pansat 2700 set up question

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charlie123

Active SatelliteGuys Member
Original poster
Aug 2, 2005
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I thought I pointed my dish correctly with the stab hh90 motor. Unfortunately it does not seem to be that way. I am trying to point at telsat 5. The receiver gives 82 for level and 0 for quality. Does this mean the dish is not pointed correctly?
 
With a lot of newbies getting systems and needing help setting up, please help us out when creating posts (this goes for the veterans too)

If you are having trouble with your setup,
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE list your setup (what receiver, LNB, dish size and motor if applicable you are using).

If you are asking “my numbers are 36 elevation, 177 azimuth and -20 skew…is this right?” Please post location (city & state or zip code)

Many posts the first response is “what are you using for equipment” or some posts don’t get answered because it’s too vague. The more info you give, the better we can help out….
We can’t read minds

Thanks for your understanding….

-Berg
 
Charlie, I see you posted once before, on 08-02-05.

At that time, you told your zip code of 48103 (Ann Arbor, Michgan). And you said you didn't know how to adjust your motor elevation and your dish elevation.

Gee, you must have put this project on the back burner until now. :D

Sounds like you're mainly wanting to view IA 5 (T5). If you have little interest in viewing the other satellites, then just get rid of the motor and put the dish straight onto the pole and point it at IA 5. (Get the correct azimuth and elevation numbers...I don't have them handy at the moment.)

But if you want to use the motor, then all I can say is just do a lot of reading on this site. There have been lots of good posts telling how to install a system.

Tracy Parnell wrote an especially good article on how to install a system. Here's the link: http://www.pbase.com/wtracyparnell/coolsat_4000_prosg2100

Good Luck
 
pansat 2700 set up

you are absolutely right, I put it on the backburner however I did figure out that i needed a different bracket for the dish.

set up is a 76cm winegard dish, pansat 2700 invacom twin lnb. stab hh90 motor

my issue is that i can't figure out how on earth I can get a precize compass reading with a regular compass to point it to the true south in my case 180 + 3.91 = 184 degrees. I think I am good with the elevation of the dish I got the P value with the stab hh 90 is 38.5. my mast is level etc. I think a regular compass is way to inaccurate to properly point the dish. At least that's what I am thinking after trying it several times.

Any suggestions?
 
Use your receiver to find it! Enter a LIVE TP./Channel and point the dish until your see signal QUALITY.

A compass is just a guide to get you in the ballpark, very precise pointing is required to find KU signals.

Standing beside the dish or ANY metal will also through you WAY off when using a compass!
 
Charlie, last night I sent a reply to you, but it's not showing up this morning. A mystery never to be solved, I guess.

PSB is right...a compass is just for the ballpark.

If I ever buy another compass, it will be a "lensatic" compass. A lensatic compass has a flip up lense and sight that enable you to see the compass reading and the line you are sighting simultaneously. Makes for much more accurate readings.
 
I use a sunnto and/or a silva ranger with declination correction (of course with sight line mirror). Being a past forest ranger and finding my way through the bush on a regular basis, you might say I'm an expert at compassing. Even so, no matter what compass or experience with it, it only gets you in the ballpark.
 
The problem with any compass is that if there is metal around they give you false readings. The area I live in has a lot of "schist" which is a metamophic type of rock. The schist around my house has a large amount of iron inside of it. Using a compass at my house is a hit or miss kind of thing depending on where you are on the property, most of the times the readings are WAY off.

My favorite method of aiming a satellite dish is to first set the elevation and make SURE the pole is plumb. Then i hook up a sat finder and pan azimuth SLOWLY. As soon as I get a signal and peak it with the sat finder i blind scan. Once I know what sat I am on I than adjust az / el accordingly to get on the sat i want.
 
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pansat 2700 set up questions

thanks for all the feedback, figured out that I have to do the finetuning. What's the best satellite from my position 42.2 N 83.7 W to finetune to?

Another subject that puzzles me is the dish elevation. According to my stab hh90 motor manual my P value is 38.5. Not sure whether this is correct but let's assume it is. I guess it's a dumb question but how can I double check the elevation of the dish. I discovered that putting a 2by4 over the dish and putting the dish angle meter over it gives a completely different value than on value on the the back of the dish bracket . I am sure that there is logic behind this. Can someone explain this to me as I thought this was the easy way to make sure that the mast was level and support and bracket are all correct? I seem to recall that a dish has a built in gradient but am not sure.

