OTHER FInding G19, A few questions

[edugamer]

hey guys! So happy to have found this awesome community!
As you can see, I am just getting into the FTA KUBand hobby. I am trying to experiment trying to find g19 for starters. Having some problems finding it it appears. I have, a modded directv 32" oval dish, the one with the at&t bubble logo.
dual output linear lnb from ebay which clames to work with viewsat/pansat.
gtmedia v7 receiver
genarric satfinder beeper with analog meter
I have my dish pointing south on the edge of my back deck, I have it at the strongest I can get it pointing in that direction. I even installed the north American database and still nothing. It feels like it sould be 0ed in. Up/down, left/right right on the sat. When I got the dish first, it was frozen tilted crooked as it has this ajustment where the dish/lnb turns together like as in you can grab the dish like a big stearing wheel and turn it, the setting has numbers on the back of the disk. What is that setting called? I hhad to saw the bolts off as thety were welded by the sun for this setting to free up. It moves freely now and it is level as possible. The mast btw is also level. I made sure to click on the KU sats only.

So, I go to scan full blind scans etc, nothing! I have 81% to 90s signal quality! What gives! No matter what I do, the signal intergety stays at 0 and won't budge. Defected receiver? Defective LNB?
I even made sure to pick lnb freq of 10750
I also have the deseque set to off as I don't have any motors or big dishes etc. Not yet, anyway. If I like this, I think of eventually upgrading my dish to a proper nicer dedicated one in future. Till then Imm using this freecycle directv one. I know the signal sat finder and receiver are doing something, as if I put my hand in the way of the lnb it interrupts/blocks the signal path. The thing is very sensitive as I had to reinforce the deck rail from wobbling.

 

[edugamer]

I have modded mine[ a directv slimline dish ]. I have a gtmedia v7 fta receiver.
Will it work?
I have drilled the arm to fit the linear lnb. How do I know its in focus? It does respond to the sats at least that is what my meters show, anyway. Just been tinkering around with the stuff and learning as I go.

 

[FTA4PA]

hey guys! So happy to have found this awesome community!
As you can see, I am just getting into the FTA KUBand hobby. I am trying to experiment trying to find g19 for starters. Having some problems finding it it appears. I have, a modded directv 32" oval dish, the one with the at&t bubble logo.
dual output linear lnb from ebay which clames to work with viewsat/pansat.
gtmedia v7 receiver
genarric satfinder beeper with analog meter
I have my dish pointing south on the edge of my back deck, I have it at the strongest I can get it pointing in that direction. I even installed the north American database and still nothing. It feels like it sould be 0ed in. Up/down, left/right right on the sat. When I got the dish first, it was frozen tilted crooked as it has this ajustment where the dish/lnb turns together like as in you can grab the dish like a big stearing wheel and turn it, the setting has numbers on the back of the disk. What is that setting called? I hhad to saw the bolts off as thety were welded by the sun for this setting to free up. It moves freely now and it is level as possible. The mast btw is also level. I made sure to click on the KU sats only.

So, I go to scan full blind scans etc, nothing! I have 81% to 90s signal quality! What gives! No matter what I do, the signal intergety stays at 0 and won't budge. Defected receiver? Defective LNB?
I even made sure to pick lnb freq of 10750
I also have the deseque set to off as I don't have any motors or big dishes etc. Not yet, anyway. If I like this, I think of eventually upgrading my dish to a proper nicer dedicated one in future. Till then Imm using this freecycle directv one. I know the signal sat finder and receiver are doing something, as if I put my hand in the way of the lnb it interrupts/blocks the signal path. The thing is very sensitive as I had to reinforce the deck rail from wobbling.

Welcome to Satellite Guys edugamer!

