DISH alignment Help Plse

R

Riddim

Guest
Hi All, Day 2 in my conquest for Sat TV
I have just bought a seconf hand Echo Star 808 - 80cm Dish - twin Univ LNB 13&19.2 Deg.

Please bear with me I am a biginner in this field,

I have lined up ok with hotbird 13Deg but I have tried for hours to get Astra 1 but no luck. I did get it once but then lost hotbird (what a nightmare)

Does it matter which lnb horn is used to clamp it to the arm (making it centred) ?

Which Port should the Hot bird be designated to, I have it as port 2 and Astra on Port 1.

Sorry for such basic questions, I have searched various sites but I havn't found anything suitable on this subject, they all talk more about the clever stuff
 

rolfw

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Depending on which monobloc (not twin, which is two identical LNBs pointing at the same satellite) LNB it is Riddim, you should normally clamp the hotbird LNB, so if you are stood behind the LNB and looking at the dish, you should be clamping the right hand LNB. The Hotbird should be number 1 and the Astra should be number 2. You then line up on Hotbird and aside from perhaps a little moving in the bracket, the Astra LNB should in line.
 
R

Riddim

Guest
rolfw said:
Depending on which monobloc (not twin, which is two identical LNBs pointing at the same satellite) LNB it is Riddim, you should normally clamp the hotbird LNB, so if you are stood behind the LNB and looking at the dish, you should be clamping the right hand LNB. The Hotbird should be number 1 and the Astra should be number 2. You then line up on Hotbird and aside from perhaps a little moving in the bracket, the Astra LNB should in line.


Thankyou Rolf,

I will try again, although I noted that it appears to be clamped to the correct LNB.

By the way this dual LNB is the type set for the 19.2 & 13 degree offsets between Astra and Hotbird, I am told.......

is the horizontal plane between the two LNBs critical, should I use a spirit level or something, or is it a case of minor adjustments whilst watching signal strength on the tv ?

Many Thanks for your time.........


Riddim
 

rolfw

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The left hand Astra LNB of the monobloc will probably sit slightly lower in the bracket, a sthe satellite is slightly higher on the horizon, but it won't be too much difference. The important element is which LNB is identified as what in the DiseqC switching menu of the receiver, Hotbird should normally be 1 or A and Astra as 2 or B. Incidentally a Dual LNB is another animal altogether as well. :) it is an LNB, not much in use nowadays, as it has two outputs, one Horizontal and one vertical, but points at one satellite, it was used in old analogue distribution systems.

It may seem like I'm being pedantic, but it will affect the answers you receive to any questions about your setup.
 
R

Riddim

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rolfw said:
The left hand Astra LNB of the monobloc will probably sit slightly lower in the bracket, a sthe satellite is slightly higher on the horizon, but it won't be too much difference. The important element is which LNB is identified as what in the DiseqC switching menu of the receiver, Hotbird should normally be 1 or A and Astra as 2 or B. Incidentally a Dual LNB is another animal altogether as well. :) it is an LNB, not much in use nowadays, as it has two outputs, one Horizontal and one vertical, but points at one satellite, it was used in old analogue distribution systems.

It may seem like I'm being pedantic, but it will affect the answers you receive to any questions about your setup.


Thanks Again....

I have by now tried so many combinations I am flagging in this British Sunshine :-)

I did everything you advised and Hotbird is strong and stable. I have tried MINOR lateral and vertical movements of the dish but Astra will not come up properly. Something seems to be there, the strength meter on the TV Menu shows it hovering around 10-15% then it pops up to 40% momentarily, but not good enough to give me a Green light on the menu.

I did find Astra at one point but it was way out of position to maintain a signal from Hot Bird. Bet I am missing something really fundamental.

I will try lowering the horn as advised but I dont hold out much hope on this one, at one point I rotated the whole LNB unit and repositioned the dish but still no good.

Should I get someone in with a magic box......???? I bet they have sat finders that say exactly what the dish is pointing to..........