The blind search everyone is talking about: How can I do this and how does this work with a motorized dish i.e. how do I get back to the reference value.
winegard 76cm pansat 2700A.
 
Here are the angles to all the satellites from your area. (Elevations are for a fixed dish)

Code:
  Latitude 42° 12.000'N Longitude 83° 42.000'W

                       Sat Name Sat Lng Az(t) Az(m)   El  Skew
--------------------------------------------------------------
           Thor 2/3 Intelsat 10    1.0W  94.9 102.3 -3.3 -47.6
                               
                       Amos 1/2    4.0W  97.0 104.4 -1.1 -47.3
                               
                Atlantic Bird 3    5.0W  97.6 105.1 -0.4 -47.2
                               
                Nilesat 101/102    7.0W  99.0 106.4  1.1 -47.0
                               
     Telecom 2D/Atlantic Bird 2    8.0W  99.7 107.1  1.8 -46.9
                               
                     Express A3   11.0W 101.8 109.2  4.0 -46.5
                               
                     Telstar 12   15.0W 104.7 112.1  7.0 -45.8
                               
                   Intelsat 901   18.0W 106.9 114.3  9.2 -45.1
                               
                          NSS 7   22.0W 109.9 117.3 12.1 -44.2
                               
                   Intelsat 905   24.5W 111.8 119.2 13.8 -43.4
                               
                   Intelsat 907   27.5W 114.2 121.6 16.0 -42.5
                               
                  Hispasat 1C/D   30.0W 116.3 123.7 17.7 -41.6
                               
                   Intelsat 801   31.5W 117.5 124.9 18.8 -41.1
                               
                   Intelsat 903   34.5W 120.1 127.5 20.8 -39.9
                               
                    AMC 12/T 11   37.5W 122.8 130.2 22.8 -38.5
                               
                        NSS 806   40.5W 125.6 133.0 24.8 -37.1
                               
                      Pas 3R/6B   43.0W 128.0 135.4 26.4 -35.7
                               
                         Pas 1R   45.0W 130.0 137.4 27.6 -34.6
                               
                   Intelsat 705   50.0W 135.2 142.6 30.6 -31.5
                               
                   Intelsat 707   53.0W 138.5 145.9 32.2 -29.4
                               
                   Intelsat 805   55.5W 141.4 148.8 33.5 -27.5
                               
                          Pas 9   58.0W 144.4 151.8 34.7 -25.6
                               
                       Amazonas   61.0W 148.1 155.5 36.1 -23.1
                               
                     EchoStar 3   61.5W 148.7 156.1 36.3 -22.6
                               
                      Rainbow 1   61.5W 148.7 156.1 36.3 -22.6
                               
               Estrela do Sul 1   63.0W 150.6 158.0 36.9 -21.3
                               
                   Brasilsat B2   65.0W 153.3 160.7 37.7 -19.5
                               
                   Brasilsat B1   70.0W 160.1 167.5 39.3 -14.6
                               
                       Nahuel 1   71.8W 162.6 170.0 39.8 -12.8
                               
                      DirecTV 1   72.5W 163.6 171.0 40.0 -12.1
                               
                          AMC 6   72.0W 162.9 170.3 39.8 -12.6
                               
                          SBS 6   74.0W 165.7 173.1 40.3 -10.5
                               
                     Echostar 4   77.0W 170.1 177.5 40.8  -7.3
                               
                          AMC 5   79.0W 173.0 180.4 41.0  -5.2
                               
                        Nimiq 2   82.0W 177.5 184.9 41.2  -1.9
                               
                          AMC-9   83.0W 179.0 186.4 41.3  -0.8
                               
                   Brasilsat B3   84.0W 180.4 187.9 41.3   0.3
                               
                          AMC 2   85.0W 181.9 189.3 41.3   1.4
                               
                          AMC 3   87.0W 184.9 192.3 41.2   3.6
                               
                           IA-8   89.0W 187.9 195.3 41.0   5.8
                               
                      Galaxy 11   91.0W 190.8 198.2 40.7   8.0
                               
                      Nimiq 1/3   91.0W 190.8 198.2 40.7   8.0
                               
                   Brasilsat B4   92.0W 192.3 199.7 40.5   9.0
                               
                      Telstar 6   93.0W 193.7 201.1 40.4  10.1
                               
                      Galaxy 3C   95.0W 196.6 204.0 39.9  12.2
                               
                      Telstar 5   97.0W 199.4 206.8 39.4  14.2
                               
                      Galaxy 4R   99.0W 202.2 209.6 38.8  16.2
                               