Others here have used modded dishes to get Galaxy 19 (97w) so it may be possible for you. That being said it is definitely a more advanced fta project so may be difficult for a first time FTAer. Not saying it can't be done, just more difficult. A few basics. Raising the dish up/down is elevation, moving left/right is azimuth, rotating the lnbf is called skew (in answer to your question about turning the whole dish like a steering wheel). You can turn that model of dish or keep the dish straight and turn the lnbf in its holder. Either one will adjust skew. You need to make sure that the lnbf is located in the exact location (height, distance and angle) from the face of the dish that the original lnbf was located and it is properly skewed. There is no margin for error in this. FTA signals are weak compared to Directv and Dish so if you are off even a bit you will not get signal. Make sure that the settings in your receiver match the settings of your lnbf and that you are using an active transponder on 97w (12052 V 22000 is strong here) in your receiver while you are aiming. You may have more luck hitting 95w first and moving a couple degrees to hit 97w. 95w is really strong for an FTA sat. If you try that one go for the CGTN channels at 11780 H 20760. With either sat set the dish to where you think the satellite is then sweep very slowly left, then right. If you don't get a signal then raise or lower the dish a degree and try again. Make only minor adjustments in the elevation and azimuth as it takes a bit of time for the receiver to lock on a signal. Too fast and you will miss it. You are interested in the quality reading which shows that you are actually aimed at a satellite. Once you get a signal do a blind scan to see where you are. A few questions. What model of lnbf are you using? What method are you using to be sure that the dish is pointed correctly (dishpointer website, phone app, etc)? If possible, post up a few pics of your setup so we can see what you are working with. Note that the forum software requires a minimum number of posts before you can add links (can't remember if this applys to pics too). If you get an error just add a few more posts (say hi or whatever ) until you reach the limit. This is an anti-spam measure that the site employs. Sorry to throw so much at you at once but I hope it is helpful to you. Heading to bed now. Will reply back tomorrow unless someone else does first. Good luck!

 

[KE4EST]

Welcome to SatelliteGuys. I merged your almost identical threads and cleaned up the title a bit.

 

[edugamer]

thanks!
This is my lnb
LINEAR DUAL LNB FSS SATELLITE LNBF FOR VIEWSAT PANSAT | eBay
I have been adjusting the dish with trile and error, my ears and patience, a $5 compass, slowly moving of the dish and trying all kinds of different positions of the disk with a small portable plasmascreen sitting next to it all yesterday. I fired it all up today in my room with the disk in it's position I left it in yesterday, clicked g19, hit transponders, selected them as you mension and I am getting some action on the signal integrity meter now!
But, still having some issue. The bar is like out of controle jumping all over the place!
I think I might need to tight the dish some more or maybe move it to another location back there if the nabor's tree is interfering it.
It was kinda windy today so might be a little of both

 

[edugamer]

thanks!
This is my lnb
LINEAR DUAL LNB FSS SATELLITE LNBF FOR VIEWSAT PANSAT | eBay
I have been adjusting the dish with trile and error, my ears and patience, a $5 compass, slowly moving of the dish and trying all kinds of different positions of the disk with a small portable plasmascreen sitting next to it all yesterday. I fired it all up today in my room with the disk in it's position I left it in yesterday, clicked g19, hit transponders, selected them as you mension and I am getting some action on the signal integrity meter now!
But, still having some issue. The bar is like out of controle jumping all over the place!
I think I might need to tight the dish some more or maybe move it to another location back there if the nabor's tree is interfering it.
It was kinda windy today so might be a little of both

Also, just got another free dish today!
The one Im using now is similar but was from a batch of dishes that some might of been kicked and thrown around, one even looks like it was used for target practice.
The brand new one is fresh off it's roof!
The new one might be slightly smaller though.
Sould I try swapping it out incase my disk is bent? Or should I continue with this dish for now and save the new one as a backup satellite dish?
The new one has 4 bolts holding the reflector, while the one I have setup now has two bolts+two tabs that slot into the reflector to secure it making it ever so slightly jiggly.
From what you said, I will assoom that won't really have a bairing on the reliability of the current setup.
thanks!

 

[FTA4PA]

thanks!
This is my lnb
LINEAR DUAL LNB FSS SATELLITE LNBF FOR VIEWSAT PANSAT | eBay
I have been adjusting the dish with trile and error, my ears and patience, a $5 compass, slowly moving of the dish and trying all kinds of different positions of the disk with a small portable plasmascreen sitting next to it all yesterday. I fired it all up today in my room with the disk in it's position I left it in yesterday, clicked g19, hit transponders, selected them as you mension and I am getting some action on the signal integrity meter now!
But, still having some issue. The bar is like out of controle jumping all over the place!
I think I might need to tight the dish some more or maybe move it to another location back there if the nabor's tree is interfering it.
It was kinda windy today so might be a little of both

Also, just got another free dish today!
The one Im using now is similar but was from a batch of dishes that some might of been kicked and thrown around, one even looks like it was used for target practice.
The brand new one is fresh off it's roof!
The new one might be slightly smaller though.
Sould I try swapping it out incase my disk is bent? Or should I continue with this dish for now and save the new one as a backup satellite dish?
The new one has 4 bolts holding the reflector, while the one I have setup now has two bolts+two tabs that slot into the reflector to secure it making it ever so slightly jiggly.
From what you said, I will assoom that won't really have a bairing on the reliability of the current setup.
thanks!

