Adjusted for Amazonas - lost G10

[flyinggreg]

Ok, I think this maybe a simple fix. I had everything set up pretty good I thought to get everything off the C belt. I am missing a few sats and that has to do with this darn apartment building in my LOS. I didn't have Amazonas in my Fortec and manually entered it in. I got a bouncing signal of about 6-12%. I went out to the dish and gave a little tug on the eastern side of it at the top. BAM!!! got a lock on Amazonas - rock on!! So I adjusted the elevation ever so slightly and got a great signal lock! Scanned it and everything is going good...until...I slew her over to G10. I lost it completely. Then when I slewed her over to my other saved sats I have some channels coming in and some not. I am on the edge of the belt is my conclusion. The problem is, when I lower my elevation back to where it was, I am going to lose Amazonas. How do I resolve this problem?

 

[PSB]

Is you mast/pole exactly plumb and level, taking into account the weight of the dish and motor?

 

[flyinggreg]

Yeah - it's plumb. I even checked it with the motor on the pole. I am still trying to figure out how I am even getting half the signals where I am with the neighbor's building right in my LOS. But, that's besides the point.

 

[scottc98]

kinda funny, cause I have about the same issue.

Amazonas is a lock but g10 is gone, along with everything west of it. As far east I can get is PAS (43w). Use to get Hispasat (30w) on the ground but not since I put the dish on the roof.

One thing I think that I am off on and that it may help you my motor being level. Pole is fine but my motor is tilting just a tad counter-clockwise (from behind the dish).

Hey Flyinggreg, we are in the same city. what is the furthest west and east you've locked into with your setup (which is basically what i got)?

 

[PSB]

Yeah - it's plumb. I even checked it with the motor on the pole. I am still trying to figure out how I am even getting half the signals where I am with the neighbor's building right in my LOS. But, that's besides the point.

Offset dish "seem" to be pointing much lower than they actually are, usually by around 22º

 

[sdoradus]

It really doesn't matter how plumb your pole is if the motor mount and thus the motor is not. Those are the items that really have to be right on to get proper tracking across the arc.

SD

 

[flyinggreg]

kinda funny, cause I have about the same issue.

Amazonas is a lock but g10 is gone, along with everything west of it. As far east I can get is PAS (43w). Use to get Hispasat (30w) on the ground but not since I put the dish on the roof.

One thing I think that I am off on and that it may help you my motor being level. Pole is fine but my motor is tilting just a tad counter-clockwise (from behind the dish).

Hey Flyinggreg, we are in the same city. what is the furthest west and east you've locked into with your setup (which is basically what i got)?

Yeah, I got a slight motor tilt too occassionally- i accidently broke one of the legs on my u-bolt for th motor. I usually solve that with a disec adjustment.

My far east is Amazonas and IA7 is farthes west right now - I haven't tried getting in anything west of IA7. Where I live in town, I am surrounded by townhouses, so I am limited by what I see of the sky. That's why I am surprised I really get anything. I have a big a** townhouse building less than 50ft from my dish that takes up between like 150-210 magnetic. I can't wait to move to see what I really get!!!

 

[digiblur]

Spoken like a true FTA'er!! The realtor looks at you funny when you add the following items to your list: No HOA, perfect view of the clarke belt, DSL or cable internet, and neighbors that won't look at you funny with the 10 dishes setup in your backyard including the ones in 5 gallon buckets full of concrete.

I had the same exact problem as you when I first setup my dish. My TS is somewhere around G11. I would get from G11 to G10 no problem. But the lower end of the arc would drop the farther I went. My problem kept going back from side to side as I adjusted. I finally got pissed and ripped it all down except for the plumb pole that will never come out of the ground. I put it back up and boom I got lucky. The dish lived through Hurricane Rita and Katrina without any adjustments....knocking on wood! I'm not touching it!

 

[flyinggreg]

Spoken like a true FTA'er!! The realtor looks at you funny when you add the following items to your list: No HOA, perfect view of the clarke belt, DSL or cable internet, and neighbors that won't look at you funny with the 10 dishes setup in your backyard including the ones in 5 gallon buckets full of concrete.

AMEN Brother!!

I'll show this to the wifey....now she'll see I'm not the only one!

 

[Mr Tony]

Spoken like a true FTA'er!! The realtor looks at you funny when you add the following items to your list: No HOA, perfect view of the clarke belt, DSL or cable internet, and neighbors that won't look at you funny with the 10 dishes setup in your backyard including the ones in 5 gallon buckets full of concrete.

about a year ago I was going to be moving (job transfer that fell through) and when I went to look at houses, I took along my trusty compass to make sure I had a good southern view.
My agent thought I was nuts that I was more interested in the southern view than what the house looked like inside

 

[icstephen]

I didn't have Amazonas in my Fortec and manually entered it in.

This is a little off topic but I have a Fortec as well (lifetime classic NA) and I want to get this sat ...How do you add a new sat? I have looked in the manual but that is pretty worthless. I know there are allot of blank spaces in the antenna setup to add but I'm not sure how to use it.

Thanks

 

[scottc98]

This is a little off topic but I have a Fortec as well (lifetime classic NA) and I want to get this sat ...How do you add a new sat? I have looked in the manual but that is pretty worthless. I know there are allot of blank spaces in the antenna setup to add but I'm not sure how to use it.

Thanks

Bare with me as I am not right in front of it right now but....

Hit the menu key and go to Antenna setup (top left bar).
Highlight the sat section where all of your other sats are.
Scroll down until you get to the blanks.
Select one and Name it Amazonas .
Go to the position setup and select USALS
Add 61.0 to the sat location and hit save.

Let USALS move you to 61w and do a blind scan

Use Disqec to fine tune


****note*****
even if you don't use USALS, you need to select it and enter 61W if you want the sat deg to show up in the name.

 

[sidekick]

I agree with Pete about the necessity of the pole being plumb, as most motor mounts have brackets that fit the diameter of the pole and thus are plumb if the pole is. I ran into this same problem when I installed my first system. When only the pole is mounted, it can be plumb, but when you add the weight of the motor and dish it can throw the previously plumb pole out of whack. So, my first step was to get the pole plumb, then mount evrything, then check the pole again, and make adjustments as necessary to bring it back to where it should be. Once I did that, signals started popping up like wildfire.

It really doesn't matter how plumb your pole is if the motor mount and thus the motor is not. Those are the items that really have to be right on to get proper tracking across the arc.

SD

 

[icstephen]

Bare with me as I am not right in front of it right now but....

Hit the menu key and go to Antenna setup (top left bar).
Highlight the sat section where all of your other sats are.
Scroll down until you get to the blanks.
Select one and Name it Amazonas .
Go to the position setup and select USALS
Add 61.0 to the sat location and hit save.

Let USALS move you to 61w and do a blind scan

Use Disqec to fine tune


****note*****
even if you don't use USALS, you need to select it and enter 61W if you want the sat deg to show up in the name.

Thanks I appreciate that....I will have to wait untill the tree people are done to see if I can hit that sat, but even if I can't see Amazonas I will need it for the new sat at 109W in a couple of months.