Are polar mount setup instructions included together with actuator?

BombedOne

Hello. I know, this question is a bit offset for this department of forum, but, here more "old-tech" people appear, who know days of BUDs and are familar with actuator installation (not DiseqC motor).

Today I've installed my polar mount 2.4m mesh dish. Unluckily, it came with no instructions at all, only a picture on box, showing what and where should be connected. I've tried to be human actuator, rotated dish to different positions, but only was able to get 100.5E, 93.5E, 7E, 7W. Tomorrow I'm planning to purchase actuator and control box for it tomorrow, but I'm worried, if no instructions included, how should I set-up it?

can anyone share detailed actuator mounted dish aligning instructions? Regarding tools, I have everything, including compass, GPS, inclinometer and so on.

pedro2000uk

The basics are just the same as diseqc (not USALS) but you have some playing with the actuator position to get the best arc and miss walls & brackets with the actuator, not just the dish.

Set the elevation of the 'polar mount' to your position, fit the dish on centrally on the polar mount if it is the pole type and does not replace the az/el mount.

Calculate your middle sat and nudge the polar mount dial from zero to plus or minus your offset from that sat with the actuator roughly in the middle of it's movement, leave it there and alter the elevation of the dish and swing the polar mount round until you are on your middle satellite... tighten up both and find all other satellites/ fine tune...


You may want to adjust the actuator position to give more east or west arc....or swap it from left hand to right hand to avoid an obstacle at the back ...

Without the instructions you need to decide the length of actuator to use by measuring the arc movement v the actuator travel needed.

Channel Hopper

You have done well to get the named satellites so far, it should be little trouble fitting the motor and cabling with your expertise, but the best piece of advice I can give is to keep a keen eye on the dish when driving the motor with the cnotrol box, and ONLY MAKE SMALL ADJUSTMENTS NEAR THE ARC LIMITS.

In my earlier days I folded up an IRTE 1.5m dish from believing the control numbers on the display, and spent a good 2 hours trying to straighten it out without the owner knowing what I had done ( but don't tell them).

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

pedro2000uk

they are strong those actuators... bend a dish?... you could push a wall over ..(always have a trowel handy)

BombedOne

I've manufactured support pole in such way, that dish won't hit it, or ground in any case. I'll post photos tomorrow. But, there's one problem, due to roof unevennes, it was impossible to set up pole to be exactly vertical - it now has a declination of approx 10 degrees in south-north direction. As I know, for Diseqc Motors this can be corrected, using adjustment screws, but is such correction available for actuator driven polar mount systems?

greyghost

Hi
the only instructions you normally get are how to set e+w limits.
you dont need an actuator for set up just a bar you can lock in place.
from the sats you can recieve it seems your dipping in and out of the clark belt, a 2.4 has a sharp focus , so make sure..
1. most important the support mast is perfectly vertical.
2. the polar axis and dish offset set for your location.
3. borrow a spectrum/satlook meter it will save you hours of pain
in the ani days we could use a portable tv.
4. here is a quick start, set axis and offset bolt your dish up swing to a sat closest to your location lock up your mount fine tune your offset, swing east/west and see what you get.
5. i always used a lockable arm/bar and then fitted the jack last, with
a spectrum rough alignment used to take about 10-15 mins tops, fine tunning varied with dish size bigger took longer,have a quick google to get your angles right.
luck grey.

just spotted your last posts without a vertical mast diseqc is your only way unless you cut your mast top and weld or bolt a vertical extension you could use a twin motor/jack system if funds permit.
the bigger the jack the more sats you can rec if your site permits.
sorry about location error.
luck grey.

pedro2000uk

Not good practice but yes.. still works on a polar mount..

BombedOne is not in UK ... greyghost.


Also BombedOne.... take care of the movement of the actuator .. that it has free movement .. be careful far east if your actuator is on the west side and far west if your actuator is on the east side ... as it gets near crossing the axis point.. (don't allow it to go that far)

BombedOne

1. Currently impossible to do this, I'll have to cut a
3. I have analogue sat finder and digisat pro (not so cheap cr@p from Emitor SE)
5. Kind of it is included with polar mount.

I even tried to call a company or individual to do this setup for me, but all refuse, when they know size of the dish.

Also, actuators came in various sizes, such as 18', 24' etc. Which one will be right for such sized dish?

pedro2000uk

[quote=BombedOne;806211]1. Currently impossible to do this, I'll have to cut a
3. I have analogue sat finder and digisat pro (not so cheap cr@p from Emitor SE)
5. Kind of it is included with polar mount.

I even tried to call a company or individual to do this setup for me, but all refuse, when they know size of the dish.

Also, actuators came in various sizes, such as 18', 24' etc. Which one will be right for such sized dish?[/quote]

as above.. you can calculate it on the movenment ...
Move the polarmount to far east... then to far west .. and measure the travel at the actuator pivot point to the top actuator arm.

