cant get signal quality above 1 % need help

[Lak7]

I have one, but yet to use it.

 

[jayelem]

will this work in a sliding door? because i cant drill any holes into the house from outside.

You would have to try it out ...... I don't see any reason why it wouldn't .

I would prefer using a flat coaxial cable with a window only because it might be an accident waiting to happen in a sliding door way , for one thing I'm not sure if the grooved track or trim would cause a problem and if it's a common entrance someone might trip.

 

[jmc98]

Actually you should set the motor to true south and not the dish, then using the receiver, you drive/move the dish to the true south satellite.

what do you mean by this, could some explain

 

[Tron]

Unless you live directly on a longitude line where a satellite is parked, your true south satellite is not EXACTLY at due south. The motor should point at due south when at the '0' position, regardless of whether or not there's a satellite there. For example, my true south satellite is parked at 91w (Galaxy 11). I'm located at 90.1w, so .9 off from my true south satellite. What you want to do is to use USALS to move the dish to where your true south satellite should be (it will only move a degree or so in my case), then tweak the dish after moving the motor. For azimuth, you tweak the entire motor/dish assembly on the pole, not just the dish.

 

[jmc98]

Unless you live directly on a longitude line where a satellite is parked, your true south satellite is not EXACTLY at due south. The motor should point at due south when at the '0' position, regardless of whether or not there's a satellite there. For example, my true south satellite is parked at 91w (Galaxy 11). I'm located at 90.1w, so .9 off from my true south satellite. What you want to do is to use USALS to move the dish to where your true south satellite should be (it will only move a degree or so in my case), then tweak the dish after moving the motor. For azimuth, you tweak the entire motor/dish assembly on the pole, not just the dish.

so do i set the motor and dish to 180 degrees on the compass or 175.6 degrees on the compass (magnetic azimuth for 97w at my location)

 

[SpiffWilkie]

<threadjack> Sorry to threadjack but I'm going through the same thing at the moment. I'm going to attempt to set up my motor tonight. My true south sat is 89W @ 178.4°, or 1.6° off of true south. My thinking is that I will set the motor to 0, get a good lock on 89W and then move the motor 1.6° using the receiver. Then I will rotate the motor on the mast until I get a lock on 89W again. By my thinking, that would put 0 on the motor at exactly 180°. Does that sound right to anyone else? Or is there a huge hole in my logic?
Also, according to the calculator @ Sadoun this is my setup data:

Motor Latitude Angle: 35.1°
Azimuth (true): 180.0°
Azimuth (magn.): 180.8° using Compass
Declination angle: 5.7°
Dish elevation: 29°

Does this mean that the elevation on the motor mount needs to be 35.1° and that the dish needs to be set at 29° and that's all that needs to be done as far as the elevation is concerned? That's what it looks like to me, but I tend to make bigger problems out of small issues.

Once again, sorry to take over your thread for a moment...

</threadjack>

 

[Lak7]

"My thinking is that I will set the motor to 0, get a good lock on 89W and then move the motor 1.6° using the receiver. Then I will rotate the motor on the mast until I get a lock on 89W again."
Yes.

 

[Tron]

so do i set the motor and dish to 180 degrees on the compass or 175.6 degrees on the compass (magnetic azimuth for 97w at my location)

Personally, I don't use a compass to align my dishes. I just make sure the motor is at '0', then use USALS to command the motor to go to a satellite that is close to due south of me. After the dish moves, I dial in a strong transponder, and SLOWLY move the entire dish/motor assembly east-west until I pick up quality. This will sometimes involve tweaking the dish (NOT motor) elevation, since dish elevation markings are notoriously off by a few degrees. Once you set the motor to your latitude on the scale, lock it down and leave it there.