You have the correct lo setting for the model of lnbf you are using so that is good. Have you tried dishpointer.com to aid in aiming? If you go there you can enter the exact coordinates of your dish (you can get them from Google Maps) and select the satellite you are trying to find a signal on. It will give you the exact elevation, azimuth and skew you need. A green line will also appear on the screen and if you can find a reference object on the ground that falls along that line it will help you get the azimuth (left/right) close.

Good to hear that you got some indication on the quality reading. You may be close to a satellite. If the trees and leaves are in the way at all they will block signal. If the dish you are currently using is bent or damaged in any way it will definitely have a negative impact on the signal. Switching to the other (fresh off the roof) dish may help if it is not significantly smaller but I would stick with this one for now if it is not damaged. Could you take measurements of both dishes across the face, both left to right & top to bottom, and post back the sizes here. Also pics of both dishes and a close-up of how the lnbf is mounted would be helpful if possible.

 

[edugamer]

Welcome to Satellite Guys edugamer!

Others here have used modded dishes to get Galaxy 19 (97w) so it may be possible for you. That being said it is definitely a more advanced fta project so may be difficult for a first time FTAer. Not saying it can't be done, just more difficult. A few basics. Raising the dish up/down is elevation, moving left/right is azimuth, rotating the lnbf is called skew (in answer to your question about turning the whole dish like a steering wheel). You can turn that model of dish or keep the dish straight and turn the lnbf in its holder. Either one will adjust skew. You need to make sure that the lnbf is located in the exact location (height, distance and angle) from the face of the dish that the original lnbf was located and it is properly skewed. There is no margin for error in this. FTA signals are weak compared to Directv and Dish so if you are off even a bit you will not get signal. Make sure that the settings in your receiver match the settings of your lnbf and that you are using an active transponder on 97w (12052 V 22000 is strong here) in your receiver while you are aiming. You may have more luck hitting 95w first and moving a couple degrees to hit 97w. 95w is really strong for an FTA sat. If you try that one go for the CGTN channels at 11780 H 20760. With either sat set the dish to where you think the satellite is then sweep very slowly left, then right. If you don't get a signal then raise or lower the dish a degree and try again. Make only minor adjustments in the elevation and azimuth as it takes a bit of time for the receiver to lock on a signal. Too fast and you will miss it. You are interested in the quality reading which shows that you are actually aimed at a satellite. Once you get a signal do a blind scan to see where you are. A few questions. What model of lnbf are you using? What method are you using to be sure that the dish is pointed correctly (dishpointer website, phone app, etc)? If possible, post up a few pics of your setup so we can see what you are working with. Note that the forum software requires a minimum number of posts before you can add links (can't remember if this applys to pics too). If you get an error just add a few more posts (say hi or whatever ) until you reach the limit. This is an anti-spam measure that the site employs. Sorry to throw so much at you at once but I hope it is helpful to you. Heading to bed now. Will reply back tomorrow unless someone else does first. Good luck!

so I decided to buy a made-for-FTA disk and it is on the way. It is a 33" and I hope it works for learning. I plan on learning on the one I ordered and will come back here in the future to play around with the slim.
I figured it would be better for me to learn on the proper hardware. I just hope I didn't cheap out too much. I ordered a LEXX electorica something $80 dish and lnb combo.
Should I get a geosat instead? Is the lexx inferior or something?
Will I be able to add a motor to this?
It ships from NY

 

[c-spand]

Not familier with LEXX electoricath . I usually use Amazon, Titanium satellite, Satpro, craigslist. But a 33 inch will get you most. 99w and 103w i know will be soso to catch. Good luck have fun and once you start you will want more, Oh and Hypermegasat.

