My Install.....

[GaryPen]

I just can't any any signal quality, even though the signal strength is 90+. As a matter of fact, the signal strngth is like 90 even if I block the LNB with my hand. I don't understand that one. The only way I can make the quality drop is by disconnecting the LNB or turning off power to it from the receiver. Otherwise...90+. (I even bypassed the motor, to see if that was causing signal problems. But all that did was raise strengthh about 4 points. It did nothing for quality.)

I know it isn't the receiver, as I hooked up the 119 side of my D500, got HUGE signal and quality numbers, and the auto-scan picked up a ton of radio and a few clear video channels.

Can I be that far off with my FTA dish? I set the elevation on the motor to 46, as per SatFinder for E9/121, and on the dish to 24, as per the motor manual. However, the face of the LNB is not square to the ground, as the manual seemd to say it should be when pointed to TS sat. (I had never heard that before. Maybe I misread the motor manual?)

Even if azimuth is off for 121, shouldn't I be picking up other sats? I selected 121 on the sat setup menu. But, that doesn't restrict the receiver to only 121 does it? I thought it would still pick up any signal, regardless of which sat is listed on the setup page.

 

[Mr Tony]

I just can't any any signal quality, even though the signal strength is 90+. As a matter of fact, the signal strngth is like 90 even if I block the LNB with my hand. I don't understand that one. The only way I can make the quality drop is by disconnecting the LNB or turning off power to it from the receiver. Otherwise...90+. (I even bypassed the motor, to see if that was causing signal problems. But all that did was raise strengthh about 4 points. It did nothing for quality.)

This is normal. Signal strength will always be high. Its quality that is needed.

I know it isn't the receiver, as I hooked up the 119 side of my D500, got HUGE signal and quality numbers, and the auto-scan picked up a ton of radio and a few clear video channels.

Well at least the box is working

Can I be that far off with my FTA dish? I set the elevation on the motor to 46, as per SatFinder for E9/121, and on the dish to 24, as per the motor manual. However, the face of the LNB is not square to the ground, as the manual seemd to say it should be when pointed to TS sat. (I had never heard that before. Maybe I misread the motor manual?)

No it won’t be square to the ground. I know mine isn’t up here in MN. The dish is at an angle

Even if azimuth is off for 121, shouldn't I be picking up other sats? I selected 121 on the sat setup menu. But, that doesn't restrict the receiver to only 121 does it? I thought it would still pick up any signal, regardless of which sat is listed on the setup page.

FTa isn’t restricted to the satellite you’re on, but you have to pick an active transponder to aim the dish. The best thing to do is aim it where you think it should be and do a blind scan.

In my Coolsat 5000, there is an option for blind scan, power scan, smart scan (I forget what the actual name is). Go into there and let it scan. Make sure to let it scan ALL channels. Regardless of what is in the satellite setup,. It will pick up channels as long as you are aimed at a satellite. Then we can see what satellite you’re at and help from there : )

 

[digiblur]

Yep, you are getting close to it. Just keep pointing and blind scanning. It doesn't matter what satellite you have picked as that is cosmetic only. Point, blind scan, no TP's found? repeat. If you find something, use Lyngsat to find out where you are.

 

[GaryPen]

No it won’t be square to the ground. I know mine isn’t up here in MN. The dish is at an angle

The dish is at an angle of course. But, I thought it said something about the face of the lnb being perpendicular to the ground at zero or TS.

FTa isn’t restricted to the satellite you’re on, but you have to pick an active transponder to aim the dish. The best thing to do is aim it where you think it should be and do a blind scan.

Don't I need to show quality before doing a scan? I only get about 3-4, and both bars are red. (When I locked in on 119 with the D500, both bars turned green.)

In my Coolsat 5000, there is an option for blind scan, power scan, smart scan (I forget what the actual name is). Go into there and let it scan. Make sure to let it scan ALL channels. Regardless of what is in the satellite setup,. It will pick up channels as long as you are aimed at a satellite. Then we can see what satellite you’re at and help from there : )

I did try that at one point. (I think. I tried so many f-ing things.) But, it didn't pick anything up. I assumed it was due to no signal quality?

