what direction to point motorized dish

[young-pup]

What would my true south sat be

I am getting ready to setup my SG2100A but I don't thing I understand all the details.

First off, What would my true south sat be?

Latitude: 35.1841°
Longitude: -101.7974°
I set my latitude to 35.1841° on the motor then aim true south
Aim not sure about declination or what sat is nearest the true south

 

[Anole]

Your true south satellite is the one closest to your longitude.
So, 101° w would be yours.
Set your receiver for a "strong transponder" as listed on our site and go at it.

For setting up the little motors for Ku dishes, you can ignore declination.
It's calculated into the setup instructions.

If you have trouble, here's a recently written guide that may help, but there are many on the net, including one with each motor and every dealer who sells such motors....

AcWxRadar does an in-depth, and step-by-step motor setup:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/170861-motor-setup-questions.html#post1778160

 

[Lak7]

You True South Sat AMC4 @ 101 west.
Motor "Latitude" Scale to your Lat: 35.2 (not the Elevation Scale)
Dish Elevation to 24, or best Quality reading
Azimuth: 172.9 on compass, or parallel to your street

Make sure you have a Hot Transponder selected in the Receiver's Sat Setup Menu...
SatelliteGuys.US - 101.0°W AMC 4 Ku
It's OK if the last digit is 1 or 2 off from what your receiver has built in.

 

[AcWxRadar]

I am getting ready to setup my SG2100A but I don't thing I understand all the details.

First off, What would my true south sat be?

Latitude: 35.1841°
Longitude: -101.7974°
I set my latitude to 35.1841° on the motor then aim true south

Aim not sure about declination or what sat is nearest the true south

Your true south satellite is the one closest to your longitude.
So, 101° w would be yours.
Set your receiver for a "strong transponder" as listed on our site and go at it.

For setting up the little motors for Ku dishes, you can ignore declination.
It's calculated into the setup instructions.

If you have trouble, here's a recently written guide that may help, but there are many on the net, including one with each motor and every dealer who sells such motors....

AcWxRadar does an in-depth, and step-by-step motor setup:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/170861-motor-setup-questions.html#post1778160

Definitely agreed. 101.0'W will be the true south sat for your location. Even though you are just a tad bit off (0.8 degrees), this won't matter. The slight error will be worked out later when you get to fine tuning your dish to the arc.

I also agree with the note about the declination angle. I always use the Freehostia angle calculator:

Satellite look-angle calculator

With this calculator, I only need to enter my motor type, the coordinate type I will be using (city name, postal code or lat/long), enter that information and press calculate. All the data given is everything you need and you ignore any other angles and calculations.

RADAR

 

[AcWxRadar]

You True South Sat AMC4 @ 101 west.
Motor "Latitude" Scale to your Lat: 35.2 (not the Elevation Scale)
Dish Elevation to 24, or best Quality reading
Azimuth: 172.9 on compass, or parallel to your street

Make sure you have a Hot Transponder selected in the Receiver's Sat Setup Menu...
SatelliteGuys.US - 101.0°W AMC 4 Ku
It's OK if the last digit is 1 or 2 off from what your receiver has built in.

I find the hottest (strongest) TP on 101.0 W to be 12.033 +/- 0.003 Horizontal SR 3003. This has the channel RTPi America or RTP International broadcast on it consistently.

RADAR

 

[B.J.]

...
I also agree with the note about the declination angle. I always use the Freehostia angle calculator:

Satellite look-angle calculator

....

Of course, this is one of the many (majority) of such sites that gives the incorrect results based on the declination of sats to your south, and will be off by ~ 0.6 deg on sats to your east or west.
Better to use a calculator that uses the so called modified declination calculations.