Yet Another FTA Newbie in over his head

[sldozier]

I don't where to start...I'm so confused at this point after trying so many things

Here's my setup:

Fortec Star Mercury II Rcvr
90cm Fortec Star Dish
Invacom QPH-301 LNB
Powertec DG-380 motor.

Dish is mounted on 8 ft galvanzied pole (pole is plumb) and planted 2 ft in the ground (temporarily) (currently I can spin the pole 360°, if desired!)
I'm at 36.7N 76.1W (Virginia Beach, Virginia).

Currently the sat receiver is at the dish installation site while I try and find satellites!

According to the sat look angle heading page my numbers are as follows:
Motor Angle 36.8 (37)
Azimuth 190.8 (191)
Dish Elevation 29°
Declination Angle 5.9° - Not clear on where to set this setting!

After setting the motor angle and dish elevation, I pointed the dish at 191, tried to search for G10 at 123W using USALS, got zero SQ. Did some manual adjusting to no avail. Switched the coax to the Circular input on the LNB (I have a Diseqc switch but haven't connected it yet. Tried to search for 110W, since according the info found here circular sats have stronger signals., No luck! I know the LNB is good (atleast the circular side) beacuse I used it to point at 110W when the dish was mounted stationary on my fence. I took the motor out of the equation and tried pointing the dish manually at 110W to no avail. At this point I'm stuck like Chuck. I do have a few questions in hopes that will clear up some things for me.

On the Invacom LNB as mounted on the dish, which port is port #1? Do you count the ports left to right or right to left?

I saw a post from Iceberg about calculating which sat is my "true south" sat if I'm not mistaken you use your longitude and the sat that's closest to your longitude is your true south sat? If that's correct then is 74W or 79W my true south sat? Should i be trying to get hit that sat first?

The motor installation instruction indicates installing the dish (u-bolt) bracket at the center of the motor tube. Is the center they are referring to the the center line on the motor tube or are they talking about installing the bracket on the center of the tube vertically. Mines is currently mount flush with the bottom of the motor tube, centered on the line on the actual bottom of the tube.

I got a 22Khz switch with my order (Sadoun), Do I need it for this install?

Any hints or suggestions will be greatly appreciated! i can provide pictures if I'm allowed to post them and if it will everyone a clear view of my setup.

Please help if you can, any suggestions or hints will be greatly appreciated!

 

[Lak7]

http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Installation/HH-mount-installation.htm

If possible, bring TV & receiver to the Dish.
Add switches last.
The Port Numbers refer to a Switch not the LNB. For FTA connect to one of the "L" on the LNB
Using a compass and with motor at Zero, rotate Dish / Motor as one to 190.8 (the best you can, the compass will not give an accurate reading if you are too close to the dish)
Use 74 for your Trues South Sat to start. TP = 11734
In the receiver Sat / Antenna Setup menu
LNB = Standard
L.O. = 10750
Motor= USALS (remember to enter your Long and Lat correctly)

Then tell the receiver to Drive to 74west (the Sats names have changed a few times in the past few years, I'll guess it is called SBS6 in your list, it was last Galaxy 17, it is now Horizons 2)
Motor should move East(left) just a little.

The Elevation Marks on the Dish are known to be a little Off.
Motor set to Latitude first, set Dish elevation, while watching for Quality, slooooooooooowly rotate to Left / Right. If nothing return, Raise / Lower Dish and repete(do not adjust Motor Latitude)

If you can not find Horizons 2, you can try for a Echostar / Nimiq Sat
Power Off the receiver and connect to a "C" on the LNB
In the Receiver Sat / Antenna Setup menu Select one of those Sats
Example: Echostar 110
LNB = Standard
L.O. = 11250
Motor = USALS
Have the receiver drive the dish to Echostar 110 and repete above steps to find signal.

Good Luck!

 

[Mr Tony]

Here's my setup:

Fortec Star Mercury II Rcvr
90cm Fortec Star Dish
Invacom QPH-301 LNB
Powertec DG-380 motor.

Dish is mounted on 8 ft galvanzied pole (pole is plumb) and planted 2 ft in the ground (temporarily) (currently I can spin the pole 360°, if desired!)
I'm at 36.7N 76.1W (Virginia Beach, Virginia).

Currently the sat receiver is at the dish installation site while I try and find satellites!

