Custom Setting for First Strike Meter, Model FS1

[TexRedNK]

Hey Guys, Been a while since I posted. I did not find a similar post for the FS1 and DTV dishes.
This Spring I found a great sale on a 50 inch flat screen smart (Roku) TV that was under $400 before taxes.
So wife agreed it was time to make the big leap and move up from SD tv to HD TV !

Now I am trying to use my F S meter to align the SL3 SWM dish. Searching the 'net, I found a link on the F S site to the custom parameters that I need to load into my meter for sats at 99,101,& 103. Some say I only need to look at sat 101 and do the peaking by the 'dither method'. I understand that the two Ka sats at 99 and 103 have a very
narrow window. Aprox 1 degree as compared to the Ku sat with nearly 3-5 degrees.

On the F S website, they claim I need to use DTVs alignment tool "ASL-1" which I see is no longer in stock on Amazon. eBay has two sellers as of this date. When I try to use the SWM DC pass thru splitter with the DTV power insertion module, the other port is a direct short to the power coming from the meter.

Bottom line: I have not been able to get any reliable reading from sat 101, regardless If I use the PI and splitter method, or if I try to power the SWM LNB directly from the F S meter.

F S link to aligning DTV: and using a DC pass thu splitter
http://firststrikemeters.com/fs-support/fs1-frequently-asked-questions/#asl-1

Known DSS transponders:
http://firststrikemeters.com/fs-support/confirmed-dss/

DirecTV 4S/8 at 101.0W

• 12355/20000/18 FS1 shows S/Q, does not show LOCKED
• 12428/20000/13 FS1 shows S/Q, does not show LOCKED
• 12501/20000/18 FS1 shows S/Q, does not show LOCKED
• 12545/20000/13 FS1 shows S/Q, does not show LOCKED

That is about all I have found to date.
I did contact the seller on eBay about the ASL-1 splitter and if I could use it on the sats 99 or 103 and he
replied that It only would work with sat 119.

Ok, that is about it. My main goal is to be able to get a quality signal on sat 101 so I can perform DTVs
"dither method' of peaking my slimeline SL3 dish.

Regards, Doug

 

[Jimbo]

Yes, the 101 is the priority, if you set your Skew before you start and your Elevation as well, you should be able to dial in the 101...
What is critical is that your mast is plumb, being of plumb will cause all kinds of issues when pointing the dish at the Sat 23,000 miles away.

 

[TexRedNK]

Hey Jimbo,

Yes, I know about Sat 101 being the major Sat, but how do I get a meter to register the signal and quality values. Without that I am having to take HR-24 receiver and TV to the Dish site and monitor the signal levels at the transponder level on the TV. Does anyone have any experience with the First Strike meter model FS1 ?

 

[Claude Greiner]

Take the old SD tv outside with your receiver and align the dish that way

 

[TexRedNK]

OK OK.!!. That is what I have been doing. BUT I bought this digital satellite meter to give me more accurate readings like the DTV installers get. I still only have transponder readings in the 90s ONLY on sat 101. Would like to do much better on sat 99 and sat 103 as protection against future rain fade .
Cheers, Doug

 

[. Raine]

I have a FS1, I don't know how it works with Direct though. With S2, it won't lock, but will show S and Q.

Direct is circular, so I imagine you have LNB set to off and the meter in series with the LNB and receiver, with the LNB being powered by the receiver, not the meter? I don't know much at all about Direct or Dish, so just guessing there.

If you have 90Q on 101, it seems like probably a skew issue with the others, maybe?

The FS1 probably isn't the best meter for Direct either, it's made more for a single LNB, rather than those multiple/combo LNBs with built in switches.

 

[Claude Greiner]

OK OK.!!. That is what I have been doing. BUT I bought this digital satellite meter to give me more accurate readings like the DTV installers get. I still only have transponder readings in the 90s ONLY on sat 101. Would like to do much better on sat 99 and sat 103 as protection against future rain fade .
Cheers, Doug

The readings off the box are the most accurate

 

[TexRedNK]

OK Raine, Have you used your FS1 to set up any of the FTA sats ? I keep my dish parked on sat 92 W, to watch the two back hauls from ABC. And yes, all the SD transponders for the older 18 inch dishes was circular polarized. But the new Ka sats are higher frequencys and and are listed as either Odd or Even. Guys, keep reading... I know someone here has the answer that will let me use my F S FS1 to align my HD Slimline3S dish on the three sats, 99W 101W and 103W.
Cheers Doug

 

[. Raine]

Yes, I've used it on FTA sats many times, real simple for those. You probably already know how to do it, but I'll run through the procedure of it.

