@All,
Just a gentle reminder: This thread is supposed to be a "Free To Air Satellite Tv General Thread" and not a thread for
exchanging biss keys and codes for watching Pay TV channels. A cursory look at various posts by members these past
few months suggests we are fast going down the slippery slopes of illegalities which if not quickly checkmated may lead to
outright ban and deletion of this segment of Satellite TV Technology from TV/MOVIES on Nairaland.
For those who have been here long enough and starting from the days of "The Official Thread Of Free To Air Satellite Tv
(part 1 to 5)" we didn't get to where we are today by breaking codes and unscrambling locked TV channels.
Indeed, if any former guru and foundation member should mistakenly log into this thread today and read what is being posted
here nowadays, they will be forced to think they are on the wrong thread because this is not the kind of stuff they built their
various reputation on.
I therefore appeal to all and sundry to please let's go back to the technological innovation and discourse which this thread
was known for. Let's not make this place another CCW, CCCAMD, BISS, etc exchange hot spot. We have enough of them
already all over the internet. All you have to do is google them and register. Let us be wise before SEUN is forced to wield
the big stick on US.

VIVA FTA!!!

faithchild:
im sorry about that.i did not know that my phone was off.not until this evening.i was wondering y i was not getting calls.i later checked and found out the phone was off.im deeply sorry about that.pls try again sir.u will get me this time.GOD BLESS U

@faithchild,
OK, no problem. Let me try again.

faithchild:
@ oga george D.pls sir.i hope u have not forgotten me im still waiting for ur call.thank u for ur assistance and support.GOD bless u big

@faithchild,
What happened to your line. I tried it all through this morning but it was switched off.

Yonderguy:
Please gurus in the house should help me interpret this satellite (Thaicom 6) footprint 78°E in the following view:
1) Does it cover Nigeria?
2) Can 90cm dish nail the bird?
3) How can one use a motorized 1.8m to nail this bird seeing that it's below horizon?
4) If one want to use a C-band lnb on a 90cm dish, how and with what will one attach the lnb?
...
...
The map below!

Hello Yonderguy,
Thaicom 5/6 at 78.5°E is very much receivable in Nigeria as the beam covers this part of the globe.
And, contrary to your statement, it is not below the horizon as I am receiving it on my motorised 3 -in-1 dish.
However, you will need up to 1.8m dish size to receive it. I'm not sure about the 90cm bit but you can give it a shot.
Late last year, I did a compilation of satellites receivable in this part of the world along with tracking frequencies and
Thaicom 5/6 was among them along with Apster 7. You may want to refer to it here for details:

https://www.nairaland.com/712408/free-air-satellite-tv-general/620#26944006

As for using c band lnb on 90cm, this has been done before in this forum. You will need a special scaler to attach
the lnb to the dish. Just check the pictures and also you can go directly to the original posts by clicking the links.

https://www.nairaland.com/331817/official-thread-free-air-satellite/54#5165410
https://www.nairaland.com/331903/newbie-satellite-installation-introduce-yourself/26#9875882

By the way, credits go to microgiant and odilibe.

faithchild:
this is my email.address johnsonfemi48@gmail.com but im finding it difficult to acess. it maybe its becose i have not used it for a while.i just can tell.im also comtemplating getting another one im sorry if i changed ur ways of sending d stuff to me.i apologis.this is my numberr 08082508663.thank u sir.im realy grateful.GOD bless u for me.

Hello faithchild,
I got your number. Be expecting my call anytime from tomorrow.
Cheers!

faithchild:
sir.i still cannot acess it. my mail sir.can i leave my number so dat i will know wen u are in town.or u can tell me .thru d forum when u will be available. so dat i can give u all nessary information on how u can send it and where i can collect them in akure.if possible d day u will be around so dat i can call.i know u are a very busy man.even if i email u.u cant send it from where u are right now not untill u come to town.pls let me know thru d forum when u will likely be in town.thank u sir for ur gift and assistance.GOD bless u big.i will be waiting to hear from u via the forum

@faithchild,
Ok, if that's the way you want it, no problem. I thought we could at least
discuss on how best I could send them to you and maybe get your address
on email for reference. All the same, drop your number here and I will call
you.

