1.8m Prime Focus Satellite Dishes
There are a number of 1.8m Prime Focus Satellite Dishes used for reception of UK TV on the Costa Blanca and Valencia area.
One type of 1.8m Prime Focus Satellite Dish used for reception of UK TV on the Costa Blanca and Valencia area is the Marrafa range of satellite dishes.
The other type of 1.8m Prime Focus Satellite Dish used for reception of UK TV on the Costa Blanca and Valencia area is the Famaval range of satellite dishes.
A Famaval 1.8m satellite dish (left) and a Marrafa 1.8m satellite dish (right)
Both of these 1.8m Prime Focus Satellite Dishes look very similar in design. However there are a few differences between the two.
Famaval 1.8m Prime Focus Satellite Dishes are light grey in colour, with the rear support bracket and floor stand also in the same colour.
Famaval 1.8m Prime Focus Satellite Dishes have three light grey LNB support arms.
Famaval 1.8m Prime Focus Satellite Dishes have their dish elevation adjustment arm at the bottom of the dish supporting ring.
Marrafa 1.8m Prime Focus Satellite Dishes are light grey in colour, with the rear support bracket and floor stand are galvanized steel and is thus less prone to rusting than the Famaval satellite dish.
Marrafa 1.8m Prime Focus Satellite Dishes have three light grey LNB support arms.
Marrafa 1.8m Prime Focus Satellite Dishes have their dish elevation adjustment arm at the top of the dish supporting ring.
A “grey” Famaval 1.8m Prime Focus Satellite Dish (left)
and a “white” galvanised steel Marrafa 1.8m Prime Focus Satellite Dish (right).
Both of these 1.8m satellite dishes perform very well in the Costa Blanca and Valencia areas of Spain. There is very little difference in reception of satellite signals between these satellite dishes.
Note the lack of the Famaval Logo on the photo of the 1.8m Famaval satellite dish. Despite what you may have read or heard, not all genuine Famaval dishes have the Famaval logo printed on them for identification purposes.
Famaval 1.8m Satellite Dish Specifications:
Reflector Material: Aluminium
Reflector Weight: 17kg
Outside diameter: 1940mm x 1940mm
Reflector diameter: 1790mm x 1790mm
Focal Distance: 73.6cm
Gain (10,7 Ghz): 44,4db
Gain (11.7 Ghz): 45,1db
Gain (12.7Ghz) : 45,9db
Satellite Dish Size Confusion
There can be some confusion between installers supplying Prime Focus Satellite Dishes used in the Valencia and Costa Blanca area. Is a satellite dish a 1.8m satellite dishes or a 1.9m satellite dishes. The official measurements for satellite dishes are actually taken by the size of the reflector part of the dish, and should not include the outer rim of the dish. So a 1.8m satellite dish is the same as a 1.9m satellite dish. The difference is simply how you interpret the measurements.
Satellite Dish Gain Confusion
Despite what you may have read and heard from newspapers or advertising, Famaval 1.8m Prime Focus Satellite Dishes do not actually have the best “gain”, and therefore may not be the best make of satellite dish for Spain and the Costa Blanca.
Some expat newspapers run an advert from a satellite dish wholesaler that says “if any company tries to sell you a satellite dish by saying that this dish is ‘special gain’ or ‘superior’ or ‘multi-gain’ or ‘high performance’ or ‘super duper’ ALWAYS DEMAND to see the dish manufacturers website to compare the dish specification against the “Famaval” range of dishes.”
So here are the comparisons from the Famaval and the Maraffa website:
The Famaval 1.8m Prime Focus Satellite Dish has, according to their website, a gain at 10.7Ghz of 44.4db, and at 11.7Ghz of 45.1db
The Maraffa 1.8m Prime Focus Satellite Dish has, according to their website, a gain at 11.0ghz of 46.0db.
So based on the satellite dish manufactures own websites, the Maraffa 1.8m satellite dish clearly has more gain than the Famaval 1.8m satellite dish, and so is the better performing satellite dish, despite the claims from the adverts.
Which is why the Maraffa 1.8m satellite dish is and always has been our preferred choice of dish to install out of these two manufacturers.