I'm worse off now that when I began

[I_Just_want_to_know]

OK, I've had a couple of weeks off from dish pointing, I was getting nowhere..
But as today it wasnt raining, I have decided to give it another ago (silly me)


I read a couple of weeks ago, that something in the way of the dish, can give you a false reading on your sat meter, (and this was the way I had previously left it.. thinking I had a really strong signal, when the dream box told me I had naff all).. since that time, I have bought an inclinometer.. cost me all of £4.50 from "the bay" and has a 360degree circle so I can figure out what angle to set too.

(One of my previous posts mentioned about elevation angle/declination angle and motor angle and the confusion I was having knowing what to set it all too... so, if I want to tilt the dish at 28 degrees.. using this, I should get 28 degrees regardless of what the angle the motor arm was....yes???)

Anyway, according to my motor manual, I need to set it to 27degs, and according to sat-calcs.com I needed to set it at 28.996 degs (I'm trying to get thor 1 to set my arc for the motor)

Anyway.. I set the dish to 29degs (the inclinometer is magnetised, and stuck to the LNB arm, behind the dish, which is 90degrees square to the dish..) having said that.. the dish indicator actually says 35degrees at this point?????


Now.. I point the dish using a method from the dish pointing guide..
Using the PDF compass thing.. mark out 177degs on the paper, and with the needle pointing at (paper) north, move the direction pointer of the compass and paper so that it matches up..
Now, out by the dish, I cant get an accurate reading, something rather magnetic out there, so using a block of wood, line the compass up to it, and the wood to the LNB arm so I can get it straight, but without getting the compass too close to the dish..

Meter reads absolutle diddly squat..
Keeping at the elevation angle I set, I moved the dish around (from the correct direction I thought I was pointing in).... extra helpings of diddly squat..

So.. totally fed up now.. I have finally removed the motor from the equation and just tried to get thor 1 fixed.. set the elevation and direction angles in similar fashion... and I get a side order of diddly squat as well (with a fine bottle of the house nothing to go with it)


What else can I try... is there a way of finding out what to point at (without spending a small fortune on a sat finder)...
I'm beginning to regret buying it all... I've got and had nothing to show for an outlay..

(just to tie up, I did put the inclinometer on my mast, and it lined up straight, and looking at dishpointer, I'm pointing in the right ball park)



Rob


(I should add.. the smaller of my two tv's is 32" so moving it out by the roof isnt really an option, and I live alone so the BBC world service idea is only useful when I can hassle a mate into spending a day at mine to help out)

[satelliteman]

Don't get too confused, read through all of these again:

> Motor set up - Detailed

> Motor set up - quick ref

> Dish El & Declination explained

[nelson_b]

hi -- I_Just_want_to_know -

dont despair you will get there eventualy ,

i notice from dour details you have a dreambox --
i,m not familiar with the dreambox - but i gather they are not as straight forward to set up as most regular recievers --

are you sure you have it set up correctly (l.n.b. settings etc ) to recieve a signal from your dish -- if not that may be your problem rather than the dish alignment ---

regards nelson_b

[makbar]

another trick use is get an old analogue box or u might sitting in the attic.
and look in lyn..sat table locate some analogue transmission and use that as a guide. i.e 19.2E ,13E... with analogue if u r slightly out u still get a poor picture but u can fine tune later.

[Topper]

another trick use is get an old analogue box or u might sitting in the attic.
and look in lyn..sat table locate some analogue transmission and use that as a guide. i.e 19.2E ,13E... with analogue if u r slightly out u still get a poor picture but u can fine tune later.

That is certainly an option since an analogue channels is easier to find as even when a few degrees off you get the bars rolling in, i used to find that exciting, now with digital it is nothing nothing ding sound and picture