BombedOne

As I remember visually, 18' will be enough. But these 24' ones are more solid constructions.

pedro2000uk

24 then don't use all of it.. but if you need a bit more later you have it..

I think 24 on a 2.4 is OK


Cool having a 2.4....btw .. what make is the dish BombedOne

BombedOne

Real maker is unknown, it is branded as "PANORAMA" PM-4-8R, but as I know, this is trademark of UAE importer from china. Polar mount is very impressive and solid construction. Dish itself is also OK, but questionable. Mesh is very thin and fragile, can't wait till replacement sheets will be delivered (supplier delivered me C band mesh by error, now he offered to deliver me more fine, Ku band compatible mesh for free). This dish, including polar mount, costed me $180.

pedro2000uk

ku band mesh.. that could help with wind ..


btw...

....I really think it well worth spending the time to get the main pole 100% first... I know you can compensate for it, but if it moves a bit then the angles on a pole that are out can be a real problem .. especially on a very weak signal.. we did a 2.4 recently and the pole was out (not done by us), it was just a fixed az/el but it still meant a nightmare in fine tuning compared to if it was 100% vertical.

BombedOne

Pole is affixed very firmly. No chance for it to move - I striked it yesterday with 20kg hammer several times - rock solid. Hovever, converting it to vertically standing will require welding works, which aren't permitted on rooftop. So, it'll be more easier to manufacture NEW pole, which will include alignment plate. I'll do that, but clearly not in nearest months. Currently, I'm developing cheap alternative for Chapparal CoRotor, since I have whole bunch of frequencies and polarisations to be received.

pedro2000uk

some project BombedOne ... let us know how you go on.... I'd like motorised everything ... skew/ focal length/ swapping lnbs in/out of the focal point... we do custom polar mounts & motorised elevation mods*- *really handy.

BombedOne

Yes, I'm trying my best. Technically it seems to be not too hard to do, but the problem is the weight - I expect whole construction to be around 5kg - definetly LNB support poles will need replacement.

BombedOne

Here are photos. Angle of pole declination can be seen easily (compare it to building on background). Also, there's look of polar mount itself, and it's assembly instructions on the box.

Attached Thumbnails

     

pedro2000uk

no no.. that pole is fine.. it's the apartments that are leaning! (oh yeah.. that’s what you say to a customer- that and trees leaning)

so how is it bolted down..? can you not add spacing under the bolts until the pole is vertical?

(I would say it might be a good idea to make the base bigger before you fit the ku mesh..)

also the polar mount looks good - I recognise the design ... Can you not judge the actuator size from the picture on the box...

Channel Hopper

I believe the mount is bolted right through the roof, but I agree the easiest way to make vertical would be to make a 50cm triangular steel place with a ten degree elevation, and bolt everything through that.

I hope the neighbours no issue with four bolts protruding through their ceiling

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

BombedOne

There's no living space inside that place - this is elevation for elevator housing, you can check similar add-on on building at background. and it's roof is declined intentionally - to allow rainwater run down.

Bolts go trough whole roof. Currently there are 4 bolts, but holes are already drilled for additional 4 units, will install them later.

Base is very strong, I don't know how to name this material in english, but this is wery thick steel reel, generally used for heavy buildings. Complete pole assembly, including base weights about 60kg. I can't make base more wider, because then in case of low elevated satellites, such as Hispasat, dish will touch it.

The dish in the pictures is aimed at 93.5E. Now heavy snow started, will see tomorrow morning, how this superthin mesh will survive snow

pedro2000uk

well... That is one cool dish anyway BombedOne ..
....
2.4 C / KU and from that height you can see 120-130-140-150?? degrees ... amazing....

... here, if we have 2.4m we usually have to keep it sheltered, low down which also restricts deep east & west.

BombedOne

Yes, a lot of laws are quite relaxed here, unless you live in historical (protected) area of city, you can use whatever you like, of course observing fire, electricity and other safety rules.

Elevation of that place, above sea level is 528m. According to SAA software, I should be able to receive from 122E to 31W. My personal experience so far, using 150cm primefocus dish (I haven't spend a lot of time on fringe reception before) was from 96.5E to 15W. Let's see how this new setup will perform.

pedro2000uk

Take a lot of care which actuator you decide, to make sure you can get that large arc which isn't always easy depending on the design of the polar mount - you may still end up modifying the position/ movement of the actuator to get it all.

BombedOne

Later (when weather gets fine), I'll attach telescopic antena rod from old TV, to actuator position, will rotate dish from one edge to another, and measure the maximum length that rod has extend to.

pedro2000uk

I am surprised this forum doesn't have a 'sticky' thread tutorial on polar mount/ actuator setups . Perhaps we should do one.