DC motor mounting help

[sjude]

I have a fixed 1 meter dish pointing to Nilesat and another dish pointing at Asiasat3S. I am using a diseq switch between the two.

I have purchased a Polar mount motor and want to install it for my 1 meter dish which is pointing to Nilesat. What do I need to do. Can I just remove the dish from the vertical mount and install it on the motorised system to the same vertical pole and then point it to Nilesat again. I feel that Nilesat is the lowest from my region (Muscat).

I read the threads about mounting a motor and found that I need to tune atleast a few satellites using the motor so I will try to get Hotbird, Astra and Arabsat. Will this help me to get all the other satellites in this region.

Along with the motor came a Positioner but my Digital Receiver also has DC motor control. Can I use this instead.

Any help will be appreciated.

regards,
Jude

 

[rolfw]

Hi Jude, yes, your receiver should be capable of powering the motor. Once your motor is on the pole, you will need to find your due south position, ideally a satellite located due south should be found, then you will know that the east and west arc will be correct.

 

[sjude]

Hi Jude, yes, your receiver should be capable of powering the motor. Once your motor is on the pole, you will need to find your due south position, ideally a satellite located due south should be found, then you will know that the east and west arc will be correct.

Thanks Rolfw, I will try it myself. Can I start with West as I have put the arm and motor on the right. Nilesat is the lowest as the current dish is pointing downwards. Is this position called the South.

regards,
Jude

 

[rolfw]

You must make your alignment on due South of your location. If I get your location correctly, then you are at close to 59 degrees longitude, so you can set up on a satellite within a couple of degrees either side, I think that 62East should be good for you.

 

[sjude]

You must make your alignment on due South of your location. If I get your location correctly, then you are at close to 59 degrees longitude, so you can set up on a satellite within a couple of degrees either side, I think that 62East should be good for you.

rolfw, I am at long = 23.5 W & Lat = 58.5 S.

My current dish is tuned to Nilesat. Can I start from here.

 

[rolfw]

No Jude, the whole movement of the dish is set around obtaining the correct arc and the centre of the arc has to be exactly Due South from your location. If you set up on a satellite which is too far off to either side, then the arc will be out.

Sorry I thought you were in Muscat Oman.

 

[sjude]

No Jude, the whole movement of the dish is set around obtaining the correct arc and the centre of the arc has to be exactly Due South from your location. If you set up on a satellite which is too far off to either side, then the arc will be out.

Sorry I thought you were in Muscat Oman.

I am in Muscat - Oman and I got the Lat/Long from a website. Sorry the long is around 58.x exactly from my location.

Nilesat maybe too low but what about Arabsat. Can you tell me which satellite should I start from. What position should I keep the motor arm when I start my tuning. What does "Due South" mean ? I think 68E is PAS10. Can I start from here.

I the get the idea clear now. I need to start from the center of the arc (which could be PAS10) and then I should be able to see Nilesat on the West and Asiasat3S on the East. Is this right ?

Another question. I am using a 1M dish with a Universal LNB. Will this help me for C and Ku band ?

regards,
Jude

 

[rolfw]

If you are at 58.5 degrees longitude, then due south for you is 58.5 degrees Jude. Unfortunately, the closest satellite to that location on the Clarke Belt is aimed at Russia and you will not receive it with a 1 metre dish, hence me suggesting earlier that you use 62E PAS 10 is too far off the Due South position.

Your 1M dish is too small for C Band reception.

 

[sjude]

If you are at 58.5 degrees longitude, then due south for you is 58.5 degrees Jude. Unfortunately, the closest satellite to that location on the Clarke Belt is aimed at Russia and you will not receive it with a 1 metre dish, hence me suggesting earlier that you use 62E PAS 10 is too far off the Due South position.

Your 1M dish is too small for C Band reception.

That's nice rolfw. I get everything clear now. I don't have a satellite meter so will be doing the tuning manually. Hopefully I should get 62E. This satellite should be for tuning purposes only - I hope. After this I should be able to get other satellites by moving the dish. My aim is to get Nilesat, Hotbird, Arabsat & Astra. Even Thaicom shoule be possible. I will try this and let you know.

