Hi,
Thanks for the reply.
I have checked the skew (I apologise, I should have said that in the
original posting). The LNB is more or less in the position indicated in
the photograph - the mid-line is pointing between 4 and 5 o'clock. There
is, as I guess you know, a set of markings or gradations on the LNB: I
started with the central (teardrop shaped) one vertical (as advised by
Forte) and varied the skew position around that point.
I know I'm very close to 32.7 degrees east of magnetic south - although I
do not know how close I *have* to be. I've got a pretty good compass, and
there are plenty of other dishes around me.
As far as the vertical position is concerned I'm assuming the correct
elevation is 22.5 degrees: I have the plane of the dish 22.5 degrees from
the vertical (rather than the arm 22.5 from the horizontal - the plane of
the face of dish is not at rightangles to the arm: all I have done is lay
a piece of wood across the face of the face, cut a piece of cardboard to
22.5 degrees, laid it against the wood and checked with a spirit level
that it is vertical). It has to be very close. I have telephoned Forte,
and they indicated that the dish should be 32-34 degrees from the
vertical, which I cannot understand, but I tried it anyway without any
success.
** Amended 28/04/2009: Now I did not realise this was an offset dish...
there was no documentation to that effect in my Maplin pack. I should
have thought about it of course but I did not. Thanks to the mail below!!
I have since looked up on-line and, as far as I can determine it is offset by
24.62 degrees so (where I am) it should point a couple of degrees down
when viewed from the side. I'll certainly try this and update the thread.
I have line-of-sight.
I have stepped the dish around and the the readings on the
receiver never vary - intensity 45%, quality 4/5%. The satellite finder
indicates some variation but remains in a fairly narrow band (3-4 on a 10
point db scale) until - and this I cannot comprehend - I put my hand between
the LNB and the dish when it goes up to 7-8.
I do not know how long a time a change in position would take to be
reflected in the reading on the receiver, I have tended to give it 10-15
seconds. The satellite finder appears to reflect what small changes there
are in real time.
One final curiosity. I noticed that the meter was powered only when the
receiver was set to H or Auto (polarisation?) in the antenna setup menu
(at least when the Satellite selected was Astra 2). If I select V, the
lights go out on the finder, so I assume there is no voltage in that case.
Most of my attempts have used the factory settings.
Any help appreciated