New antenna and new woes

[Chr0nik]

Hi everybody,

I was finally able to bring my old 110cm Triax dish from my parents' house and replace the 80cm I had on Dark Motor.

I've mounted the antenna on the motor and it seems that I'm not receiving anymore than I was receiving on the 80cm... which is odd. I've pointed it to 0.8w and the signal is 15.8db and the extremes (68.5e and 34.5w) are weaker - I'm picking up transponders on 68.5e and shows 44% but it's not locking, and 34.5w went from 6db to 4db.

The mast I'm using is straight but there must be something I'm missing as I'm able to catch pretty much everything between 62e (11.5db) and 30w (14db).

Can anybody please help me with finding out what needs to be corrected.

Thank you!

 

[Channel Hopper]

Hi everybody,

I was finally able to bring my old 110cm Triax dish from my parents' house and replace the 80cm I had on Dark Motor.

I've mounted the antenna on the motor and it seems that I'm not receiving anymore than I was receiving on the 80cm... which is odd. I've pointed it to 0.8w and the signal is 15.8db and the extremes (68.5e and 34.5w) are weaker - I'm picking up transponders on 68.5e and shows 44% but it's not locking, and 34.5w went from 6db to 4db.

The mast I'm using is straight but there must be something I'm missing as I'm able to catch pretty much everything between 62e (11.5db) and 30w (14db).

Can anybody please help me with finding out what needs to be corrected.

Thank you!

Pictures....

 

[Terryl]

Different spec's on the LNB's? The one on the 110 dish may have different gain speck's then the 80.

 

[Chr0nik]

I should have talen and posted some photos with the post. I will post them tomorrow as I'll need to go on the roof.

Regarding the LNB, I'm using a Inverto Black Ultra... Same one used on the other dish

 

[deeptho]

Hi everybody,

I was finally able to bring my old 110cm Triax dish from my parents' house and replace the 80cm I had on Dark Motor.

I've mounted the antenna on the motor and it seems that I'm not receiving anymore than I was receiving on the 80cm... which is odd. I've pointed it to 0.8w and the signal is 15.8db and the extremes (68.5e and 34.5w) are weaker - I'm picking up transponders on 68.5e and shows 44% but it's not locking, and 34.5w went from 6db to 4db.

The mast I'm using is straight but there must be something I'm missing as I'm able to catch pretty much everything between 62e (11.5db) and 30w (14db).

Can anybody please help me with finding out what needs to be corrected.

Thank you!

Signal strength is not very relevant. SNR would be a better indicator.

As your new dish is bigger, it has a a narrower range of optimal elevation (and azimuth) and any misalignment errors
will have a bigger influence. The typical test is to slightly push (from the back) the bottom of the dish or the top of the dish. If
the signal improves either way, it shows that alignment is slightly off. In that case you either need to adjust elevation or inclination.
In the center of the arc, either one will work, but near the east- and west-most part of the ark the combination of both is critical
as it determines how quickly the actual arc pointed to by the dish drops off to the east and west. This arc needs to align with
with the arc formed by the satellites in space.

There are threads elsewhere on the forum to explain it in detail, but again: the details are more critical for a larger dish.

Dish quality also matters. Some dishes are better than others.

 

[Channel Hopper]

Signal strength is not very relevant. SNR would be a better indicator.

As your new dish is bigger, it has a a narrower range of optimal elevation (and azimuth) and any misalignment errors
will have a bigger influence. The typical test is to slightly push (from the back) the bottom of the dish or the top of the dish. If
the signal improves either way, it shows that alignment is slightly off. In that case you either need to adjust elevation or inclination.
In the center of the arc, either one will work, but near the east- and west-most part of the ark the combination of both is critical
as it determines how quickly the actual arc pointed to by the dish drops off to the east and west. This arc needs to align with
with the arc formed by the satellites in space.

There are threads elsewhere on the forum to explain it in detail, but again: the details are more critical for a larger dish.

Dish quality also matters. Some dishes are better than others.

A triax 110 (olde stylee) is somewhat heavier than others of a similar size, but quite reliable in performance unless badly warped.