I got my motorized FTA system from Sadoun the other day and spent a lot of time yesterday trying to see how the Fortec 90cm dish should be mounted on the DG280 motor shaft. I didn't readily see where the holes are on the dish mount to go through the holes on the motor shaft. Can someone guide me please? Your help will be greatly appreciated.
mounting dish on motor
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If you can post pics of what you have , we can be better informed. Different versions of brackets might make this more of a challenge.
will try again
Thanks Sadoun for posting a sample picture of how the dish is attached to the motor. I will give this a try and see if this resolves my problem. My number one problem right now is not the motor, but installing a new mount. The one that came with my FTA package does not allow enough room for the 90cm dish to clear the roof when being rotated. I found that out as I placed the dish in front of the motor, holding it in my hands, and "simulating" the movement of the dish. I put this mount on the end boards that meet at the edge of the roof (a common place for dishes to be mounted). After all that work of carefully making sure the mast is plumb both horizontally and vertically, I'm going to leave the original mount there and possibly use it as a place to park my XM radio antenna or a much smaller OTA antenna.
Thanks Sadoun for posting a sample picture of how the dish is attached to the motor. I will give this a try and see if this resolves my problem. My number one problem right now is not the motor, but installing a new mount. The one that came with my FTA package does not allow enough room for the 90cm dish to clear the roof when being rotated. I found that out as I placed the dish in front of the motor, holding it in my hands, and "simulating" the movement of the dish. I put this mount on the end boards that meet at the edge of the roof (a common place for dishes to be mounted). After all that work of carefully making sure the mast is plumb both horizontally and vertically, I'm going to leave the original mount there and possibly use it as a place to park my XM radio antenna or a much smaller OTA antenna.
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will take pictures
In response to Brent, I will take a picture of what has been set up so far. This will quickly change as I'm toying with the idea of moving the motorized dish to either the chimney or to the existing 3' tripod which is currently being used for the OTA HDTV antenna.
In response to Brent, I will take a picture of what has been set up so far. This will quickly change as I'm toying with the idea of moving the motorized dish to either the chimney or to the existing 3' tripod which is currently being used for the OTA HDTV antenna.
If I were you, of the two choices, put it on the tripod where it will be more accessible. I'm always tinkering with mine, and it was a PITA when it was on the roof. [edit] As to your eaves mount problem, I , too, discovered that roof mounted MOTORIZED dishes have to be at the peak of the roof, to get enough room for lateral movement . That's just a fact of geometry that I hadn't encountered until I tried it out. [/edit]
If you can get line of sight, the ground pole with a chest-height dish is SO much easier.
Not only for a first timer, but us old timers, too!
I wouldn't climb on a roof or fiddle with my eaves to save yer life, any more!
I put enough ham antennas on the roof in days gone buy to have met my quota!
Not only for a first timer, but us old timers, too!
I wouldn't climb on a roof or fiddle with my eaves to save yer life, any more!
I put enough ham antennas on the roof in days gone buy to have met my quota!
update on my progress
I am updating everyone on what I did today on the installation of my FTA satellite system. I thought the tripod was the best place to put the dish and was planning to carefully lower the Terk TV 34 OTA HDTV antenna. Consequently, it crashed down on the roof after I untwisted the third of four guy wires (perhaps it was the order of guy wires that should have been followed to prevent the OTA antena from crashing down). I replaced the 10 foot mast with a 5 foot mast, moved the DG280 motor to the tripod mast after checking for a perfect plumbness, installed the Fortec 90cm dish on the motor, and started to get the angles set on the motor and the dish. I was out of daylight and will continue working on the alignment tomorrow after work. I aimed the dish at my true southern satellite - Echostar 9/G23. So far I have a 40% signal strength and 10% signal quality on the TV display. I'm not finished yet, but I know I will do better tomorrow. I will keep everyone updated on my progress and will "holler" for help/advice if I need it.
I am updating everyone on what I did today on the installation of my FTA satellite system. I thought the tripod was the best place to put the dish and was planning to carefully lower the Terk TV 34 OTA HDTV antenna. Consequently, it crashed down on the roof after I untwisted the third of four guy wires (perhaps it was the order of guy wires that should have been followed to prevent the OTA antena from crashing down). I replaced the 10 foot mast with a 5 foot mast, moved the DG280 motor to the tripod mast after checking for a perfect plumbness, installed the Fortec 90cm dish on the motor, and started to get the angles set on the motor and the dish. I was out of daylight and will continue working on the alignment tomorrow after work. I aimed the dish at my true southern satellite - Echostar 9/G23. So far I have a 40% signal strength and 10% signal quality on the TV display. I'm not finished yet, but I know I will do better tomorrow. I will keep everyone updated on my progress and will "holler" for help/advice if I need it.
If you can get line of sight, the ground pole with a chest-height dish is SO much easier.
Not only for a first timer, but us old timers, too!
I wouldn't climb on a roof or fiddle with my eaves to save yer life, any more!
I put enough ham antennas on the roof in days gone buy to have met my quota!
Anole,
I couldn't agree more! If anyone has the option to install their dish on a mast set in concrete in the yard, it makes the hobby so much more easy and fun.
The installation and alignment process is so much easier. Maintenance and any troubleshooting is much easier. If you need to brush some snow or ice off the dish in the dead of winter, this is definitely a plus!
Lower to the ground also takes the dish out of the wind (somewhat) and that can help.
There are no holes drilled in your roof or your siding! Which is a great benefit!
Everything is a plus, except maybe having to mow around the mast or if you have a large population of deer and a buck wants to rub his antlers on it.
The worst negatives are trees and other homes or buildings blocking the line of sight view of the satellites. I know that many people are in this predicament and I really wish they had an easier avenue.
Personally, I am not too fond of heights, so it would bug me even moreso. Even on a one story ranch style roof.
AcWxRADAR
Spacebug,
Personally, I would not use "guy" wires at all. I would use sold metal struts, like all-thread with turnbuckles hard attached to the roof beams.
AcWxRADAR
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