How long till you give up and send it all back?

[Echelon]

I am trying to install my FTA system I bought from Galaxy Marketing.

What I am trying to determine is should this take days and days to install and find the satellites or is something not operational in the system?

System is Sonset Digital Universal Single LNBF, Fortec Star Dynamic Receiver, Fortec Star Digiready H H motor and WS international 90 cm dish.

I have been trying to receive any signal from any satellite for the past FIVE days.

I have tried five different locations in my back yard, double and triple checked all my
settings and I have not been able to see any change in signal level from any bird on any channel. All I get is a signal level of 41% and signal quality 01%, even with the LNBF not connected.

The tech at Galaxy Marketing said it took him 13 hours to do his last FTA setup.

I just can't believe this can be so hard. I have simplified my setup to exclude my antenna motor, replaced all coax, tripled checked that my mount is plum, I have two compasses, 2 levels, a sat finder meter and have spend five days installing and reinstalling my system. My satellite finder meter is reacting to signals as I move the dish to different satellite positions, but no change in the signal or quality level at the receiver ever. I am using data from dishpointer for Az/El info.

Data for motor set up:
Latitude: 34.1
Declination: 5.5
Dish Elevation 24
Due South mag 167

Any suggestions or comments ? Thanks for any info in advance.

 

[Pismire]

Did you set up the lnb in your receiver?

 

[voomvoom]

It could be how you have the receiver set-up in the menu's?
Basically, you normally should set up the system, motor on a plumb/level pole, and set for your latitude (as in the same as your latitude, which in your case is 34.1), then point the motor to due south, put the dish on the motor and set for your area's elevation (in your case 24, which would look like 66 on a protractor), it would help more if you had a protractor, as the markings on most of these dishes are usually wrong. If you don't have a protractor, use the markings, they might work? Anyway, once you have it all together, and you have the settings in the receiver menu's set-up for a Universal lnbf and also have your latitude and longitude set in the receiver menu's, then use the receiver and drive the dish over to G18 at 123.0w, then use a known transponder and try re adjusting your dish (do not change the motor), and try to peak it. If you've done all of the above, you should be close?
Good Luck!

Oh, and I would recommend using USAL's over 1.2, at least until you know you have a satellite programmed in

 

[glen4cindy]

My biggest mistake was in not making sure I was using an ACTIVE transponder.

Just because a transponder is in the list on the STB for a particular satellite, and just because it is listed first, does not mean that it is live.

You could sweep east and west and up and down for a year and never find a satellite if you are on a transponder frequency that is not active.

 

[N6BY]

...
You could sweep east and west and up and down for a year and never find a satellite if you are on a transponder frequency that is not active.

Exactly. I've been there and done that. If you tell us which satellite you are aiming at, one of us can tell you a verified active transponder.

I have tried five different locations in my back yard, double and triple checked all my
settings and I have not been able to see any change in signal level from any bird on any channel. All I get is a signal level of 41% and signal quality 01%, even with the LNBF not connected.

Are you sure your LNBF cable is going to the 'I.F. In' or 'Sat In' connector on the back of your receiver?

Also, you could try disconnecting the LNBF and measuring the voltage from the center conductor in the coax to the ground. It should be either 13 or 18 volts. If its 0 volts, the LNBF is not getting power from the receiver and will not work.

The other thing that MUST be correct are the LNB settings in your reciever. Is your LNB a 'Standard' or 'Universal'? Make sure you have the correct one entered. If its 'Standard' you need to enter the correct L.O. frequency. If its 'Universal' it uses 2 frequencies. My receiver has two choices for 'Universal' LNBs, depending on their L.O. frequency pairs. There's 'Universal 1' and 'Universal 2'.

Many of us here have gone through the same frustration when aiming a dish the first time. But you have lots of people here who can help.

So, bottom line, if your receiver is not set to an active transponder or your LNB settings in your receiver are wrong, then you'll get nothing.

