W5 fixed system

[tvropro]

I look forward to the pics of the mount, TVRO.

I had mine up on a wooden pallet and hated the way it looked. I was curious what some others would have come up with for a permanent professional look. We were discussing putting mine back together here yesterday.

I didn't like the way the bolts went through the dish petals and put washers on mine for additional strength during assembly. I would definitely have a helping hand available. These dishes are awkward for one person. We assembled ours in the living room the first time.

Thanks for the pointers. You guys are making this install easier all the time. My machinist buddy is in charge of the base/mount design. I saw the plans drawn up in auto cad yesterday . It looks very interesting. I 'll see about pictures when it's all done. I also am going to do some SMATV master antenna work to get all the tv's in the house fed the satellite signal and OTA antenna. Gotta order parts this week for that.

 

[tvropro]

Update

Got all the lumber screws etc today to build the base. All the electronic parts are in too (I ordered some more stuff). Hoping to get the base and dish together this week. Rain is in the forecast the next few days so work on the base probably wont start till mid to late week.

Anyway looking forward to putting together a kick butt system for this guy

 

[tvropro]

UPDATE 4/17

Today I assembled the platform and put the dish together, took most of the day. Next I need to put the struts on and feedhorn LNBF and run the wires. Then will be alignment day and setting up the dish through out the house's antenna system.

More update will be posted here.

BTW this guy Im putting the dish up for got a new cable bill today with more price increases. He's giving them the boot now. I hope to have him up and running on W5 C band in the next couple weeks.

Another happy Bud satellite viewer we will have.

 

[Mr Tony]

sweet

Thanks for the updates

 

[tvropro]

sweet

Thanks for the updates

I really like the dish Ice, your recommendations for the dish and LNBF played a key role in me selecting them for the guy.

The funny part is the base we built for the flat roof is built like a tank. It uses 4, 4"x4"x 8' 's -- 6, 2"x6"x 8' 's and a platform with four strips from a 2x6 and one from a 2x10 for the ring in the middle that we compensated for the pitch of the flat roof so the platform is plumb. (all pressure treated lumber is used on the whole thing) This monster could easily support a 10 foot dish. I tried rocking the dish the other day and it was like it was attached to concrete. Im still putting 4 lag bolts through the 4x4's to the sill of his roof in the back and we have 8 cinder blocks on the platform. When I get a chance I'll scan the plans for the base (I have to use my other computer for that) and post them up here. I hope to get some pictures when it's all done also for everyone to see.

Talked with the guy yesterday on the phone and will probably authorize his receiver here by me this week so I can test it and its ready for install day by him. I'll get to really try out the 410 and see how it compares to my 922.

 

[tvropro]

Update 4/22

Last night we authorized the 410 for testing by me before install on site. Took about 5 minutes with SRL on the phone. In a couple of days I will be mounting the struts , LNBF and running the cables. Then one more trip back there for aligning the dish and final connections.

The 410 operates differently than my 922 some. It's got its pro's and con's. I will be able to mess with this thing about a week here and will be able to post my thoughts better after running it a few days.

 

[Mr Tony]

sweet. If you have any questions about the 410 let us know

 

[tvropro]

sweet. If you have any questions about the 410 let us know

Im getting a handle on it. The Menu option numbers are a bit different the the 922. The 410 did not like that I put my dish on G1 last night to update the 922's guide. This morning the 410 had to get a new guide when I went to W5 it was corrupted. Besides those issues it seems to work well. This guy will be fixed on W5 so that wont come into play.

The 922 has a little bit better picture but Im hooked on the S video out with it so it's not a fair comparison.

The guys getting cable uninstalled tomorrow. When he called them to call it quits they tried to give him a break on price but he said Im sick of your game playing and that was it. Technically we have another sub for C band already since its up and running by me. Bye Bye Cable

 

[Cadsulfide]

I love it when the good guys win one!

And another possible Satguys member!!

If customer service wasn't an oxymoron, there would be a lot fewer of us, as it is there will soon be a lot more of us.!

