Sg-2100 Lat vs. Elevation? what to use

[smikolaj]

So, I am setting the latitude side of the bracket to my latitude - is this correct? my lat is 42.86. I am setting the elevation on the satellite bracket to 23.5. What is the elevation sacle on the motor bracket for? to confuse me?

I have been on the ladder for about an hour with no luck, want to make sure I have this set up correctly. I am trying for amc6 @ 72w. I am just going from the lnb into the receiver while trying to aim to my true south satellite.

pole is plumb.

Thanks.

 

[Mr Tony]

use the latitude scale on the SG2100

The latitude of that is the same as your latitude
(hint: it would be about 43 for your location)

 

[Whipskinny]

smikolaj,
The reason for two different scales, latitude for the motor, and elevation for the dish is to ensure that the setup will track the satellites that are positioned in the Clarke belt correctly.

The motor, set to your actual physical latitude, working in conjunction with the angle of the driven shaft of the motor will enable the dish to roll in a perfect path along the arc of the stationary orbit that the satellites are in.
When your confident that the motors latitude is set accurately tighten the bolts down and you should never have to adjust the latitude again.

The dish elevation is set strictly to focus the incoming microwave signals onto the feed horn of the LNB.
Keep in mind, that for the elevation of the dish to be accurate that the 'built-in' offset angle (available from the manuf. or dealer) has to be factored in with the actual line of sight angle for the satellite your aiming at.
The dishs' elevation (up and down) and azimuth (East, West / left,right) will need to be tweaked by hand on occasion to obtain the strongest S&Q.
The dish elevation and azimuth settings aren't as critical as the motors latitude settings (and a Plumb mount) and will need to be adjusted to compensate for irregularities in the dishs' reflective surface. As an example, my dish elevation is 13 degrees off from where the manufacturer says it should be, I'm guessing the dish might be bent slightly.

Hope this information doesn't confuse you needlessly. And most of all I hope it's accurate (I'm just a beginner) and helpful.

 

[smikolaj]

Thanks Guys. I am calling it a night - no luck. I will play around with it again this week as long as the rain holds off. It gets frustrating but in the end it is worth it.

 

[glen4cindy]

smikolaj,
The reason for two different scales, latitude for the motor, and elevation for the dish is to ensure that the setup will track the satellites that are positioned in the Clarke belt correctly.

I think what he is referring to is the motor only. On one side of the bracket is an elevation scale and on the other side is a latitude scale. The instructions for the motor don't really indicate why there is an elevation scale on the motor since it is supposed to be set to your locations latitude.

 

[Whipskinny]

glen4cindy,
Yes, latitude scale only for the motor.
Thanks for catching that and clarifying.

 

[brentb636]

Shooting for AMC6, make sure that the default tp on your screen is 12114 V SR 2573. That is the Gospel Broadcast Network and is powerful. AMC6 is mostly feeds, so you want a solid signal to aim for.

 

[smikolaj]

glen4cindy & Whipskinny
Yea, I was referring to the 2 scales on the 1 motor bracket, step 5 in the instructions confused the heck out of me. Thanks Iceberg for setting me straight.

brentb636
Do I want 12114 V 2573? In the topic about strong transponders it has 12143 V 2573 as the one to aim for? My receiver, traxis 3500, has 12144 V 2573 stored in it as one of the Tp's for amc6 so that is what I have been using, maybe that is why I can't seem to find a signal... This is also what Lyngsat has listed for that station.

I'll let you know how I make out later on tonight.

Thanks.

 

[Mr Tony]

GBN is at 12143 V 2573, not 12114 as brent noted

 

[smikolaj]

Iceberg - why is it 1 off from what Lyngsat has listed? would this make a difference in signal strength? is that actually 1 MHz off? that's kind of a lot - although the LNB does knock it down significantly in frequency before it gets to the receiver.

One thing I can say is that I am learning a lot screwing around with this stuff

 

[brentb636]

tp 12114 ? OOOOOPPPPPSSSSS !
typo time .



Brent

 

[smikolaj]

Some success

OK - so I have been fighting the aiming battle. when I got 40% I started messing with the frequency - I ended up with 12147? why I am 3 off? anyway I can get some things from some sats. I get a few channels from g10R and no whitesprings - I am going to check to make sure my lnb is correct - will it work 180 degrees out of whack?

both strength and quality are high 70's.

Can I fine tune from inside or do I have to go back to my true south and mess with it there? it started raining outside so I guess I am done out there for the night.

Slowly getting there... Just figured I give an update for anyone who cares

I think this is just practice for c-band. I figure I can hide a dish by the chicken coop since the wife won't go down there!

Thanks.

 

[glen4cindy]

Iceberg - why is it 1 off from what Lyngsat has listed? would this make a difference in signal strength? is that actually 1 MHz off? that's kind of a lot - although the LNB does knock it down significantly in frequency before it gets to the receiver.

One thing I can say is that I am learning a lot screwing around with this stuff

I don't think that makes any difference. I have 2 STB's and they are not exact on all of the channels they lock from the same satellite to what Lyngsat says. I have also been off by 2 or 3, but, have also keyed in what I see in Lyngsat and found strong channels when I scan that transponder. Not sure why there is a difference of 2 or 3 in the frequency.

 

[qwert1515]

The reason for the difference in frequencies is due to the stability of the LNB, you can read the link for more information, it is about CBand but is very similar to KU band LNBs.

Read the paragraph above the diagrams.

/http://www.tvantenna.com/support/tutorials/lnbs.html

 

[Mr Tony]

Iceberg - why is it 1 off from what Lyngsat has listed? would this make a difference in signal strength? is that actually 1 MHz off? that's kind of a lot - although the LNB does knock it down significantly in frequency before it gets to the receiver.

One thing I can say is that I am learning a lot screwing around with this stuff

all LNB's have a little drift. I get it at 12143.

 

[smikolaj]

I am not sure if you guys were aware of this, but if you tighten down everything things seem to work a little better - just a word of advice

Rain stopped, I went back on the roof and did my tweaking, in the process realized the bolt that goes though the motor pole and sateliite elevation bracket wasn't so tight - must have overlooked that when the rain came. either way, I seem ok from 72 - 129 doing every couple along the way.

I am sure I will have more adjustments but for now this is enough to keep me busy.

Thanks again everyone! Other than buy low and sell high this place ranks up there for free advice.

 

[Mr Tony]

we're here to help