Multi LNB Set up on a Sky Dish

[sonnetpete]

I'm not certain if it is down to issues with the dish or my inexperience; I think its probably a combination of the two.

The issues are in part due to inexperience, though I still think there is an inherent problem with your 'gifted' dish. If you do decide to upgrade to a larger dish before long, I'd go for a recognised maker, such as Gibertini or Fracarro. Triax dishes can produce excellent results but are a swine to set up and not something I'd suggest for a novice.

 

[Manikm909]

or my Laminas 1.2m

 

[Offtensive]

My eventual plan is to add in a couple of fixed dishes for the main sats that I watch, as, I do like the option of being able to instantly switch channels; plus that gives me the option of multiroom.

Ideally I am looking to grab some 80/85cm dishes for 42e & 52e; 13e & 19.2e (depending on how I get on I will look to see if I can squeeze 16e and 23.5e in there); 0.8W and 5W. I'll start off with one and see how I get on before adding any more. I have considered a toroidal dish, but their weight, difficulty to align, and cost put me off.

The issues are in part due to inexperience, though I still think there is an inherent problem with your 'gifted' dish. If you do decide to upgrade to a larger dish before long, I'd go for a recognised maker, such as Gibertini or Fracarro. Triax dishes can produce excellent results but are a swine to set up and not something I'd suggest for a novice.

I agree with that after the issues I had over the past couple of days. Whilst I try and source a good 1m dish, I will just use one of the 80cm dishes I plan to buy on the motor.

or my Laminas 1.2m

You might have to come and install that for me

 

[a33]

I'm not certain if it is down to issues with the dish or my inexperience; I think its probably a combination of the two.

As I wrote, after just three careful dish measurements, and after some calculations that we can let our calculators do for you, you can try to put the LNB where it belongs.

greetz,
A33

 

[Offtensive]

As I wrote, after just three careful dish measurements, and after some calculations that we can let our calculators do for you, you can try to put the LNB where it belongs.

greetz,
A33

I will do this later today hopefully (depending on the weather).

 

[jeallen01]

I will do this later today hopefully (depending on the weather).

TBH, getting sats like 42E + 52E, 13E + 19E, and Thor + 5W on fixed 80-85cm dishes is actually pretty straightforward if you have a half-decent compass & sat bleeper (I have 42E+46E+52E on an 80cm cheapo, and then Thor+5W AND 4.8E on an ancient 90cm!)

In fact, in some ways it can be easier to set up 3x LNBs for 3x reasonably closely-spaced sats than to set up for 2 sats because, generally, you aim the centre LNB on the feedarm at the middle sat, get that set up, and then deal with the ones on either side.

Then, once you have set up one of the above pairs/triples on one dish, you will then get a pretty good idea of where to point the next dish in terms of both azimuth, elevation & skew (you have to set the skew "per sat" on fixed dishes) !

 

[Gladstones]

hi offtensive
Did you try the old and easiest method. I am using this method since 1992 and it’s never failed.
Place Tv and receiver near dish, select a working tp from Thor. Loose little bit nuts at mount bracket which is attached to the pole. Also loose elevation nuts.
face the dish towards estimated Thor position
Try moving dish left right if no signal lift dish little bit then right left.
it’s same if dish mounted to the motor loose motor mount nuts attached to the pole.
I guarantee you will find the signal in 3 mins max.
if the dish elevation bracket hard to adjust ask someone to tighten the nuts while you holding the dish also keep watching the signal on a tele.
I never calculated any angles for dish alignment.
Try this with freebee dish
If this fails then something wrong with the dish.

 

[Offtensive]

hi offtensive
Did you try the old and easiest method. I am using this method since 1992 and it’s never failed.
Place Tv and receiver near dish, select a working tp from Thor. Loose little bit nuts at mount bracket which is attached to the pole. Also loose elevation nuts.
face the dish towards estimated Thor position
Try moving dish left right if no signal lift dish little bit then right left.
it’s same if dish mounted to the motor loose motor mount nuts attached to the pole.
I guarantee you will find the signal in 3 mins max.
if the dish elevation bracket hard to adjust ask someone to tighten the nuts while you holding the dish also keep watching the signal on a tele.
I never calculated any angles for dish alignment.
Try this with freebee dish
If this fails then something wrong with the dish.

Hi Gladstone I did try that too on saturday and again earlier this week.
Conveniently, there is a window right next to where my dish is mounted, so I was able to just move the TV in front of the window and I didn't even have to take it outside. I had one port of the lnb connected to the receiver, and the second to my meter; so I could use both simultaneously. But I was getting 0 signal quality on both.

Even when I managed to get hotbird on the 1.1m dish, the signal quality was only about 60-65% if I remember correct.

 

[jeallen01]

On a slightly different track, have you carefully checked the cable(s) & connectors for damage/poor contact all the way from the LNB to the Rx as "problems" in those could cause low signal levels.

PS: most of the stronger Hotbird channels should give you near 100% SS & SQ on a 1.1m dish (as you almost certainly already know).

 

[Offtensive]

I did recut the cable and attach some brand new f connectors on the cable (if that is the correct terminology) to ensure none of the braid was touching the core. I also tried another cable that I’ve used elsewhere which didn’t work either.