 

[tvropro]

UPDATE 4/24

Well just got home. Today I put the struts & feedhorn on. Ran the coax and did some work inside on the guys new Smatv system. I will be injecting the 410 on channel 4 with the OTA antenna to feed 6 tv's.

I cut the guys cable line pulled it out and used the hole to feed the dish's coax. Adios cable tv for good. They disconnected him yesterday. :up

I did some static angle adjustments so the dish is in the ballpark for W5 already.

Next week I will align it and install the 410. It's going to rain the next 4 days so it will probably be done later next week.

 

[tvropro]

I love it when the good guys win one!

Adding to C band one subscriber at a time

Come on everyone put the word out and get more systems out there. Will win the war yet

 

[Mr Tony]

any update?

 

[tvropro]

any update?

It's been raining here all week. Im suppose to dial it in Saturday weather permitting.

 

[Mr Tony]

ok

 

[tvropro]

Update 5/2/09

Its done turned out real good. I made my static adjustments and when I powered on to the arc I had a picture and a +4.0 ebno right away. It is so cool to just set angles and get a digital lock and picture from the get go. Then I peaked the azimuth and elevation and skew. The feedhorn liked the F/D of .36 the best and the LNBF ended up at about 4 o clock. I ended up with a +10.7 ebno. Pretty darn good for a 6 footer. I tweaked every last drop of signal out of that thing

Pictures are attached of the dish install, the base and the clients 10.7 ebno. I enclosed last a picture of my W5 ebno on my 12 foot when I got home +14.0.

Feel free to ask any questions I will do my best to answer them. Get going guys start putting up those 6 footers and 410's for all you know and lets take back the c band skys


Added alignment tips:

How I got such good performance out of this dish.

1) When I assembled the reflector I made sure it was the best parabolic shape as possible.

2) I made sure the feedhorn was pointing exactly at the center of the dish.

3) After I maxed out the azimuth and elevation. I carefully adjusted the skew for maximum, tuned through the peak and came back to center.

4) Slid the feedhorn in and out to achieve maximum signal. Actually I under illuminated the dish since by doing that it works better at two degree spacing with a smaller reflector.

Note about ebno tuning:

This is the way to go, the only issue with that is it will not register any changes until you get a digital lock so it could be a pain if you cant find the bird. I was lucky and used my years of knowledge with dishes to know that you must set up static angles first as close as possible. I actually got the elevation right off the back of my working dish pointed at W5 and set the Fortec to exactly that. The azimuth was a matter of using a protractor and setting the degrees for my area which I confirmed I was right by checking it once again by my working dish. This Im sure played a big role in turning on the receiver and getting a green satellite light and picture from the start. The feed started out at 5:30 and .38 FD these were not optimal settings for alignment and needed tweaking. The elevation was perfect from my static adjustment and the azimuth needed only a very slight change from static to achieve maximum.

My final impressions:

The Fortec Star dish is a nice reflector for the price. It performs well and is built good. The struts could benefit by being a bit thicker though.

The Geosat LNBF is decent the only thing I didn't care for was I think it needs more than one hold down screw to adjust the scaler ring like the Chaparral feeds have. Signal performance was very good.

The DSR 410 works great with a LNBF. It switches channels and locks them very fast. The picture quality is very good from the composite video outputs. The RF modulated output looks good but lacks a direct video source quality.

 

[Mr Tony]

:up:up Very awesome!!!

I ended up with a +10.7 ebno. Pretty darn good for a 6 footer. I tweaked every last drop of signal out of that thing

now I got something to shoot for

Pictures are attached of the dish install, the base and the clients 10.7 ebno. I enclosed last a picture of my W5 ebno on my 12 foot when I got home +14.0.

Feel free to ask any questions I will do my best to answer them. Get going guys start putting up those 6 footers and 410's for all you know and lets take back the c band skys

agreed

How I got such good performance out of this dish.

1) When I assembled the reflector I made sure it was the best parabolic shape as possible.

2) I made sure the feedhorn was pointing exactly at the center of the dish.

3) After I maxed out the azimuth and elevation. I carefully adjusted the skew for maximum, tuned through the peak and came back to center.

