Help installing a motorized system...

[Wescopc]

OK, here is what I would do if I was in you spot.
Remove the motor and set the dish directly on the mast. Set the dish at 43 degrees, aim at 194 degrees, double check your LNB settings, make sure you are hooked only to the L side of the LNB (no switch), set the receiver to the strongest transponder as mentioned above. If you don't find anything there, I would go to 72W AMC-6 (192 degrees magnetic) and try for 12144 V 2573 S.R. When, you have found a signal this way, you will see the elevation that the dish needs to look at, so that with the motor it can be set at the same elevation in the sky. I don't know why you can't set your dish to 24 degrees with the motor. However after getting it setup without the motor, it should become apparent where the satellite is in the sky.
Bob

 

[IbrahimSS]

I can't set the dish to 24 degrees because the shaft of the motor where the dish connects hits one of the bolts on the dish stand so you can't push it any further. That's basically all there is to it unfortunately....

When I'm only connected to the L side of the LNB with no switch and my TP setting is at the strongest available on my receiver I get signal strength up to 63 but I can't get it even a lick higher.

I'm beginning to get to the point of giving up... I can't believe how hard this has been to find the satellite. It seems no one else is having any problems and I'm generally not this incompetent. I can't find an installer in the area who does FTA setups either. It seems I'm going no where with this....

 

[Wescopc]

You will have to get the dish low enough to see the Satellite.

Can you take a picture and post it here? It sounds like the mast will need to be remounted so as to clear the motor shaft when the dish is set to 24 degrees.

Bob

 

[IbrahimSS]

I know this is going to sound funny but I don't have a digital camera... I'm not very into taking pictures. Although I will have to buy one soon because they are becoming essential...

I'm going to talk to the guys from GoSatellite tomorrow and ask them why it is that the unit can't be adjusted further since they are the ones that paired up the rotor and the dish. I'm assuming they will know about this issue.

I'll keep you up to date. Thanks again

 

[IbrahimSS]

I'm so close and yet so so sooooo far away... Damn this... ok so I took the motor off and tried to align the dish. I almost had signal and quality. so I marked the area on the arm where the dish was and noted the elevation on the dish... it was about 46. I then removed the dish mounted it on the motor and mounted the motor. Then I tried to align it. I failed to get it.... it got dark and I had to call it quits.

Is there any possibility the LNB is not aligned properly? That was the only piece that I didn't really see explicit instructions for. It just seem to be mount it to the dish and your done. Should I have done anything special to it?

Thanks
Sam

 

[Wescopc]

So were you able to get the dish down to 24° when you put it back on the motor?
I learned last night (3AM) that sg-2100 18 months ago and before had a 40° bend in the shaft as opposed to the current 30° bend.
Look in your manual that came with your motor about page 3 where it talks about the declination angle. See that it says "30°-DECLINATION ANGLE". If it says "40°-DECLINATION ANGLE" then the motor is from the earlier series and the dish would be set at 34° rather the 24° we have been talking about.
Bob

 

[SatelliteAV]

There are photos on this Installation Guide that show a Winegard DS2076 and a SG-2100 / GS120 type motor. http://satelliteav.com/page/show/426

Does your motor configuration look exactly like this? The Winegard and motor can be set at angles below 30. We have sold thousands of these combinations and have heard this comment more than once, only to find out that the assembly was incorrect. Please review these photos and let us know how your assembly is different.

What are you using as the elevation pointer? Winegards use the straight metal edge visible behind the elevation scale to the right of the elevation locking nut.

 

[IbrahimSS]

Hi Bob... it says 30°-DECLINATION ANGLE.

Hi Brian... it sounds like maybe the elevation pointer is easily misread. I'm going to try again this evening once I get home and I'll review the settings. As far as I remember however the reading closes to the dish itself is 30° and it increases from there away from the dish. I think this is the point of my confusion and I'll pay special attention to that. Thanks so much for the instructional PDF. (PS I was using the center of the nut.)

 

[IbrahimSS]

Brian... I forgot to ask... what is normally the assembly issue when customers complain about this? In other words, is there usually one culprit that leads to this improper setup?

The rest of my setup looks right to me when cross referenced with the PDF. I'll confirm tonight.

