3abn/Geosat Pro 90 cm dish Owners...SOUND OFF!

[stogie5150]

I just put mine up and I cannot get jack for signal quality. Its just above threshold on two different receivers, my coolsat 5000 and My (new) Mercury II. the dish seems to have a HUGE sweet spot elevation wise....it has signal 5 degrees either way up or down....side to side its pretty tight, bandwidth wise. I am using the little SatAv Bullet LNB, but I did check with my BSC-321 Ku LNB that I have and it was no better for quality. No matter the satellite, the best I could do was 70 percent, other than one TP on G10 that was 90. The 1m dish right below it consistantly is in the 90's on every TP that the 90cm is in the 60's on.

I'm stumped. Ideas? Sorry for the pic darkness we had a storm today here....the 90cm is on the top, 1m on the bottom.

 

[turbosat]

Focal distance?? All other specs the same, I think I'd check if the f/d is adjustable or if it can be made so.
If it 'haint that' I would suspect the dish accuracy.

 

[stogie5150]

I tried moving the LNB in or out....I could make it worse..but no better. I didn't think to check the flatness, it wasn't damaged when I took it out of the box...

 

[voomvoom]

Well maybe it being smaller (90cm vs 100cm)
plus possible weather related obstruction (should show worse on 90cm compared to 100cm)
Also maybe weather related issues from source for weaker signals (of course you did mention any satellite and certainly all satellites would not have issues at the same time..??)
Who knows...? Could be one thing, could be many things.......??

Don't give up on account of my ignorance, try again tomorrow, maybe things will look better...!!

 

[RedSavina]

the dish seems to have a HUGE sweet spot elevation wise....it has signal 5 degrees either way up or down....side to side its pretty tight, bandwidth wise.

Am I understanding you correctly: The dish is pretty forgiving when setting the elevation, but is not for azimuth?

That being the case, the prospects for using the multi-LNB adapter are not promising, correct?

 

[gabshere]

without a direct front shot i can't tell but looking at this photo the lnb on the 3ABN dish looks like its off slightly.Don't know if its the arm or lnb bracket. I'm sure you checked to see if the arm was straight. is there any adjustment for the arm without moving the dish??

 

[Mr Tony]

stogie
check the arm on the dish. I had the same issue. Make sure you are tuned onto a satellite and then try and move the arm itself but leave the dish where it is. I've seen that happen on my GeoSat dish aimed at G10. Best I could get was 50 on the Pansat. Pushed the arm a little bit and BAM 80

Basically move the arm for azimuth but not the dish

 

[stogie5150]

Am I understanding you correctly: The dish is pretty forgiving when setting the elevation, but is not for azimuth?

That being the case, the prospects for using the multi-LNB adapter are not promising, correct?

Correct. I was startled about how narrow the window was azimuth-wise. Elevation was very forgiving. I have the DUAL LNB rig, it was included in the package, but I have no need for that right now...

without a direct front shot i can't tell but looking at this photo the lnb on the 3ABN dish looks like its off slightly.Don't know if its the arm or lnb bracket. I'm sure you checked to see if the arm was straight. is there any adjustment for the arm without moving the dish??

George, this is my first "store bought" dish so I not sure what "straight" would be! I am so used to the P* dishes this is all new to me. It doesn't look like there is any adjustment, its LNB arm is attached with two bolts pretty rigidly. The sun is supposed to be back tomorrow so I'll have plenty of pics , I promise.

stogie
check the arm on the dish. I had the same issue. Make sure you are tuned onto a satellite and then try and move the arm itself but leave the dish where it is. I've seen that happen on my GeoSat dish aimed at G10. Best I could get was 50 on the Pansat. Pushed the arm a little bit and BAM 80

Basically move the arm for azimuth but not the dish

I'll try that tomorrow, but I think I am going to have to disassemble the dish to get to the bolts to loosen them enough to MOVE the arm.

 

[RedSavina]

Correct. I was startled about how narrow the window was azimuth-wise. Elevation was very forgiving. I have the DUAL LNB rig, it was included in the package, but I have no need for that right now...

Well hopefully when you tweak that feed arm as Iceberg suggested you will find it is not as narrow as it first appeared! (I suffer from a mild case of persistent optimism)

I'm glad I came across your post. I've been researching equipment and putting together my shopping list. A good portion of my order will be going to SatelliteAV/Glorystar; perhaps the dish will not... The other dish I have been considering is the Globecast/ChannelMaster 75e that Sadoun carries. Unfortunately it just jumped 50% in price. If I could just locate one of those Primestar 85e dishes!

 

[stogie5150]

Well hopefully when you tweak that feed arm as Iceberg suggested you will find it is not as narrow as it first appeared! (I suffer from a mild case of persistent optimism)

I'm glad I came across your post. I've been researching equipment and putting together my shopping list. A good portion of my order will be going to SatelliteAV/Glorystar; perhaps the dish will not... The other dish I have been considering is the Globecast/ChannelMaster 75e that Sadoun carries. Unfortunately it just jumped 50% in price. If I could just locate one of those Primestar 85e dishes!

I have 4 84e's, but only one mount and lnb arm. But if you want just the reflector, I can do that, shipping will probably be a bit though. Just a thought. If you're planning on motorizing it you won't need the mount anyway.

