10 foot aluminum mesh dish refurbish project.

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gop32053

Active SatelliteGuys Member
Original poster
Aug 14, 2013
15
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Florida , USA
Hello friends , need some help. I am refurbishing a 10 foot aluminum ( mesh very tight ) satellite dish. The dish has been in place for since 1990. I have checked the pole and everything is plum. I checked the dish to see if warped with the string method and looks good. I removed old LNB. I ran new coax to a new WSI Combination C and KU band model #NS741. LNBF feedhorn. I bought a X2 M1 satellite micro receiver and a V box dish mover.I also added a 22k switch with LNB. My problem is I get nothing. I only have about 60% signal strength and quality will bounce between 0-28% . I have tried to lock in Galaxcy 28 and also other sats using autoscan and blind scan. I have measured the focal distance from center of dish using string method. Can anyone help me here , I know I am missing something but I should be getting something on c band at least.
 
I would remove the 22K switch for now and just hook to the C-band side directly (if that is applicable to your LNBF).

Do you have the proper Local Oscillator freq. and other setup parameters selected in your menus?

Do you know if your dish is actually pointing at a satellite?

And do you have a live transponder selected in your receiver for that satellite?

I would be doing all of this with your receiver and a tv out at the dish so you can get feedback in realtime.
 
Try rotating the LNBF 90° in the scalar. The skew scale marked on the LNBF may be 90° off and that will switch H & V polarity.
 
The "X2 M1" is a cheaper $22 SD only (plain DVB) receiver. It's NOT the Premium HD model, and it can't do S2. It's good to use for an aimer, or to use on 97W but not much else. I bought one to use with an tiny lcd tv to help peak my dishes. It works well for what it is.

You should be able to pick up something with it. I would go through ALL the steps as IF you just put this dish up brand new, and check everything, elevation, declination, peaked on south-most sat, etc. Used with analog originally could work even if it wasn't peaked. That's not so with digital...
 
Thanks , I think I will purchase a new receiver.

Dude, I wouldn't do that until you got something with the one you have. It might not be the "best" one but it will work fine for just setting up and tweaking the dish. Once you get that figured out then you can buy a better receiver if you still want to.

What's your due South satellite?
 
My true south satellite looks like 83W- AMC-9 ( GE 12 ). I am a novice and I am doing this for the first time, any help is welcome and appreciated. I am located in northern florida.
 
Here's everything you need to know: http://www.geo-orbit.org/sizepgs/tuningp4.html#anchor677238

Read and puzzle it out to get it straight in your head, and come back with clarifying questions if/when you have them.

That site is a PRIME treasure for anybody wanting to know more about dishes, and contains many great nuggets of info that you'd be well blessed to memorize for future use.
 
My true south satellite looks like 83W- AMC-9 ( GE 12 ). I am a novice and I am doing this for the first time, any help is welcome and appreciated. I am located in northern florida.

83W has one "fair" strength DVB TP @ 3805 V 4167 that is always there. I get that one at 70% Q on my Openbox S9. Others come and go but you can depend on that one being there to zero in on for your starting point.
 
I would really invest in a satellite meter. Can save you a lot of time and headaches especially if this is a hobby your really going to be involved in. Otherwise it's moving the dish a smidgen at a time and watching a receiver. Can be extremely frustrating to say the least. With a decent meter you can lock down what your aiming it in two minutes or less once you know what your doing.
 
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