                     Spaceway 2   99.2W 202.4 209.8 38.8  16.4
                               
                DirecTV 1R/4S/8  101.0W 204.9 212.3 38.2  18.2
                               
                          AMC 4  101.0W 204.9 212.3 38.2  18.2
                               
                     Spaceway 1  102.0W 206.2 213.6 37.8  19.1
                               
                          AMC 1  103.0W 207.5 214.9 37.5  20.0
                               
                         AMC 15  105.0W 210.1 217.5 36.7  21.8
                               
                      Anik F1/R  107.3W 213.0 220.4 35.7  23.8
                               
                      DirecTV 5  109.5W 215.7 223.1 34.7  25.6
                               
                     EchoStar 6  110.0W 216.3 223.8 34.4  26.0
                               
                     EchoStar 8  110.0W 216.3 223.8 34.4  26.0
                               
                        Anik F2  111.1W 217.7 225.1 33.9  26.9
                               
                  Solidaridad 2  113.0W 219.9 227.3 33.0  28.4
                               
                       SatMex 5  116.8W 224.1 231.5 30.9  31.1
                               
                     DirecTV 7s  119.0W 226.5 233.9 29.6  32.5
                               
                     EchoStar 7  119.0W 226.5 233.9 29.6  32.5
                               
          EchoStar 9/Telstar 13  121.0W 228.6 236.0 28.5  33.8
                               
                     Galaxy 10R  123.0W 230.6 238.0 27.2  34.9
                               
                      Galaxy 14  125.0W 232.6 240.0 26.0  36.1
                               
                  Galaxy 13/H 1  127.0W 234.5 241.9 24.7  37.1
                               
 Intelsat Americas 7/Echostar 5  129.0W 236.4 243.8 23.4  38.1
                               
                         AMC 11  131.0W 238.2 245.6 22.1  39.0
                               
                   Galaxy 1R/15  133.0W 240.0 247.4 20.8  39.9
                               
                         AMC 10  135.0W 241.7 249.1 19.4  40.7
                               
                          AMC 7  137.0W 243.4 250.8 18.0  41.5
                               
                          AMC 8  139.0W 245.1 252.5 16.6  42.2
                               
                     EchoStar 1  148.0W 252.1 259.5 10.2  44.8
                               
                     EchoStar 2  148.0W 252.1 259.5 10.2  44.8

       Satellite Finder is (c) Copyright 2004, P. Lutus

AMC-9 is close to true south for you, I would use that.

The dish elevation can be changed if it brings you more signal quality but the motor elevation should never be moved.

When on any satellite hitting Blind Scan will start the receiver scanning for all signals, its a great way to find new channels and feeds!
 
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Charlie, a "2x4 across the front" can only be used to check the elevation of circular dishes that have their LNB in the center of the dish. I think it's likely that your Winegard dish is an "offset' dish (LNB below center).

Make sure your ground pole is plumb.

You would increase your chance of success if you would take PSB's advice and remove the motor and first find AMC9 by putting the dish directly on the gound pole, and point it using the numbers for AMC9 that PSB gave you above, which are:

True heading: 179.0
Magnetic compass heading: 186.4
Elevation: 41.3

I remember you saying that you had to get a different mount for that dish....so I'm wondering if the elevation scale stamped on that mount is going be accurate for your dish. I guess you should start off assuming that it's accurate.

If you remove the motor and put the dish directly on the pole, set the dish elevation to 41.3. Point your dish, as best you can with your compass, at 186 degrees on the compass' scale.

On your receiver, select AMC9 and an active transponder. (Active transponders for AMC9 are listed on Lyngsat.) Rotate your dish on the pole slowly, one step at a time until you get a QUALITY signal. Maximize the signal by adjusting the direction and elevation.

Do a blindscan to show which sat you are on. (It might be a different one from AMC9. Compare the blindscan results to the published channels on Lyngsat.

Once you find out which sat you are on, then you can look on PSB's listing on his post above and see what the elevation is supposed to be for that sat. Then compare that number to the the number on the elevation scale of the dish. If they match, then that means the elevation scale on your dish is correct. If not, then you will have to take note of the amount by which they differ...and recallibrate the numbers on that scale with a magic marker or something.

