How far can I mount the dish be from the receiver?

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Guys finally I’m getting some channels, I put the TV on my tractors loaders raise it up where I could see it from the roof and by changing the dish angle I was able to pick AMC and a few more transponders, unbelievable how sensitive the signal are to very minor changes to the position of the dish, thank you very much to all of you and in especial to AcWxRadar.

Valdelocc,

Thank you very much for the mention there, and you are VERY welcome! Setting up a dish for a linear signal is quite "sensitive" as you are finding out. However, it does become more simple when you have done it just a few times, then it begins to become more of a second nature or a trained response.

If you hunt or shoot targets with a rifle, you should understand the following. You know what it takes to site in a rifle with a scope (and align the crosshairs in your scope to hit a rather large, round target 300 yards away.

Now try to envision that you need to align your site crosshairs with the crosshairs of another shooter 23,000 miles away and hit it nearly dead center!

Shooting a single projectile at round target 2-300 yards away is quite an easy task compared to this.

As for circular satellites, this is like hunting fish in a barrel with a shotgun.

Radar
 
I put the TV on my tractors loader raise it up where I could see it from the roof.....[/COLOR][/FONT]

Valdelocc,

You MUST take some pix or videos of this! You may win one of these contests for free equipment for the most ingenious and possibly (pardon this) but "redneck" solution to monitor your signal.

I definitely mean that in a very good way (no put down). The term "RedNeck" was coined from a very good thing, originally (tough and strong willed coal miners who refused to be pushed around and have their wages undercut by the mining syndicate or "big business".

I really like your idea and your approach! It actually is akin to a great motto that I like so well.... Adapt, Improvise and Overcome!

Kudos to you! :)

AcWxRADAR

P.S.

Why don't you submit that in the latest challenge or contest from our AV sponsor AV Satellite? I think it is open for entries up to tax day. I think it is a random drawing thing, but if people could vote, I think I would cast my vote for the tractor installation procedure!
 
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ACW thanks a lot once again!! You have a wealth of knowledge about satellite stuff, I’ve been blessed with HVAC-R if you ever need help fixing your furnace or air conditioning drop me an e-mail OK, as far as the contest for free stuff the wife and I make a decent living so we let the free stuff for those that truly need it, thank you anyways. I’m still trying to pick Spansat with no luck do you think I’m way too far up north to pick the transponder?
 
ACW thanks a lot once again!! You have a wealth of knowledge about satellite stuff, I’ve been blessed with HVAC-R if you ever need help fixing your furnace or air conditioning drop me an e-mail OK, as far as the contest for free stuff the wife and I make a decent living so we let the free stuff for those that truly need it, thank you anyways. I’m still trying to pick Spansat with no luck do you think I’m way too far up north to pick the transponder?

Valdelocc,

What is Spansat, exactly? Sorry, but I don't recognize it.

RADAR
 
sorry, mispelled, I was refering to 30.0W Hispasat/Spainsat

Valdelocc,

Ok, I know which sat you are talking about now. You are located just a little south of the lakes, right? I think you are in the 45-46 dBW EIRP area or roughly there. I kinda underestimated the EIRP a little just to provide a good buffer margin.

This would make me think that you would need a 75 - 105 cm dish. But I would think you would want a 1 M dish just to play it safe. That puts you near the top end of the minumim dish required.

My brother lives near me and he can pull 30.0W in very strong (in the 90's on a Coolsat) with a 76 cm Winegard. I cannot pick it up because of where my dish is located. The house blocks the signal from 30W so I have to relocate my dish to even try.

We are over here near Omaha, NE with latitude of 41.6 degrees. So we are just barely within the 48 dBW zone according to Lyngsat.

I forgot what size dish you have, but it definitely has to be no less than 76 cm and a one meter would definitely be better to pick up Hispasat.

RADAR
 
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I nailed it today:up but lost most of the signals in the rest of the sats, in order to pick Spainsat 30WI changed the inclination a bit locking the signal at 92 and the Q at 56-62, picked most of the Spanish channels I was looking for including 6 from Cuba, I dont understand whats going on cause the mounting pole is as level as it can be, maybe the dish bracket or moter are off or something.
 
I nailed it today:up but lost most of the signals in the rest of the sats, in order to pick Spainsat 30WI changed the inclination a bit locking the signal at 92 and the Q at 56-62, picked most of the Spanish channels I was looking for including 6 from Cuba, I dont understand whats going on cause the mounting pole is as level as it can be, maybe the dish bracket or moter are off or something.

Valdelocc,

I wish I could send you a file for channel list from 30.0W, but the site won't allow my format. Winrar is not acceptable file type and I don't have winzip anymore. Either Winzip was a temporary perk with my new PC or when I installed Winrar, it un-installed Winzip and now I have buy it again.

If you are interested in the channel list we have for 30.0W Hispasat, you can PM me and I think that then I can send it to your email account. I will leave that up to you.

Otherwise, your situation sounds familiar. You stated that your mast was level, but did you check it in all directions?

Not meaning to discount your accuracy or your thoroughness, but I have known other installers who have checked the mast for level, but only in one direction or the other (N/S or E/W) and that really threw us off. There were also occasions where the dish and motor were installed on a rooftop mast and because of the weather, they just didn't want to risk their necks in the middle of winter to go back up on an icy roof and check it. When spring came, they found that the mast had leaned on them.

I guess I just want to say that you should be absolutely sure of the plumb of your mast. Make sure that it is perfectly level in all directions and that it is also secure so that it won't change on you.

Where I live, we get frequent winds that are 30-50 mph. Once in a while (maybe once a year) we might get some winds up to 70 mph in an oddball storm. A couple years ago, we had 120 - 140 mph straight line winds that did some major damage. It actually blew an entire pontoon boat out of a lake and off its mooring and tossed it up on a neighbors lot on the beachfront. A wind that can do this can wreak havoc on a satellite dish with a large surface area, if it catches it just right.

You cannot do much about winds like that. You are pretty much screwed no matter what and your satellite dish is going to be the least of your concerns. It would be gone. You can always replace that. When your entire roof is gone, you probably won't be sitting in the living room watching the TV.

The next thing is as you stated already, that maybe the motor latitude setting or the azimuth or the dish elevation isn't just perfect.

There are two other things that I would be careful of as I found these to be obstacles for me when installing my first motorized dish. Monitor the squareness of the dish backet where it attaches to the motor tube and also ensure that the vertical plane of the dish is perfectly aligned with the vertical axis of the motor's tube. These might not be huge errors, but they can be sufficient enough to severely affect your tracking of the arc.

If any of my information helps you or any others who might read it later, then I will be pleased. Others were kind enough to help me with some of this information, so it pleases me to pass it on and return the favor, if I can.

Gordy (AcWxRADAR)
 
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What's on your favorite channel list?

Galaxy 18 @ 123W pixelating this morning?

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