 

[edugamer]

Not familier with LEXX electoricath . I usually use Amazon, Titanium satellite, Satpro, craigslist. But a 33 inch will get you most. 99w and 103w i know will be soso to catch. Good luck have fun and once you start you will want more, Oh and Hypermegasat.

cool! had considered getting a 36er or even a 39" but I think as I have it on a deck railing it might become a problem had I gone with anything beyond 36" and the 33" was budget friendly atm.
for the record, here is my data from dish pointer.

elevation: 39.0
azimuth true: 209.6, magn: 220.9
LNB skew: 22.2
lat-40.2358
long: -76.8308

With the slim, got stuck at LNB skew. The skew parameter dpointer calls for is not within range, I can't see it marked on the rim of the bracket, it doesn't appeare to be within range of which this disk can spin.

 

[edugamer]

Ok I am legally blind with some useful vision so please bair with me if I am asking a stupid question lol! Still learning.
So, I have this directv dish, two actually I modded to FTAify. I have my dishpointer stuff here see below:
I have a proper 33" satellite disk on the way from NY. I just got stuck at the lnb skewing part when using the slim dish. It doesn't allow me to rotate the disk enough. There is also no mesuments on the end of the lnb arm either as many sujest there are. There is just a clamp and the center hole I drilled. There is also no way to rotate the lnb on it's casing or anything indicating skew. Please help me understand? The skew is out of range on both of my existing dishes. I think they both end about at 30.0 or higher at there lowest setting.






elevation: 39.0
azimuth true: 209.6, magn: 220.9
LNB skew: 22.2
lat-40.2358
long: -76.8308

With the slim, got stuck at LNB skew. The skew parameter dpointer calls for is not within range, I can't see it marked on the rim of the bracket, it doesn't appeare to be within range of which this disk can spin.

 

[KE4EST]

I can't see it marked on the rim of the bracket, it doesn't appeare to be within range of which this disk can spin.

It can, you just misunderstand something about skew. What skew are you supposed to be at for your location?

 

[KE4EST]

Okay, never mind. I see what is going on.
First of all I combined your scattered threads on the same subject into one. Keeping everything in one thread makes it easier for us to help you.

The skew is the rotation of the LNBF itself in its holder....or if the holder is not designed for that, in the case of the slimline, you loosen the nuts on the back of the dish and rotate the whole dish.
The numbers you say that only go so low on the side of the dish, is the elevation. In your case should be at or around 39(This all depends on how well the dish is constructed and how plumb you have your dish mounted.)

 

[Titanium]

Aren't slimline dishes skew marked with 90 degrees when centered? If so, treat that as "0" for calculating the correct angle. Example: For a positive skew angle of 22 degrees, set the angle to 112 degrees (90 + 22 = 112). If the skew was calculated to be set to -22 degrees, the dish mount scale would be set to 68 ( 90 - 22 = 68).

Standing in front of the dish and rotate the dish or LNBF counter clockwise for positive skew and clockwise for negative.

 

[edugamer]

so I decided to buy a made-for-FTA disk and it is on the way. It is a 33" and I hope it works for learning. I plan on learning on the one I ordered and will come back here in the future to play around with the slim.
I figured it would be better for me to learn on the proper hardware. I just hope I didn't cheap out too much. I ordered a LEXX electorica something $80 dish and lnb combo.
Should I get a geosat instead? Is the lexx inferior or something?
Will I be able to add a motor to this?
It ships from NY

Not familier with LEXX electoricath . I usually use Amazon, Titanium satellite, Satpro, craigslist. But a 33 inch will get you most. 99w and 103w i know will be soso to catch. Good luck have fun and once you start you will want more, Oh and Hypermegasat.

cool! had considered getting a 36er or even a 39" but I think as I have it on a deck railing it might become a problem had I gone with anything beyond 36" and the 33" was budget friendly atm.
for the record, here is my data from dish pointer.

elevation: 39.0
azimuth true: 209.6, magn: 220.9
LNB skew: 22.2
lat-40.2358
long: -76.8308

With the slim, got stuck at LNB skew. The skew parameter dpointer calls for is not within range, I can't see it marked on the rim of the bracket, it doesn't appeare to be within range of which this disk can spin.

Aren't slimline dishes skew marked with 90 degrees when centered? If so, treat that as "0" for calculating the correct angle. Example: For a positive skew angle of 22 degrees, set the angle to 112 degrees (90 + 22 = 112). If the skew was calculated to be set to -22 degrees, the dish mount scale would be set to 68 ( 90 - 22 = 68).