Gotta tell ya...It sure felt good to see those bars shoot up and turn green when I hooked up the E* LNB! BTW, I had to set LNB type to OCS for the E* LNB to work. Is that normal?

My FTA LNB is a Fortec Universal. Are there any special settings for that? I set LNB type to Universal, and it automatically chose a freq. (I forget what it was.) Switch type to off. Motor type to USALS. Switch type to off. I zeroed the motor, set my location, chose 121. And, no luck getting signal.

 

[Mr Tony]

If it is a Universal, then it has to be set to Universal and the LNB Frequency should say 9750/10600

For the Dish LNB's, it should be single and 11250 for LNB freq

 

[Mr Tony]

wait a minute

Can I be that far off with my FTA dish? I set the elevation on the motor to 46, as per SatFinder for E9/121, and on the dish to 24, as per the motor manual. However, the face of the LNB is not square to the ground, as the manual seemd to say it should be when pointed to TS sat. (I had never heard that before. Maybe I misread the motor manual?)

I think there is an issue. If there is a latitude scale on the motor, that you put the same as your latitude. If there isn't and its just elevation, then its 90-latitude

San Jose is at 37.3 latitude, so if there is a latitude scale, you put it at 37. Otherwise if there isn't and it just says elevation, then its 53. This is on the motor

 

[GaryPen]

wait a minute

I think there is an issue. If there is a latitude scale on the motor, that you put the same as your latitude. If there isn't and its just elevation, then its 90-latitude

San Jose is at 37.3 latitude, so if there is a latitude scale, you put it at 37. Otherwise if there isn't and it just says elevation, then its 53. This is on the motor

Hmmm. The GS120 manual says to set the motor elevation to the whatever is correct ofr my long/lat. SatFinder says 121 elevation for 121long/37lat should be 46.6. Then, it says to set the dish elev according to its latitude chart, which showed 24.

Does anybody else have a GeosatPro GS120 to confirm the elevation procedure? Maybe Brian from SatelliteAV can chime in?

 

[GaryPen]

If it is a Universal, then it has to be set to Universal and the LNB Frequency should say 9750/10600

For the Dish LNB's, it should be single and 11250 for LNB freq

I believe that was what I had for the FTA LNB, and no luck.

I'll try again after work, while there's still plenty of light, and I'm not tired form the assembly and mounting. I'm sure I'll have better luck.

Odd. For the Dish LNB, I wouldn't get signal quality unless I switched LNB type to OCS! (and whatever the corresponding freq defaulted to.)

 

[Das Hammer]

Motor should be at your latitude.

Edit: Dang, Ice quick again.

 

[Mr Tony]

That looks like my SG2100 which has a latitude scale on it. I guess I'm lucky as I'm at 45N so regardless if the motor has an elevation or latitude, its the same

It should be either at 37 latitude or 53 elevation

 

[GaryPen]

After looking at the SG2100, it sure looks identical to the GS120. Probably same manufacturer. Maybe it is a latitude scale on mine, after all. I'll definitely re-read the manual. But, I coulda sworn it was an elevation scale.

How do you arrive at the motor elevation number of 53? And, does my dish elevation of 24 seem correct for a 37 latitude?

 

[Mr Tony]

If there is no latitude scale, elevation for a SG2100 motor (and the similar) is
90-latitude

 

[GaryPen]

I was looking at one manual online, and the motor bracket has an elevation scale on one side, and a latitude scale on the other! I wonder if mine is like that. I'll find out when I get home.

Thanks for the help so far!

 

[Mr Tony]

cool. If it has the latitude scale, then just use that

 

[GaryPen]

I'll get this ship to sail. I'm sure of it. (With satguys' member support, of course)

 

[Dr_Brian_Oblivion]

So if I figure this right;
Motor set at longitude=37
dish elevation set at 30-declination(5.9)=24
and don't forget your magnetic deviation when setting your azimuth.
make sure your mast is level too.
whenever you move your dish, do it with the TINIEST movements you can, millimeters at a time, the adjusts for these dishes are smaller than you cam imagine =)

GOOD LUCK!

 

[GaryPen]

Still no cigar! I corrected the motor elevation. Yes, it should have been set to my latitude, of course. But, like an idiot, originally set it for the elevation from SatFinder. It even says "Latitude" on the side I was using to set it! That part is correct now. I started out with what looked like 163deg, then moved slowly in incfrements in both directions. But, no dice.

