AMIKO Amiko HD setup on Ku

[MarcK]

Well, PBS dropped their C-band feed so I decided to try to get the Ku signal. Purchased an ASC-1 dish mover, Amiko HD 265 receiver (I actually got this for the C band signal), and a 4-port DiSEqC switch. I have dual LNBs (this system was installed in 1989), so C-band to port 1, Ku to port 2.

First problem is to find AMC-21. All I have is SES-3 (where the dish was pointed for many years), so I set that to 0000 in the ASC-1. On the old Monterey 90, you could see transponders while the dish moved, but with the Amiko, you cannot. Using Lyngsat and a compass I moved the dish to approximately G14. It turned out to be AMC-11. But now I have two known dish positions and can interpolate back.

For those with input to Amiko: It would be very nice if you could peak the dish position while looking at a channel. I can peak in the dish mover screen, but sometimes that moves me to another satellite if I overshoot.

Now, counting back, I find G13. NASA is good. Counting back some more, I find G14. Peak up on G14, but when I switch to Ku, the Amiko finds no channels.

Is my Ku LNB working? Back to SES-3 and scan the Ku side. Signals are sort of weak, and I think I'm actually getting 2 satellites, but at least I can confirm the LNB is working. Back to G14/AMC-21. Moving the dish one or 2 clicks in either direction and blind scanning doesn't find any channels. But wait, a signal just popped up on the dish mover screen. Evidently the Amiko is slow to lock on these Ku transponders.

Once I got a good lock, I can blind scan again and now I see the PBS channels. Hooray!

Another Amiko trick, not in the instruction manual: When editing the channel list (services), you can select multiple channels by clicking on each channel in turn, then delete the lot of them. That let me get rid of the pay channels quickly.

A few Amiko nits: When scrolling through the satellite names during setup, the Amiko insists on moving the dish to each satellite it knows about, even if you are just passing by on the way to another satellite.

So, all in all, it's good to see that equipment is still available for us nuts with big dishes.

Marc Kaufman, WB6ECE
10' Winegard, 24" Saginaw Actuator originally installed 1989

 

[KE4EST]

With digital you cannot really watch the channel like you could analog.
The best way to do this is to enter a good, known transponder first.
In this case if you would have entered 12180 V 30000 first and then slowly move your dish you could have watch it pop in and peak.
Yes, sadly the manual is lacking, this is why I made a few YouTube videos on this receiver.
Link to my channel: Michael Graves

 

[manikm]

With digital you cannot really watch the channel like you could analog.
The best way to do this is to enter a good, known transponder first.
In this case if you would have entered 12180 V 30000 first and then slowly move your dish you could have watch it pop in and peak.
Yes, sadly the manual is lacking, this is why I made a few YouTube videos on this receiver.
Link to my channel: Michael Graves

if you're using an E2 receiver - and its on your network (and you have wifi) you can install satellite finder app on your smart phone to peak your signals in realtime.

once app is installed, configure this for your E2 receiver.

goto signal, this will show whatever channel along with signal strength being shown on your STB - therefore, go outside with your phone, have fun, and peak your dish

thank you