Standing in front of the dish and rotate the dish or LNBF counter clockwise for positive skew and clockwise for negative.

cool!
thanks makes soo much more sence now.
you are awesome!
It had crossed my mind at some point this might be the case but I had my douts!
Hey At least I am learning, saving a cupple dishes from going to the trash, as well as getting a shiny new dedicated satellite dish to play with soon too!
Thanks again for helping clear that up a bit.
cheers!

 

[edugamer]

so I decided to buy a made-for-FTA disk and it is on the way. It is a 33" and I hope it works for learning. I plan on learning on the one I ordered and will come back here in the future to play around with the slim.
I figured it would be better for me to learn on the proper hardware. I just hope I didn't cheap out too much. I ordered a LEXX electorica something $80 dish and lnb combo.
Should I get a geosat instead? Is the lexx inferior or something?
Will I be able to add a motor to this?
It ships from NY

Not familier with LEXX electoricath . I usually use Amazon, Titanium satellite, Satpro, craigslist. But a 33 inch will get you most. 99w and 103w i know will be soso to catch. Good luck have fun and once you start you will want more, Oh and Hypermegasat.

cool! had considered getting a 36er or even a 39" but I think as I have it on a deck railing it might become a problem had I gone with anything beyond 36" and the 33" was budget friendly atm.
for the record, here is my data from dish pointer.

elevation: 39.0
azimuth true: 209.6, magn: 220.9
LNB skew: 22.2
lat-40.2358
long: -76.8308

With the slim, got stuck at LNB skew. The skew parameter dpointer calls for is not within range, I can't see it marked on the rim of the bracket, it doesn't appeare to be within range of which this disk can spin.

Okay, never mind. I see what is going on.
First of all I combined your scattered threads on the same subject into one. Keeping everything in one thread makes it easier for us to help you.

The skew is the rotation of the LNBF itself in its holder....or if the holder is not designed for that, in the case of the slimline, you loosen the nuts on the back of the dish and rotate the whole dish.
The numbers you say that only go so low on the side of the dish, is the elevation. In your case should be at or around 39(This all depends on how well the dish is constructed and how plumb you have your dish mounted.)

awesome!
Its all coming together now.
So glad this stuff is making more and more sence to me everyday!

 

[edugamer]

cool! had considered getting a 36er or even a 39" but I think as I have it on a deck railing it might become a problem had I gone with anything beyond 36" and the 33" was budget friendly atm.
for the record, here is my data from dish pointer.

elevation: 39.0
azimuth true: 209.6, magn: 220.9
LNB skew: 22.2
lat-40.2358
long: -76.8308

With the slim, got stuck at LNB skew. The skew parameter dpointer calls for is not within range, I can't see it marked on the rim of the bracket, it doesn't appeare to be within range of which this disk can spin.

awesome!
Its all coming together now.
So glad this stuff is making more and more sence to me everyday!

one more question:
For the elevation setting what do I match up the lines up with?
I see that for the skew there is a point you can line up.
for the elevation, am I suppose to use the nut as a place marker and line it up with that? The elevation lock bolt nut on the side of the device. I don't see any other obvious needle/aro protrusion to lign up with this mesure.

 

[c-spand]

If your talking about the slim line. The skew numbers are on the back of the dish in the middle. Like Titanium said 90 on that dish is 0 for the skew . I can send pics tomorrow if i get time.

 

[edugamer]

If your talking about the slim line. The skew numbers are on the back of the dish in the middle. Like Titanium said 90 on that dish is 0 for the skew . I can send pics tomorrow if i get time.

not a problem, I got that one down for sure!

 

[FTA4PA]

so I decided to buy a made-for-FTA disk and it is on the way. It is a 33" and I hope it works for learning. I plan on learning on the one I ordered and will come back here in the future to play around with the slim.
I figured it would be better for me to learn on the proper hardware. I just hope I didn't cheap out too much. I ordered a LEXX electorica something $80 dish and lnb combo.
Should I get a geosat instead? Is the lexx inferior or something?
Will I be able to add a motor to this?
It ships from NY

Glad to see you have ordered are true FTA dish. I have no experience with the LEXX electorica dish so can't say anything about quality. I do know that many people speak highly of the GeosatPro dishes. Either way hopefully this will be easier to set up and use to get started in the hobby.