Usals problem & alignment

[Trust]

I am unable to pick up sats west of 0.8 due to loss of line of sight. I can get 54% on 1 west but thats because approx 70% of the dish is visible on that satellite. When attaching digital level to pole, the east/west is off 0.2 degrees on left side and 0.1 degree on the right side. But overall I would say there is plumbness east/west. The turnbuckles on the east and west of the pole are fine.

@a33 thanks for that. Need to buy an inclinometer to set the angle. Is there a particular one to get for satellite dishes?

seems you already have such thing !!

 

[Channel Hopper]

I would invest in a cheap satellite meter/finder rather than an inclinometer.

 

[Red alert]

I would invest in a cheap satellite meter/finder rather than an inclinometer.

I just take the tv outside and the receiver so just rely on that for signal.
I decided to fix the front turn buckle and found a nice part of the concrete i can anchor the turnbuckle. So the north/south is now 0.2 off.

i re-setup the motor and in doing so introduced a different problem. I dont think I’m getting any luck with this setup. Seems with a mixture of tweaking the motor mount bracket and frustration i tightened the bolt of the motor a bit too much and bent the bottom bracket.

ive attached the photo of it. So the problem i have is i cant level the motor bracket so its plumb, when I tighten the bracket the level goes to the right. Soo stopped and not sure what to do next. Dont think anyones seen a setup with so many problems. I had a better setup in the beginning and was gettting close to the arc but couldnt resist the urge to go outside and tweak the dish and made it worse.

any help appreciated though you must all be tired with it now.

 

[jeallen01]

Those clamps are probably only pressed "Chinesium" steel and they do distort if you tighten the nuts "too much" - that happened here with the pole clamps securing the Dark Motor supporting the Gibby , and so I "knocked up" (don't laugh!) some extra clamps to stop those original clamps distorting further. I will aim to provide a link to the relevant thread, which has photos, tomorrow as I will have dig back to mid/late 2019 to find them (Remind me if I forget to do that!).

 

[a33]

tweaking the motor mount bracket and frustration i tightened the bolt of the motor a bit too much and bent the bottom bracket

I'm not sure which part(s) are bent now, but maybe this helps:

The whole point of having the mast perfectly plumb east-west-wise, is to have the motor housing (left and right side) exactly plumb east-west-wise (so that the motor axis is also exactly plumb, east-west-wise).

Can you somehow manage that (measuring/adjusting motor housing plumbness)?

greetz,
A33

 

[Trust]

There is a big difference in strenght of those clamps by different brands .
Over tighting happens easaly and the elevation scale aint show the correct value anymore .
Therefor its necessary to messure that angle at the bottom of the rotor .
I also provided it with extra clamps and some changes at the teeth of those clamps .

 

[jeallen01]

OK, so not tomorrow as I have to stay up because SWMBO is a Type 1 diabetic and her blood sugar level is low and so I had time to find the referenced thread/page which is here - see Post #17 onwards.:

Advice Needed - Question to technomate tm5402 m3 owners - max channel limit?

This afternoon, I seem to have run into a "funny" issue with the above (possibly)! Having around 3250 channels already found and saved, I was trying to scan 53E (Express AM6) with a Blindscan - it found a lot of channels from 52E (predictable!) and one group on 12595 MHz Vertical which was...

www.satellites.co.uk

 

[Red alert]

Thanks for the information all. Is there a reason why they make the clamps this way? Is it to save costs or just works better when the mount has to grip the pole?

@a33 here are some photos showing mast and motor plumbness. Its the side thats bent that shows 89.4

@Trust is it worth filing the clamp from looking at the photos, or better to do it so it strengthens the brackets more? Probably worth setting the latitude on motor based on the inclinometer i have rather than mount?

@jeallen01 i read your other thread. Thats quite a unique clamp and mount setup you have there. Looks very strong enough to withstand a hurricane . I might have to setup something also if what i have isnt quite fixable

let me know what you think of the mast plumbness and motor mount. The photos of mast are from 4 different sides of the mast at 90 degrees. Still not sure if that slightly bent bracket will stop me from gettig on arc??

Apologies for the photo rotation

 

[Channel Hopper]

Ease of production is why they are made that way.

Cheapness is why they bend and rust.

 

[TJExcalibur]

Once I have finished the dish setup I drill a small hole in one of the motor and dish clamp brackets then insert a ss self tapper to preven any twist in high winds. I got fed up going up every year to move the dish back west a few degrees.

 

[Lazarus]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Nice idea.

