Please help! Can't get PM900 set up!

[chulew]

I have been having the worst time trying to get up and running with a PM900 I picked up last weekend.

Please tell me what I'm doing wrong.

I have FortecStar 90CM dish with KU LNBF (missing label but orig owner said it was KU). It has 2 terminals but only using one.
FortecStar Ultra Lifetime rcvr.
I am at 4550 Old Town Dr., 27106 which puts me at:
Lat 36.15 N
Long 80.3 W

Motor elevation set to 36
Dish elevlation tried at 24.5 (per PM900 manual), 35.2 (41-5.8 dec angle), and 41.

LNB skew said 1 percent so I just left it centered.

I was getting good level and quality on Nimiq 2 as my nearest but have since screwed that up and can't get any quality anywhere now. What am I doing wrong?

 

[qwert1515]

Two terminals and Nimiq, it sounds like you have a circular Dual LNB.
For the majority of the FTA satellite you need a linear LNB.
Do you know what the LO frequency is set to on the receiver? (It might be 10750 or 11250)

 

[chulew]

It varies depending on which sat I select. Maybe I don't understand the question.

I have a spare DishPro LNBF and a SuperDish on hand which currently picks up AMC4.

 

[chulew]

It is an FSS Stacked LNB in the SuperDish that I am using now. Looks like it might mount properly to the new dish.

Are my settings correct for the motor and dish for my location? What do I set my dish elevation to with the PM900 and do I need to use a declination angle, if so how?

 

[chulew]

Arriving today is a new Sonset Digital Single Linear Universal LNBF, Model LKU1-2A. Hopefully this will get me going.

There seems to be a discrepancy between the PM900 Manual and DishPointer.com for dish elevation which is equal to the Declination Angle (5.8 degrees). What is the correct setting?

My Lat is 36.15 N
My Long is 80.3 W

Using Charlotte, NC as the closest city in the PM900 manual:
Motor elev = 35.2
Antenna Elev = 24.5

Using my address and DishPointer setting for PM900S (I assume the S doesn't matter):

motor Lat (elev.) = 36.2
Dish elev = 41

 

[delta_charlie]

Hi Chulew and the group, first I believej everything on Nimiq 2 is circler so the new LNB you just got will not work on this satellite. You should try AMC 9 at 83 west instead. Make sure the receiver is set for the Universal LNB and then use USCAL to move the dish to 83 W. Make sure you enter your Lat and long correctly in the receiver so the USCAL will be accurate. You can also check on the bottom of the motor near the axis to make sure the scale is near zero (it would be spot on zero if you where using a due south satellite; however, because you need to use on that is to the west a little the scale should be off just a tick to the west).

Set the receiver for the RTV TP (11735/H/4444) and then peak the dish.

When I set up a dish now I don't even look at the elevation scale on the dish. I use one of those cheap analogue satellite finders to rough in the dish then switch to the receiver to fine tune. Having a small TV and the receiver at the dish location really helps.

When setting up a motor make sure the mast the motor is mounted on is perfectly plumb and set the elevation or the latitude on the motor to your location. Peak the dish by moving the whole motor assembly left or right for the azimuth and move the dish up and down at the dish mounting clamp for the elevation.

That should get you going, DC

 

[Lak7]

If in doubt, and have an Angle Finder of some type, you can setup the Dish without the motor.
Get a Lock on your True South Sat, and use the angle finder to take a measurement of the Dish Elevation.
Then install the Motor, set the Motor's "Latitdue" scale to your Lat, and adjust the Dish's Elevation to the same reading as without the motor.