TiVo Community Forums Archives - Best Phase 3 Dish?

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Best Phase 3 Dish?
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Posted by: DSmith

What is the best Phase 3 dish? I've got an old dish with the 3 separate LNBs now but having problems with Sat C channels. The signal strength on Sat A and B are ~95 but Sat C is ~60. Sometimes the channels come in perfectly, other times it’s trash. Will a phase 3 dish help?

Best Buy has Funai dishes and Circuit City and Fry’s has Turk. Of course I can mail-order if need be but would rather just pick one up locally.

Thanks,
Darrel

Posted by: Fluffybear

I have a Gain Master dish and am very happy with it's performance. It is slightly larger then a typical phase 3 dish and uses 3 seperate LNB's

Posted by: marcello696

Call Directv and complain about the low signals on 110 sat. Most likely they will send a tech out free of charge and in my case the tech upgraded my dish to phase 3

Posted by: greywolf

There doesn't seem to be any difference in Phase III dish performance now. Any manufacturer is okay. People having problems with Phase II dishes and Sat C kits often report being happy with their decision to upgrade to Phase IIIs.

Posted by: richierich

I have the Channel Master GainMaster and it is awesome. I have signal strength from 95% to 99% and I used to have 84% to 88%. It also has drastically reduced rain fade as I used to lose everything everytime it rained here in South Atlanta but now it is very occasion and only during a very heavy rain storm and only for a few minutes.

Posted by: dbett

quote:
Originally posted by greywolf
There doesn't seem to be any difference in Phase III dish performance now.

I assume you are not including the (larger) Gainmaster Phase III dish in this comparison.

Posted by: mjbvideo

GainMaster :up: Accept no substitutes!

Posted by: greywolf

quote:
Originally posted by dbett
I assume you are not including the (larger) Gainmaster Phase III dish in this comparison.

The Gainmaster is not a Phase III. It uses the the same LNBs and combiner as some Phase IIs. It doesn't have a built in multiswitch either. It's basically an oversize Phase II.

Posted by: dbett

quote:
Originally posted by greywolf
The Gainmaster is not a Phase III. It uses the the same LNBs and combiner as some Phase IIs. It doesn't have a built in multiswitch either. It's basically an oversize Phase II.

Except for the lack of a built-in multiswitch (which for most people is a benefit since it means they don't have to have a stackable multiswitch), the difference is a matter of semantics.

In fact, this description of the Gainmaster dish says that:

quote:
All LNBs included in the combo to complete the Phase III Triple LNB Gain Master setup! You will need a multiswitch to combine the three LNBs, we recommend the Terk BMS-58 or the Eagle Aspen 5x8.

So, as for the OP's question, the Gainmaster may be a good "upgrade" to a standard Phase III dish. Even if it is not technically a "Phase III" dish.

Posted by: DSmith

WOW, thanks guys, lots of good recommendations here. I can always count on people in this and the AVS forum for great feedback.

Calling D* for a free fix, gotta like that, my favorite 4 letter word.

GainMaster, I'll look into that one as well. Bigger is better, I don't care what they say, just look in our living rooms. Seriously, more dish surface area = more signal strength.

Thanks,
Darrel

Posted by: greywolf

The quote in the Solid Signal website is a typo. The Phase III dish has a unitized 3 LNB head. The Gainmaster uses the same individual LNBs as the Channel Master LNBs used in the Phase II. The picture from that site clearly shows the 3 LNBs.http://www.solidsignal.com/images/products/SACGAINCOMBO.gif

Their picture of the Phase III shows the unitized 3LNB head.http://www.solidsignal.com/images/products/OD1820-BX_list.gif

Thus, the Gainmaster is subject to the same problems with the Sat C kit that has bothered Phase II dish owners. It's important to protect all those external connections to the combiner and multiswitch from the weather as, unlike the Phase III, the connections are exposed if the combiner and multiswitch are not brought indoors.

