Sat TV Dish for 435Mhz RX

[VE6CPP]

Is it possible to convert an old Sat TV Dish for Oscar Sat Downlinks on RX?.. and would it be any better than an Arrow or the likes? I have no problems with the VHF uplinks.. but would like to experiment a bit for a 'Better downlink antenna' for AO-51, FO-29, etc.
Tnx and 73

[AB2KT]

Which size dish? The old C-band dishes are about 3m in diameter. The current Ku-band dishes run from around 43cm to 1m.

A 3m dish would make a heck of a 70cm antenna, but it would also need a heck of an Az-El rotor to make it useful for LEO operation. The smaller dishes are probably too small to be helpful.

The tradeoff with a 70cm downlink antenna seems to be getting enough gain without making it too hard to aim. If you're talking homebrew, something like four phased biquads over a flat-panel reflector might be what you're looking for.

73
Frank
AB2KT

[VE6CPP]

Thanks Frank.. Yes I was refering to the smaller Direct TV type. It is no longer in use(was my sons who moved out and left it behind)
May come in handy later for 2 - 5Ghz stuff or the likes!
Thanks again..
Jerry  VE6CPP  VE6Jee/p

[PHILIP_EX_KC7FWB]

The DBS satellite services run on ~12GHz, that is what the dishes are designed for.

The gain is not going to be anything spectacular until you get up to around 10GHz.

For anyone interested in motorizing a large dish, take a look at the 1224EL actuator on http://www.satellitesuperstore.com/motors.htm (scan down the page till you find it).

[VE6CPP]

I was just trying to improve my Reception of a couple of Sat's.. would something like the 'CHANNEL MASTER 4228 8 BAY UHF ANTENNA' work for 70cm reception any better than say a UHF Yagi? I know the freq. for UHF TV are a bit higher, so the SWR would probably be poor on a TX standpoint..  it was more the 'Capture Area' for receive I was wondering about. I have a 16el Gulf supposedly being shipped soon! Would that be a better choice for reception..rather than filling the roof with aluminum! 73