According to the sat look angle heading page my numbers are as follows:
Motor Angle 36.8 (37)
Azimuth 190.8 (191)
Dish Elevation 29°
Declination Angle 5.9° - Not clear on where to set this setting!

numbers sound good. Latitude on motor is the same as your latitude
Dish angle is 29 but be forewarned that some of the fortec dishes the elevation may not be exactly right

On the Invacom LNB as mounted on the dish, which port is port #1? Do you count the ports left to right or right to left?

2 say L and 2 say C. Use a L port for linear and try to get the true south first.

I saw a post from Iceberg about calculating which sat is my "true south" sat if I'm not mistaken you use your longitude and the sat that's closest to your longitude is your true south sat? If that's correct then is 74W or 79W my true south sat? Should i be trying to get hit that sat first?

yes. Since you are off and between 2 satellites what I would do is check on the receiver for SBS6/Horizons 2. Enter your lat/longitude and USALS to SBS6 and peak the signal there. Make sure you have an active transponder logged in. Ohio News Network is the main 24/7 transponder
11733 frequency
H polarity
6616 symbol rate

I got a 22Khz switch with my order (Sadoun), Do I need it for this install?

not right now. Just use a line from the LNB to the motor to the receiver will be fine. You can add the 22k switch later

 

[bruin95]

numbers sound good. Latitude on motor is the same as your latitude
Dish angle is 29 but be forewarned that some of the fortec dishes the elevation may not be exactly right

Shouldn't his dish elevation be around 24 since you have to subtract the declination angle? That's the elevation number I get for motorized setups in Virginia Beach.

 

[Wescopc]

According to the sat look angle heading page my numbers are as follows:
Motor Angle 36.8 (37)
Azimuth 190.8 (191)
Dish Elevation 29°
Declination Angle 5.9° - Not clear on where to set this setting!

You use the declination in a formula for setting your dish elevation. In the instructions with your motor you should find a formula such as 35° - declination = dish elevation. So in your case 35° - 5.9° = 29°.
Bob

 

[bruin95]

You use the declination in a formula for setting your dish elevation. In the instructions with your motor you should find a formula such as 35° - declination = dish elevation. So in your case 35° - 5.9° = 29°.
Bob

Are you using those numbers as an example, because I get 24 for dish elevation on motorized setups in Virginia Beach?

 

[bruin95]

Are you using those numbers as an example, because I get 24 for dish elevation on motorized setups in Virginia Beach?

Oops....never mind. My calculations were for a SG2100 motor and I just noticed that he's using something different. My bad.

 

[sldozier]

I'm back in the saddle again....sorry for the delay. That big bright star in the sky kicked my behind earlier, I had to take a break or risk heat stroke....and I wasn't having any luck finding a signal anynow.

Appreciate all the responses, Lak7, followed your instructions (although I had been through that routine several times) but not pointing at 74W initially. I finally got a signal on 74W, (woohoo) scanned that puppy and I'm watching ONN now. :GRIN: To get the signal I had to drop the dish angle down to 20°. Now to see if I can find any other birds. I'll take suggestions on what to do next! I remember reading in a post here about bouncing between birds to align the dish to the arc., etc, ect. I want to see if I get 123W.

 

[voomvoom]

Congratulations..!!!!! We all had to start somewhere, and I can't think of any better start than ONN. Remember this so you can later say, the 1st FTA channel I received was ONN.....!

 

[Lak7]

Since you had to drop so much something may be off a little. Double check motor setting.
I would try to tweak to 74 a little bit more, twist motor on pole to the East a "Little" and Raise the Dish. You are making very small moves, try to keep locked, mark setting berfore you start. You are trying to get the Dish elevation closer to the recommended. Though the Dishes are known to be Off, 9deg is alot.
The idea is once you have your True South Sat, you pick a Sat as far East / West as your Line Of Sight allows(for you that would be best to pick West, 123 sounds good)
You use the same Exact Setup as for 74. Allow the receiver to drive, if nothing is there Raise / Lower Dish first(not motor) If nothing, then East / West(twisting on the pole, not driving the motor). Make notes of where / how you got a Lock, that will determine what adjustments need to be made when pointing 74.
Remember to have a Live TP when try to lock.
Once you are able to bounce between your TS Sat and one to the far East / West.

