Putting up my FTA satellite in the morning

[dashaund]

After my post last night I realized that I had my dish aligned incorrectly. Where I thought Nimiq 2 was was actually Nimiq 1 @ 91 degress. Err. So, I went up there this afternoon and realigned it. I now have Nimiq 2 as my true south. Good right? Well... I can now track between Nimiq 2 and SBS 6 good. Neither having awesome signal strength. If I have about 93% on Nimiq 2, I'll get in the lower 40's on SBS6, and when I align it to have 90% on SBS 6, Nimiq 2 will be in the lower 40's. Right now I'm in the middle of them, both having approx 70-80%. And I can't hit anything else really. The AMC 5 that I was refering to yesterday was actually one of the DISH Network sats....my bad. Any suggestions from anyone? I'm pulling my hair out.

 

[W_Tracy_Parnell]

I never heard of 90 % on SBS 6. Are you looking at signal quality only? If not, you should be.

 

[dashaund]

I'm using a Fortec Lifetime Classic NA and there's only one scale when you're pointing your dish, so it's probably signal strength. I do get a reception though. The Ohio News Network comes in great. I'm going back up to try a few things though.

 

[Mr Tony]

ONN on some days does come in at 90+
My Pansat 1500 has registered it at 99 and 45 (and everything in between)

 

[Firefighter Dan]

Well I waited until the afternoon

I picked up an inch and a galv. half pipe, heavy duty conduit for an Antenna Mast. I can't recall the wall thickness but it seemed rather stout. I dug an 18" hole about 10" in diameter. I wil be putting my 36" dish with SG-2100 motor on it. I'll be moving my 76cm dish elseware (which is on a tree pointed at IA5.)

I filled the hole AND the pipe with the cement. I am in the middle of building so I added a spare rebar in the mast.

I have a mag view of about 100 to 190.

I'll also reposition my StarChoice. I've added some pictures of my current constructon site set-up.

Ah - as a bridger of world peace - (YES I know, "Bridger" isn't really a word) - I have some Jordanians working on a subfloor today - we watched a little news together - it was great - instant translators.

 

[dashaund]

Well, today was THE day. I FINALLY got my dish locked in. It seems that I had mounted the dish incorrectly onto the motor...I was slightly off from that "line" that is on the SG2100. I thought I had checked that before, but obviously not. I think it was off east-to-west, but maybe even a little skewed (AHH!). Makes me feel like an idiot. But, hey, it was my first time ever putting up anything except a fixed D* dish. Now, I'm locking in a lot of stuff on different sats. Unfortunately, my LOS doesn't allow me to pick up G10 . Some massive trees 40 or so foot away are blocking my view. Oh well, there's lots of other stuff. And leaves do fall of during the winter, so I'll try my luck then . Thanks to ALL of you who helped me out. My advice to any newbie looking to setup a system that might be reading this post: CAREFULLY READ ALL THE DIRECTIONS. An 1/8" will screw you up! Don't overlook it, and check everything more than twice. Once you get it right, you've got it. Keep trying, and it'll pay off in the end.

I do have another issue. My Fortec Classic NA sometimes doesn't sync with the motor. I'll tell it to move, it'll says it's moving, but the motor isn't turning. Even the "Go to REF" doesn't work. Usually, when I do a factory reset it'll work again (sometimes not). The problem is intermediate though...it doesn't always occur. Occasionly if I switch from USALS to Diseqc it will "Go to Ref". I know it's not the motor because when I reset the box it will work again and the motor will ALWAYS turn manually. Anyone have this issue before? Would a firmware update fix the problem (if probably not, then I really don't want to void the warranty). It seems to not being doing it right now since I have it indoors...maybe the heat from the roof? Thanks for the helps guys.

 

[dashaund]

Wanting to try an analog receiver

Got the dish up and running and everything seems to be hunky-dorey (maybe that's spelled right, haha). I see a lot of sports wild feeds in analog on the "lists", so I know I'll need an analog receiver. Now, my dad has an old General Instrument Inovation 550i that he used when he had C-Band back in the day. When I plug the power in, I can feel a fan running inside, but the display doesn't work and there is no video out, and I have it plugged in to the "loop out" on the back of my Fortec Lifetime Classic NA. My question is, would it be more economical to see if I can get this receiver repaired, or should I just start looking for an analog receiver, even if I have to buy it new. I know they're pretty expensive new. Just thought I'd throw it out there. If I need to buy one, does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[LordAlex]

Have someone push the button when you tell them to, to move the dish and watch the light on the motor when its fairly dark outside. Report back on the colors you see.

 

[digiblur]

Well, today was THE day. I FINALLY got my dish locked in. It seems that I had mounted the dish incorrectly onto the motor...I was slightly off from that "line" that is on the SG2100. I thought I had checked that before, but obviously not. I think it was off east-to-west, but maybe even a little skewed (AHH!). Makes me feel like an idiot. But, hey, it was my first time ever putting up anything except a fixed D* dish. Now, I'm locking in a lot of stuff on different sats. Unfortunately, my LOS doesn't allow me to pick up G10 . Some massive trees 40 or so foot away are blocking my view. Oh well, there's lots of other stuff. And leaves do fall of during the winter, so I'll try my luck then . Thanks to ALL of you who helped me out. My advice to any newbie looking to setup a system that might be reading this post: CAREFULLY READ ALL THE DIRECTIONS. An 1/8" will screw you up! Don't overlook it, and check everything more than twice. Once you get it right, you've got it. Keep trying, and it'll pay off in the end.