Posted by: davsherm

quote:
Originally posted by DSmith
What is the best Phase 3 dish? I've got an old dish with the 3 separate LNBs now but having problems with Sat C channels. The signal strength on Sat A and B are ~95 but Sat C is ~60. Sometimes the channels come in perfectly, other times it’s trash. Will a phase 3 dish help?

Best Buy has Funai dishes and Circuit City and Fry’s has Turk. Of course I can mail-order if need be but would rather just pick one up locally.

Thanks,
Darrel

I had this problem also with my older style oval dish with 3 lnbs, then my Sat C died altogher. I called Dtv and they came out and replaced the dish with a new phase 3, and all three sats are now mid-90s.

Posted by: dbett

quote:
Originally posted by greywolf
Thus, the Gainmaster is subject to the same problems with the Sat C kit that has bothered Phase II dish owners. It's important to protect all those external connections to the combiner and multiswitch from the weather as, unlike the Phase III, the connections are exposed if the combiner and multiswitch are not brought indoors.

Got it. Although my Phase III dish has that problem regardless since it is a replacement dish and the old lines wouldn't quite reach the Phase III's connections. So, the four lines that fed my old Phase II dish are now connected to short lines that run to the new Phase III dish. Hopefully, they are waterproofed correctly. Some day I'll have to brave the heights and check. :(

But regardless, it seems for most people the best solution is to have four (continuous) lines from the dish to a central inside distribution spot where you can locate a multiswitch. With that set up whether it is a triple LNB Phase II dish or a true Phase III dish shouldn't matter. And, in fact, the Phase III dish may have more problems since it has a built-in multiswitch that could (theoretically) be effected by the weather - even though it is internal and should be waterproof.

Posted by: Gomer Pyle

Actually, all installations should have all cables from the dish run through grounding blocks outside the house before coming inside...

Posted by: greywolf

quote:
Originally posted by Gomer Pyle
Actually, all installations should have all cables from the dish run through grounding blocks outside the house before coming inside...

The NEC specifies the grounding block be near the entrance of the coax to the building. It does not specify outside. In fact, the section on grounding the dish frame specifically states the ground wire can be run inside or outside the building. I put my multiswitch inside my attic where the coax enters the building and use it for a grounding block. That eliminates unnecessary connections, keeps everything dry, and meets code requirements.

Posted by: richierich

greywolf richierich here, also known as plasmamaniac on the AVS forum, and I have to disagree with your assertion even though I may be the one that's wrong. The GainMaster is a Phase III dish and the LNBs are all in one sealed unit along with the SAT C conbiner and the multiswitch which is why I bought it. I will ask solidsignal if I am right or wrong but that's what solidsignal led me to believe when I bought the unit from them.

Posted by: joegarrett

quote:
Originally posted by richierich
greywolf richierich here, also known as plasmamaniac on the AVS forum, and I have to disagree with your assertion even though I may be the one that's wrong. The GainMaster is a Phase III dish and the LNBs are all in one sealed unit along with the SAT C conbiner and the multiswitch which is why I bought it. I will ask solidsignal if I am right or wrong but that's what solidsignal led me to believe when I bought the unit from them.

If you check out this link I think you will see that it's 3 seperate LNB's as Greywolf indicated. :D

Posted by: greywolf

All the pictures and links here clearly show the 3 separate LNBs on the Gainmaster.

Posted by: terryg

I installed a Phase III dish using Eagle Aspen LNBs/multiswitch. It worked fine for a month and a half; then all the odd-numbered transducers on the 101 sat dropped from 85-95 strength to 0-5 strength. Couldn't tell if it was the LNB itself or the multiswitch, but it definitely was the dish-side electronics.

Replaced the electronics on the dish (the LNBs and multiswitch) with a model built by Sharp. That fixed things; signal strength even went up 2-3 points from the Eagle Aspen version.

I bought the Sharp from Best Buy; had to buy the whole dish though. Now I have a spare dish with no electronics - I'm trying to figure out how to make a planter out of it. :)

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