I was almost ready to give up, and toss the sh*t off of the veranda. But, I have a feeling that the roof of my house is partially blocking the signal. Since I had no problem hitting the 148 satellite with D300, I figured the larger 76cm dish would have no problem hitting satellites from the same spot. What I didn't figure is that much of the new larger dish sits lower than the old E* dish. So, a good portion of the lower part of the dish is probably being blocked.

I think I'll try a 10ft mast, and either use a tripod stand, or mount it to the inside of the veranda wall. Is there something I can get from Home Depot to use as a mast?

Now, for the part that's still frustrating: Yesterday, when I plugged in the one of the cables from my D500 directly into the receiver, I scanned in a bunch of E* music channels, and a few TV channels. I tried using the Diseqc switch today, but get 0 quality, then it might jump to 97. Then 0 again. I plugged the 2 feeds from the D500 into ports 1 and 2 on the switch, and assigned 110 to port 1 and 119 to port 2. It'll be full on green with 97 quality, then nothing. The really weird part, is it'll change like that, even when I plug one feed directly into the reciver, even though that worked fine last night!

I'm getting frustrated with this whole thing. And, that cheapass Coolsat remote doesn't make navigating through the setup screens any easier. If they spent a dollar making that thing, they got robbed. I'm beginning to get buyers remorse here, or at least starting to wonder if I shoulda at least bought the Fortec Mercury II instead.

I'm not new to this sort of stuff either. Besides being a soundman for about 20 years. (HUGE honking arena concert sound systems), and currently an AV tech, I have also set up multi-dish E* systems in my last 3 homes. This crap should be a piece of cake. Grrrrrrrrrr.

 

[SatelliteAV]

If you are connecting to a D500 twin LNBF, it has a built-in switch. If it is a DP LNBF, all frequencies from both 110 and 119 will be on stacked on the horizontal (18v) and there are two LNB LO frequencies. first- 11250MHz and second- 11450MHz.

If you do not have the correct switch setting selected on the receiver, the internal switches will not be controlled correctly resulting in a hit and miss on getting the correct combination to view the correct satellite. If you then stacked a DiSEqC inline with that .... oh well, I'm sure you got the picture ......

Try this:

Verify with a level that your post is PERFECTLY PLUMB front to back and side to side.

Set Motor: Latitude Scale 47
Note: once the Latitude setting is made on the motor mount, no further adjustment will be needed.

Set Dish: Elevation Angle 24
Set LNBF rotation to 0 (cable exiting directly down towards a 6 o'clock position).

With the motor parked in the 0 (zero) position, physically rotate the motor on the mounting post so the LNBF arm points at approx. 163 degrees. (Take compss readings from several locations away from any metal inflences and sight a tree or other object on the horizon that lines up with the 163 degree compass reading. This is your aiming location for aiming the LNBF arm with the motor in the 0 position.)

Look up the bottom edge of the LNBF arm from below and behind the dish. Does the arm clear obstacles? Note: The arm is pointing at an angle that is approx. 6 degrees lower than the actual look angle of the dish. If when sighting up the arm, it is pointed into an object there is a very good chance that the object will also be blocking the satellite signal.

Place the receiver and a small TV next to the dish. Connect the receiver to the TV and the motor. Connect the motor to the LNBF. Power on the receiver and TV. Perform master reset on the receiver. Perform a reset on the motor.

Settings for Satellite Receiver
Satellite: G10r
LNBF type Universal
LNBF LO: 9750/10600
LNB power on
Activate USALS and Enter: 121.5 Longitude / 37.2 Latitude
Exit and save setting.

Enter into TP scan menu
Satellite: G10r
TP: 11800

Once the dish moves into position slowly rotate the motor on the mounting post. While viewing the quality reading, sweep the horizon up to 15 degrees on either side of the estimated location. If no quality reading is indicated, increase or decrease the dish elevation angle by a degree and repeat. You should try this increasing or decreasing the dish elevation several degrees.

