Reality Check my plans please...

mickkeay

Hi all. Great forum. I have read the stickies and my motor instructions (SG2100) and I think I know what I need to do - but I would appreciate someone giving my plan the once over.

I am in Brighton on south coast (latitude 50.8N Long 0.075W) I use the table in the motor instructions to set the motor elevation angle =40) The dish declination angle should be 7.3 according to same table which equates to a dish bracket angle of 22.7 (30-7.3)
I mount the whole thing pointing as near to true south as I can judge and I then power up receiver (fortec star passion HD) and get the dish to go to 1 degree West using the diseqc menu and then i need to find the thor 1W - hopefully my little bleeper will help me get the best signal by adjusting the whole setup left/right on the main pole and up /down on the dish. Then it should track the arc about right? and I can maybe fine tune on my main satellites I need - hotbird and astra 1+2.

Is that all about right?

One thing that is puzzling me is that the dish bracket angle marking read 30 (the lowest number) when the dish is perfectly vertical - the scale goes from 30 - 90 as it is elevated - so I am not sure where 22.7 would be on that scale - it is a 65cm fortec star which was 'free' with my receiver but had no instructions. Maybe it will be a case of trial end error - and from what I read I may need a 80cm dish?

Thanks for any help you are able to give - Mike

bigtee

The technique you have outlined is the USALS method which should indeed be the easier and more accurate method of aligning a motorised dish.

Accordingly, you should use the USALS menu (not the diseqc menu) of the receiver to send the dish to 1w, having already entered your coordinates, before commencing the physical alignment.

The dish should have a scale at the back; if not just set it about vertical to start and continue on a trial and error basis. Hopefully the 65cm dish should be fine for 1w easily enough though a bigger dish (e.g. 80 cm) is generally recommended.

BTW Welcome to the Forum

rolfw

Use the latitude scale on the motor and set it to your actual latitude.

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mickkeay

Thanks guys - but that didn't go so well I certainly had the motor elevation OK and when pointing south (1 W) and adjusting the dish elevation using a bleeper the bleeper frequency would rise a little but I just could not get the receiver to show any signal at all when fine adjusting either E/W or elevation. The bleeper frequency would also sometimes rise /fall/ rise /fall whilst the dish was not even moving or being moved. I suspect I may have a faulty lnb / dish. In the USALS menu I had to set long to 0.1 (wouldnt accept .075)
I know the receiver is ok - it can control the motor ok and when I plug it into my sky minidish it's fine. Leaving the bleeper in line would not stop the receiver showing a signal would it? My view south is completely unrestricted

thanks Mike

bigtee

I wonder what the default transponder for the 1w satellites is on your receiver.

Next time you have a go select the transponder to use for searching; two good ones are 11325H 24500 (has BBC World) and 11190 V 2142 (has Edusat); those are very likely to give you an idea when you hit the right location.

Good luck

mickkeay

Thanks bigtee. The receiver didnt have an option for thor1 so I selected Thor 2,3 (0.8W) and the transponder settings were 3977 H 17777

Or should I have manually edited the transponder settings to the ones in your previous mail?

When I search on Thor 1 it tells me it has been sent to a graveyard orbit?? (I know how it feels)

rolfw

3977 is C Band, you need to set the default to a Ku band transponder.

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Park Royal

3977H is a C band frequency, you will not pick it up with your gear.
Use the transponder Bigtee mentioned
Curses Rolf beat me to it.
parky

bigtee

In addition to what has already been said, if you highlight/press OK/press left or right arrow (or summat like that) on the line that has the transponder that you mentioned, you should be able to see a list of transponders which should include those mentioned above. Thus you don't have to 'edit' the one you mentioned; just select an alternative.

satelliteman

Tp C8, 11.325 Horz is what I always use. You have to find it or add it

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mickkeay

Many thanks guys - all up and working now. Bit of trouble finding that Thor but got there in the end. I fitted a new 68cm penta in the end. It is fitted on a flat roof (ashfelt / gravel etc.) I leveled then screwed a 2 foot square piece of weatherproofed blockboard onto the roof and then screwed a 1m Patio pole into that. My only concern is the base of the patio stand is only about 20cm square and the dish and motor are quite heavy. I think in time the wind on the dish will loosen the screws and I will be back up there. Any suggestions? (I did toy with the idea of using a concrete paving slab - so I could use some expansion bolts in the slab

I also fitted a 4way LNB so I could run another receiver later but wondered the best way to connect the cables? Ideally I would like for either receiver to have the ability to move the motor (but not at same time obviously) Is that possible - splitting the motor input two ways? Would it get confused where it was? Or should I just leave one receiver passive and just connect it directly to the second feed of the LNB ? Thanks again Guys