thinking of dxing hispasat. need advice on jpole replacement.

[crackt]

so ive been busy with life and i havent played with my dishes much. im overhauling my backyard and ive moved some stuff. i built a shed and placed it strategically so as to provide the best LOS to ware 30w should be. dishpointer shows it as 3 degrees above horizon (i know its low haha but its all about the challenge). ive done 37.5w @ about 7 degrees elevation but became limited by the stand my 10 footer was on.

the problem i have is that the dish bracket / jpole only allow the fortec dish im using, to adjust to only about 15 degrees elevation. has anyone had this problem before? i dont really feel like building a complicated mess if someone has a simpler more elegant solution.

i just had an idea i may try. i may mount the dish on an old hh90 i have. it may allow the dish to be tweaked at its full travel.

after a few more dish moves ill post pics of my farm.

thanks

crackt out,.

 

[Anole]

If you mount the dish inverted, you should be able to hit the horizon without any problem.
It may require a strategic hole in the mount or J-pole , but nothing more.

edit:
Someone, even posted how to figure out how to read the elevation markings, but I don't recall the details off hand.
Below is a picture of a regular dish on the left, and one inverted on the right.

 

[crackt]

much appreciated anole. i knew there was an easy solution. thanks. itll even look cool and i havent tried to aim an inverted dish yet. ill post a pic when i aim it.

crackt out,.

 

[Anole]

all about inverted dishes:

Search the FTA Department on the key word: inverted.
You'll find some threads with pictures and good info.


MikeKohl figures how to read the existing dish elevation scale:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-ai...inverted-dish-installation-2.html#post1738869

Also, read this post by MikeLib and my response:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-ai...inverted-dish-installation-3.html#post1805971


edit:
Oh, and here's a trick I used when installing my Dish Network 5..8 years ago:
I tilted the mast toward the bird about 20 or 30 degrees.
Not so much because it was low on the horizon, but due to a problem in where I mounted the jpole foot.
That same trick would let you tilt down your dish an extra 20..30 degrees.
You just subtract the fixed offset from the elevation reading on your mount, and do NOT invert anything! -
The only restriction, is that the foot be secured so the jpole tilts TOWARD the satellite.

 

[delta_charlie]

Hi Crackt and the group, here are three pictures of the Fortec 80 CM I have on Telstar 12. The Fortec mount works very well inverted and can go much lower then the 12 degrees I needed for T-12.

The close up of the mount might help you get an idea of where to set the elevation.

Hope this helps, DC

 

[phlatwound]

I will second Anole's second idea, just incline your mounting pole towards the satellite.

If it's a fixed dish it really doesn't matter if your mount is plumb.

I set up for Hispasat last week using a BJU 90 cm mounted on pipe in a 5 gallon bucket of concrete. At about 12 degrees of elevation, and the pipe at "eyeball plumb" I had just enough travel in the dish pivot to acquire the signal, but I would have just inclined it if needed.

 

[crackt]

Search the FTA Department on the key word: inverted.
You'll find some threads with pictures and good info.


MikeKohl figures how to read the existing dish elevation scale:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-ai...inverted-dish-installation-2.html#post1738869

Also, read this post by MikeLib and my response:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-ai...inverted-dish-installation-3.html#post1805971

i had read those posts lastnight. after you suggested inverting the dish.

Hi Crackt and the group, here are three pictures of the Fortec 80 CM I have on Telstar 12. The Fortec mount works very well inverted and can go much lower then the 12 degrees I needed for T-12.

The close up of the mount might help you get an idea of where to set the elevation.

Hope this helps, DC

it helped a ton... thanks for the visuals. im going to use a fortec 36". i need 3 degrees. im probly not going to hit 30w but i wont know until i try.

edit:
Oh, and here's a trick I used when installing my Dish Network 5..8 years ago:
I tilted the mast toward the bird about 20 or 30 degrees.
Not so much because it was low on the horizon, but due to a problem in where I mounted the jpole foot.
That same trick would let you tilt down your dish an extra 20..30 degrees.
You just subtract the fixed offset from the elevation reading on your mount, and do NOT invert anything! -
The only restriction, is that the foot be secured so the jpole tilts TOWARD the satellite.

I will second Anole's second idea, just incline your mounting pole towards the satellite.

If it's a fixed dish it really doesn't matter if your mount is plumb.

I set up for Hispasat last week using a BJU 90 cm mounted on pipe in a 5 gallon bucket of concrete. At about 12 degrees of elevation, and the pipe at "eyeball plumb" I had just enough travel in the dish pivot to acquire the signal, but I would have just inclined it if needed.

that was my initial thought. but east is perpendicular to the slope of the roof i am mounting on, so the jpole would be leaning in 2 directions. it seems like itd make it difficult to aim the dish.

thanks all for the replies. now i gotta get outside.

crackt out,.