 

[SatelliteAV]

If you did not check the dish for surface accuracy before installing, the description of you signal problems would indicate that the dish was clam-shelled in transit. It is almost impossible to "SEE", but the performance would be exactly as described. We suggest to GEOSATpro 90cm customers that prior to assembly, lay the reflector face down on a perfectly flat surface (I.E. glass table) and verify that all edges lay perfectly flat. See GEOSATpro Dish Warp

I agree, in the photo, the arm appears to to not be positioned correctly. Take a measurement on the arm and LNBF placement as shown in attachment and also side to side, but don't bend the arm unless it is not in the correct spot. We understood that the 3ABN dish had two side support arms for the LNBF arm, but your dish does not appear to have them.

Two reasons that we added the side support arms on the GEOSATpro 90cm dish was to support heavier LNBFs (QPH-031 or Monoblocks) and to provide correct placement of the LNBF.

While the 3ABN and GEOSAT dishes are manufactured at the same factory, there are two main differences:

• LNBF arm design incorporating the side support arms.
  
• Easy Leveling Post with multi-directional leveling and included spirit level.

 

[RedSavina]

I have 4 84e's, but only one mount and lnb arm. But if you want just the reflector, I can do that, shipping will probably be a bit though. Just a thought. If you're planning on motorizing it you won't need the mount anyway.

We may need to talk offline in the near future!

I may have a business trip to NOLA soon... I'll be in touch when I know more.

Thanks!

 

[stogie5150]

If you did not check the dish for surface accuracy before installing, the description of you signal problems would indicate that the dish was clam-shelled in transit. It is almost impossible to "SEE", but the performance would be exactly as described. We suggest to GEOSATpro 90cm customers that prior to assembly, lay the reflector face down on a perfectly flat surface (I.E. glass table) and verify that all edges lay perfectly flat. See GEOSATpro Dish Warp

I agree, in the photo, the arm appears to to not be positioned correctly. Take a measurement on the arm and LNBF placement as shown in attachment and also side to side, but don't bend the arm unless it is not in the correct spot. We understood that the 3ABN dish had two side support arms for the LNBF arm, but your dish does not appear to have them.

Two reasons that we added the side support arms on the GEOSATpro 90cm dish was to support heavier LNBFs (QPH-031 or Monoblocks) and to provide correct placement of the LNBF.

While the 3ABN and GEOSAT dishes are manufactured at the same factory, there are two main differences:

• LNBF arm design incorporating the side support arms.
• Easy Leveling Post with multi-directional leveling and included spirit level.

Brian this is a GeosatPro dish. In fact the whole package is from y'all. I bought it from a guy here on Satelliteguys, its the standard motorized Mercury II/motorized 90cm package, still sealed up. There are no side arms so it must be before y'all changed to them. I will de-mount the package tomorrow and check the dish as you suggested. Thanks for the info. :up

As an aside y'all do a VERY thorough job, there was NOTHING left out of that package to install it, right down to cable ties. Very nice. :up

 

[SatelliteAV]

Does the LNBF arm have a horizontal hole near the LNBF mount? If so, arms should have been included.

If no hole exists and you wish to add the arms, we can supply either the side arms or include a new LNBF arm as well. $12 plus shipping for the upgrade parts.

Give our CSRs a call and we can assist.

PS. It is best not to install the dual LNBF mount if the system will be motorized. You would need to calculate the 2 degree offset for either LNBF placement and that would be a pain!

 

[Wholeshoe]

I put one of these up for a coworker a few years ago and had no problems at all with it. As a matter of fact we eyballed it with the compass and had signal immediatly! From there we just fine tuned from there.

The easiest dish install I have ever done bar none.

I think God was smiling on me that day.

Wholeshoe

 

[Tron]

That is that same dish (from SatelliteAV) that I installed in Brooklyn last year. The one my friend ordered was clamshelled (although the box was in perfect condition), but it was easy to "pop" it back into proper position. After that, there were no problems acquiring a good signal

 

[Corrado]

I bought one of those 3ABN 90cm dishes for my Dad's DSR410. I had no trouble at all tuning X4 with 99% quality. The box said it was made by SatRadar in China.

 

[stogie5150]

Its fixed. It was clamshelled. I took it off and laid it on my back porch...it rocked like a rocking chair.

Did the little pop out procedure....got rewarded with a nice POP, and a flat dish.

Live and learn, I guess. Thanks Brian for the info. That needs to be posted in a FAQ here on satelliteguys or something so this can be avoided in the future.

And no, Brian, my LNB arm does NOT have the hole for the support arms. But as long as it works like it is, it'll be okay.

Thanks again to all for the info. Special thanks to SatelliteAV for GREAT equipment. :up

 

[RedSavina]

I'm curious - after getting the dish shape corrected, did you notice any difference in the horizontal and vertical sensitivity? Are you still seeing a 5º vertical and very tight horizontal behavior?

Depending on how it was clamshelled, it seems possible that the shape could have been a factor in what you saw on both axes.

 

[stogie5150]

I'm curious - after getting the dish shape corrected, did you notice any difference in the horizontal and vertical sensitivity? Are you still seeing a 5º vertical and very tight horizontal behavior?

Depending on how it was clamshelled, it seems possible that the shape could have been a factor in what you saw on both axes.

The Azimuth opened up some. The elevation is still about the same, I found that because the Mercury II's signal meter is so spastic I was having a hard time zeroing it in. Once I hooked my Coolsat 5000 to it, it was real easy to zero in just so. So far I am happy with it. :up