Intelsat 18 180.0E Ku

[cyberham]

Today I began a mini-project to try to receive Intelsat 18 at 180.0E. This is the satellite with content from French Polynesia but with a footprint that covers the western portion of North America with a signal strong enough that it should be receivable with a 60 to 75 cm Ku dish.

For my location, dish elevation is about 13 degrees, azimuth is 243 degrees (true) and skew is a little more than 34 degrees positive. I adjusted a Shaw Direct 60e dish for these settings. Fortunately my dish is quite new so the scales are still calibrated with readable markings. I am using the original Shaw linear LNB supplied with this dish. I know it works since I recently used it for receiving pay TV. I've been taught by Keith Brannen that this is a dual LNB that contains two local oscillators: 10750 MHz for the standard Ku satellite band and 10075 MHz for the xKu lower band. I will need to use the second LO which is selected with the 22 kHz Tone OFF. My Edision Mio+ allows this LO frequency to be manually configured and will then scan from 11025 to 12200 MHz. This will permit me to receive Tahiti Nui TV on 11155 V 30000.

My first attempt today resulted in not finding any transponders. I tried blind scanning but no results. I think the reason is due to discrepancy in different tools I am using. One app disagrees with another app as to the direction to point the dish. I've since compared both tools against my accurately pointed main dish so I now know which app to trust. I will need to relocate my dish and equipment to a different area of my yard and try again tomorrow.

Summary of past links on this subject:

Sept 2021
April 2018
May 2013
December 2009

 

[N6BY]

..
For my location, dish elevation is about 13 degrees, azimuth is 243 degrees (true) and skew is a little more than 34 degrees positive.

Have you checked dishpointer.com ? The reason I ask is that if you are in California you should get at least 16 degrees of elevation and about 46 degrees skew.

I have tried getting 180E here in California a few times without success.

My problem is another house and trees that are in the way (from a ground level point of view). The only way I could get a good line of sight is if I put the dish very high on the second story roof in front of my house.

Wife approval factor for that is very low unless I promise that it is only a temporary experiment!

 

[cyberham]

I have dishpointer on my smartphone continuously as I work. That's where I get my data. My more northern latitude and slightly more western longitude is what gives me different data. This would explain the lower elevation and less skew.

 

[cyberham]

Nothing found today. For the first time, I wish I had a battery operated sat meter. Dragging a TV & sat receiver around the yard is tiring and slow in the sun. Normally, I never need a meter.

I'll have to consider if I will drag the equipment out again.

Sent from my SM-G990W using Tapatalk

 

[mr3p]

I"ve played this game Yes you can definitely do it from the west coast if you are high enough to have LOS.

https://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/threads/how-far-west-can-you-go.363436/

I've wanted to go back and try it again with the small dish although its definitely beyond the arc of my HH motor. I spent a lot of time trying to think through a way to use an HH motor, obviously with a modified arc, but never figured out a solution

 

[jorgek]

Its below the horizon at my location!

 

[cyberham]

I realized the augmented reality app was leading me astray. I had my dish in the wrong location. I now have a new app that is more accurate. I also realized I only need to drag my receiver, not my TV, around the yard which is much more convenient. The receiver talks via wifi so I can monitor what it sees via my smartphone on my local network. When the rain clears tomorrow, I will continue my search for Polynesia.

 

[cyberham]

One alternative to chasing around my own yard to find 180E is to go a short distance to a local wharf. I could do it just with my tripod, Shaw 60e dish, sat receiver and a smartphone. But I have no AC power source to operate the sat receiver since I can't get the car near the tripod position. With the car I could just operate an inverter to get the power I need. There's always something.

The sky at the wharf is wide open for viewing.

 

[clucas]

If I remember correctly, I had some breakup using a .76 meter dish with an older LNBF. I won an Amiko L-107 from a contest run by Hypermegasat Casey. Using that LNBF I had a stable signal. All I'm saying is that it's marginal with a larger dish so I doubt you will have much luck with a 60e. I do hope you are using a Universal LNBF and your setup is correct.

 

[cyberham]

Good tips. My Shaw 60e dish has a dual linear LNB. One of the LNBs has an LO of 10075 MHz which allows scanning from 11023 through to 12223 MHz. So it's like a universal LNB. It's designed to receive pay TV on the lower (extended) Ku band. I do have a spare 1-metre dish in storage.

I agree that the dish size is marginal. For this reason, and because there is too much uncertainty in the precise direction to aim due to discrepancy in augmented reality apps, I've decided to halt my hunt. I think trees are blocking the low 13 degree elevation required.