 

[Blindowl1234]

Echlon, It took me about a week to get one satellite on my set up...that was around Thanksgiving! Just last week I finally got everything exactly right on the motor. I have the same recevier I think as you do. 1. Make sure you are on a live transponder then when you get a signal scan it and see how many channels show up. Make sure your setting on the lnb is correct as well. If you are using a compass it will get you in the ballpark finding a satellite. I tried for 97W sat first. Once you get one sat with a little patience the rest will come together. 2. Make sure that your mounting pole is level....critical step! 3. The dish elevation can be slightly off up or down... So if the sat you're trying for says to set the dish at 42.0 degrees try adjusting it up or down 3-4 degrees very slowly! You can go to one of the big box stores and get an inclinometer to check your incline rather than using the numbers on the dish itself. That helped me. Someone told me your'e aiming at the sat, is like aiming at something the size of a golfball at like 75ft away. Keep at it it will work....the folks here helped me a ton. Best of luck Blind

 

[TRG]

I am trying to install my FTA system I bought from Galaxy Marketing.

What I am trying to determine is should this take days and days to install and find the satellites or is something not operational in the system?

System is Sonset Digital Universal Single LNBF, Fortec Star Dynamic Receiver, Fortec Star Digiready H H motor and WS international 90 cm dish.

I have been trying to receive any signal from any satellite for the past FIVE days.

I have tried five different locations in my back yard, double and triple checked all my
settings and I have not been able to see any change in signal level from any bird on any channel. All I get is a signal level of 41% and signal quality 01%, even with the LNBF not connected.

The tech at Galaxy Marketing said it took him 13 hours to do his last FTA setup.

I just can't believe this can be so hard. I have simplified my setup to exclude my antenna motor, replaced all coax, tripled checked that my mount is plum, I have two compasses, 2 levels, a sat finder meter and have spend five days installing and reinstalling my system. My satellite finder meter is reacting to signals as I move the dish to different satellite positions, but no change in the signal or quality level at the receiver ever. I am using data from dishpointer for Az/El info.

Data for motor set up:
Latitude: 34.1
Declination: 5.5
Dish Elevation 24
Due South mag 167

Any suggestions or comments ? Thanks for any info in advance.

I had the same problem when I first started. It turned out I was looking at a dead transponder on the receiver. Make sure you go to The List and pick a strong transponder to look at.

You mentioned that you removed the motor from your system but you posted motor elevations.

Did you reset your azimuth and skew when you removed the motor?

Is your universal LNB set up properly in the Dynamic. (9750MHz/10600MHz)

What satellite are you trying to get?

 

[Pepper]

These guys have all given good advice.

To answer your original question, no it's not supposed to be this difficult. The last one I did, took probably two hours and half of that was spent trying to find a portable tv and extension cords, so i could carry all the equipment out there to assist in dish aiming.

You mention using a meter. If it's one of those cheap ones that just has a gauge and makes noise, I'm not sure if it will actually pass the signal back to the receiver. You might have to find something strong using the meter, then remove the meter and try blind scanning to see what the receiver can find.

 

[rv1pop]

If I was closer to you, I would come over and try to help. but it is close to 1200 miles. The warm weather would be almost worth it... OK Take your time moving the dish. Find a strong transponder and CHANNEL. With the dynamic, you can get a fast tune using that method. I have done over 50 setups on the road over 10,000 miles now and the secret is SLOW movements, the TV and receiver next to you as you adjust.

You can do it.... And almost every setup was on 97W using Daystar as my target. (& is not the strongest satellite.
POP

 

[SpiffWilkie]

Keep at it. I initially set up my dish last summer and it was a pain. After I finally got it set up, I decided to add a motor. That was another pain. Then my receiver died so the dish just sat for a good 6 months. I finally got another receiver and this week I decided to move the dish from its original spot (on top of a shed) to a pole in the yard. The pole is great because I don't have to drag the ladder out to do any tweaking.
I use a monitor from my portable dvd player and set it and the receiver right beside me in the yard. Then I set the system for one of the strong transponders listed on this site. Then I get the dish pointed in the approximate direction of the satellite. I keep the elevation bolts pretty loose and move it up and down. Move it a tiny bit to the left or right. Move it up and down again. Move it left or right. Repeat until I get a signal.
It sucks trying to get your first signal but once you do, it's TOTALLY worth it.

