understand things may not be perfect.

 

[jdcolombo]

Hi guys.

Thanks for the tips. I went ahead and ordered an SL3 LNB off E-bay, that I'm going to use with a standard slimline dish. I don't want to be doing anything experimental with this install, which should be fairly straightforward, given that my son's apartment balcony has clear LOS to 99, 101 and 103, no overhang to deal with, and 2" steel railing posts set in concrete that I can clamp the dish mast to.

Still, one would think that DirecTV ultimately will go with a smaller dish for the 99-103 only installs. It really doesn't seem like you'd need the 32" width of the slimline for just those 3 sats.

John C.

 

[Supervolcano]

The phase three dish is Directv's core product for delivery of the 101 SD channels.

On the experimental phase three dish this 101 signal is the same and will react to rain fade like any other dish so as far as SD services go it will be the same.

As far as Ka band HD channels the smaller dish gives around 10-15% less in performance and would cause longer rain fade delays.

I understand all that completely. But recommending an experimental setup to some random person who doesn't understand the consequences (more Ka rain fade, etc.) is a bad idea. You and I may know what that means, but if some one goes and installs such a config, they and their family may not be very "understanding" when they lose their HD signals all the time. Then, someone is going to call DirecTV to solve the problem, and now some tech has to go and sort out a non-standard config.

Unless you are dealing with folks with lots of experience, and the ability to solve dish-related issues themselves, folks should stick to the STANDARD equipment and configurations as recommendations, IMO.

No offense, but the way i read Matt, he wasn't recommending it.

Think he was just explaining a little summary since someone else linked to his thread in here.

His last sentence, longer rain fade, should be enough to keep people away.

Sorry to get involved.
Just playing Peacemaker before more rants begin.

 

[RobertE]

Just playing Peacemaker before more rants begin.

What did you do with the real Supervolcano this time? :lol:

 

[Supervolcano]

What did you do with the real Supervolcano this time? :lol:

He's daydreaming after not sleeping last night.

 

[brockley]

I was just throwing an idea out, something to consider along with all the possible benefits and consequences. Plus with DirecTV not going to a smaller dish, at east not anytime soon, you can do the same by buying an SL5 and mounting the SL3 lnb on it, or just use the standard SL5 and when running setup on the receiver, set it as an SL3 so the receiver doesnt look for the extra 2 sats. Unless you want to have a smaller lnb attached to the slimline, there really is no advantage to buying the SL3-P lnb.

 

[BattleZone]

Actually, there is. The stack plan in the SL3 LNB is designed to pull all guide data from 101. With the SL5 LNB, anytime you are tuned to 110/119/103, it will try to pull guide data from 119, and if you have no LOS, your guide will be empty, and you may have other errors, like lockups or missed recordings.

 

[thespaceghost]

you should have gone with the SWM SL5. You would have the single line function plus the ability to only use the 99/101/103.

 

[Matt9876]

Don't know about the stack plan for the SL3 but I have discovered if you have no line of sight to 119 on a 5LNB head and set the receiver to Slimline 3 it will get the guide data info off the 101 sat. just fine.

 

[tkrandall]

Don't know about the stack plan for the SL3 but I have discovered if you have no line of sight to 119 on a 5LNB head and set the receiver to Slimline 3 it will get the guide data info off the 101 sat. just fine.

With the tuner last used on a 103 west located channels?