Dish elevation

[Idiot]

First of all, please excuse my ignorance...

About a year or so ago I installed my own motorised dish. I was never able to get it properly on the arc. For satellites furthest west I would need to tip the dish elevation down a few degrees and for satellites furthest east I would need to tip the dish elevation up a few degrees.

Doesn't seem to make sense at all.

I don't want to have to take it all down and start again and I had enough of a nightmare last time, hence why I just gave up and manually adjusted the dish when I needed to receive the extremes of either side. Does anyone have any idea from what I've written above which bit I have messed up during setup?

Any help/advice that can be provided I would really appreciate.

 

[RimaNTSS]

You need to change Azimuth little bit to the East.
Your case in the red square.
Welcome to forum BTW.
After you tune your antenna, are you going to change your nickname? ;)

 

[davemurgtroyd]

EDIT beaten to it

 

[jeallen01]

I agree with RIMNTSS' advice - and where, more specifically, where are you in the UK because that could be part of the issue if you have misunderstood which is the True South satellite at which you should aim the dish when setting the 0 degrees position of the dish motor on the mast/ pole?

PS: I think we were all "idiots" when we started out setting up steerable dishes - takes some time and (poor/bad!) experience to learn how to best set them up to work (I felt like that this time last year after "coming back" to sat reception after the best part of 20 years away from it).

PPS: OTOH, ignore RIMNTSS' question about changing your forum name - anything "funny" is QUITE acceptable ;)

 

[Idiot]

jeallen01, I'm in East Anglia. 1W correct?

RimaNTSS, would it just need a small nudge or several degrees?

 

[Lazarus]

New Forum Name: "Ididit"

Obvs.

 

[RimaNTSS]

would it just need a small nudge or several degrees?

Try little by little till you get positive results. Of course, as @davemurgtroyd mentioned before changing his post- the pole should be dead plumb. Elevation and declination angles should also be properly set.

 

[jeallen01]

jeallen01, I'm in East Anglia. 1W correct?

RimaNTSS, would it just need a small nudge or several degrees?

For my part, I would suggest peaking the signal on 1W and then nudging the dish mount on the mast/pole very slightly E (because you are at 1E) in very small steps and checking the signal on both the furthest E & W satellites for each step - when the signals from those are about the same level then you are getting close to the "best" True South position for your location. Finally, then try very, very slightly raising and lowering the dish elevation to peak the signals on the signal that you now get from 1W.

After all that, I guess that, with an 80cm dish (for example), you should be able get decent signals from about 30W to around 53E

 

[jeallen01]

New Forum Name: "Ididit"

Obvs.

Not yet showing like that ;)

 

[Idiot]

Thanks for all the advice everyone I will have a go either Friday or Saturday and I shall let you know how I get on. Just hoping I don't totally screw it up and end with no satellites. Don't wanna have to start from fresh

If I manage I would like to change my name to "Ididit" but I don't think you can, can you?

 

[Topper]

If I manage I would like to change my name to "Ididit" but I don't think you can, can you?

Yes just ask a red (admin)

 

[Terryl]

Sounds like your mounting mast is not truly vertical, check it left to right front to back with a known good level, if it's off a few degrees one way or the other it will track the Clark belt funny.

 

[Captain Jack]

Just hoping I don't totally screw it up and end with no satellites. Don't wanna have to start from fresh

Mark positions with Tipex before you undo any bolts so you can return to original position in case it all goes wrong!

 

[jeallen01]

Sounds like your mounting mast is not truly vertical, check it left to right front to back with a known good level, if it's off a few degrees one way or the other it will track the Clark belt funny.

@Idiot

If you think the pole might not be vertical, it would be worth investing a fiver in one of these "post levels": B&Q Post Level | Departments | DIY at B&Q
(also available cheaper elsewhere!) which will show how "vertical" it is in two planes as the same time.

 

[william-1]

5 main setting points when setting up motorised dish:-

Motor Mast dead vertical in 360 degrees with a spirit level,

Motor Elevation for your location for maximum signal at your reference satellite,

Motor at zero on the scale when aimed at your reference satellite,

Dish Declination set for maximum signal at your reference satellite,

Dish dead central on the Motor Spigot.

 

[Channel Hopper]

A piece of fine cotton with a washer tied to the end is under a fiver.

 

[jeallen01]

A piece of fine cotton with a washer tied to the end is under a fiver.

But "slightly" less easy to use - especially when you are talking about only a couple of degrees, and then there is the need for at least 2 of them at 90 deg to each other!

Only problem I ever had with a post level was that, eventually, the rubber bands perished

 

[Terryl]

5 main setting points when setting up motorised dish:-

Motor Mast dead vertical in 360 degrees with a spirit level,

Motor Elevation for your location for maximum signal at your reference satellite,

Motor at zero on the scale when aimed at your reference satellite,

Dish Declination set for maximum signal at your reference satellite,

Dish dead central on the Motor Spigot.

6th point: The dish and motor (at zero) MUST be aimed to geographical Due South, (or Due North if South of the Equator) not magnetic south, and a South reference satellite may not be exactly Due South from your location.(this should be found once the dish is aligned to Due South.)

This is why they call the mount of most BUD's a polar mount, it has to be aligned to the geographic poles to track the Clark belt correctly, a few degrees off either way and you will miss the end satellites.

 

[Terryl]

It sounds to me that his mounting pole is leaning to the left looking at it from behind, or the dish has a sag to the left when moving that way.

 

[jeallen01]

That's why the OP needs - as several people have pointed out - to ensure the pole is absolutely vertical, and thus why I suggested a post level as it is a very quick & easy way to determine if it is.

OTOH, as I said in Post #4, it could still just be a case of the dish True South alignment not being correct as I believe that that is a very likely cause.