Thanks
Sam

 

[IbrahimSS]

Brian

I just confirmed with 100% certainity that the range starts at about 20 and goes to 80... there is no way for me to get it lower than 30 as well because the motor post hits the bolt as is visable in the PDF you sent me. It's hard to read the scale on the Dish Elevation Picture in the PDF however I assume you if you can read it, it starts at higher than you may expect. The angle shown in that picture would be much closer to 35 degrees on the scale.

How is this issue normally resolved?

Thanks
Sam

 

[SatelliteAV]

Corrected above information..... The Winegard uses the straight metal edge visible behind the elevation scale to the right of the elevation locking nut as the elevation pointer.

 

[IbrahimSS]

Brian... that's so much for your time... I have the dish now setup at 24 degrees and the latitude set to 41 degrees on the motor. Everything I believe is set. Here goes nothing...

One question however: SatelliteFinder.exe says I should be at 42.8 degrees elevation and when I was playing with just the dish and no motor I got 46 degrees elevation when I hit the satellite then there of course is my 41 degree latitude.... which number is it?

Thanks
Sam

 

[Wescopc]

Sam
It is not unusual for the dish degree marks to be off a little one way or another. Being as your experience with this dish shows it to read 3° high - I would start searching at 27°. Slowly moving left/right then up or down 1-2° and repeat.
Bob

 

[IbrahimSS]

Bob

Should I be moving the dish's elevation or should I be moving the motor's elevation and/or latitude?

Thanks
Sam

 

[Wescopc]

Never touch the latitude/elevation setting on the motor once it is set to match your latitude. (if you ever change it - it will only be to adjust your motor arc to the Clarke belt - much later in the set-up process IF at all).

Adjust you azimuth with the motor/mast (post) clamp, your elevation with the dish elevation setting.

 

[IbrahimSS]

Bob... thanks for that... I would have done it the wrong way if it wasn't for your advice. Consider it's quite late at this point I'll give it another try tomorrow.... thanks again

 

[IbrahimSS]

Almost success... I'm picking up channels from Nimiq 2 and EchoStar 9. No love on SBS-6 though...

SBS-6 is not locking signal quality... I can't quite tweek it to hold steady... I tried a bit up, a bit down, a bit left, a bit right... still can't hold... Not quite sure why...

Thanks so much for all the help so far... Any tips for the closing this deal out?

 

[Wescopc]

Can you aim your dish to AMC6 (72°W) and tweak it to 12143, Vertical, 2573 symbol rate. Once you have it then do a blind scan of that satellite. Pick a weak TP (transponder) and tweak for best quality.
Bob

 

[IbrahimSS]

Hi Bob

I'm a bit confused by what that mean. I apologize for my ignorance. What do you mean by tweak it to 12143? What exactly should I be tweaking? What's Vertical mean? I'm also not aware of what symbol rate is. Do all receivers allow you to change those settings?

Thanks
Sam

 

[SatelliteAV]

SBS6 is often a difficult satellite to lock. There is very little 24/7 content and the signals are often originating from uplink trucks and can greatly vary in signal quality. This is one of the last birds that I personally would try aiming at.

As you notice in our installation guide, we don't even suggest that you find your True South satellite. This is a COMPLETELY WORTHLESS additional step in an installation since the development and usage of USALS. You only need to be able to reference the motor (while in the zero (0) position) towards the general direction of True South prior to using the receiver's USALS function to move the dish to the position of the satellite that you wish to receive. Once the receiver has calculated the satellites position based on the install location's longitude and latitude and the motor has been moved into the correct mechanical position, then make adjustments to the position by rotating the motor on the mast or by slightly adjusting the dish elevation angle until the satellite is found and the Quality Level is peaked.

I would recommend that you move on to activating USALS and aim for AMC6, Galaxy 25 (IA5) or AMC4 instead of concentrating on SBS6. These satellites are easier to locate and will give you some entertainment as you learn more about your system.

If you use AMC6 select transponder frequency 12143, Galaxy 25 (IA5) select transponder frequency 12177 or if you use AMC4 use TP freq. 11822. These are very strong signals and will make finding and fine tuning easier.

Tweaking the install means to slightly rotate the motor on the post left/right or slightly adjust the dish elevation up/down to receive and optimize the signal quality on a certian transponder frequency..

You usually do not need to adjust any transponder information. You should only need to select the satellite, select the LNB type (Standard or Universal), activate USALS, input your Longitude and Latitude, and select an active transponder.