NOOB trying to setup FTA with DTV World Direct Dish

[james.strickland]

Greetings all,

I'm trying to setup a FTA receiver and dish.

My receiver is a Coolsat 6000 premium.
my dish is a DirectTV World Direct Dish.

See my pics here:
Index of /files/sat

Here's my Coord: 37.101981, -76.42390

Right now, I'm just trying to pick up anything now and learn what I can.

I initially tried using a regular Direct TV dish, with triple LNB, read that those don't work. Picked this dish up today, and can't seem to get it to work. I'm trying for the 95.0W Galaxy bird, since it says 95W on the LNB.

Also, there's no option to skew the LNB. Is this the right kind of dish? I'm trying to use free dishes before I go out and buy a dish.

THanks,
James

 

[Anole]

With the dish mounted on a plumb pole, you dial in the skew by twisting the dish on the mount.
Check behind the dish on the mount, and you should see some adjustments and a scale 90-0-90

You'll want to set your LO frequency to 10750...
... and put in the frequency of a hot transponder (see The List at top of any page)

 

[harshness]

The 95W LNB on the World dish is for FSS band (linear polarization).

Galaxy 3C offers all manner of frequencies and polarities so some specificity would be helpful.

 

[james.strickland]

The numbers on the back of the dish go from 35 to 145. There are no negative numbers or zero. I'm guessing 90 would be zero? When I change the LNB Freq to 10.750, the level and quality go to zero.

 

[james.strickland]

The 95W LNB on the World dish is for FSS band (linear polarization).

Galaxy 3C offers all manner of frequencies and polarities so some specificity would be helpful.

I'm a bit new to this, so I'm not sure what to tell you. I installed my wifes ABS-CBN satellite dish years ago without incident. Thought this would be a breeze.

 

[trinidex]

I'm a bit new to this, so I'm not sure what to tell you. I installed my wifes ABS-CBN satellite dish years ago without incident. Thought this would be a breeze.

G3C has both Linear and Circular polarities.

All of the circular stuff is DirecTV Latin America and some DirecTV North America - you won't get anything with an FTA box from these transponders.

You should be able to find something at 11780 H and 12050 H

The L.O. for that LNB is 10750

Tech PDF for the LNB http://www.eagleaspen.com/admin/product/fujian/file_40.pdf

 

[james.strickland]

I'm trying to point to 95W (Galaxy 3C).

On my screen, I have the following:
LNB Power: ON
LNB Type: Single
LNB Freq: 10.750
22KHz: OFF
DiSEqC Switch: OFF
Legacy SW: OFF

Are these setting correct?

Also, according to dishpointer.com, it says elevation is 42.7, Mag Azmt is 219.8, LNB Skew is 22.8. the dish doesn't have 22.8 on the back... how do I do this?

Thanks,
James

 

[trinidex]

I'm trying to point to 95W (Galaxy 3C).

On my screen, I have the following:
LNB Power: ON
LNB Type: Single
LNB Freq: 10.750
22KHz: OFF
DiSEqC Switch: OFF
Legacy SW: OFF

Are these setting correct?

Also, according to dishpointer.com, it says elevation is 42.7, Mag Azmt is 219.8, LNB Skew is 22.8. the dish doesn't have 22.8 on the back... how do I do this?

Thanks,
James

Your LNB setup is correct.

22.8 refers to the skew of your LNB, not the dish - some installs skew the dish in order to skew the LNB - BUT either way it means how much the LNB is skewed.

See if this helps you: With the LNB installed "straight", that is, LNB port is at 6 o'clock, top of the LNB is at 12 o'clock - your LNB has 0 skew. Twisting the LNB adjusts the skew.

For a skew of 22.8, position the top of the LNB so it's between 12 and 1 o'clock.

Skew is usually the last thing you adjust, to 'peak' your signal. You should be able to lock a signal with 0 skew - ALSO, skew only applies to Linear (H&V) signals, not Circular (L&R).

The markings on the back of the dish are for elevation, which is 42.7, you should be able to find this marking.

Lastly, azimuth is a compass bearing for where the dish 'looks' on the horizontal plane (left to right).

hth!

 

[Anole]

Can't tell the dish without a score card

When you have a tall narrow feedhorn, it matches an elliptical (wide) dish.
Those feeds do not twist for skew, the dishes must.

Below, are three dishes which do skew for various reasons.
They all have different markings for the same common functions.
As you know, elevation is the up/down adjustment.
Skew (or whatever it's called) is the twisting of the dish or LNBF to align with the satellite.

[FONT=Fixedsys]  
  
markings       Dish 500    DirecTV Phase III    DirecWay 23"x39"
---------      --------    -----------------    ----------------  
                                     
Elevation      10 .. 65      20 .. 65           7 .. 82   
                                              
Rotation       36 .. 144     34 .. 146         +90 0 -90 
  label:         [/FONT][FONT=Fixedsys]skew[/FONT][FONT=Fixedsys]          tilt           [/FONT][FONT=Fixedsys]polarization [/FONT]

We have a number of sites and drawings that show you which way to twist the LNBF or dish depending on where the bird is.
I can never seem to remember which way 'plus' or 'minus' go, so I have another trick.
rule:
If the bird you are aiming at is east of your location, the dish is twisted so the east side goes down.
If the bird you are aiming at is west of your location, the dish is twisted so the west side goes down.

Now, plus or minus is irrelevant, as is whether you are standing in front of or behind your dish.

 

[Tron]

I believe some, if not all, of the FSS LNBs on DTV International dishes were single polarity only. Not sure about that, since I've never owned one, but I've read it here several times. If so, and the transponder you have dialed up in the receiver is of a different polarity than the LNB, you won't get anything. The LNBs are standard C-120 flanged units, so if it is a single polarity LNB, it should be easy to change it out.

 

[james.strickland]

Thanks to all the posts, very helpful... I'm learning here. I am starting to pick up stuff now.

I have picked up some free radio stations (5) and about 150 scrambled channels. Doesn't say what the channels are. I'm going to play with it more today. To see if I can get anything else.

 

[trinidex]

Thanks to all the posts, very helpful... I'm learning here. I am starting to pick up stuff now.

I have picked up some free radio stations (5) and about 150 scrambled channels. Doesn't say what the channels are. I'm going to play with it more today. To see if I can get anything else.

That's the joy of SatGuys, from noobs to pro, everyone needs help sometime and we're all happy to help.

 

[hwm]

Thanks to all the posts, very helpful... I'm learning here. I am starting to pick up stuff now.

I have picked up some free radio stations (5) and about 150 scrambled channels. Doesn't say what the channels are. I'm going to play with it more today. To see if I can get anything else.

If you are truly on 95w, may I suggest you swing it 2 degrees to the west and peak the signal on Galaxy 19 @ 97w, where you will find many TV channels in the clear, and some of them are in English. There are more free Ku TV channels on 97w than any other satellite visible from North America.

Just because 95w is cast into the plastic on your LNB holder doesn't mean it will only work for that one satellite. It just means that's where it was supposed to be aimed for its original purpose.

The FAQ section of this site was a big help to me when starting out. Don't miss the Tips of the Iceberg.

I like to print out the applicable information from The List when aiming a dish.