How to align declination tilt on a SL5 legacy ODU

[Frank Lloyd Wrong]

New here, surprised I don't see a separate install forum.

Moved a dish. I have been trying to peak this ODU using a simple RF meter, which is fine for AZ and EL. I have the ODU peaked so that when I press on the edges of the dish, signal drops and does not increase, which to me means I have pretty much nailed AZ and EL.

Tilt is probably a little more complicated. What I have seen so far is that you need to be on 119 to do that; not sure if that is correct. I do not have a meter that can tell me what sat I am looking at; it just looks for RF.

I have access to an old Birdog USB, but I would probably need to update firmware for DirecTV sats. Also, I am not really sure if the BD can tell me what sat I am looking at. Someone is supposed to get me an AIM meter on loan, but so far that has not materialized.

I also am not sure which ports on the LNBF carry which signals, or if that config is fixed or if it is agile.

So my questions are:

1) how do I align tilt? (I know the physical, nuts and bolts part, fuzzy on the sat I need, etc.)

2) how do I identify which sats come from which port on the LNBF, and do those always stay the same, or do they change?

3) does anyone know if the Birdog USB will identify the DTV sats?

4) which sat does the tilt adjustment rotate around on the SL5 legacy ODU?

As you can see I am almost there. All I need is a little suggestion session with you gurus out there.

Thanks in advance.

(Mods, move me to a better forum for this if there is one, please.)

 

[Magic Static]

Declination is a function of a motorized dish. You may be referring to Skew. If you go here www.dishpointer.com you can get the alignment angles you need for your setup.

 

[cinsu]

You might not even need to line up amy more, if you look in signal strength on the receiver what kind of mukbers are you getting?

The tilt should be peaked on the 119 because it is affected the most. As magic static said dishpointer.com should be able to give you a number for your tilt. As long as your mast is level the tilt shouldn't need to be adjusted. We call it a set and forget. As a technician it isn't even a requirement for us to adjust the tilt with the meter unless we are installing a 5 LNB and even then most techs dont.

To answer the other questions:
All 4 ports are essentially capable of outputting the same thing, what it outputs is actually based on what it receives, that is a whole other discussion. Is your meter powering the LNB aka does it have a switch for 18v/13v or something similar or is it just inline? If it is powering the LNB you would need it to send either 18 or 13 volts and a 22 kHz tone to the LNB in order to receive signal from 110/119. If it is inline just go into the signal meter screen on the receiver and put it on the 119 on a transponder that gets signal. As long as your meter is passing the power and 22 kHz tone properly you should be seeing the signal from the 119.

Not 100% sure about the birdog but I think it does differentiate the satellites.

All satellites are affected by the tilt, the tilt is there to line the dish up with the orbit of the satellites. Any dish that receives from more then one satellite must have a tilt of some kind. In this case the 119 is affected the most by the tilt because it is 18° away from the focal point of the 101 where the 99 and 103 are only 2° (the 110 isn't used in the CONUS anymore).

Sorry if any typos, typing from my phone...

 

[cinsu]

I just reread your post. You kept saying legacy but you are referring to a conventional (4 port) LNB on this dish

Not this one

Right?