New dish, where to go next

[jaray]

I've been given a 6' mesh Star Trak dish, good shape. I've been reading all about the c-band/fta world for quite awhile now and figured I'd have a plan once I got a dish. But now that I have this dish, I just don't know where to start
Its a stationary dish, and that's all I want it to be for now. I was hoping to hook it to my older Sonicview 1000.
I did play with it a few nights ago and didn't find a darn thing in the sky, I'm thinking the LNB might be dead. I have myself one of those inexpensive analogue meters with the needle and it seems to think it finds signal when hooked up to the dish but the receiver tells a different story. I think coming from the Ku band world I'm missing something. My hopes were to at least find one of the c-band satellites and do some blind scans and see what I find.
Am I going to need to upgrade to a c-band/fta combo lnb or can I use the Sonicview and c-band LNB at least to get started?
I know that I'll need to know how to adjust LNB focal point etc. to get proper signal on anything, but I'm assuming I should be able to at least see something regardless of those finer adjustments...am I correct in assuming this or do I have to be prepared for a completely different way of doing things in the c-band world?
I'm itching to lock onto my first bird of some sort

thanks for any help...

 

[greenguy]

a 6' maybe small depends on your location, i kindda like to start at 8'
you hav a fixed mount, maybe if you can get a polar mount, a jack and something to move it with.

for LNBs. . .im usin the chapparell corotor II wide band with norsat 8115 c band lnb and a 4106a for ku band

with this setup i can do both linear and circular c band and linear ku band.

 

[gmd63]

You will get a good chunk with the 6', you just have to be sure you are actually on a satellite. Go to the list on this site and find a transponder to use with your receiver. Gal 17 91ºW, Gal 16 99ºW or Gal 23 121ºW are good strong ones to go for.

In your antenna settings make sure to adjust the settings to what they need to be (5150 for C-Band not 10750 which is KU etc...).

 

[Anole]

Also, what sort of feedhorn + LNB do you have?
If it's one with a servo to control vertical vs horizontal polarity, that could be a stumbling block, too.
(servo: typicaly, a little blue box with three small wires going to it)
Your receiver won't control that servo.

Some advanced members might set the servo manually, but that's pretty tough for a beginner.
Another way, would be to hook an old analog receiver to the feed, which can control the servo, but then that's a whole 'nother long story, too.
I hate to suggest this if you have any other solution with existing hardware, but a GeoSatPro C2 LNBF from SatelliteAV (or on sale at Sadoun), is probably the easiest to interface to your existing receiver.
It appears to outperform the dual band LNBF's on the market, and with a small BUD, that's a good idea.

LO is 5150 as mentioned above; Vert = 13volts & Horiz = 18 volts.
Don't forget to set the skew to match whichever satellite you are going for.

 

[gabshere]

great going no matter want you decide to do in the future try the one you have now and work up to another dish if needed ....

the basic and anole hit on this . make sure the sonicview is setup to receive c-band signals and go to the list and find a couple of live transponders for the satellite your trying to hit. ( it might even help if you know where the dish is actually aimed at .... so if everything is set and the axis is pointed north / south a compus should tell you what satellite your pointed at . most FTA receiver aren't setup to do both c-band & ku at the same time unless you setup one for each satellite...... its what i do and it makes things easier ... but for now you can just make sure the LO is set to 5150

next check your current feedhorn & lnb and make sure its clear of any obstructions... wasp nest critters birds crud rust ect...

also use good coax connectors and before hooking up to your system make sure the sonicview is off not just standby but off with the switch ( usually on the back of the receiver).... always make sure this is done before connecting and disconnecting the coax.

and here's the best tip i can give you pictures pictures pictures ... they speak a thousand words .

 

[jaray]

Picture of LNB

Here is a couple pics of the LNB and dish, does say dual polarity.
I have loosened the lnb and moved it around, so not sure if I will absolutely need to re-adjust anything.
Its also missing the feedhorn cover.
Can anyone describe to me what each of the parts are? Is anything missing, I don't really know what part of this is the feedhorn. I have been around broadband C-band dishes plenty and can easily spot the feedhorn, but those dishes are nowhere near like these ones....thoughts??