Once you get all that done, then you can put the motor back on, (setting the Stab 90's lattitude to 42.2). Do your best to point the motor body on the ground pole straight south (at 187.4 on your magnetic compass). Be sure to adjust the "DISH" elevation to 38.5 (on a correct scale). Be sure you bolt the dish perfectly straight on the motor tube.

Enter your house's latitude and longitude into your receiver. (You only have to do this once.

Make sure that AMC9 is listed in your receiver as being at postion 83.0 West.

Command your receiver to go to AMC9 USING THE USALS MODE. (Your receiver will then rotate the shaft to the proper postion to receiver AMC9.) You will now be pointed at AMC9 if your dish elevation is correct and if your motor body has been pointed exactly true south on the ground pole. Chances are you'll have to make fine adjustments in the motor body's direction on the ground pole in order to get it exactly south. It's ESSENTIAL that it the motor body be straight south.

Once you get the motor body true south....and if your elevation is correct, then you will be able to get a "quality" signal on your receiver's quality scale.

There's not much FTA stuff on AMC9. As I type this, there's only one thing (a channel that has color bars saying it's a NBC news feed.)

Good luck.
 
oansat set up question

What is the best way to point the dish when mounted to the house. There is no way to stand behind it and point.

Also do I need to set the skew when using a motor. In the Pansat 2700A menu I can set the skew value for each satellite. I believe it is standard at -45.

thanks.
 
Skew does not need to be set on your receiver when using a motorized dish. When pointing at your true south the LNBF should be straight up and down, the skew sets itself as the dish moves East and West. Its amazing watching the dish tilt as it moves lining its self up with the satellites on the Clarke belt!
 
Regarding a motorized dish, the LNB should be vertical (zero skew). When the dish moves, the LNB rotates with it, thus keeping the skew correct.

I'm fairly new to FTA, and the Coolsat 5000 is the only receiver that I know anything about. Maybe somebody else can tell you the purpose of the skew controls on your Pansat. They might be used primarily to control the skew and switch the polarity of a polarotor c-band setup.

On the compass problem, maybe you could find the spot in your yard that your motor is due north of. Mark that spot with a flag or something. Then try to point your motor at that spot as best you can.
 
The -45/45 skew in the setup screens of the Pansat is for a polarotor on a BUD (Big Ugly/Useful Dish). You don't need to worry about that at all.

On the Pansats, blind scan is labeled 'Smart Scan'.
 
pansat 2700 set up

thanks for all the good advice. I will spend tomorrow afternoon trying again.

I though the magnetic deviation was only 4 degrees but it seems that it's more like 6. Maybe that's the problem????

with regard to the 2x4. Can you measure the correct heading of the dish. I thought that if I can determine exactly that the 2x4 is pointed to let's say 94 degrees E, then the heading of the dish is in reality 184 south. I must have a too simplistic view but would the position of the dish not be exactly 90 degrees plus the direction of a piece of wood across the dish?

How did you get the magnetic deviation? On emantechnology.com it was suggested the magnetic deviation was only 3.9 for my zip code. (48103)
 
Charlie, emantechnology.com's calculation of your magnetic deviation is wrong.

I just went to http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/geomag/jsp/struts/calcDeclination
and it says your magnetic deviation is 6 degrees 33 minutes ( 6.55 degrees).

Thus, true south on your compass is at 186.55 degrees.

On my earlier post, I said it was 187.4.....which was wrong by about a degree. I got the 187.4 by looking at the satellite pointing data specific to the Ann Arbor area that PSB was kind enough to post for you. So it looks like the magnetic numbers on that chart are off a little bit.

The magnetic deviation changes over time. Five years from now your deviation might be a degree or so different from what it is now.

Sadouns's magnetic deviation map http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Installation/HH-mount-installation.htm is for the year 2004 and is still plenty accurate.

But don't put too much stock in aiming your dish with a compass. It's not possible to sight a line precisely by using a compass. A compass only gets you in the ballpark.

Getting back to the 2x4......yes, if you point the 2x4 at 96.55 degrees on your compass' dial, then the dish will be pointed at true south. But the 2x4 should be long enough to get you far enough away from the dish for the compass to be unaffected by the iron in the dish.
 
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pansat 2700 set up

Succeeded!

Was able to move the dish with help of a 6ft long stick with compass to measure the direction.

Am currently locked on to the telstar 5/intelsat satellite.

Still have to purchase a signal strength meter to fine tune outside with the dish, the receiver's signal meter is to temperamental.

Any suggestions?

What signal strength is considered good?
 
On IA-5 I am getting around 70-80% signal quality on most channels!
 
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