 

[SpiffWilkie]

Personally, I don't use a compass to align my dishes. I just make sure the motor is at '0', then use USALS to command the motor to go to a satellite that is close to due south of me. After the dish moves, I dial in a strong transponder, and SLOWLY move the entire dish/motor assembly east-west until I pick up quality. This will sometimes involve tweaking the dish (NOT motor) elevation, since dish elevation markings are notoriously off by a few degrees. Once you set the motor to your latitude on the scale, lock it down and leave it there.

About the dish elevation being off by a few degrees. How many is a few? I tried setting up the motor last night. I set the motor's angle to 35, used USALS to go to 0. Moved the dish to 89W and got a good lock on it. However, the dish elevation had to be set at about 36. According to the data I got of the page at Sadoun, I was under the impression that it was to be set at 29. To further complicate things. After moving the dish to other satellites, near and far, I can't get any signal at all...

Motor Latitude Angle: 35.1°
Azimuth (true): 180.0°
Azimuth (magn.): 180.8° using Compass
Declination angle: 5.7°
Dish elevation: 29°

 

[Lak7]

Try by going to another Sat.
Let USALS drive to Horz 2 @ 74 west(formerly Galaxy 17, SBS6)
Look up or enter the ONN TP info, and raise / lower dish elevation to try to Lock.
ONN= Freq:11733 Horz SR6616
Make note if Raising or Lowering made a difference.
Return to True South and re-check quality.

 

[jmc98]

<threadjack> Sorry to threadjack but I'm going through the same thing at the moment. I'm going to attempt to set up my motor tonight. My true south sat is 89W @ 178.4°, or 1.6° off of true south. My thinking is that I will set the motor to 0, get a good lock on 89W and then move the motor 1.6° using the receiver. Then I will rotate the motor on the mast until I get a lock on 89W again. By my thinking, that would put 0 on the motor at exactly 180°. Does that sound right to anyone else? Or is there a huge hole in my logic?
Also, according to the calculator @ Sadoun this is my setup data:

Motor Latitude Angle: 35.1°
Azimuth (true): 180.0°
Azimuth (magn.): 180.8° using Compass
Declination angle: 5.7°
Dish elevation: 29°

Does this mean that the elevation on the motor mount needs to be 35.1° and that the dish needs to be set at 29° and that's all that needs to be done as far as the elevation is concerned? That's what it looks like to me, but I tend to make bigger problems out of small issues.

Once again, sorry to take over your thread for a moment...

</threadjack>

no need to to be sorry spiffwilkie any response to your questions will help me also

 

[SpiffWilkie]

no need to to be sorry spiffwilkie any response to your questions will help me also

Thanks. In that case I shall carry on
Actually I did find my error this evening. It came to me like a vision I had actually set the elevation on the motor incorrectly. I was setting the bolts to 35 (like I do on the dish) instead of the little mark that's on the side of the motor so I was about 10 degrees off which led to the elevation on my dish being off and to me not being able to get more than one sat without moving a bunch of junk around. I still need to do some fine-tuning out there but I am confident I'm nearing the light at the end of the tunnel. (of course, if this is anything like my other hobbies, I'll never be done tinkering. There's always something else to do!).

Thanks for the help,
Steve

 

[Tron]

About the dish elevation being off by a few degrees. How many is a few?

It varies depending on the dish manufacturer. Some are dead on (Channel Master), but many aren't. Some have been off by almost 10 degrees. The main thing to consider is that those markings engraved on the dish mount should be used only as a rough guide.

 

[jmc98]

just an update, i start over at square one making sure the pole for the tripod was plumb still waiting to make a sturdy base to anchor it two(100 plus degree high temps in dfw for the last three weeks), redid the motor lat and dish elevation tried to aim the dish through a window with no luck i did hook up the sf95lk signal meter i got and i think i found a satellite because the green light kept flashing will tinker more this weekend to see if i can get some in with strong readings will post pictures tomorrow or Saturday

 

[jmc98]

i got these transponders on what i think is 97w
11855/v/2502
11954/v/19547
11985/h/6516
11994/h/6516

i consider this a small victory what do i need to do now to tweak the dish for maximum performance?