 

[crackt]

so i got outside some tonight after i came back from the cabin. the ghetto shaw direct dish on a tree maid er thru the winter (only lost a few q haha. what us canucks will do to get the labour day classic) and the lcd tv i gave my pops for his bday looked nice. i got to my new ku farm. i figured the inverted dish was going to be the most pain so i attempted it first. being a bit cocky i tried for 30w. after abit of dish panning i figured id get out my digital inclinometer and try and guesstimate some angle that made sense. i abondoned 30w and tried for 101w and i couldnt seem to find it either. so i gave up on that dish for tonight. i did aim a shaw direct elliptical at 101/97. i really think the smallest shaw dish is marginal this north. i could lock alot on the cs8000 but i know the azbox wont like the cnr. maybe the latest gen of my pc tuners might. i also got to aim another 36" fortec at 125w. i had bought a couple spitfire elite lnbs a couple months ago and seeing their performance tonight id definately recommend them if you can work a universal lnb into your setup.

anyways attempt #2 on this inverted dish will take place tomorrow. i have to use it for something now that i put holes in my new shed roof.

any one know what effect inversion has on lnb skew(haha. i dont want to stand on my head to visualize (read: im to lazy to search tonight))?

crackt out,.

 

[crackt]

Hi Crackt and the group, here are three pictures of the Fortec 80 CM I have on Telstar 12. The Fortec mount works very well inverted and can go much lower then the 12 degrees I needed for T-12.

The close up of the mount might help you get an idea of where to set the elevation.

Hope this helps, DC

wow after looking at these pictures again i think i had to many chemicals when i was attempting to aim my inverted dish. if i read right your aimed at 12 degrees there d_c?

crackt out,.

 

[crackt]

and i forgot the best part. while looking for a longer jpole in my garage attic, i found not 1 but 5 ota antennas. what a score. they all look prestine. ill post pics to the forums when i get them. and to think i owned this house for 4 years and i didnt know they were even in there. what a difference a flash light makes. haha

crackt out,.

 

[Tron]

Great find on the OTA antennas! I wish there were still some unexplored areas of my house, but I've lived here all my life. Looking forward to the pics!

 

[delta_charlie]

---cut---
any one know what effect inversion has on lnb skew(haha. i dont want to stand on my head to visualize (read: im to lazy to search tonight))?

crackt out,.

Hi Crackt and the group, inverting the dish does not change the skew; however, you will need a lot of skew to hit a satellite at 3 degrees elevation. I'm at 60 degrees to get T-12.

Hope this helps, DC

 

[crackt]

well ive been fighting with this pig for what seems like a while. it sits at 2.6 degrees elevation and i havent had any luck from the shed. i inverted a 36" fortec and mounted a spitfire elite lnb and tried about 5 times from the shed. the inverted offset made it awkward to judge by eye. i just couldnt find it. so tonight i took a drive out to the country (about 5 miles) and found a suitable site. got all set up and buddy was seeding his field. me and the girlfriend thought itd be better to move than to be thought crazy for aiming dishes outta my minivan. haha. so a few minutes later i had another spot. although the trees seemed higher on the horizon. i gave a quick knuckle check and they lookt to be less than 2 degrees anyways. out with the dish. i brought along an old laptop and a prof 7500. armed with fastsatfinder i stood the dish on a monopod and found 11884 in about a minute. i could peak it to 95 % with the prof. im not sure that would be much on the azbox. anyways i continued to hit the tps phlat posted in his attempt. i really didnt have to change the dish elevation much and it was easier from the country than i thought. now to find it from my yard. i may need a 50 ft tower. haha.

crackt out,.

 

[Tron]

Another member on the East Coast would drive out to the beach to hit one of the far Atlantic sats. Can't find the post at the moment...

 

[mikelib]

Tron,
Is this what you rembered?
mike lib

http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/194203-satellite-dxing.html#post2021514

 

[jogon64]

I hope I don´t sound too dumb but what does "dxing" mean?

 

[mikelib]

I hope I don´t sound too dumb but what does "dxing" mean?

Ham Radio term for getting distant stations. Have you every listened to a car radio station and were surprised that it was from a station very far away from where you were. That's DXing. There is one of the sat guys that Dx's TV stations when the weather is right for receiving from a foreign location.

I have received the one American beam transponder on Atlantic Bird 2 at 8W, by going down to the Bay here, in South Jersey. I use a 500 dish at 9 degrees elevation. There are 2 TV stations on that transponder. The satellite is located off the west coast of Africa at 9 degree elevation you need a good LOS and no atmospheric interference. That’s’ FTA Dxing

Good luck and Good DX
Mike Lib

 

[Tron]

Yep, Mike, that was the thread ... I think there was another from when 148W was still up there that involved someone on the East Coast going to extremes to receive that bird. There was often quite a bit of compelling programming ITC on 148W (safe to mention now that the satellite is gone...)

 

[Mr Tony]

yeah those were the days when Dish would test a bunch of channels all the time on 148 and they were in the clear

Thats where we got to see what MPEG4 SD looked like first