faithchild:
i tried sending mail but it was not going.i realy dont know d problem.sir when will u be around.s dat i can use dat number to get u

faithchild,
Check your mail. I have replied. Looks like your e-mail went through afterall.

faithchild:
thank u sir.i have been trying ur line since yerterday.it seems dat line is off.i hope u dont mind.i got it from one of d guru in d house.i hope im pardon for doing dat.i will keep tryong d line untill i get thru.GOD bless u big for me sir

Hello faithchild,
You can't get me on that line for now. Use the pm function on my nairaland profile and send me an email.
I will respond to you and we can take it up from there. Sorry for the inconvenience.

faithchild:
thank u sir.i will be very grateful.sir pls dont for d heavy duty jack too

@faithchild,
Ok, no problem. I will include the heavy duty jack for free.
It will be a double gift from me.

faithchild:
i stay in akure.in ondo state.if u can leave ur phone number i will call u.i dont mind.if u can get digisat lnb.2 ways or echosat 2 ways also.here in akure.its so difficult.in short it ia not available here.thank u

@faithchild,
I think you may be in luck! I have an unused digisat lnb already cut by one of the gurus in this forum.
i wanted to use it at the time but later changed my mind. If you want it I can send to you free. All
you have to pay for is the transport to your end. Pm me through my profile and let me make your day.

these are the lessons learnt:

1) never procrastinate on buying and installing protection equipment for your inverter system.
you will end up paying for it dearly when lightning strikes. and trust me, it always strikes when you
least expect it to!

2) forget those peeps who peddle low end inverters and try to convince you not to buy high end inverters
on the premise that high end inverters like xantrex, magnum, sunny boy, outback, exeltech, etc cannot
be repaired when damaged. i am a living witness. my magnum was struck but is alive today performing even better
than how it was was before it got damaged by lightning!

3) during the period while the magnum was under repairs, i switched over to my sukam 3.5kva inverter. the
sukam keeps amazing me with the ease which it has been taking up challenge after challenge.
so, my advice for peeps with high end inverters, always remember to keep a spare inverter like sukam, luminous, etc
handy for that moment when your high end inverter may be away on repairs.

all,
just a quick update on my experience with lightning.
sometime in late february my system was hit yet again. but unlike the previous year, this time it came in through
the ac part of the system, i.e phcn lv wires via stabilizer to the inverter. even though i had installed a midnite solar
surge arrestor (mnspd115v) in december, it could do nothing to save the day as it was meant to protect only the dc
part of the system. so, ok the system suffered multiple strikes within a very short interval and although it put on
a brave fight, it could not withstand that many number of hits. eventually the magnum caved in and went comatose.
to say the least, i was devastated and didn't know what to do. when i installed the mnspd115v in december, i realised
that i needed to get the mnspd300v for the ac part of the system and had already planned on doing so later in the
new year but i guess mother nature wasn't about ready to wait for me as it struck at a time earlier than i had
anticipated.
with damage already in my hands, i became frantic. i knew i had to act fast before another series of lightning strikes
puts out the rest of my system for good. i reached out to my good friend richmon but unfortunately he was out of stock
for mnspd300v so i had to resort to plan b. while that was going on, i reached out to my dealer in ph and explained
the situation to him. it was a big relief when he assured me it was not a problem as the inverter could be fixed. so, i
shipped the damaged magnum to him and he commenced repairs.
long story short: my magnum is back and as good as new! also i have learnt my lesson and protected both ac and dc
part of my system with respective midnite solar mnspd lightning arrestors. it is now goodbye to trembling and heart
ache anytime cloud gathers and the rains begin.
but what a costly way to learn!

faithchild:
oga george.pls dat ur heavy duty jack still available.pls if it is need it o.my dealer has been toiling with me.i want to put jack on my pan dish3.3m.since january.my dealer has been behaving funny.from 7.5k.now he is telling d jack is 17k cos he noticed i needed it urgently.so i dont mind even if d jack is not working.do u know since dat janauary till now i have not watched anything channel on dat dish.because of no heavy duty jack here in akure.pls i need.i dont mind paying for it.pls its urgent