Dishpointer isn't useful since it mostly shows trees here since it's photo database is out of date for this area so it's not too useful. If I ever figure out how to search from the wharf where there are zero trees in the way and lots of open sky, then I may try again.

 

[clucas]

I've used the SatFinder Lite and also Satellite Positioner apps and when compared, both are off from the actual satellite position. One shows the satellite being particularly high in the sky so you may still be able to actually "see" the satellite from your location. My best results were from adjusting the skew then elevation and slowly rotating the dish back and forth while making small adjustments of the elevation.

In a couple weeks the sun could be your best friend. In your area I think the worst day for the solar outage is October 12th or 13th. If you know the time the sun is at 180 degrees then go out in your yard and look for a place you can see the sun with no shadows. I have one place in the eastern end of my yard which has a clear view to 180. My longitude is -120.46 and at 4:37PM Pacific (add an hour for savings time) is when I'm in direct alignment.

 

[cyberham]

You reminded me of something I used to do when first starting chasing satellites.

I've found a "sun tool" that tells me exactly where the sun is every hour of the day. 180E Intelsat 18 is 243 degrees azimuth and 12.8 degrees elevation from here. At precisely 5:00 pm PST this afternoon, this sun tool tells me the sun will be at 243.04 degrees azimuth and 16.99 degrees elevation. I will go outside at this time and see if I can see the sun directly from my yard. The satellite would be just over 4 degrees lower in the sky at that time.

 

[N6BY]

I have dishpointer on my smartphone continuously as I work. That's where I get my data. My more northern latitude and slightly more western longitude is what gives me different data. This would explain the lower elevation and less skew.

I thought you were in Halfmoon Bay, California, but now I see that you are in Canada. Sorry, my mistake.

 

[cyberham]

I'm in the real Halfmoon Bay. Not Half Moon Bay. Also, we're on the real Sunshine Coast in BC. Not the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. Confusing, eh?

 

[N6BY]

For me, at 5:22 PM today the sun will be at the same elevation as 180E and the azimuth will be 4 degrees off. So wherever there isn't a shadow I could setup a dish (if I account for the slight azimuth difference). But clouds might make that test impossible today.

 

[cyberham]

I get your point. There would no shadow on your dish from the LNB.

 

[cyberham]

Just found an engineering compass supplied by the pay satellite TV provider. This is much more accurate than my smart apps. With this physical compass, I'm referencing against my due south dish position and also the current sun position. Now I'm making progress.

 

[clucas]

I get your point. There would no shadow on your dish from the LNB.

Not so much as a shadow from the LNBF, the shadow from any trees or hills cast on the dish when the sun is in direct alignment with the dish on the worst outage day. In theory I can get 166e here but I have a shadow cast over my dish from a distant hill about 5 minutes before the outage. No line of sight on that one for me.

 

[mikekohl]

A simple way to confirm that you are clearing 13 degrees elevation would require 3 things.
1. A piece of rigid pipe (3 or 4 feet long would be sufficient)
2. An angle finder / inclinometer to place horizontally on the pipe
(digital angle finder would be most accurate)
3. A second person to assist.

If you are pretty certain of the true direction, hold the pipe and eyeball down the tube, focusing your eyes just left or right. Have your helper place the angle finder on the pipe and lift the pipe accurately so that you can read 13 degrees (or the inverse of 90 minus 13 or 77 degrees). If your direction is correct and you can see what is centered on your pipe while it is elevated 13 degrees above horizontal, it will tell if you are clearing the horizon and you can confirm any nearby trees or other local obstructions.

If it all looks clear, proceed with the live test using the satellite dish and receiver, with an in-line meter to beep when you get close to a live signal. Good luck!

Mike

 

[cyberham]

Some good ideas.

Using the sun was quite useful today. When the sun reached the same azimuth as Intelsat 18, then I knew exactly where the satellite should be in azimuth. This was informative since the apps tend to show a different spot each time you check. Similarly, when the sun reached the same elevation as Intelsat 18 (about 25 minutes after the azimuth sighting), then I knew the elevation sighting.

By mentally putting the above together and imagining the intersecting point in the sky between azimuth and elevation data, it is clear where the satellite is located. Conclusion? I would not receive the satellite from the spot I last tried the other day. But, if I move further over in my lot where there is a large space between prominent trees, I may be able to have enough space to meet the elevation requirement.

I was also able to verify the above using the physical compass which is more precise than smartphone apps. I used sunglasses to help see the sun clearly and it was an overcast day so that actually helped to block some of the sun's rays to see it even more clearly. In the image below, at the centre between the two trees is where I was trying to point the dish previously. There just isn't enough space there for the elevation requirement. I must move further off image to the right so I can see around these two trees in the image. There there will be lots of elevation space.