I do have some new cable, albeit RG6, somewhere. I’ll try that next time.

 

[jeallen01]

That should basically rule out faulty cables/connectors.

OK, and so here's another thought: many "popular" channels are transmitted on multiple sats but the signal levels vary considerably in the UK because they are being beamed to different regions/countries, and thus are you sure that those you received from "Hotbird" are actually coming from 13E and not from "another sat" transmitting the same channel(s) ???

 

[Offtensive]

I just double checked on the receiver, it was hotbird. As one of the channels I was receiving that day was Sky News Arabia on 11747H, which is one of the transponders that's missing for me now.

 

[jeallen01]

I think it's time for you to have a "brain and dish" reset"!

Started again from scratch, i.e. get a decent signal from Thor - and then, very carefully and slowly, work your way a little way East & West (say 4.8E together with 5W) such that the strongest channels on those are roughly equal in SS/SQ (and they are!).

Therefore, if (when??) you can do that then you will be well on the way to getting the dish to track correctly across a wider arc.

Unfortunately, the temptation is try to get "quick results" by going for sats right across the arc far too quickly - but "slowly, slowly, catchee monkey" is generally the right approach for members of the "First Timers' Club"

 

[Offtensive]

In the past few weeks I have had a few plays with the dish, trying to set it up as a fixed dish, but had no luck. I had swapped the nuts to wing nuts and also turned the dish-to-pole bracket upside down.

Yesterday I took down the motorised zone 1 and first attached the backplate onto the motor and then attached the dish/reflector. The reflector is surprisingly light for a steel dish, and doing it this way I was able to get it in the middle of the motor arm.

I was given a tip to change the washers for something larger, and surprisingly, it now works!

Unfortunately I was only able to change 2 out of the 4 washers to bigger ones, as the dish-to-pole bracket looks to be slightly damaged. So the larger ones ere too big for the other set of wing nuts. These larger washers have made the world of difference. Before, whenever I was adjusting the elevation, it was in a jerky motion and the slightest movement would see any signal quality drop instantaneously.

I couldn't get Thor, but I tuned it to Hotbird, and to my surprise it works. I've set my receiver up with USALS and I've been able to tune in Thor and other sats and am getting channels. I still need to do some fine-tuning, it started raining today before I was able to do that. On Thor I am getting 681 channels, but quality is only around 60%. I don't think I'm getting the K1 channels on Thor 6; that probably seems about right according to Lyngsat. When I fine tune the dish, should I do it all at Thor?

 

[Offtensive]

Some photos of the new washers

 

[Ferret]

In the past few weeks I have had a few plays with the dish, trying to set it up as a fixed dish, but had no luck. I had swapped the nuts to wing nuts and also turned the dish-to-pole bracket upside down.

Yesterday I took down the motorised zone 1 and first attached the backplate onto the motor and then attached the dish/reflector. The reflector is surprisingly light for a steel dish, and doing it this way I was able to get it in the middle of the motor arm.

I was given a tip to change the washers for something larger, and surprisingly, it now works!

Unfortunately I was only able to change 2 out of the 4 washers to bigger ones, as the dish-to-pole bracket looks to be slightly damaged. So the larger ones ere too big for the other set of wing nuts. These larger washers have made the world of difference. Before, whenever I was adjusting the elevation, it was in a jerky motion and the slightest movement would see any signal quality drop instantaneously.

I couldn't get Thor, but I tuned it to Hotbird, and to my surprise it works. I've set my receiver up with USALS and I've been able to tune in Thor and other sats and am getting channels. I still need to do some fine-tuning, it started raining today before I was able to do that. On Thor I am getting 681 channels, but quality is only around 60%. I don't think I'm getting the K1 channels on Thor 6; that probably seems about right according to Lyngsat. When I fine tune the dish, should I do it all at Thor?

I would do it at thor for fine tuning a dish. I think with your story i know you from elsewhere and you have a Viark.

In your neck of the woods on a 1meter dish id expect on that box to see around 74% on nova sport 2.

 

[Offtensive]

I would do it at thor for fine tuning a dish. I think with your story i know you from elsewhere and you have a Viark.

In your neck of the woods on a 1meter dish id expect on that box to see around 74% on nova sport 2.

Thanks, the washers you recommend made the world of difference. I'm going to try and upgrade the remaining two to something bigger too so those top wing nuts have a bit more force/grip.

 

[jeallen01]

Thanks, the washers you recommend made the world of difference. I'm going to try and upgrade the remaining two to something bigger too so those top wing nuts have a bit more force/grip.

Don't forget those "long-eared" wingnuts that Gladstones suggested as you should be able to tighten those more effectively

 

[Ferret]

Don't forget those "long-eared" wingnuts that Gladstones suggested as you should be able to tighten those more effectively

I would 100% recommend those too i use them and find with a repair washer under them adjustment just glides.

 

[Offtensive]

I would do it at thor for fine tuning a dish. I think with your story i know you from elsewhere and you have a Viark.

In your neck of the woods on a 1meter dish id expect on that box to see around 74% on nova sport 2.

I just tweaked the elevation and nova sport 2 is now up to 72%.

I'm going to order those bigger wing nuts today, hopefully those and a new lnb add a couple more percentage points.