Usals problem & alignment

[Channel Hopper]

I would send it all back, nobody in their right mind sells pole extenders for motorised kit, except in April.

 

[Red alert]

The tripod is bolted down into concrete about 8cm. Then i laid about 70 kg of stones on top of the tripod. The pole of the tripod is 1m long 4mm thick. I added a strengthened pole coupler to add another 1m of height to get better line of sight. I understand I will need to attach guy wires or bracing to the pole. Can anyone suggest how I can set this up? I am thinking 3 way guy wire?

the back of the dish is more or less level.

 

[Red alert]

Good job.

Now, for BADR, Edit the "Satellite" from 26E to 25.5E ........

In general, you might find that altering the USALS Longitude a tenth or three helps (Try increasing from nominal, then decreasing. Observe which is best) - It's a lazy but effective way of countering very small misalignments from the comfort of your shack.

I tried doing that with openvix but doesnt have an option to change individual satellites. Apparently the Usals satellites cant be amended.

 

[Terryl]

A three way guy is good, but use turn buckles on each guy line, this will help straighten things out.

I would start with one directly off the back and two off to the sides 120 degrees from that.

 

[jeallen01]

Here a couple of examples of how I "guyed" the 1.2m gibby and the TD110 using "Expamet Galvanised Steel Straight Straps" (they come in various lengths) from B&Q and they are around £3-£6 each

The straps are fixed to the mast using car exhaust clamps, and the other ends are attached to the posts holding the fence panels (or the garage in one case!). "Luckily" when the neighbours had the fencing installed, it was done using concrete posts, and the ends of the straps slot quite nicely into the small gaps left between the posts and the panels!

NB: use screws to firmly locate the straps to the posts/panels - after positioning them to push (but probably pull) the dish mast towards the "plumb vertical". You can gently and slightly bend the ends of the straps if necessary - but don't try to bend them more than about 10-15 degrees or they will fracture!

 

[Red alert]

Here a couple of examples of how I "guyed" the 1.2m gibby and the TD110 using "Expamet Galvanised Steel Straight Straps" (they come in various lengths) from B&Q and they are around £3-£6 each

The straps are fixed to the mast using car exhaust clamps, and the other ends are attached to the posts holding the fence panels (or the garage in one case!). "Luckily" when the neighbours had the fencing installed, it was done using concrete posts, and the ends of the straps slot quite nicely into the small gaps left between the posts and the panels!

NB: use screws to firmly locate the straps to the posts/panels - after positioning them to push (but probably pull) the dish mast towards the "plumb vertical". You can gently and slightly bend the ends of the straps if necessary - but don't try to bend them more than about 10-15 degrees or they will fracture!

That is an interesting approach will look into this also, although I dont have many places i can strap the steel straps to. With guy wires i suppose i can bolt them down onto concrete, ideally at 45 degree angle from the pole to strengthen it.

 

[jeallen01]

That is an interesting approach will look into this also, although I dont have many places i can strap the steel straps to. With guy wires i suppose i can bolt them down onto concrete, ideally at 45 degree angle from the pole to strengthen it.

I would have thought that having the guy wires or steel straps at 90 deg angle to the pole would be more effective - especially if they are attached to it near, or above, the motor mounting at one end and to the fence posts at the other.

 

[Red alert]

I would have thought that having the guy wires or steel straps at 90 deg angle to the pole would be more effective - especially if they are attached to it near, or above, the motor mounting at one end and to the fence posts at the other.

Would it be ideal to have the Guy ring above or below the motor mount on the pole? Also not sure if i should get 4mm or 6mm steel wire. Like this Guy wire? . Also M6 Turnbuckle here Turnbuckle? If i am bolting this to concrete or fence would I use a hook bolt then wrap the guy wire around the turnbuckle?

 

[jeallen01]

Personally, I would attach the guying wires above the motor as that should better "pull" the pole more vertical by resisting the downward force from the motor/dish load .

 

[Terryl]

Would it be ideal to have the Guy ring above or below the motor mount on the pole? Also not sure if i should get 4mm or 6mm steel wire. Like this Guy wire? . Also M6 Turnbuckle here Turnbuckle? If i am bolting this to concrete or fence would I use a hook bolt then wrap the guy wire around the turnbuckle?

I would use the 6 mm wire, and the turn buckles need to be rated for what ever the load on the guy wires would be, 3 way or 4 way guy points, it does not matter, as long as the wires are not in the way of the swing of the dish.

I use a 3 way in most antenna installs, it's easier to setup, but on some roof installs I have to use a 4 way, it all depends on the roof (or mounting surface) and antenna's used.

Also if the mounting pole used is supported by a tripod like what you have it should not sag, but as said a pole extender may cause problems, use a single pole as long as you can get to do the job.

 

[Red alert]

I would use the 6 mm wire, and the turn buckles need to be rated for what ever the load on the guy wires would be, 3 way or 4 way guy points, it does not matter, as long as the wires are not in the way of the swing of the dish.

I use a 3 way in most antenna installs, it's easier to setup, but on some roof installs I have to use a 4 way, it all depends on the roof (or mounting surface) and antenna's used.