 

[turbosat]

spiff is right! I remember the first real "digital" video I picked up with my first receiver, and I was amazed at how good it looked. Up until that day the only digital video I had seen was dishnetwork. Then, my next question of course, was why do THEY look so bad when a reporter-on-the-street shot looked so good? LOL

 

[SatPhreak]

It can be done fast, but a lot of it is selecting a good known transponder, and setting the right lnb freq in your receiver. The last dish I set up was last summer at my sister's house. It was a fixed dish and it took about 2 hours.

That was including a run to the hardware store to get screws and build a ladder to get to her roof, she's cheap like me, and didn't want to spend $50 bucks on a ladder when there was enough 2X4's laying in the yard to get to the roof if only we had enough srews to put it together.

Practice helps alot as in anything, but if you try aiming, without the motor, on different sats and getting watchable channels on 3 or 4 sats you will be able to do it with the motorized setup.

Signal means nothing, Quality is what you want. Have a tv and the receiver where you can see the tv from you dish location, nobody wants to be yelling or phoning somebody that can only see the tv, because it is a lot slower.

Make very small movements east to west and wait for 1-2 seconds before you move again. If you still can't find it, adjust the dish elevation about 1 degree, and move the dish east-west again. Repeat till you get quality. It may seem hard when you are starting out, but after a while you can move a fixed dish from one sat to another in a few minutes.

 

[Cadsulfide]

We have all been there, patience.

Daniel Boone was asked once if he had ever been lost in the wilderness.

"No, but I was once a mite bewildered for three days"

 

[melgarga]

Lots of good input here. I'll try to add to it a bit and re-itterate some others. 41 is a poor signal or 'connection quality' reading. It should change [increase] when a good connection is made to an lnb, [ if the setup data is correct] even if it is pointed at the ground. Be sure to verify the ~13 or 18 vdc at the STB input connector and lnb end. Look for damaged or crushed places on the coax, poor crimps etc. Make sure there is one continous run of coax from the box to the STB, no slices, splitters, switches, etc. The setup for that lnb will affect this reading too.
Remove as many variables as possible. put the dish on the pole w/o the posititoner first. Know your true south direction, and become familiar with the appx relative locations of a few key birds. The Echo circular sats are very stong and evenly spaced across the Americas. As pointed out, the LO/IF/LNB Freq varies on which LNB you have. The menu description also varies by mfgr as well. Purchased for TFTA in the US, you probably have a LNB that uses a value of 10.750, regardless of what it is called. Your vendor docs should provide this info. If you have a circular LNB for some reason, it is an 11250, and will not work for TFTA service. Linear LNBs usually will pick up circular signal, probably due to the higher strength, but circulars dont see the lower powered linear signals. The sat rx freqs that you enter are critical as well. Dont expect the factory defaults, if any to be valid. The 1st entry in the table is likely the one it uses to display signal on the satellite setup page. With a single lnb for input you need no switch config, set this all to off or none. Arm youself with a valid freq list for the sats you want to lock onto. There is a proggy called Channelmaster that allows channel data editing for some stb's. I dont know if your is supported, but if so, you can build a basic sat/freq table of known good 'markers' and dl it to your box if supported.
Do not over tighten or undertighten the mount while manually panning. Too loose = too sloppy, and too tight = over stressing the assy and 'springback affect' on small movements. This goes for the elevation adjustments too. A bit of vasoline on the movable points/pole will make for a smoother pan at small increments. Allow at least 1-2 seconds for the rx to lock before proceeding to the next incremental move. Keep the vasoline to a min and you can mark good hits on the pole w/ a sharpie for temp reference points. Dont go for precision at this point as much as proving the HW and the data setup. Once you've verified the setup and a few key markers points, step back and look at each successful position, make notes of sig quality, then set the assy up w/ the motor and do it all over again, tweaking the elevation.
It is a task that demands patience, but 5 days is wrong. The guy that said all day was.....well. I'll be nice. Suffice it to say a few hrs tops is all you need to be up and running sitting on the couch wearing the remote out. Preparation is the key. Have as many variable out of the equation as possible, and the actual pointing becomes a trivial task. Good luck, and welcome to the hobby...........dont give up, there are lots of knowledgable and helpfull folks here that want nothing more than to see a fellow TFTA'er succeed.

 

[melgarga]

PS Cad , Brian Keith had a similar line in The Mountain Men - "Lost? I aint never been lost, Been a fearsome bit confused for a few monthes, but never lost."