Once the quality level indicates a signal, peak by making slight adjustments to the dish elevation angle and side to side rotation of the motor on the mounting post. Perform a power scan before moving motor to a new satellite. Remember, the lnbf type and LO setting must be set and an active TP frequency selected before being able to locate each satellite.

We have technicians available to assist with the installation of your equipment from 8am - 5pm PDT. Give us a call if the going gets rough!

 

[digiblur]

Excellent support from SatelliteAV! Nice!

Another idea you might try which I've used when I'm totally "lost in the sky" is to take a legacy DBS LNB and put it on the dish. If the neck sizes are wrong just tape it with duct tape or electircal tape since it temp anyways. Now go find 61.5, 82, 91, 110, 119, 129, 148, etc. Then switch back to the linear now that you know where you are in the sky.

 

[GaryPen]

If you are connecting to a D500 twin LNBF, it has a built-in switch. If it is a DP LNBF, all frequencies from both 110 and 119 will be on stacked on the horizontal (18v) and there are two LNB LO frequencies. first- 11250MHz and second- 11450MHz.

If you do not have the correct switch setting selected on the receiver, the internal switches will not be controlled correctly resulting in a hit and miss on getting the correct combination to view the correct satellite. If you then stacked a DiSEqC inline with that .... oh well, I'm sure you got the picture ......

So, what are the proper entries for 110 and 119 satellite settings in the receiver for a DP Twin LNB? How are the two feeds distributed? Do both sats come through both lines, but separated into H/V. Or, is each line dedicated to a specific sat?

Try this:
Verify with a level that your post is PERFECTLY PLUMB front to back and side to side.

Of course. That's the first thing I did.

Set Motor: Latitude Scale 47
Note: once the Latitude setting is made on the motor mount, no further adjustment will be needed.

Do you mean 37? My latitude is 37.

Set Dish: Elevation Angle 24
Set LNBF rotation to 0 (cable exiting directly down towards a 6 o'clock position).

Dish elevation and Skew were correct from the beginning.

With the motor parked in the 0 (zero) position, physically rotate the motor on the mounting post so the LNBF arm points at approx. 163 degrees. (Take compss readings from several locations away from any metal inflences and sight a tree or other object on the horizon that lines up with the 163 degree compass reading. This is your aiming location for aiming the LNBF arm with the motor in the 0 position.)

I did all of that, of course.

Look up the bottom edge of the LNBF arm from below and behind the dish. Does the arm clear obstacles? Note: The arm is pointing at an angle that is approx. 6 degrees lower than the actual look angle of the dish. If when sighting up the arm, it is pointed into an object there is a very good chance that the object will also be blocking the satellite signal.

I will do this today after work, as I have a feeling that blockage may be my problem. I wasn't sure how to check for it, though. Thanks for this great tip!

Place the receiver and a small TV next to the dish. Connect the receiver to the TV and the motor. Connect the motor to the LNBF. Power on the receiver and TV. Perform master reset on the receiver. Perform a reset on the motor.

Settings for Satellite Receiver
Satellite: G10r
LNBF type Universal
LNBF LO: 9750/10600
LNB power on
Activate USALS and Enter: 121.5 Longitude / 37.2 Latitude
Exit and save setting.

Enter into TP scan menu
Satellite: G10r
TP: 11800

Once the dish moves into position slowly rotate the motor on the mounting post. While viewing the quality reading, sweep the horizon up to 15 degrees on either side of the estimated location. If no quality reading is indicated, increase or decrease the dish elevation angle by a degree and repeat. You should try this increasing or decreasing the dish elevation several degrees.

I was going for E9/121. But, I would imagine that if I hit anything, I would have shown some quality, which never happened. Although, I haven't tried changing elevation, other than to correct my previous mistake.

Perform a power scan before moving motor to a new satellite. Remember, the lnbf type and LO setting must be set and an active TP frequency selected before being able to locate each satellite.

What is a "power scan"? The CS5000 has 3 choices": Auto-Scan, Blind-Scan, and Manual-Scan.

We have technicians available to assist with the installation of your equipment from 8am - 5pm PDT. Give us a call if the going gets rough!

Thanks. I'm glad I chose satelliteAV for my purchase! Of course, I only have time to work on the installation after 5pm on weekdays, and all day on weekends. (I assume the 8am-5pm time you mention is weekday-only).