 

[Red alert]

Anyone know where i can buy replica stab clamp. I just need the U shape thread. When i took down the stab motor a few weeks ago one of the nuts was stuck on the thread so i had to heat the thread to loosen the nut. Well now the thread is unusable. I found this on Amazon but dont know if it will fit . I have everything else except the U thread Clamp

 

[Channel Hopper]

You could always try the 'official' UK dealer, not a million miles from you.

But if you want a decent aftermarket service then pm me and I'll put a second hand one in the post (courtesy of Jeallen who donated a complete rotor not long ago)

 

[Channel Hopper]

Ah, here they are

 

[jeallen01]

Tip: if anyone has a problem with broken threaded sections on clamps/bolts or want to couple sections thereof, these coupling nuts (available in many metric bolt sizes) can be very useful

M8 Joining Nuts for sale | eBay

Find great deals on eBay for M8 Joining Nuts. Shop with confidence.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Red alert]

Ok, Ive put the Stab motor back on the pole (thanks to @Channel Hopper for sending the U Bolts) as it just provided better clearance for LOS. My issue is back again with north/south alignment of pole. Seems i didnt think it though properly when i first installed the ground mount for the mast. Oh well we live and learn. Im now 1.5 degrees off north/south unless I use chemical resin to bolt down the front hook bolt so it never moves again. Now I am picking up signal but obviously not on the arc. I have read the following thread from a forum and its an interesting conversation on setting up elevation setting on motor mount.

Motor Latitude

@a33 From what I understand i need to set the motor elevation to around 34.4 degrees using the inclinometer to achieve a modified motor angle including the 1.5 degree the pole is off by. I calculated this by doing: 90 - 54.1 (54.1 is the modified latitude for my location) = 35.9 . Then because pole is off by 1.5 degrees do 35.9 - 1.5 = 34.4 on the inclinometer. Does this sound about right? The value should be taken from the belly of the motor?

Regards

 

[Channel Hopper]

Ok, Ive put the Stab motor back on the pole (thanks to @Channel Hopper for sending it) as it just provided better clearance for LOS. My issue is back again with north/south alignment of pole. Seems i didnt think it though properly when i first installed the ground mount for the mast. Oh well we live and learn. Im now 1.5 degrees off north/south unless I use chemical resin to bolt down the front hook bolt so it never moves again. Now I am picking up signal but obviously not on the arc. I have read the following thread from a forum and its an interesting conversation on setting up elevation setting on motor mount.

Motor Latitude

@a33 From what I understand i need to set the motor elevation to around 34.4 degrees using the inclinometer to achieve a modified motor angle including the 1.5 degree the pole is off by. I calculated this by doing: 90 - 54.1 (54.1 is the modified latitude for my location) = 35.9 . Then because pole is off by 1.5 degrees do 35.9 - 1.5 = 34.4 on the inclinometer. Does this sound about right? The value should be taken from the belly of the motor?

Regards

Can you try levering the pole to alter its cemented position, or maybe excavate the edges and drop one side to realign it ?

Slacken all the wires first though

 

[TJExcalibur]

Ok, Ive put the Stab motor back on the pole (thanks to @Channel Hopper for sending it) as it just provided better clearance for LOS. My issue is back again with north/south alignment of pole. Seems i didnt think it though properly when i first installed the ground mount for the mast. Oh well we live and learn. Im now 1.5 degrees off north/south unless I use chemical resin to bolt down the front hook bolt so it never moves again. Now I am picking up signal but obviously not on the arc. I have read the following thread from a forum and its an interesting conversation on setting up elevation setting on motor mount.

Motor Latitude

@a33 From what I understand i need to set the motor elevation to around 34.4 degrees using the inclinometer to achieve a modified motor angle including the 1.5 degree the pole is off by. I calculated this by doing: 90 - 54.1 (54.1 is the modified latitude for my location) = 35.9 . Then because pole is off by 1.5 degrees do 35.9 - 1.5 = 34.4 on the inclinometer. Does this sound about right? The value should be taken from the belly of the motor?

Regards

You are setting up a can of worms by not having the pole absolutely vertical.

 

[Red alert]

Can you try levering the pole to alter its cemented position, or maybe excavate the edges and drop one side to realign it ?

Slacken all the wires first though

Its not cemented. Its a 3 leg mast tripod which has been bolted down into concrete. If i can get the front turnbuckle sorted then it will make the pole plumb. Its like this Tripod . Its supposed to be adjustable but i dont think works well on a slightly sloped concrete.

@TJExcalibur, Yes you are right, this would be the 2nd can of worms ive opened on this installation now. I change one thing and break something else.

 

[Channel Hopper]

Even so, concrete slabs can be moved about in the earth to re-orient the tripod.