Not that I give up easy I might add....... :-)


Thanks for the picky bits, I appreciate all the help I can get, I know that I have much to learn ...


Best Regards,


Riddim
 

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Riddim said:
Thanks Again....

I have by now tried so many combinations I am flagging in this British Sunshine :-)

I did everything you advised and Hotbird is strong and stable. I have tried MINOR lateral and vertical movements of the dish but Astra will not come up properly. Something seems to be there, the strength meter on the TV Menu shows it hovering around 10-15% then it pops up to 40% momentarily, but not good enough to give me a Green light on the menu.

I did find Astra at one point but it was way out of position to maintain a signal from Hot Bird. Bet I am missing something really fundamental.

I will try lowering the horn as advised but I dont hold out much hope on this one, at one point I rotated the whole LNB unit and repositioned the dish but still no good.

Should I get someone in with a magic box......???? I bet they have sat finders that say exactly what the dish is pointing to..........

Not that I give up easy I might add....... :-)


Thanks for the picky bits, I appreciate all the help I can get, I know that I have much to learn ...


Best Regards,


Riddim


Hi Riddim,

can you work on your LNB's and look at your TV?
If so, tune in one of Hotbirds stations and then cover the center LNB (that one should be on Hotbird) with your hand. If you can still receive the station the centered LNB points to 7°E and the other one to Hotbird.
 

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I trust the DiSEqC function in the receiver is turned on ?
 

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Tom's point about the LNB blocking is a great test to see if you have the diseqC and LNB setup properly. Also, as Channel hopper says, the DiseqC setting is crucial on this, if it isn't set up properly, you will not get a signal from the second LNB.
 
R

Riddim

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Tom34 said:
Hi Riddim,

can you work on your LNB's and look at your TV?
If so, tune in one of Hotbirds stations and then cover the center LNB (that one should be on Hotbird) with your hand. If you can still receive the station the centered LNB points to 7°E and the other one to Hotbird.


I'll get up there now and give it a go...........Thankyou
 
R

Riddim

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Channel Hopper said:
I trust the DiSEqC function in the receiver is turned on ?



I believe so.... Onthe system setup page there are several options, its probably better if I type what I have selected.

System Fixed
Installation Easy (Iwish)( :-)
LNBs 2
Polarity LNB (Not selectable)
Switch DISEqC1..4
LNB1 Universal LNBF HOT BIRD Port 1
LNB2 Universal LNBF ASTRA1 Port 2

I did notice that it set itself to standard LNB and I did not do that I remember setting it to Universal as instructed by the guy who sold it to me..
 
R

Riddim

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Tom34 said:
Hi Riddim,

can you work on your LNB's and look at your TV?
If so, tune in one of Hotbirds stations and then cover the center LNB (that one should be on Hotbird) with your hand. If you can still receive the station the centered LNB points to 7°E and the other one to Hotbird.


Hi Tom.......

When I put my hand over the centred LNB(The one fixed to the arm) the Hot bird program on TV went off.

Looking from the Rear of the dish through the Dish mesh, the other LNB is to the right of the Hotbird Centred LNB.

Thanks........
 
R

Riddim

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rolfw said:
Tom's point about the LNB blocking is a great test to see if you have the diseqC and LNB setup properly. Also, as Channel hopper says, the DiseqC setting is crucial on this, if it isn't set up properly, you will not get a signal from the second LNB.


I will look through the manual to see if there are any other settings related to DISEqC. I have scoured the TV Menus but the only mention is the one in set up which I posted earlier........
 

rolfw

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Riddim said:
Hi Tom.......

When I put my hand over the centred LNB(The one fixed to the arm) the Hot bird program on TV went off.

Looking from the Rear of the dish through the Dish mesh, the other LNB is to the right of the Hotbird Centred LNB.

Thanks........

OK, that means that you have the right one selected, that being the case, you should be able to move the second LNB up or down to bring in Astra.

What are the other DiseqC settings available, apart from DiseqC 1...4?
 

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Riddim said:
Hi Tom.......