Thanks a lot for your explanations and help. :-band

Regards,
Jude

 

[sjude]

Hello Rolfw. I tried to fix the motorised system for my dish but could not get 62E. I have a Dawoo Digital receiver which has a Signal Level Meter (display) and it shows Signal Strength & Quality. I could get a Signal Strength of about 98% but no Quality. Moving the dish up/down & polar mount left/right, I could get the best signal strength. I think for quality I need to get the channel frequency/symbol rate correct. I am not sure if my Universal LNB can get C or Ku band because this receiver does not have Intelsat902/62E satellite data. But I tried moving the dish with the Actuator to the right (West) and had the Signal Strength always above 90%.

I also move the dish (moving motor) to the maximum East end and tried getting Nilesat but failed. I removed the dish from the polar mount and fixed it back to the vertical pole (where originally mounted) and could get Nilesat again.

I will try again but this time will use a Compass for due south position.

I have a few question.

1. I have a Nokia dish which is not round but slightly oval in shape. The LNB is mounted with only one arm from the side. It is a fixed arm. When I move from Left to right by motor the dish tilts sideways. Will the center of the dish stay right.

2. My current dish is mounted already on a bracket which can be tilted up and down. I did not move that. I kept that settings and dismounted from the vertical pole and directly mounted on the polar mount on the pole. Maybe this is a problem. I need to first keep the dish parallel to the pole first - Right ? I realised all this after refixing for Nilesat.

Hope I can do it again some other time. Is a Diseq motor better than a Polar mount. With this polar mount I need to use the adapter for moving the dish. My receiver does not have output for 36VDC but has 3 connectors - 5V, Gnd & Pulse.

regards,
Jude

 

[rolfw]

Hi Jude, Does your motor have a scale on the sliding mount? You should be able to set this to your lattitude 23.613, or as close as you can get it. Then you need to swing the mount round to approximately Due South, the dish must be set perfectly straight on the motor and the LNB must be vertical, you can then try and find 62E by swivelling the mount on the pole and moving the dish elevation only.

The paperwork that comes with the motor will probably give you a calculation for working out the elevation setting for your dish, this will make life easier for you and it is possible g to obtain the right setting pretty accurately, without finding the Due South satellite..

You can also download the Swedish Microwave calculator, this will give you all of the settings required for the relevant satellite.

 

[sjude]

rolfw, the actuator does not have any scale but the arm that rotates the dish has some markings. I will check again what the markings say. The motorised system came with some papers but they were all warning messages and how the set the lower and upper limits if disturbed.

I downloaded the file and installed the calculator software from the Swedish site. I also downloaded the utility from Satcodx. Both don't tell me that 62E can be seen from here. They show me 60E but as you wrote before that beam is facing Russia.

Let me know if a Diseq motor is better to track satellites. Is this motor easy to install as I have a receiver which can be connected to a Diseq motor. With the polar mount I will need to track manually as there is no connection to the receiver.

regards,
Jude

 

[rolfw]

Most diseqC motors are an absolute doddle to set up, but 36v h-h motors should be not too far off.

There should normally be a scale on the bracket of the motor and a pointer on the motor body, this one should be set with your lattitude.

 

[Channel Hopper]

Sorry, Ive been out for a while

Sjude - Which LNB have you got at the main focal point of the dish, or is it a new fangled combo LNB (the single wire version ?)

 

[sjude]

Sorry, Ive been out for a while

Sjude - Which LNB have you got at the main focal point of the dish, or is it a new fangled combo LNB (the single wire version ?)

I have a Universal LNB and a 3 1/2 feet dish. The polar mount looks like the one in http://www.sat-city.com/DSH-Moteck-Actuator/.

rolf, there is no bracket on the motor as it is fixed directly on the actuator arm.

Actually I wanted to purchase a DiseqC motor but when I colleague went to UAE I asked him to. As he does not know much about it he purchased the Polar mount and said it has a positioner. Anyway, I had to stay with it as there was no choice. I cannot trust any web-shops to send me one.

regards,
Jude

 

[rolfw]

Sorry Jude, if I'd have read your first post properly, I'd have realised that you didn't have an H-H motor.

There is a good How To at http://www.satellites.co.uk/php-bin/forum/showthread.php?t=6713 for the installation of a Polar Mount and actuator.

 

[sjude]

The Polar mount and H-H motor seems to have the same installation procedure. Looks like I need a new dish to start with. This will not have any problems.