 

[turbosat]

Feedhorn is the part with the rings in it-pointed toward the dish. It collects the signal that the dish reflects and focuses toward it, and the lnb part of it (part with the label on it) amplifies that signal, passes it to the receiver.
If the dish came from a nearby setup, it's possible you might not have to make many adjustments. Do you know if it came from a working system? Mostly all you need to do is pick a c-band satellite and aim your dish to it. Dishpointer.com is one website that gives you the exact elevation/azimuth information for your location.

 

[jaray]

turbosat, thanks for the info. The dish is from quite nearby, but honestly I did loosen the single bolt holding the unit inside the feedhorn. I have rotated it and also moved it further out of the feedhorn, so not sure if that means its too far out to see something at all.
Just wondering... If I see the needle on my inline signal finder bouncing as I moved the dish azimuth does that mean its seeing signal from a satellite? I think I may have not been setting up my Sonicview properly while I was giving it all a try the other night.

 

[greenguy]

turbosat, thanks for the info. The dish is from quite nearby, but honestly I did loosen the single bolt holding the unit inside the feedhorn. I have rotated it and also moved it further out of the feedhorn, so not sure if that means its too far out to see something at all.
Just wondering... If I see the needle on my inline signal finder bouncing as I moved the dish azimuth does that mean its seeing signal from a satellite? I think I may have not been setting up my Sonicview properly while I was giving it all a try the other night.

that bolt you loosen is the settings for the lnb. . .

you may hav offset the focal distance of the lnb, this is how much of the dish it sees (in other words) and the if you also rotated it inside of the feed that will offset the skew, since yours dont carry a servo its basically setup like and lnbf (think i saw "dual pol" marked on yours)

if you are lucky you should be able to see the old marks to reset the focal distance. . .settin the lnb you can do when you set up and ready to go. . .adjust for MAX quality.

good site on settin up your dish from beginin to end

.geo-orbit.org/sizepgs/tuningp4.html#anchor799066
http://www.geo-orbit.org/sizepgs/tuningp4.html#anchor799066

 

[gabshere]

this looks like a lnbf a lnbf is a lnb & feedhorn built together it slides into the scaler
when alinged it almost always sits flush with the other rings of the scaler so it might need to go out a inch or two if its been moved in...

 

[jaray]

Great info guys! That helps, I know I was not using 5150, but leaving the receiver at 10750. I'd imagine that's why I never saw anything...I hope anyway.
Looks like I'll be dragging everything back out tomorrow to try again. For now I'm using a big non-pen mount that I drag out onto my deck while I play and put away again when finished.
Either way, I think I'll grab one of those Geosat Pro C2 LNBF units since they're so cheap.

 

[Anole]

Well, the C2 is still an okay idea, but that LNBF you have is fairly less common on an old dish.
It'll probably work...?...
You'll need to get it twisted for skew, moved in/out for proper focus, and of course, aim the dish.

The Geo-Orbit site mentioned above is a great resource to understand the various pieces you are working with, and how to adjust them.
The disc with the rings on it is the scalar, the tube through it is the feedhorn, and while you'd normally have a bolt-on LNB, yours is fixed-mounted onto the feedhorn permanently.
The C2 has the feedhorn with permanently attached LNBs, too.

 

[FLCountryman]

turbosat, thanks for the info. The dish is from quite nearby, but honestly I did loosen the single bolt holding the unit inside the feedhorn. I have rotated it and also moved it further out of the feedhorn, so not sure if that means its too far out to see something at all.
Just wondering... If I see the needle on my inline signal finder bouncing as I moved the dish azimuth does that mean its seeing signal from a satellite? I think I may have not been setting up my Sonicview properly while I was giving it all a try the other night.

when my inline meter pegged out I couldn't see anything on the stb until I did a blind scan

 

[jaray]

FLCountryman, but did the receiver at least show you signal? Or are you talking about seeing any channel?
I assume you aimed the dish on the bird you were going for with the meter, hoped it was indeed that bird....then did a blind scan?

 

[FLCountryman]

FLCountryman, but did the receiver at least show you signal? Or are you talking about seeing any channel?
I assume you aimed the dish on the bird you were going for with the meter, hoped it was indeed that bird....then did a blind scan?

You are correct, I did not see a signal on the receiver, I aimed the dish to the bird with the inline meter and did a blind scan then I knew what bird I was aimed at