Azimuth,elevation

[mikesat]

Hi there

I bought a FTA satellite kit one year ago (Mapline Ireland), I installed it six months ago and haven’t got a single channel yet. The matt is plumbed terminations are ok.
My location is Dunshaughlin in Ireland.
The system I have is Fortec Star BETA receiver with a 560 mm diameter dish, with a Universal Quad LNB (nikkai A05FT) that I swap with the original single LNBF.
I have a magnetic compass with no correction (magnetic North) and a satellite finder as tools.

First of all I would like to know what can I get with the actual system I have , I will in the future invest in additional receivers but for now I stick to one.I have read and browsed as may sites as I could to get ready to do the job myself ( I am a beginner in Satellite system)

Secondly I need clarification on the following: For Astra 2ADB the vendor said Azimuth 28.2° East starting at 0° South, which equal 151.8° East from North (180-28.2). Correct me if I am wrong, elevation 32° to 34°.
I was told to get the exact Azimuth and elevation from web sites with the location where I live. I got Azimuth true (139.2°) Azimuth magn. (144.0°), LNB skew – 15.4° elevation 21.1°.

Question should I ignore the vendor recommendations for Astra 2ADB (28.2° east & 32° to 34°) and work with Azimuth 144.0° East, LNB skew – 15.4°, elevation 21.1°.(144.0° from magnetic North is different to 28.2° from 0° South, the elevation too)

Also I am using a magnetic compass, I found it extremely difficult to align the dish with the compass as all the surrounding is metal (matt, brackets, dish) the needle tend to deflect or stop evolving when approaching the dish from any positions (behind, front, from bottom), even if the LNB is not connected. I am doing wrong or what? Any suggestions?

Before I think of a problem with my system, I would like to be sure that I’ve done the correct thing which I am not sure at the moment. (Exact Azimuth and elevation vendor’s or web sites’? Align dish problem with compass.)

To finish my fortec star beta receiver’s user guide says if you point at the right sat you will have green deflections on the strength and quality bar. I don’t know if this is a misprint from the book about the colour code but I’ve never seen any Green deflections only red deflection (the maximum deflection I’ve got so far is strength 30% quality 60% but none channels).
It’s a lot of literature but I better be precise in order to get help.
Could any one guide me with the Azimuth & elevation I should use and the compass thing, I will try to work on this and the see where I stand?

Thanks in advance.

 

[guest]

One potentially significant point you may not have considered: You are using what is called an Offset Dish ie the LNB is not arranged at the true focal point of the Dish, but is placed on an arm that presents the LNB at an angle to the Dish.

This Offset is normally around 22 - 25 degrees and should be subtracted from your calculated elevation (which also happens to be around 22 - 25 degrees or so .........)

Magically, therefore, whilst it may seem odd, the Dish face should be just about vertical.

If you have actually got it pointing 21 degrees (in your case) up in the air, you'll never get any Satellites at all !

Forget the Compass and get a rough idea of direction from _http://www.dishpointer.com/

Keep things simple and whack the original LNB on until you're happy, then put the Quad back (which might entail a fractional increase in Elevation depending upon how much the extra weight of it might deflect the LNB arm).