I do have another issue. My Fortec Classic NA sometimes doesn't sync with the motor. I'll tell it to move, it'll says it's moving, but the motor isn't turning. Even the "Go to REF" doesn't work. Usually, when I do a factory reset it'll work again (sometimes not). The problem is intermediate though...it doesn't always occur. Occasionly if I switch from USALS to Diseqc it will "Go to Ref". I know it's not the motor because when I reset the box it will work again and the motor will ALWAYS turn manually. Anyone have this issue before? Would a firmware update fix the problem (if probably not, then I really don't want to void the warranty). It seems to not being doing it right now since I have it indoors...maybe the heat from the roof? Thanks for the helps guys.

That's main reason I prefer the pole mount instead of the U-Bolt mount.

On the motor issue, check your cables, switches, fittings, etc that is inline with the signal.

 

[W_Tracy_Parnell]

Got the dish up and running and everything seems to be hunky-dorey (maybe that's spelled right, haha). I see a lot of sports wild feeds in analog on the "lists", so I know I'll need an analog receiver. Now, my dad has an old General Instrument Inovation 550i that he used when he had C-Band back in the day. When I plug the power in, I can feel a fan running inside, but the display doesn't work and there is no video out, and I have it plugged in to the "loop out" on the back of my Fortec Lifetime Classic NA. My question is, would it be more economical to see if I can get this receiver repaired, or should I just start looking for an analog receiver, even if I have to buy it new. I know they're pretty expensive new. Just thought I'd throw it out there. If I need to buy one, does anyone have any suggestions?

I would look for a used one on Ebay. They can be had for under $40. I have a Uniden 4400 Super that works well. Many here use the Toshiba TRX-1420 and 1520 with good results.

 

[Firefighter Dan]

I installed my SG2100 the night before last and finished up with coverage from 123W to 79W with a quicker learning curve (by following instructions and reviewing the posts on this forum - thanks all for indirectly helping me and advice.)

My antenna mast is plum aimed at G10R in the PNW is almost True South. I used my 36" dish with my Universal LNB.

I found the movement a bit slow between sats that are more than a few degrees apart. I also found that although I got better coverage of the sky, I was unable to get all of the channels on each bird without switching tp's and nudging the dish East or West. Now that I know what is up there I will restart from scratch and make better use of the reference points.

I think I will put my 76cm dish fixed on G10R and use the motor for the 71.8W to 103.0W. I would like to point my motorized dish somewhere in the middle of (71.8W and 103W) and run it from there.

Can I skew my LNB to my reference sat (83W) and still have the ability to pickup other sats?

Oh and the motor just went dead this AM - no green light. I'll work on that another day.

 

[PSB]

The LNBF should be straight up and down when pointing True South, if you change that it will give you lower or NO signal on the other satellites!

 

[Firefighter Dan]

Thanks - Maybe I wasn't clear on my question.

My true south is 123W and I didn't skew it when I set it up.

But if I set the correct skew for 83W (my latitude is 122W) and aimed it at the 83W bird (with that being 0 reference) would that work?

Basically, isn't an arch an arch on these motors?

 

[grusome]

As your motor moves towards 83W (from 123W) it will skew the dish & lnb for you. No need to change anything on the lnb going from one sat to another. That's the beauty of the horizon to horizon motors and mounts.
grusome

 

[dashaund]

With my busy work and school schedule, I finally got some time this afternoon to adjust my dish some more. Following PSB's advice, I locked down my eleveation at exactly 35 and adjusted elevation on the dish and NOT the motor. I got up there and started adjusting and my receiver started sniffing out Nimiq 2 (my TS sat). I became puzzled because I couldn't get anything more than about 26% SS. After going back and forth with the azimuth and up and down with elevation, I couldn't get anymore than about 26%. I tried changing TPs and even wired the LNB straight to the jack on my Fortec and couldn't muster more than about 26% (yes, it was in C not L). This same combination had previously produced 93%! I called Sadoun and the service lady said it wasn't the box, but probably the LNB. I think it's the receiver myself...I know the dish is dead on, especially with Nimiq 2 being a DBS sat. I tried SBS6 on ONN and couldn't muster more than 20% (had it hooked into the switch with both L and C coming in). She said it's either the dish out of alignment or the LNB. Anyone have a guess? It's difficult to tell since I don't have another box or a signal meter or another LNB. I just ordered a Coolsat 5000 from Satellite AV that will be here next week...I'll know for sure then. I've had/are having some motor controlling issues with this box. I'd really like to make sure it's the box before I send it to Sadoun and they charge me $35 and say it's working perfect. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[PSB]

If you are using a Circular output the L.O. should be 11250

 

[dashaund]

I know that and it was at 11250. And when I switched to SBS6 it was at 10750.

 

[Zero]

Thanks - Maybe I wasn't clear on my question.

My true south is 123W and I didn't skew it when I set it up.

But if I set the correct skew for 83W (my latitude is 122W) and aimed it at the 83W bird (with that being 0 reference) would that work?

Basically, isn't an arch an arch on these motors?

Your TS and 0 ref on motor should match. If you set your motor to 83 W with 0 reference, that is at highest inclination angle. When it moves east or west from that point, the dish will tilt down and make it unusable west of 83 W. Infact, from 83W to 123 W movement, dish should be tilting upwards and not downwards. Hope I am amking myself clear, little poor in vocabulory and terminologies

 

[Sadoun]

I know that and it was at 11250. And when I switched to SBS6 it was at 10750.

Ae you using a switch to switch between C & L

Make sure your settings are correct in the receiver for the switch.

 

[dashaund]

Everything is correct. Like I said, I've been using this same box and setup for two weeks and It's all been working fine until today. Don't know if it's the box or the LNB. Just wondering if anyone here has run into this same trouble before. It's driving me crazy!