OTHER Question about using a Directv Satellite Dish with a FTA reciever.

[Doorguru]

This is the best I can do for now.
Looking South.View attachment 142730
The dish does have slight damage on the edge of the left side, also the pole, that I am temporarily using, is actually a (Approximately.) 10ft long PVC conduit pipe. The pipe was wanting to lean a little bit due to the weight of the dish & also because the pipe doesn't fit properly into the stand I am using (I had to shove part of a stick down in the hole between the pipe & the stand to make it not lean so much.

Another picture showing, somewhat, the position of the LNB on the mount.
View attachment 142731

I did read, on another site, that somebody that had a similar dish & LNB that I have was able to get their setup working by adjusting the dish tilt, instead of the LNB skew.

Your skew is a lot easier to tweak by turning the lnb instead of the whole dish.

Your dish is 100 times more in the clear than my 1.2 meter and I get a strong 92% signal on most transponders on Galaxy 97. I would definitely verify your focal point. Without it being correct, you aren't going nowhere. Maybe it's the camera angle, but also, your elevation looks too low.

Being up on the pole makes it harder to tweak. If you focal point was known to be right and your skew right, you should be able to tilt and turn the dish until you got a strong tone on your meter.. Your pole needs to be solid and stable though... then do a blind scan and see which satellite you are on. That way you would know which way to go to find your target satellite. That's how us amateurs do it anyway. This method has always worked to get me in the ballpark. Keep at it and verify your focal point. You will find a signal sooner or later.

 

[. Raine]

On my Slimline dishes I stuck a board into the LNBF arm and then mounted a bracket like the one FTA4PA posted a link to earlier. On mine, the bracket ended up having to be about a 1/2" out from the end of the arm, yours could be different.

One thing to remember with a offset dish like yours is that the signal doesn't come straight at the dish like a prime focus dish, it comes in at an angle, so the dish can look like it's pointed at something and still not have the signal blocked, because on a offset dish it comes in at an angle above the dish, not straight at the dish.

 

[Brct203]

It also seems to me that the LNBF is mounted a bit too close to the reflector. I have a Slimline but not in use now, but if I remember correctly, the clamp holding the LNBF was closer to the end of the arm. But more importantly, it looks like your dish is aiming way too low.

Now, with just a receiver as a mean of detecting signal, with a PVC pipe as a mount and a questionable LNB location, it's a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack. Too many factors at play, and the limited accuracy of the scale on the dish mount is invalidated by the bent PVC pipe.

Here is what i use in such situation: Amazon product ASIN B00JXI6GOO
(there are many to choose from on Amazon and elsewhere).
That little box will squeak and the pitch will get higher and louder when it gets signal. It's not accurate as a measuring tool, but very useful at detecting where the satellite arc is. just connect it between the LNB and receiver, turn the knob until the needle is in the middle of the range, and turn your PVC pole slowly left and right. Stop when you hear a significant change in the squeak. Then do a blind scan and see what you get. Repeat at various elevations of the dish, until you get something. Once you get a satellite, try to identify it by cross-referencing what the blind scan found with what's posted on Lyngsat. Use that as a reference point to find the other birds.

I find that Galaxy3C @95W is one of the easiest targets, and it's right next to 97W.

 

[Route66Fan]

That dish looks bent to me. That's not good.

Also, in my previous experience using a DBS dish for FTA, the dish doesn't need to be rotated like it is when used for Directv. Should look like this:

View attachment 142732

I do, also, have a Dish Network satellite dish, but it's missing it's original LNB. Could I still use it with the LNB I have.

 

[harshness]

Looks to me that your lnb is way to close to the dish. Double check the distance with the original lnb.

I was thinking the same thing. It seems that post #45 (along with the YouTube video where he talks about taking the measurements) hasn't received its due.

Precision isn't optional.

 

[Route66Fan]

Here is what i use in such situation: Amazon product ASIN B00JXI6GOO
(there are many to choose from on Amazon and elsewhere).
That little box will squeak and the pitch will get higher and louder when it gets signal. It's not accurate as a measuring tool, but very useful at detecting where the satellite arc is. just connect it between the LNB and receiver, turn the knob until the needle is in the middle of the range, and turn your PVC pole slowly left and right. Stop when you hear a significant change in the squeak. Then do a blind scan and see what you get. Repeat at various elevations of the dish, until you get something. Once you get a satellite, try to identify it by cross-referencing what the blind scan found with what's posted on Lyngsat. Use that as a reference point to find the other birds.

I find that Galaxy3C @95W is one of the easiest targets, and it's right next to 97W.

Thanks. I was kind of looking at getting one that can not only measure signal strength, but also display what's on the satellite, kind of like this one, so I would not have to carry my little 9" TV\VCR combo unit & reciever around & also not have to run a long power cord out to where I am trying the dish out at, but still be able to see something & measure the signal, but I will keep your suggestion in mind.

