# What size dish for Globecast tv



## MrFooks (Nov 20, 2004)

Well, I wanted to get the new Setanta sports channel and I sub to Dish, so I won an ebay auction for a globecast receiver because they offer that channel.
Anyone know what size dish I will need to pick up this service
I don't know what the bird is named but I believe it is pointed at 97 degrees west.
Anyone offering help it will be greatly appreciated.


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

You'll need a Ku-band dish (about 30 inches or larger) and LNBF. The bird is Intelsat Americas 5 (formerly known as Telstar 5), and lots of info can be found here: http://www.lyngsat.com/ia5.html

At some point, you're going to need to contact GlobeCast to set up your subscription. When you do, they'll be happy to answer lots of technical questions on how to get hooked up.


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## MrFooks (Nov 20, 2004)

So my spare 18" Dish won't be big enough to pick this up?
If not where can I get a 30" dish
Thanks


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

Nope, 18 inches really won't cut it. You can get the dish and LNBF the same way you got the receiver -- on eBay. Or you can let GlobeCast sell it to you. Or you can look in your local phone book (under Satellite Television) for folks who sell Ku-band equipment (because shipping for those big dishes can get high). Or you can surf to any of several online FTA equipment dealers.

The good news is that you'll be able to get all the FTA channels that are on IA5 once you've got everything set up. To see all that's there, check http://www.lyngsat.com/ia5.html and look at all the four-digit (Ku-band) frequencies that have channels with the boxed "F" under DVB. Have fun!


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## MrFooks (Nov 20, 2004)

So I ordered a dish from Globecast, installed an 8ft long 2" pipe in the ground, 6ft of it sticking out of the ground and perfectly plumb I might add.
Anyway I connected it to the receiver and there are two signal bar meters.
One is labeled signal power and the other signal quality.
Power is at 50% and the quality is at 89%
Does anyone know why there are two different meters and what do they mean. The Globecast receiver also has no audible tone to set the signal to, so a lot of back and forth across the lawn to find out what was going on.


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

MrFooks said:


> The Globecast receiver also has no audible tone to set the signal to, so a lot of back and forth across the lawn to find out what was going on.


Congrats on your setup! Sounds like you could use a friend and a couple of cell phones. 

I haven't seen a GlobeCast receiver, but Power probably means signal strength and Quality probably means signal quality. Of the two, quality is the one that really matters. Higher quality numbers will give you more resistance to rain fade.

Higher quality numbers will also give you more resistance to losses caused by dish wobble. Speaking as someone who is sad to have a pole sticking 5 feet out of the ground, the higher the pole, the more it will wobble in the wind.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

> installed an 8ft long 2" pipe in the ground, 6ft of it sticking out of the ground and perfectly plumb I might add.


Depending on where you are in the "midwest" 2' in the ground may not be enough. It is important to get the bottom of the pole below the frost line in your area, if you don't the pole will heave out of the ground with the freeze thaw cycles. As this happens the pole will shift and the satellite will be lost.


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## MrFooks (Nov 20, 2004)

Well, I live 25 miles due west of Chicago. Obviously the hole was dug a little over two feet deep.
The pipe was 2" schedule 40 which is very thick walls and very heavy.
I mixed an 80 pound bag of cement with heavy gravel and it took a lot of the mix to fill that hole.
It's well and truly set now so I'll have to take my chances.
The Globecast dish is made of a heavy molded plastic. Even when the dish was mounted to the pole I put a 4ft level on it and it was still perfectly plumb.
It was windy today and the signal seems pretty good. It was also very hot, so I guess I'll have to wait for a rainy day and see how this set-up holds up.
I appreciate those who responded to this post
Thanks


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