pulling my hair out aligning dish

[Techfizzle]

there are so many diffrent angles to this

you have elevation

the acuator can move in and out

and you can rotate the dish on the pole

so if i slide the acuator in, and rotate the dish on the pole, i can pull in shepards channel halfway decent

but i can push the dish west, then move the pull and it comes in better

the problem i am having is how far to i push the dish east and west to peak it on satellite?


also i took some pics with of my dish, i am going to need help finding some info of this dish to determine the F/D ratio

 

[starman345]

Take a look here:
Footprints by Dish Size - Adjusting the Polar Mount for Prime Focus Antenna - C/Ku-Band Satellite Systems - Tuning, Tracking, Azimuth, Elevation, Declination Angles, F/D Ratio, Focal Distance, Inclinometer, LNB/Feedhorn Assembly, Actuator Assembly, C
Lots of good stuff on how to track your dish and also finding the F/D ratio

 

[Techfizzle]

stil lit doesnt xeplain how far my acuator should be in or out to peak

 

[Lak7]

stil lit doesnt xeplain how far my acuator should be in or out to peak

Because it does not matter how far the Arm is out.
Disconnect the arm and try to balance the Dish, or you can use a level.

EDIT: "Clicky" photos are nor working for me.

 

[Techfizzle]

Because it does not matter how far the Arm is out.
Disconnect the arm and try to balance the Dish, or you can use a level.

EDIT: "Clicky" photos are nor working for me.

huh?

if the acuator is sticking out so far, the dish will point one way, so if i rotate the pole, east to west, the dish will be at that certian posistion, if i lock the pole down, it may not track the arc, now if i pull the acuator in, rotate the pole one way, i may track the arc

this is true becuase if i pulled the acuator in one way, i could get sheppards chappel, if i peak the mount, it comes in at signal 150, if i push it out 5 inches, and rotate the dish, i can get it to come in at signal 170, so there are two factors here, how far the acuator needs to be in or out in order to peak the mount for perfect reception

 

[Kb Cool]

Set your mount to your true south plus magnetic deviation and lock it down. Find your true south satelite and set angle. Retract or extend arm and rotate dish to your lowest or highest satelite your gonna get and attach the arm. Should be good to go after that with only very fine tuning necessary.

 

[Lak7]

"You" are making it harder than it is.
Take some time understand what you are doing.

 

[Techfizzle]

how do i set my mount to true south? every compass i ever have owned is off

 

[Kb Cool]

Whats your true south satellite? And whats your zip code?

 

[Inno]

There are certain things you need to know before even starting to PROPERLY align your dish.
The link above provided by Starman is exactly the one I used for aligning my 10' dish, even though I've been doing it for years. You must read and furthermore UNDERSTAND what you are doing before starting. I know what you are up against, you want it to work and you want it to work NOW. Understanding things first is the only way and the best way to make your dish track the arc properly. When you are done it will work properly and if anything ever goes wrong with it you will have the understanding necessary to troubleshoot it.
The best advice anyone can give.........and some already have........is to SLOW DOWN and make sure you understand it.

 

[Inno]

how do i set my mount to true south? every compass i ever have owned is off

Ok, so don't read this until you've read and followed the instructions in my last post.

Once you know what the true south satellite is for your location, move the actuator to the position which puts your satellite dish at it's very highest point of travel.
Then try to align your dish on your true south satellite by moving the entire mount east or west and moving your elevation up and down.........not all at the same time, a little adjustment at a time until you've locked it.

Then, go back and re-read the instructions from the link by Starman..........and UNDERSTAND IT! Then proceed with the rest of your alignment.

 

[Techfizzle]

still doesnt make sense

if i have my dish mount pointed one way, the dish is going to be at a higher point if i move it another

for example, if my dish mount is set at 80 degrees (fake number) it will be at its highest point when the acuator is 23 inches extended (fake number)

now if i set my mount a 70 degrees, the dish will no longer be at its highest point, and i would have to extend my acuator another 5 inches

also i wired up my polorator and i verifed if works, yet changing the skew doesnt help a bit

im not getting sparkle free reception like my old perfect 10, however im getting channels it didnt, so i think i need to fiddle with my F/D ratio

sorry for being a pita, im not an expert in dish angles, just the electronics

 

[Kb Cool]

After re-reading some of his other post. It looks like he's located at about 90°. So 89° or 91° would be his true south satellite and he should be aiming for one of those. Is there any analog left on these 2 sats?

 

[Techfizzle]

see thats the problem im still waiting for my ariza 700 to come, the closest true south on analog is 99, shepards chappel

i dont think 8 degrees is going to make a diffrence

 

[Kb Cool]

You mount needs to pointed to your true south by rotaing the mount on the pole until its pointing in your true south direction and lock it down. (using the bolts that grip the pole) Then you can start playing with the elevation to tune in shepards channel.

 

[Kb Cool]

One other thing i must ask before you waste countless hours. Is your pole level and plumb?

 

[Techfizzle]

another thing is that the mount hole is sligtly bigger then my pole

 

[Lak7]

every compass i ever have owned is off

Thinks it's possible it's the other way?

It's the Earth that is "off", the magnetic field is not perfect. "You" have to compensate for Magnetic Deviation.

Did you even use Dishpointer.com?
To get going, there should be "The University Channel" in Analog on AMC 3 @ 87.

Also, since the Dish was already setup fairly close to you, not much adjusting should be necessary. Put the Dish at it's highest point, point it to 181 south using a compass, see what you get.

 

[Lak7]

another thing is that the mount hole is sligtly bigger then my pole

Mount must be Plumb.

 

[Techfizzle]

the pole is level east and west, but not north and south, but wont elevation compensate?