 

[Brct203]

Thanks. I was kind of looking at getting one that can not only measure signal strength, but also display what's on the satellite, kind of like this one, but I will keep your suggestion in mind.

those meters like the GTMedia are definitely useful and helpful for fine-tuning the dish as they give details like signal quality, but i'm not sure how useful they would be at the "rough locating" of the arc.

Note that the squeaker thing will also squeak when aiming the dish at obstacles (house, trees, ground, etc.) as it's reacting to any signal including thermal noise. So definitely not a perfect instrument, but still very helpful when trying to find a signal in the sky

 

[harshness]

I do, also, have a Dish Network satellite dish, but it's missing it's original LNB. Could I still use it with the LNB I have.

You need the DISH LNB and bracket adapter (two distinct pieces) to measure where to put the FTA LNB. The DIRECTV SL3 LNB won't fit on the DISH 1000.

It should be apparent by now that this isn't something you can just wing it on. The tolerances on the angles and measurements are pretty small so this isn't just about throwing together something that "looks like" what you saw in a picture or video.

 

[harshness]

I was kind of looking at getting one that can not only measure signal strength, but also display what's on the satellite, kind of like this one, so I would not have to carry my little 9" TV\VCR combo unit & reciever around & also not have to run a long power cord out to where I am trying the dish out at, but still be able to see something & measure the signal, but I will keep your suggestion in mind.

As I said in post #21, if you're going to spend money, you should spend it on a dish assembly that is:

1. Big enough to insure that you're going to get a reasonable signal
2. Known not to be compromised (bent reflector, bent LNB arm, bent mounting bracket)
3. Is set up to work out of the box with the LNB mount installed where it needs to be and at the proper angle

The finest meter is of absolutely no use if the dish assembly isn't picking up a signal to measure.

 

[comfortably_numb]

I do, also, have a Dish Network satellite dish, but it's missing it's original LNB. Could I still use it with the LNB I have.

Yes. I just drilled holes in the support arm to retrofit a Geosat bracket for my LNB. Not difficult at all.

Keep in mind a dish of that size will only pull in some feeds on 95, 97 and maybe 103. That's it.

 

[Route66Fan]

Yes. I just drilled holes in the support arm to retrofit a Geosat bracket for my LNB. Not difficult at all.

Keep in mind a dish of that size will only pull in some feeds on 95, 97 and maybe 103. That's it.

Do you know how many inches from the dish on the support arm you drilled the holes?
[automerge]1578504958[/automerge]

 

[comfortably_numb]

Do you know how many inches from the dish on the support arm you drilled the holes?
[automerge]1578504958[/automerge]

Right down at the end where the other holes are.

 

[Route66Fan]

Right down at the end where the other holes are.

Ok. Thank you.

 

[harshness]

Do you know how many inches from the dish on the support arm you drilled the holes?

Do you have the same LNB bracket as comfortablynumb? As I noted previously, this isn't just about making something that looks like it could work. The pieces have to be very, very close to where they should be as you're aiming at a target tens of thousands of miles away.

 

[Route66Fan]

Do you have the same LNB bracket as comfortablynumb? As I noted previously, this isn't just about making something that looks like it could work. The pieces have to be very, very close to where they should be as you're aiming at a target tens of thousands of miles away.

My LNB bracket is different, but I thought I would ask anyway.

 

[Route66Fan]

I decided to get both the satellite meter & the GTMedia V8 Satellite Finder. I'll see if I can get a bigger dish later.

 

[harshness]

Hopefully your dish gives you a signal to measure.

 

[Ozerimar]

Actually I have the same setup a couple slimline dishes one pointing at 97w and the other at 125w. Having the pole in the ground and cemented in and level and plumb will help you out tremendously. Adjust the azimuth and elevation on the rear of the dish first then skew the top of the LNB roughly at 10 o clock then use your cell phone with the sat finder app and try to pick up a signal and watch the quality meter on a small tv next to you. You will most likely find 99 or 95 west sats first since they are a bit stronger. Make a mark on the pole which sat u picked up then do a scan compare the channels to what you picked up if it 99 or 95w. Make tiny adjustments like 1/16 of an inch adjustment moving the dish. Once you find these 2 sats 95 and 99 you are extremely close to finding 97w. At this point is when I would concentrate on the skew adjustments which will be tiny tiny adjustments. I am new to FTA but very much enjoy the hobby.

 

[KE4EST]

to SatelliteGuys Ozerimar!

 

[Route66Fan]

Having the pole in the ground and cemented in and level and plumb will help you out tremendously.

How deep, in the ground, did you dig the hole for the pole?