 

[sldozier]

Since you had to drop so much something may be off a little. Double check motor setting.
I would try to tweak to 74 a little bit more, twist motor on pole to the East a "Little" and Raise the Dish. You are making very small moves, try to keep locked, mark setting berfore you start. You are trying to get the Dish elevation closer to the recommended. Though the Dishes are known to be Off, 9deg is alot.
The idea is once you have your True South Sat, you pick a Sat as far East / West as your Line Of Sight allows(for you that would be best to pick West, 123 sounds good)
You use the same Exact Setup as for 74. Allow the receiver to drive, if nothing is there Raise / Lower Dish first(not motor) If nothing, then East / West(twisting on the pole, not driving the motor). Make notes of where / how you got a Lock, that will determine what adjustments need to be made when pointing 74.
Remember to have a Live TP when try to lock.
Once you are able to bounce between your TS Sat and one to the far East / West.

Ok I got anxious to see what was out there (boy we're having fun now ) so I went to 79W, scanned and watched a liitle Telemundo and some horse racing stuff, tried 97W next, scanned and got GBN, went to 123W scanned and got several chans, Research network, UWTV, some RTN feeds, etc.

Unfortunately I'm going to have to stop for today! Bugs about to carry me away and it's getting dark, I don't have a feed into the crib yet......will be working on that this upcoming week.

Lak7, I agree 9 degrees off is alot, no wonder this can be a very frustrating hobby for a newbie starting out, fortunately forums like this and people willing to help, make almost anything possible. Thanks to all of you! But in leiu of my fortune in finding 123W without making any adjustments, should I still consider tweaking my settings!

 

[Lak7]

If you were able to get 123 without tweaking, you are Tracking the Arc.
What you will want to do is just put "pressure" on the dish to see if Quality improves.
If there is an improvement, then you need to tweak. Best to pick 3 Sats now, as far East and West, then one in the middle of those 2.

Congrats! If you have Wife and Kids, remember to include them, it is time well spent together doing something different. Even if you are just watching TV

 

[Mr Tony]

Congrats!

Since 123W is pretty far away from your true south, what kind of quality readings are you getting on G10?

 

[sldozier]

If you were able to get 123 without tweaking, you are Tracking the Arc.

What you will want to do is just put "pressure" on the dish to see if Quality improves.
If there is an improvement, then you need to tweak. Best to pick 3 Sats now, as far East and West, then one in the middle of those 2.

Congrats! If you have Wife and Kids, remember to include them, it is time well spent together doing something different. Even if you are just watching TV

Outstanding, I'll try the pressure method tomorrow (weather permitting)! I can probably get better SQ, at least on 74W, I saw SQ numbers in the high 60's but could never lock in the sweet spot, so I locked down at 57!

On picking 3 sats, help me out here please. I'm using the MPEGlistKUBand and MPEGListATL sat listings found here as my guide, is 129W my far west sat and 15W my far east sat? BTW: i hit 87W as well and picked up some PBS channels but the picture was pixelated. I'll spend more time later trying to tweak that in.

 

[sldozier]

Congrats!

Since 123W is pretty far away from your true south, what kind of quality readings are you getting on G10?

Thanks ....I'll have to check tomorrow, it was getting late and the bugs were becoming a pain, I didn't check the sig quality numbers on G10. Plan on making up some cables so I can test inside the house, after it gets dark outside. I'll report back tomorrow.

 

[Tron]

Considering the pixelation on 87w (the PBS stuff), you probably need to tweak the dish a bit. These channels are sometimes hard to pick up unless your aim is absolutely dead on. Try grabbing the top, bottom, and sides of the dish and gently pull in each direction while watching your quality meter. This should tell you what direction you need to tweak the dish toward.

 

[sldozier]

Congrats!

Since 123W is pretty far away from your true south, what kind of quality readings are you getting on G10?

Actually I just hit G27 and got White Springs TV, SL jumping btw 78-81, SQ jumping between 25-35. G10's SL jumping btw 83-86, SQ jumping btw 25-29.

I haven't touched the dish adjustments since yesterday! Got home late from work

 

[Lak7]

You are almost there. Quality is the only thing that counts, shoot for 70 - 80. Swing over to G27 and just put pressure on the dish and note which way makes a differance, Up / Down / Left / Right.

 

[sldozier]

You are almost there. Quality is the only thing that counts, shoot for 70 - 80. Swing over to G27 and just put pressure on the dish and note which way makes a differance, Up / Down / Left / Right.

Gotcha, but it will have to wait, it's dark in Va. Beach (got a late start) and humid (meaning) bugs are out in force....bugs and I can't really co-exist, especially when I can't see them coming!