When I put my hand over the centred LNB(The one fixed to the arm) the Hot bird program on TV went off.

Looking from the Rear of the dish through the Dish mesh, the other LNB is to the right of the Hotbird Centred LNB.

Thanks........

Ok,
now that you know you got the right LNB, either try playing with your receiver setups or go on with the mechanical work...

Unplug the "Astra LNB" on your diseq switch, then unplug the "Hotbird LNB" and plug it into the other socket. Then change your setup from "Hotbird Port 1" to "Hotbird Port2".
If you can still see the TV program, then your switch is ok too.

Next thing:
Change the LNB's, so that you know both are working ok.

Then (TV on a Hotbird channel):
Turn your dish by about 6° (Hold a stick under the dishes arm, keep the stick in its position and move the dish until the "out of line" Astra LNB is above the stick. You should now be able to tune in the Astra channels.

Another thought... there is no tree nearby that might be blocking your sight to "Astra"?
 

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Tom34 said:
Unplug the "Astra LNB" on your diseq switch, then unplug the "Hotbird LNB" and plug it into the other socket. Then change your setup from "Hotbird Port 1" to "Hotbird Port2".

I believe that the LNB is a monobloc Tom34, the switch will be integral.
 

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rolfw said:
I believe that the LNB is a monobloc Tom34, the switch will be integral.

Oh right, I forgot about that. So no way to check if the switch works..
 

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No, that's the problem with monoblocs, although it does appear to work, as Riddim did say that he managed to get a signal by moving it about.

The other factor which may be a consideration, is to check which transponder is used as the default by the receiver for Astra 19.2, it may be a dead one.
 
R

Riddim

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rolfw said:
OK, that means that you have the right one selected, that being the case, you should be able to move the second LNB up or down to bring in Astra.

What are the other DiseqC settings available, apart from DiseqC 1...4?


Hi Rolf.......I'll list as much info as I can here, I am fairly sure that one of the Astra LNB is not working, I can scan the sky and get Astra and Hotbird with the Centre LNB but never both. I hope this info will help to confirm that I am a complete **** (Clot) :-) here goes ............

Sytem Set Up
User LNB Settings rather than the Easy Fixed Options, like Std LNB, Enhanced, LNB, Universal LNB, C-Band And Many others........(I had it set originally to Universal by the way)

I have now set Advanced USER options as follows

User LNB 1
LO low 9750
LO High 10600
DiSEqC DiSEqC 1..4
Port 1
Polarity Control DiSEqC
Band Control DiSEqC
C/Ku Control Disable
0/22Khz control Off

User LNB 2
LO low 9750
LO High 10600
DiSEqC DiSEqC 1..4
Port 2
Polarity Control DiSEqC
Band Control DiSEqC
C/Ku Control Disable
0/22Khz control Off


Is the DiSEq switching in the LNB Electronic or electr mechanical....

If the latter should I have been able to hear a click or something...

I tried taking it of the arm and putting it to my ear but nothing heard when I switched between Sats...........

THe LNB By The Way is

Brain Wave Mono Block
Diseqc2.0

bw991 lo1 9.750 gig
501819123 lo2 10.6 gig

10.70.........12.75

That is what is on the Label if any use ??

Day 3........I know its out there somewhere :-)

Regards,


Riddim
 
R

Riddim

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rolfw said:
No, that's the problem with monoblocs, although it does appear to work, as Riddim did say that he managed to get a signal by moving it about.

The other factor which may be a consideration, is to check which transponder is used as the default by the receiver for Astra 19.2, it may be a dead one.

Me Again.......
The Transponder In the setup Window - Hotbird LNB1 is 12111/V/27500
The Transponder In the setup Window - Astra LNB2 is 11798/H/27500
 

rolfw

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Noticed that the LNb uses DiseqC 2.0, this may be the problem, i have heard that some of these will not work with DiseqC 1.2, see what the other choices of DiseqC are.

Do you have a link to where you bought it, or have a spec on it?
 
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