OTHER no signal

[3d1r]

I have been working on this WB dish thing and was looking forward to gettin it going. I made a sturdy wooden mount and finally hooked everything up today.I set the elev and skew...I dont have any problem pointing my DISH network unit so I have done it before..I adjusted the Azimuth and got Nothing. Zilch.The signal on the receiver registered around 8 and spiked up occasionally but no real signal and no quality signal.I double checked the cable using my DISH set up and it was ok.THe 2 coax lines run side by side and are RG6.I dont think it was getting any real signal...just ambient energy spikes...at least thats what it seemed like.
I had selected the universal setting for LNB etc ...and Galaxy 19...its in the Mini receiver as you would expect.I tried to get several other birds or at least a sign of them but the same 8 percent and spikes. I hooked up the cheap analog meter to see what it would register but the needle didnt even move.
The pole I rigged up is sturdy and perfectly straight. Better than a store bought one. I expected to get some channels at least. I have a massive open southern exposure.You can see in the pic the 2 Dishes side by side.
If the guy who did the WB thread got some signal in the suburbs ,I cant believe I cant get any here in the high plains.I thought about pulling the reflector off and pointing the Amiko LNB right at the dish..WOuld that be worth trying? I took the LNB off its holder and moved it around in front of the reflector but go no change.A lot of work for nothing so far.

 

[KE4EST]

Do you have a good known transponder programmed into the the receiver for G19? 12152 H 20000 is a good one to use.
When doing something like this it takes an extreme amount of patience and preferably a good satellite meter.
You will need to have everything loosened up and move it very very slowly around.
See you have two problems going on here. You don't know exactly where the dish needs to be to lock G19. Also your LNBF will need to be adjusted to find the sweet spot.
So without a good meter this will take time. The meter in the receiver is very slow to lock. You can be on a signal, think you are not, so you move more and go right past it.
Whereas a good meter with show a reading almost instantly. Then you can sorta hand hold it and move it till you hit something.

The old analog meter may help, but may be a waste of time. Some are better than others.
In no way am I trying to discourage you. I am just letting you know this will not be an easy task. Would be much easier if the LNBF were in the focal point of the dish for sure.
There are two reasons DISH Network is easier. For one their satellite is many, many times stronger. Also, the LNBFs are in the "sweet" spot.

 

[harshness]

Can we see a side view of the lens versus the sub-reflector? From the angle provided, the lens looks like it might be a bit far from the focus. The picture in K4EST's conversion thread appears to have the lens just inboard of the through-bolts while your's appears to be somewhat more inboard. This distance (nor the angle at which the feed horn is pointing) is not really negotiable.

From the aforementioned thread:

 

[3d1r]

how about this...I take the reflector off and drill a hole thru it and mount the LNB thru that hole pointed at the middle of the WB dish..??
Also something occurred to me...the X2 mini menu says LNB on/ off 13 v ,18 v....should I use the 13 volt instead of the ON setting...??
And what is that TB seting about..???
How do I program that transponder into it..???steps...thanks

 

[Magic Static]

The pictures show both the LNBF and dish are skewed. Is the LNBF oriented correctly for skew?

 

[Titanium]

Is the LNBF a Universal type with LO 9750/10600 or a Standard type with LO 10750? The LNB type and LO selection in the install menu must match the LNBF type. If not, no satellite signal will be detected.

The correct power setting is ON. Do not set to 13v or 18v as this will manually override the TP setting.

Unless an active TP (transponder is selected, the satellite will not be detected. The Signal Quality meter reading only displays a signal if the transponder parameters are selected. For the 97w KU satellite, KE4EST suggested a good TP that isn't duplicated on nearby satellites: 12152 H 20000. If this TP isnt listed in the 97wKU TP list, Edit and add it int the list, then select. Usually there is a TP List menu in a receiver that lets you add or edit TPs.

Magic Static points out, set the skew on either the dish mount or the LNBF mount. Not both.

Is the new LNBF feedhorn mounted at the exact distance, height and angle as the feedhorn that was removed? If not, the signal will not converge inside the feedhorn throat. Don't reinvent the dish by trying to cut-off the sub reflector and mounting the feed horn further away from the reflector. You would need to calculate the additional distance further away from the reflector as well as the angle. As was pointed out in another thread, the performance is better with the sub reflector.

 

[harshness]

how about this...I take the reflector off and drill a hole thru it and mount the LNB thru that hole pointed at the middle of the WB dish..??

The main dish doesn't focus on the sub-reflector -- it focuses a few inches before and the beam starts to diverge before the sub-reflector re-converges it down the throat of the feed horn. The geometry isn't exactly the same as the WildBlue dish, but here's how a Gregorian dish works:

Imagine that there are parallel beams coming in across the entire face of the primary reflector (less those blocked by the secondary reflector).

 

[3d1r]

Because I wont know exactly where to put the LNB...I will try this(pic) if it doesnt work I will wait to get a dish ready to go 36 inch..I dont see any for sale used. I will try to edit the TP...that might have been the problem.
The reflector on the WB dish is not concave...I hope mounting the LNB in the middle of the reflector will catch enough of the beams but maybe not.My LNB is the Amiko Premium L-104.Low band 10.7-11.7 Ghz High 11.7-12.75 GHz Feed dia 40 mmDC power 13-18 volt.

 

[Titanium]

This will not work. The reflected signals do not converge at this point.

 

[harshness]

With a Gregorian dish (concave secondary reflector), the beam converges between the reflectors: once before the secondary reflector and once where the feed horn antennas are. The angle at which the rays converge is important. With a Cassegrain (convex secondary), the signal would converge to a point on the back side of the secondary reflector and again at the LNB antennas. In no case will the rays converge at the secondary reflector. If they did, the secondary reflector wouldn't need to be so large.

There is no imprecision nor guess-work involved; the geometry dictates exactly where the focus is. If you don't have the LNB antennas located at that focus, you'll get a fraction of what the dish was designed to do.

 

[3d1r]

I'll skip it. Someday I wiil find a free dish. I sure aint buyin one.

 

[harshness]

I'll skip it. Someday I wiil find a free dish. I sure aint buyin one.

However you come by your next dish, make sure you confim your theories before you start in on any destructive modifications.

 

[a33]

Yes, it's a bit of a pity that the dish is 'modified' solely because you weren't able to find a satellite signal, and didn't have the patience to be led to a solution.

Me, as a hobbyist who likes to fix problems with minimal modifications to existing material if possible, it hurts my eyes to read this.

But then, you'll have your fun that you tried something, I guess.

greetz,
A33

 

[Phalaenopsis]

31dr, Why? Finding a used dish in working condition is a pain. Basically, you have to go door to door to find one. Why don't you get the wineguard 76cm from solid signal? It's only $50 and it's going to get you most of the fta birds. Modifications to find signal don't work well.

 

[harshness]

Why don't you get the wineguard 76cm from solid signal?

Why hitch your LNB to a dish that isn't certain to give you reliable PBS?

 

[3d1r]

it was a bit hasty to modify like that but I think its better to start with a 32 inch at least.I have a good solid mount anyway and learned some thing.THe WB dish is not a good platform.

 

[Phalaenopsis]

Why hitch your LNB to a dish that isn't certain to give you reliable PBS?

I was mentioning it because it’s only $50 new with shipping included. I’d strongly recommend a geosatpro 90cm Dish which is $100. A 76cm will get you 93,95,97, and 103 West if you spend hours aiming it.