Also if the mounting pole used is supported by a tripod like what you have it should not sag, but as said a pole extender may cause problems, use a single pole as long as you can get to do the job.

Cheers, I've installed the 3 way guy wires and turnbuckles and the pole is plumb and steady. I seem to have problems getting on the arc. For most satellites it seems they are a few degrees west to where they actually should be even though I setup for peak signal on 1 west. I compensated by lowering the value of longitude but this doesnt work for all sats. I sent the motor to 0 and moved the dish/motor so 1 west signal was very weak. Then sent motor to 0,8 west and tried to peak the signal by moving dish/motor east/west and changing elevation of dish. Cant pick up anything past 33 east and 5 west. If I have to push up the dish on east sats and if usals is a few degrees off, do I just move the motor/dish mount a few degrees west? From the image of satellite arc it seems the problem I have is a mix of "declination to low" and "north/south axis to far west" but not sure if thats right because I'm having to decrease my longitude so the dish moves west to peak signal. Maybe I am tightening the motor bolts mount incorrectly, or the dish is still not quite center on the motor pole when i tighten it up.

 

[a33]

How is it, that USALS is off arc, when you went to 0.8W and finetuned the whole setup on that?

I don't understand; because that satellite position in USALS must be right, as you set it that way.

Or is there a east/west input problem in your receiver (positive or negative longitude numbers)?

Greetz,
A33

 

[Red alert]

How is it, that USALS is off arc, when you went to 0.8W and finetuned the whole setup on that?

I don't understand; because that satellite position in USALS must be right, as you set it that way.

Or is there a east/west input problem in your receiver (positive or negative longitude numbers)?

Greetz,
A33

This puzzles me also, this is why I believe it could be the way im tightening the bolts of the motor/dish that puts it off center once everything is tight. One of the Stab brackets has slightly bent because I tightened it up too much once. Ill post pics of back of dish and motor later to see.

My East/West is from dishpointer and I set the Longitude to West and Latitude to North.

What channel is good to use for 1 west? I have been using freq 12418 V. Is there a better channel to tune to to do the setup?

 

[Channel Hopper]

All channels on a satellite will be OK to start tracking from on a small dish like yours.

One thing the Stab rotor didn't have was weak brackets, the rest was a bit ho-hum. Anyhow, it won't be a single component in the system, but a combination.

Now that you have tightened the guy ropes, how much movement left / right/ up/ down/ is there in the LNB of you try moving it by hand outside ?

 

[Red alert]

All channels on a satellite will be OK to start tracking from on a small dish like yours.

One thing the Stab rotor didn't have was weak brackets, the rest was a bit ho-hum. Anyhow, it won't be a single component in the system, but a combination.

Now that you have tightened the guy ropes, how much movement left / right/ up/ down/ is there in the LNB of you try moving it by hand outside ?

There is hardly any movement when I tried to move the lnb. I have attached some photos of where I checked the level on different parts. I just tweaked it more today before it became dark. I moved the dish on the motor pole to make sure its dead on center at 0 position, still not convinced 100%. When i place the level on the dish at 0 position it seems the bubble is slightly off. I tested 26 east 11996 H as thats the only freq i can get on that sat and getting 35% SNR so something is off. 13 east has excellent signal so has 1 west. 10 east not very good though. I have had to change my longitude to 1.400 to pick up 26 east. Dishpointer says 2.x. Either the north/south is slightly off or the dish face is still not quite level with motor.

 

[sonnetpete]

I moved the dish on the motor pole to make sure its dead on center at 0 position, still not convinced 100%. When i place the level on the dish at 0 position it seems the bubble is slightly off.

I'd say it's enough 'off' to affect your results. I use a digital level to set up my dish, motor and pole and try to get it plumb to within 0.1 of a degree. It's a worthwhile investment...

 

[a33]

Your photos show a plumb pole north-south, if I interpret your photos right; but what about east-west plumbness of the pole?
That is the thing that matters with a motor setup; north-south plumbness is not really necessary at all (though many still say it is, I don't know why).

And did you test what is in post #8 and #16? With what result? I'm not sure that you reported back on that.

Greetz,
A33

 

[Red alert]

Your photos show a plumb pole north-south, if I interpret your photos right; but what about east-west plumbness of the pole?
That is the thing that matters with a motor setup; north-south plumbness is not really necessary at all (though many still say it is, I don't know why).

And did you test what is in post #8 and #16? With what result? I'm not sure that you reported back on that.

Greetz,
A33

Regarding post #8 I used the latitude value from dishpointer so 53.4. Am I supposed to subtract the declination angle from the latitude? Declination is 7.6. About post #16 I measured the level on what i understood but didnt get the red line going across from the motor to dish??

I attach the photo of east-west plumbness. You will have to rotate the photo clockwise. Looks plumb to me thats why my concern is the dish face. Or motor mount brackets and how they tighten. I only get an hour after work to tweak the dish before it gets dark

 

[Channel Hopper]

I haven't seen a post where you mention the receiver you have.

 

[Red alert]

I haven't seen a post where you mention the receiver you have.

Edision mio 4k running openvix. (I should fix my profile)