@faithchild,
Sorry I've been away for a while. Yes, the heavy duty jack is still available in case you're still interested.
Pm me for logistics.
Cheers!

jukeblam,
you can get magnum ms4348pe from richmon at bargain price but in case he doesn't have
i can give you the number of a guy in port-harcourt who is equally good.

as for batteries, its always a good idea to buy your batteries in one piece. never mix old
and new batteries else the old ones will draw down the voltage of the new ones and reduce
their charge absorbing capacity.

for brand, industry best in class remains trojan or hoppeckke. but presently i am using
zenith 260ah brand and they seem to be performing excellently. check out my battery test
results posted early january for evidence.

hello hardywaltz,
i think richmon is very much on point. your best bet is the magnum ms4348pe inverter if money is not an issue
but you could still make do with with cyberpower 5kva if you find the first option prohibitive.
i'm not familiar with the voltron inverter but i think a 2kw inverter's charging capacity whatever the brand will be
too low to fully charge that many number of batteries within the stipulated time.
also if i were you, i'd be careful with some of the responses i'm seeing here as it seems most are just trying to
sell you their product.

Hello odilibe,
As you are aware, the use of aluminium foil on fibre dishes is to smoothen out the natural coarse surface of the fibre material that
is used in molding the dish and enhance its parabolic properties. It is quickly followed up with a coating of white paint to dampen the
highly reflective properties of the foil thereby preventing it from being turned into a solar stove as you pointed out above. But whether
this traditional coating of white paint does much to reduce the heat reflecting tendency of the aluminium foil underneath remains suspect
as looking back in retrospect, I remember always having to change out LNBs on my former 3m fibre frequently and I never took time
to give it much serious thought until now. Compared to my present 4m pan dish with grey colored paint for which I'm now counting
over two years without a single LNB change, I think the difference is very clear.

@faithchild,
Use any oil - based paint if you can't get meyer paint. But please avoid so-called aluminium paint as it will concentrate
and reflect too much heat on your lnbs thereby leading to premature failure. Same thing goes for other types of paint that
have have high reflective properties. It's the reason why you should aim for grey or similar color that are not too bright
and not dull either. And for those who might have dishes painted with high reflective colors, you now know why your
lnbs seem to fail every now and then. It is the heat from the sun killing them!

@faithchild,
You can use meyer paint. Buy white and black and mix them in equal proportions.
You will get a thick and solid grey colour. That is the trick my brother.

And of course here is the dish. Two years on and still counting.
No shaking at all.

faithchild:
@all thank u very much.learning is sweet.like i said earlier i realy want to do the right thing now.i will make sure it is plumb and all other neceessary things arevput in place .as regard the lnb. have been looking for dat samson lnb for long now.pls halla me to assist on how to get it.im planning of using other cheap lnb.like ordinary strong lnb.i saw on pauxis two ways. know this time i will get it right.GOD bless u all.im grateful to all.oga obnelly u too much.to stay up still dat time.GOD will greatly reward u.oga odilibe u three much.ur advice and all.oga george d.three gbosa for u.and all of u i twale for u all

@faithchild,
You can take a look at the base of my own 4M dish. The tripod should be something like this or even better.

Akanniade:
Thanks GeorgeD.
The north side roof holds the remaining 6 panels.
Kudos to Richmond74, he did a fantastic installation.The harvest on the north roof is just as good as the south.

akanniade,
nice to see but have you thought about possible wind loading on your roof structure occasioned by the stepped angles of the panels?

tshirt2,
congrats on your achievements and welcome to the club. suddenly you have become a solar ambassador in that estate all because you chose to think differently from others. you did not allow their 'generator mentality' to discourage you.rather you pressed on and inspite of all the odds you were able to breakthrough.now imagine when you eventually upgrade to a much bigger system where you have 24hrs all round power? Hmmmm! they may make you estate chairman before you know it!

@faithchild,
If he tells you not to use fuji stargold then I will be very surprised except maybe I'm missing something here because it is the same fuji stargold we both used to track my own dish and got excellent results.We only later changed to inverto red classic when I insisted that I wanted to compare the performance of the two.Kindly get back to him and confirm his instructions. Maybe it is you that did not understand him.