4) Slid the feedhorn in and out to achieve maximum signal. Actually I under illuminated the dish since by doing that it works better at two degree spacing with a smaller reflector.

very good notes and ideas there. Making sure you are in the center of the dish makes a world of difference

Note about ebno tuning:

This is the way to go,

yes it is

the only issue with that is it will not register any changes until you get a digital lock so it could be a pain if you cant find the bird.

understatement there. That is why I lock on 107.3 first then move the dish slowly. At least with 107.3 I know I'm on something

My final impressions:

The Fortec Star dish is a nice reflector for the price. It performs well and is built good. The struts could benefit by being a bit thicker though.

The dish is a great dish but I agree on the struts. I found that out when the dish fell off the table and bent very easily

The Geosat LNBF is decent the only thing I didn't care for was I think it needs more than one hold down screw to adjust the scaler ring like the Chaparral feeds have. Signal performance was very good.

There's a reason a bunch of us got the special deal on the C2's

The DSR 410 works great with a LNBF. It switches channels and locks them very fast. The picture quality is very good from the composite video outputs. The RF modulated output looks good but lacks a direct video source quality.

Glad it worked out so smoothly. I really like the frame that was built to bolt the dish to. I had an idea on what it was but the pics make it so much better

Glad we got someone to the "good side"...now hopefully he can get the remote away from his wife

 

[tvropro]

Detailed alignment I did:

Before I left to go to my clients house yesterday I took my inclinometer and stuck it on the center cover of my dish pointed on W5 and marked the setting. Then I stood behind my dish and checked the angle I had drawn on my protractor to see If I was right. When I got there I slapped the inclinometer on the Fortec and adjusted the elevation. I looked at the azimuth and it looked good since I set that the week before. Hooked up the receiver and tv and let it boot. The satellite icon was green and a picture was on the screen. I was like ya baby I checked the ebno and it said +4.0 So I tried a few other channels and I was getting some but not all so I returned to 208 where I started and payed with the azimuth & elevation, it helped a bit not much those adjustments seemed right. Then I went to the skew and started turning counter clockwise and the ebno started to climb. I maxed it out with the skew then started to slide the feed in & out it peaked at .36 F/D At that point I went and checked and all channels were there and strong. I messed around with the adjustments a bit more and gained about a 0.1 or 0.2 to the ebno but that was it. I was satisfied and tightened everything down. Then connected the receiver inside and set it up.

These systems are great for those wanting to get away from the LSD or Cable company's. I think Sat Guys should help push these and get the word out that there is an option to the high priced big boys.

 

[tvropro]

:up:up Very awesome!!!


now I got something to shoot for





agreed



very good notes and ideas there. Making sure you are in the center of the dish makes a world of difference


yes it is


understatement there. That is why I lock on 107.3 first then move the dish slowly. At least with 107.3 I know I'm on something


The dish is a great dish but I agree on the struts. I found that out when the dish fell off the table and bent very easily


There's a reason a bunch of us got the special deal on the C2's



Glad it worked out so smoothly. I really like the frame that was built to bolt the dish to. I had an idea on what it was but the pics make it so much better

Glad we got someone to the "good side"...now hopefully he can get the remote away from his wife

It was a lot of fun making an idea become a reality and gaining another C band subscriber. Cable 0 C band 1

 

[dunnsept]

Great info! I'm hoping to get my neighbor switched. He's getting tired of the bill from the pizza pan people. The 410 could save him some money. It's not much per month, it would save him maybe like $10 - $15 .. .. but over the course of a year, that really adds up.
Let's go C-band! yea!

we need to get Sat guys bumper stickers. I cant think of the company that had them, but the ones that say something like:
"save money now, ask me how"
we can have stickers like:
"dump the cable company now; ask me how"
(then a pic of a pizza pan dish next to a BUD) "Dish size envy? 4dtv dish enhancement" (like a viagra ad)

 

[Corrado]

Excellent work TVRO :up

I was looking forward to the pics of the base. Good job. WE can use this as a guide for others wanting to do similar installs.