Turn the meter on and then push the Option/Local button, you should see a arrow next to the L: slot at the left side of the screen, there you enter what sat you're working with, 95W, 121W, etc.

Push option/local again and the arrow moves down to the F: slot, there you enter the transponder you want.

Push option/local, SR: here you enter the symbol rate.

Push option/local, arrow moves to LO: here you enter the LNB Lo.

Push option/local, arrow moves to LNB: here you can select your LNB voltage, either 13V for vertical, 18V for horizontal, or blank for no power supplied from the meter. The arrows buttons next to the option/local button cycle through these options.

Push option/local again and the arrow moves down to 22KHz: Here you can select 22 KHz on or off. Use the arrow buttons to select.

Push option/local again and the arrow moves all the way down to the lower left hand corner box with the list number for the satellite in the meter. Once here, you can push the save/c button and it'll save what you inputted to that sat slot/number in the meter, or if you push any of the number buttons, the meter will come on so you can see your signal and quality readings and actively use it. Hitting any number button again exits back out into data entry mode and you can again use the option/local button to move through the different fields if you want/need to change anything.

When I first got my FS1, I had to enter my Lat and Long settings for my location into it, if you move the arrow [using the option/local button] to the sat/slot number box at the bottom left hand corner of the screen, then push and hold the zero button for three seconds, the arrow will jump over to LONG: and you can set your lat/long settings for your area. Your azimuth, elevation and skew in the top three boxes at the top of the screen won't read right until you do this.

I don't know if the FS1 will work with Ka or not, all I've ever used mine for is C band and Ku.

With FTA, looping the meter in line [in series with the LNB and receiver] through the two F connectors on the meter, allows the meter to be powered by the receiver. [Coax from the receiver to one F connector on the meter, coax form the LNB to the other F connector] Handy if your battery dies, maybe useful in your situation with the Direct stuff, to let the receiver power everything? Don't know for sure.

I found a few things on First Strike's website that might be helpful, maybe.

using a high frequency splitter to power multi-head LNBFs

Aligning DirecTv dishes

Those were from here: http://www.firststrikemeters.com/fs-support/fs1-frequently-asked-questions/

 

[TexRedNK]

Ok Guys I have done some more research. I built a short RG6 jumper and opened the shield in the middle and cut the copper center conductor and brought it up and away from the shield. I then soldered a dipped silver mica 5000 pf cap onto the two leads. This will allow me to connect my FS1 meter onto the SWM 2 way splitter that Raine posted in his post above. Now the meter is not shorted out by the output of the 2 way splitter.
When I tested it at the location of the SL3S dish,with the DTV PS on the pass thru side, I did get a 2% quality reading on one satellite.
This leads me to think that I do not have the correct data loaded in the meter.
The ones posted on the FS1 meter site did not work on my meter. I did read of the FTA ABC sat at 91 W and loaded them into my FS1 meter and got 100% quality reading on the meter, so I am confident that the meter works when the correct data is loaded.

NOW: Can anyone send me the link or post the Down Link frequency, Symbol Rate, and the Local Osc frequency for the DTV satellite at 101 W.

Anxiously waiting, Doug

 

[. Raine]

It looks like Lyngsat might have it:

http://www.lyngsat.com/SES-1-and-DirecTV-4S-8.html

 

[TexRedNK]

Well guys, time to close this link !! I did another site survey after seeing that a neighbors tree was imposing on my view of the three HD DTV satellites. I moved to the car port on the opposite corner from my FTA dish. I attached the mount to the square metal post with straps and 4 inch 1/4 bolts. Plumbed the vertical and then put two sheet metal screws to stabilize any sideways movement.
Then I powered up the LNB with the power inserter with a power pass thru splitter and my DC blocking cable and FS-1 meter attached to the receiver output side of the splitter. I tested with the four TPs listed on the FS-1 site for know active TPs.
Of the four listed for 101 W, the 2nd hit nearly full scale on the Quality Bar. I continued to peak in elevation and azimuth settings with the FS-1 meter. I locked the dish down and connected to the IRD receiver. I ran thru the 101 W signal strength reading. PRESTO ! All the readings were in the 90 to 100 % values. Now the critical bird at 99 W. All were in the 80s to high 90s !.. All the other signals on the 103 W bird were great.
I have posted some pics to show the hook up and the DC blocking cable and readings on the FS-1 meter. My cell phone lacks some clarity, but I was getting nearly 100 % Quality signals.
Thanks again to all that commented. To Raine: I will try some other down link frequencys and other TPs and look for readings. I am using S/R or 20000 and LO of 11250. If you have any other values, please pass then to me.
Thanks again to all ! Regards, Doug .
PS: I may have a glitch with the pics. I will try to delete the duplicates.