Happy tracking!

odilibe:
probably before then you may end up getting another lnb better than inverto red classics c120 lnb..even the tiny inverto black pro c120 single flange lnb...outperformed red classics lnb on nilesat and tp 10992_7.3west!still a weak lnb!

@odilibe,
Bro, I can't agree more with you.Technology keeps changing and what used to be the rave two, three years ago becomes obsolete very fast.
Hmmmm! As a pacesetter that I am, and in keeping with the trend maybe I just might move on to the C120 afterall. But the lack of a quad would be a deal breaker for me.

@faithchild,
I'm glad your learning fast.Indeed if a dish is not plumb it goes a long way in affecting it's tracking abilities most especially if it is a polar mount dish like yours. As for the lnb, truth is that you don't really need all those sophisticated lnbs you are mentioning for now.Just get a normal fuji gold lnb and track your signals first of all.You can always change lnbs later after you get your desired results.

@faithchild,
Yes I changed my lnb from the inverto red classic back to fuji gold because after series of tests I discovered that although the inverto performed better than the fuji but it was just slightly with about one or two percentage points difference.So I reasoned that since the fuji was still ok why throw it away when I can still use it for a while.It was the same lnb I was using on my former 3m fibre so I just wanted to maximize it's useful life before moving on to the inverto lnb.And of course after over two years the red classic still remains on the queue waiting patiently for its turn.

@faithchild,
Don't be too quick to condemn that dish.Although you didn't mention the name of the guy who fabricated your dish but I suspect he may be the same person who made my own 4m dish. Curiously, I had almost the same kind of problem with mine which came about also during transportation.Seems to me that those drivers who run that route are too careless and do always rough handle goods put in their care.My own dent affected almost two or three of the segments and were so big that I instantly lost confidence in the dish ability to track even DTH signals not to talk of out-of-footprint ones. However, when I talked to my man he assured me there was no problem.Also luckily for me I had taken the proactive step of asking him to come over so we could do a joint installation. So I waited for him to arrive. When he came, what he did was to use a small hammer to gently tap all the affected segments in order to straighten them out.After that we repainted the entire dish and allowed it to dry.The second day we started coupling and proceeded to tracking. And the rest is now history as they say.
Two years and counting, the performance of the dish has never dropped apart from the occasional issues with weather which affects about every other dish.
I don't know the full extent of your dish dent but you can learn from my own experience and try similar methods to remedy the situation.
Goodluck and happy installation.

bode4real,

your new improved solar set is rather tempting for me. i think your trying to force me to jettison my old locally
fabricated brackets in favour of these cute railings. the more i look at your pictures, the more i think of taking
the plunge. maybe richmond will have another in-house customer soon enough.

congrats to you and more happy upgrades!

akanniade,

wao! what a set up you have there. you have turned your new house into a virtual solar hot spot!

as for space, even with your old set up, i think it was only a matter of time before you moved roof-wise
and i see you have finally made the plunge. of course except for those fortunate enough to have a large
spacious compound (like a football field) the only ideal place to mount your solar panels remains the roof
of your house.

congrats and happy harvesting!

and, talking of time, below pix shows my old 200ah zenith batteries that were used and abused for over 5yrs
before i upgraded to zenith 260ah. they have been lying abandoned for over two years now.
although i expected them to be stone dead by now, i still decided to check out their individual voltages last
december and was pleasantly surprised. each was still putting out over 10v! this, after over two years without
a single charge! zenith, i hail oooooo!

ok, so there you are. as the above readings indicate its now three years and counting and not a single drop in performance!
hmmmmm! i'm beginning to think that the zenith batteries were a wise choice afterall. time will tell though

all,
as promised, these are nominal voltages of individual batteries takes during my yearly turn-around maintenance carried out
on my battery bank last december. compared to the results of the year before, it's very heartening to say there were no
major surprises. in fact overall string voltages returned same.

i tried posting them directly earlier on but was banned by spambot. apparently it was not too happy with all the symbols
and numbers being thrown around. so this time i've made them into an attachment.