Purchased a new 10 footer from Tek2000 to replace my 8 footer. The weather improved to a point that I decided to go ahead and do the install. The install went as expected, up until the point and aim portion.
My due south is 105W and only has S2 signals. Couldn't raise a thing, moved to 107.3W, was barely able to raise some S signals. After 4.5 days of checking rechecking and replacing components I came to the point of the only thing I hadn't checked was their numbers.
So, strung string again (had done a string test) and measured the depth of the dish and diameter. Then doing the math, found that the focal point was 43.14 inches not the 48.5 inches all of their documents state. Had to do my own math to approximate where to mount the support rods, as their support would only state that the focal point is 48.5 inches.
Moved the rods to a point close to what I calculated (was off) and moved the scalar and LNBF much closer to the correct point over the dish. The results were great, was able to check my tracking of the arc and button up to wait for another round of decent weather. Need to adjust things to get scalar and LNBF just a bit higher. Will shim the rods higher when I get a nice day, which will get me to the point I need to be at. That should give me a bit more Q on the weaker signals.
MORAL OF THE STORY, trust but verify. You should take the time to check the focal length yourself. It only takes a few minutes and can save days of frustration. This is true whether you are rescuing an older BUD or setting up a new one.
My due south is 105W and only has S2 signals. Couldn't raise a thing, moved to 107.3W, was barely able to raise some S signals. After 4.5 days of checking rechecking and replacing components I came to the point of the only thing I hadn't checked was their numbers.
So, strung string again (had done a string test) and measured the depth of the dish and diameter. Then doing the math, found that the focal point was 43.14 inches not the 48.5 inches all of their documents state. Had to do my own math to approximate where to mount the support rods, as their support would only state that the focal point is 48.5 inches.
Moved the rods to a point close to what I calculated (was off) and moved the scalar and LNBF much closer to the correct point over the dish. The results were great, was able to check my tracking of the arc and button up to wait for another round of decent weather. Need to adjust things to get scalar and LNBF just a bit higher. Will shim the rods higher when I get a nice day, which will get me to the point I need to be at. That should give me a bit more Q on the weaker signals.
MORAL OF THE STORY, trust but verify. You should take the time to check the focal length yourself. It only takes a few minutes and can save days of frustration. This is true whether you are rescuing an older BUD or setting up a new one.
