Trying out the BSC621-2D

[jugghedd]

I wanted to try out C band on a 30 cm dish. It sounded like a difficult but possible venture and I wanted to give it a shot. So, I ordered a
BSC621-2D, conical scalar ring and LNB mount and went to work. I was getting very good signal and quality on several sats I could test and compare on. So, I decided to aim at Galaxy 19, remove my old LNBF, and try hooking up the new toy on the Ku band to start.


I must be doing something very wrong. I have the LNB lined right up at the same focal point as the old LNBF, looks like the same angle and sits in the bracket fairly well. I set my receiver to both 9750 and a few others to see if I get more bars or signal. No matter how I tip, skew, or slide the LNB into the holder, it doesnt seem to get anything at all. Its odd because the signal meter bars keep appearing to "pulse" no signal, shoots up to 100, then back to zero over and over. My LNBF did not act that way and Im wondering if there's something very different about the dual LNB that Im missing or if it may be broken in some way. I did hook up to the proper connection and eliminated the switch as suggested in other posts. I also read every post I could find about using these on an offset dish.

Another thing Im wondering is, is there any problem trying to lock a signal starting with a meter on these? My results seems WAY worse than my old setup. I took it apart and went back to the old setup until I can figure out what piece of the puzzle Im missing. I appreciate any help, comments, advice. And, yes please do say so if you think this is a road not worth travelling. I personally enjoy the challenge. But, only when there is a possibility of success.

Thanks for reading!

[el bandido]

Is your dish 30cm or 30 inches in diameter?

The BSC 621 has not worked well for me as a dual band lnb. I tried using it with a 4ft. and a 7.5 ft. dish.
You will have very limited results on the ku band using the BSC621 and an offset dish. The reason for this is the scalar rings that are built into the BSC 621 Ku lnb are designed for a prime focus dish instead of an offset dish. You can expect to lose 15-20 percent of the satellite signal because of the scalar ring difference. EB

[Costactc]

I have to agree with EB as well, it worked well on c band but not on ku.

[jugghedd]

oops. I didnt mean 30 cm. I think my dish is a 90cm. Its around 3 ft.

Anyway, I did use the conical scalar. I cant even seem to get a marginal signal where I used to get strong ones. I'd be happy if I could get either band to display anything. Makes me wonder if its a faulty unit or something. Also, the documentation is lacking. Ive read too many conflicting posts. The arrow points to 6 oclock, the arrow points to noon, the arrow points where ever it works best.

Any thoughts on the signal pulsing like it seems to be doing? Maybe a wrong receiver setting or some kind of oddness caused by the scalar ring? In my head, I jump right to audio/video and overlapping signals causing "echo like" effect or reverberation. Im reaching.

[Costactc]

I cannot see you having any success on a 90cm offset dish with a prime focus feed. When signal jumps back and forth it usually means your dish is out of alignment or your feed needs to be skewed. Have you tried any c band tp? Some of the c band tp on G17 are very strong and I've heard of 1-1.2m dishes being able to scan several in.

[jugghedd]

I havent tried C band since I was just trying the recommended first. Just to be clear, when you say offset dish with prime focus feed, do you mean that the LNB I bought is actually made for a prime focus and the cone is really sort of a workaround to help it function on an offset dish?

I just re-read what you wrote. I didnt see the part about internal scalar rings. So, maybe my problem is that I was testing Ku band with the cone on. Im going to try removing the cone and tuning on Ku and placing it on and tuning C.

[el bandido]

The conical scalar ring only applies to c band. It has no effect on the ku band.
The Ku lnb has its own scalar ring built into it. The ku scalar ring is for a prime focus dish. This cannot be changed unless you replace the ku lnb.

The BSC 621 was designed for or works better with dishes that are at least 10ft. in diameter. I have not seen anybody that has had good results on both bands using this lnb on a dish that is 4ft. in diameter or smaller. IMO, you are wasting your time. But doing things like this is how you learn. EB

[jugghedd]

I think I'll take your advice on that. I still didnt have any luck. In your opinion, is there any way to do C band, at all, on a dish that small?

[el bandido]

My experience with c band on an offset dish has been limited to a 4ft. or 1.2 meter Geosat brand dish. I had good results on C band with this dish and I did use the BSC621 with it. The Ku side worked poorly but the c band side worked OK as compared to some c band only lnbs on the same dish.
My location is near Atlanta, Ga. This area and much of the Southeast is in one of the prime spots for a lot of the satellite signals.

You should be able to get some kind of C band signal with a 36 inch dish if you are located in the lower 48 states of the U.S.

99 West will probably be the strongest C band bird so I would suggest that you use your old Ku lnb and move your dish to that location. Align the dish as best as possible to 99 West using the old Ku lnb. Then install the BSC621 and do a blindscan of 99 West. I expect you to get something on C band if you do this.

[jugghedd]

I am going to experiment a little. I think Im missing something aside from the known limitations. In my experience, when things dont make sense, Im usually missing something that is key. So, Im going to work on getting even a marginal signal. After that, I'm going down a dangerous path mentally. I want a bigger one! I say dangerous because I'm less than a month into looking at what satellite dishes do and it seems like a very slippery slope. All joking aside, I really love it so far. And, watching the channels afterward, eh, its OK I guess.

Thanks to everyone for the help, advice and tips! I learn a lot here.

[jugghedd]

Just some other general observations. I ran some new wiring and seem to have made the pulsing a little better. But, I noticed much of this seemed to be interference of some kind. I was over a metal roof and it was like I would get higher meter readings by just moving the wire away from the roof where it hangs. Putting my hand near the LNB or even pointing it at the roof made the needle jump. So, if I have that much interference, how do I find a signal? My quality and signal on the receiver dont seem to be jumping around like the meter.


Just as a side note, I had the receiver set to 5150/13V Aimed at Galaxy 16 with 99/65 on the old LNBF before testing. I also switched over to a spare dish on the ground and got similar results. I dont expect to get a watchable signal on it. But, I do seem to be learning how C behaves differently.

[el bandido]

What fta receiver are you using to hunt the c band satellites?

[jugghedd]

I've tried it on both the new X2 Premium and on a Geosat Pro DSR200. The one sort of extreme thing I have not tried yet is mounting the LNB centered. Everything I read said to use the same focal point. Im wondering if that is really only for the Ku reception to function. Doesnt seem like a good thing for C band. And I will most likely use this one for C only.

[el bandido]

In General,
There is no difference between the c and ku bands when setting up a dish. There is only one focal point on most dishes and the focal point does not change when you select a different band. Post some good clear pictures of the dish with the c band lnb attached so we can see if you have something installed wrong.

[jugghedd]

I appreciate the help but I may go in a different direction. Possibly even more difficult but it sounds too cool to turn down. Someone offered me an Andrews 8 foot aluminum dish for close to nothing. I dont even know how Im gonna make it work. But, I think it will be fun trying. I think I have a lot of reading to do.

[Costactc]

I appreciate the help but I may go in a different direction. Possibly even more difficult but it sounds too cool to turn down. Someone offered me an Andrews 8 foot aluminum dish for close to nothing. I dont even know how Im gonna make it work. But, I think it will be fun trying. I think I have a lot of reading to do.

Your bsc621-2d lnbf would work great on an Andrews 8' solid for both bands.

[jugghedd]

Thats great to hear. I was so excited about the cool dish that I didnt check too much on compatibility or if it would even work. I guess Im a "jump right in" kind of guy. Time to make up some really beefy brackets.