Can't get Maxpeak to see anything.

[terrancelee]

Howdy. I'm trying to set up a FTA system to hit 87W. I found an old primestar dish but the folks had burned trash in the vicinity of the dish and I think the LNB toasted.

The dish itself looks fine, no cracks or anything so took it and picked up a different LNB. This universal one to be exact.

Heavy Duty LNBF

I also bought the Maxpeak meter to try to tune all of this in. Now, I can't find *anything*, anywhere. I still have an old DTV dish up on the roof, so I hooked up the meter to that, and it finds two DTV birds, so I know the meter works okay. Since this is a universal, I have to switch the 22khz on to make the LO go high. What I don't know is if the Maxpeak does that automatically. Can't find anything in the booklet that came with the meter.

After messing with this for several hours this afternoon, I hooked up the P dish to an old DTV receiver, yet still couldn't get a signal to be found. Not sure if the DTV automatically does the tone, either, though.

Anyone have an idea how I can utilize this meter with this lnb? I bought the LNB awhile back before I found the dish, and I guess now I should have picked up a standard instead of universal. Here are a few pics I took today, as I'm also not sure just how accurate the elevation marks are now that I changed the LNB. This new one doesn't fit exactly like the old one did, it now lies closer in towards the dish. Hopefully that won't throw things off too badly.

I have the dish elevation set real close to 50 here,

and then I was checking it with my incl to see how close the scale is. I've never touched a P dish before, so should I be reading it like this

or should I make the actual arm be my gauge?

I appreciate any input you guys have.

 

[Lak7]

First thing I notice, is how the LNB is Skewed. The LNB needs to be properly Skewed to lock Linear FTA Sats. (unlike DirecTV or DishNet)

Look on the LNB, and list the Make and Model.
Which FTA Receiver are you using?

 

[terrancelee]

The LNB is a chaparral. There is a direct link to the product page in my first post if that helps. Model: Universal KU LNBF. I wasn't trying anything with my receiver yet, was trying to find the birds with my Maxpeak meter first. I have a Sonicview 360 once I find a bird to tune in. I haven't messed with anything FTA since the mid 80's, so know really nothing about today's stuff. I never even thought about not even being able to find the 110 or 119 birds with this universal LNB. I was trying that, to see how the elevation markings compared to the DTV one on the roof. Never thought anything about the fact that this is linear and those birds are circular.

 

[pedrogarcia]

here's the Max manual

 

[ynnedibanez]

it is possible that you have had signal.
on my birdog, some of the sats will not ever say found, i just have to watch the rf sig to jump and peak out the dish with that, then check it on the receiver.

 

[mikelib]

Skew is off

The lnb is skewed wrong here are some pics of how it should be. The LNB is a great universal LNB it just has no marking on it for 0 degresss. When I bought it off of e-bay the seller marked zero degrssa with a felt tip pen. I use this lnb a lot.
mikelib

 

[Tron]

On my 1 meter Channel Master dish (they manufactured the dishes for Primestar), the bolt on the mount is where the elevation is set, not the edge. You might see if that is the problem. Also, these are offset dishes, so you have to take the offset angle into account when using an angle finder to check your elevation. I believe the offset is -22 degrees on this dish, but not sure. Its somewhere around that figure...

 

[terrancelee]

Thanks for the replies. I was going to try to mess with skew next. Mike, your photos won't open up, I just get a black screen. Think you could post them larger?

 

[SatelliteAV]

Excuse my ignorance on the MaxPeak features, but does it have proper settings for using with Universal LNBFs? Some meters are set-up to only work with standard type LNBFs.

 

[mikelib]

Thanks for the replies. I was going to try to mess with skew next. Mike, your photos won't open up, I just get a black screen. Think you could post them larger?

The pictures do open it takes awhile for them to open. Face the dish and rotate the LNB clockwise until the connector is at 4:30. Thats the best that I can discribe the setting.

 

[terrancelee]

Hmm .. never thought of a mineralac strap! Was trying to figure out a two hole strap configuration when I used the plumber's tape.

Yes, Maxpeak will work with Universal. Part of the problem was that it was preloaded without any universal sats in the memory. Was emailed from the maker telling me how and what to download into it. I think the main thing now is figuring out how to get the skew set correctly.

I will try that, Tron. I was basically moving it left/right and up/down both, watching my meter for changes in strength.

Mike, what skew do you have yours set at? Or where would I find zero to mark mine for future reference.? The pics loaded fine tonight for me.

Thanks!

 

[mikelib]

Mike, what skew do you have yours set at? Or where would I find zero to mark mine for future reference.? The pics loaded fine tonight for me. Thanks!

The LNB is set at zero degrees did you see my post on facing the dish and rotating the LNB clock wise until the connector is at 4:30
mikelib

 

[Tron]

I was basically moving it left/right and up/down both, watching my meter for changes in strength.

That's exactly the right way to aim and peak a dish. You can't always trust the engraved elevation marks, however, I've never seen a Channel Master AZ-EL mount that was off. Some of the cheaper, consumer dishes can be off by as many as 5 degrees or even more. Also, don't trust compass readings for azimuth. I don't even use a compass when aiming a dish. Just use a VERY SLOW, methodical pan from east to west, then adjust elevation slightly, then repeat the slow pan. It is very important to make slow movements, barely moving the dish. Linear Ku signals are very touchy, and much harder to find and peak than DBS signals from Dish or DirecTV.

For what its worth, I find it much easier to aim and peak using a satellite receiver and a small TV/monitor at the dish site. Set the receiver on an active and strong transponder, then look for quality. Once you find your satellite, peak the aim using a weaker transponder.

 

[terrancelee]

The LNB is set at zero degrees did you see my post on facing the dish and rotating the LNB clock wise until the connector is at 4:30
mikelib

Ah ... didn't realize this was 0 setting. Thanks for the reference point!

 

[1ADAM12]

The elevation setting will be a little off because the LNBF sits a little higher on the bracket. The top of the dish gets tipped back a little more then with P* LNBF.

With a LNBF with a conical Scalar you will get the performance of a 70 cm offset. If you reuse the P* feedhorn and a bolt on lnbf you will get about the performance of a 90 cm offset.

 

[terrancelee]

Was able to find it yesterday. Just had to put the skew correct and popped right up. Thanks for all the input!

 

[mikelib]

Was able to find it yesterday. Just had to put the skew correct and popped right up. Thanks for all the input!

Terrance,
Good luck with the setup, why don't you drop an e-mail to the person you purchased it from and mention to them that there is no skew marking on the LNB and they should mark the LNB before they sell them.

I had great success with that LNB it is very stable.
Mike Lib