Upgraded my Motorized Setup

[chapelrun]

This past weekend I upgraded my motorized setup using the PrimeStar 75E I found this past fall. I wanted to do this mainly for the bigger dish but I got additional benefits.

I love this PrimeStar 75E because all I had to do was remove the mount and turn it upside down. I did keep my Hughes FSS LNB from my previous dish because it has a larger feedhorn than the Aspen Eagle that I had gotten for this project.

One thing I found was that my pole was not completely plumb, thus I took about an hour with a pitchfork handle trying to get it completely plumb. (the next morning my wife asks me why was there a pitchfork on the roof?) Wife is starting to worry about me. Anyway the result is now I can get 15W all the way to 127W!!

I also completely removed the circular LNB from my setup - - - who needs it now?

Having more fun with this setup as I can scan almost anything in the KU band that I can see (with the exception of those birds that use Universal LNB's)

Here are some PIX - - - with the dish pointed to 15W :up

 

[Larobpra]

What did you use to shim between the motor tube and the mount? And what model is your motor? I've got a 75E I'd like to do something similar with this year.

 

[chapelrun]

I used a piece of PVC that was cut to length and also cut down one side long ways - - - so that I could get it on the DG380 motor. It is very tight but I did not have enough hands to get it exactly right - - - so my 13 year old son helped me get that part correct. :up

 

[chapelrun]

I'm trying to go further East with this setup. I cannot get anything from 12.5W. Has anyone gotten 7W and have a Strong TP?

 

[AcWxRadar]

I'm trying to go further East with this setup. I cannot get anything from 12.5W. Has anyone gotten 7W and have a Strong TP?

Chapelrun,

I am located at 96.4°W, so I do not have a LOS for any satellite further east than about 20°W. However, I have a QPH-031 LNBF and the furthest eastern Ku band satellite signal I can detect is from Hispasat at 30.0°W.

I have tried to go further east, but my motor and dish doesn't seem to have the mechanical range. I need to actually go outside and measure its travel.

You are obviously further east than I. What is your longitude and what is your theoretical furthest eastern satellite?

RADAR

 

[chapelrun]

My long. Is 78W and - have a 60 percent signal on 15W thus thought 12.5W or 7W might be possible.

How do I calculate the theoretical limit? Using Dishpointer?

Many thanks

 

[AcWxRadar]

My long. Is 78W and - have a 60 percent signal on 15W thus thought 12.5W or 7W might be possible.

How do I calculate the theoretical limit? Using Dishpointer?

Many thanks

I use the FreeHostia angle calculator and keep entering a further east satellite position until it tells me that the satellite position is not viewable from my location. I don't know if Dishpointer displays the error once you go past the furthest east (or west) satellite or not.

i.e. Satellite(s) not visible from your location!

There is a way to calculate this, based upon your lat/long and the sat's orbital degree, but I just let the on-line calculators do this for me (in other words, I cheat). I don't know how accurate the on-line calculators are, but they're certainly close enough for our use.

Supposedly, I should be able to "look" 76.4 degrees to my east (putting me at 20.0°W), but my motor and dish setup reaches mechanical limits before I get that far. NSS 7 @ 22.0°W would be the only satellite that I could possibly get to my furthest east, but I would have to set up a fixed dish to even test it. This might be a project for the summer of 2010.

I am guessing that you should have a LOS as far as 2°W (roughly speaking).

RADAR

 

[Anole]

My long. Is 78W and - have a 60 percent signal on 15W thus thought 12.5W or 7W might be possible.

How do I calculate the theoretical limit? Using Dishpointer?

The bird at 7° west, would be about 7° above your horizon.

I use the stand-alone program, Satellite Finder.
Tell it where you are, then scroll through the list of satellites, looking for when they get very low on the horizon.
Bird at 40°w is 1.7° above the horizon for me. (not a likely candidate)
Hispasat at 30°w is -6.7° (negative sign means below the horizon).

It's a little tricky to install, but one of the many calculators I use and recommend.
... and I found it here on the SatGuys forum many years ago.
It's just fallen out of favor the last few years.

 

[chapelrun]

No Joy on 12.5W or 7W

I tried for several hours to get either 12.5W or 7W with no joy.

I purchased a Chaparrel Universal LNB which I plan to put beside the linear LNB. I will put it on the downhill side of the linear (by that I mean closer to the Star in PrimeStar from the first picture in this thread).

Maybe just maybe this will allow the dish to see 12.5W - - - more an exercise for me rather than I got to have a certain channel on 12.5W.

BTW, Anole - - - I did get the SatFinder program installed and it shows 12.5W to be at 10.2 degrees elevation from my location - - - 15W shows 12.1 degrees.

 

[putney]

Remember that to get a satellite further east, you must place the LNB to the west of the current one.

 

[chapelrun]

I don't understand?

This seems counter-intuitive to me - - - - I want to grab the most signal from the highest part of the dish and that would mean put the LNB on the lower side as I described. The other part of my logic was that my motor seems to be right at limits of the motor thus would I not want it on the lower side.

Maybe my thinking is backwards - - - - help me think about it correctly.

 

[putney]

Think of it as a curved mirror.

 

[Anole]

To get a bird to the east, put your LNB to the west (of center) on the dish.

BUT a whole better idea, one without argument is . . .
Put the Universal on the LNB mount as it should be, and go with that!
Being on the bore-site is probably better if the bird is hard to receive.

But frankly, I'm surprised your motor goes that far over.
Perhaps you put the Universal LNB off center to gain advantage of a horizon-challenged motor? -

 

[chapelrun]

I think I see - - - thanks for setting me straight

OK, I see - - - You are right and I was thinking backwords.

If I put the Universal LNB in the center would I loss any TP's that I would otherwise get with the linear LNB?

Also, if I put the LNB West of the current one - - - I would have a bit more motor authoritly- - - - because of SKEW would I put in line, slight above or slightly below the other LNB (again I was thinking backwards).

 

[putney]

The universal you have is probably linear. You should be able to pull the same sats that you do already with a standard linear. Some non-north american sats require a universal lnb because of the extended bandwidth. I can't 'see' that far, so I can't tell you what is needed for 12.5ºw or 7ºw.

 

[Anole]

Right. Putney covered the Universal is linear point.

As for skew with the off-center LNBF, dial the dish over there and then twist the new LNBF (or otherwise tune it) for maximum quality.
Depending on the LNBF widths, maybe run the motor to 16°, 17°, or 18° to get your bird at 12° on the Universal??
Just a guess.