Please HELP! (Lengthy but please read)

[Splicer]

A little background would be in-line first. I am NOT a satellite guy. I am a cable guy and have been the past 25+ years. Primarily a contractor but did a stint or two inhouse as well. Recently a partner and I purchased 2 small rural cable systems in a sad state of disrepair close to our homes. The 2 systems are a couple hundred miles apart from each other. I operate and run one system while my partner runs the other system. These systems are small enough that only 1 person is needed for everything (installs, service, headend etc). We are now in the process of upgrading the system(s) and adding additional channels to our current line-up.

One of the channels being added is RFD. We have been informed that this programming can only be received and retransmitted through the HITS delivery system. If I am understanding things correctly the HITS platform operates on Ku band. I have absolutely ZERO satellite experience other than the fact that I know I need to have the dish positioned correctly. This is my quandry. I am not real familiar using a compass but pretty much can muddle my way through that. I think .

I guess wat I need to know is how to set up the dish itself as well as the IRD. The receiver being utilized is the General Instrument DSR 410 and the dish is an oval (eliptical?) Channel Master mold #73 (I think that is the mold # may be #75?). This equipment came from the second system and the dish was just pulled from the ground and sent to me, pole mount and all. NO INSTRUCTIONS for setting the dish were/are available. I did get a manual for the DSR410 but that is of absolute minimal help.

I called the HITS people and they are about as worthless as tits on a boar hog as my late father would say. The ONLY info I could get from them was 99degrees West Longitude which is absolutely Greek to me. I dug a hole and set the pole mount (without concrete untill I know I have it in the right place) and pointed the dish in the direction of the much larger dish(s) (south) as I thought all satellite dish's need to have a clear line of sight to the southern hemisphere. I DO understand that the pole HAS to be 100% vertical in order to correctly align the dish itself.

Basicly what I am asking help for is HOW to EXACTLY setup a satellite dish. The most I have done concerning ANY type satellite work is replacing a LNB on the much larger 'C' dish (I think thats what type the big mesh type dish's are that are currently in use to pickup channels such as Spike, Lifetime, ABC Family etc).

Do I need a special meter to locate the proper satellite? What type would be recommended? Or is there something else that I need? I really am clueless about all this. Thankfully the 'big' dishes have not needed anything done more than attaching some guy lines for VERY windy days.

So, can anyone help talk me through this? I would really appreciate any assistance on this matter as with 99% of the rest of my training, has been hands on. After I get RFD added to my system then I get to go to the other system and get RFD added as well.

Thanks for reading and sorry so long. If I have left any information needed out, please tell me and I will be happy to post it.

 

[Splicer]

Nothing? Nobody can offer ANY advice?

 

[voomvoom]

This page may help you?
http://sadoun.com/Sat/Installation/Satellite-Heading-Calculator.htm
Good Luck!

Al

 

[WyrTwister]

give it a little time for an answer....
first of all you need to know the longitude and latitude of your location or location of the dish, this will be a first step.
next the sat you are looking for @ 99 degrees west, also called G4, or Galaxy 4,(the number "99" is the longitude of the satellite on the equator [as all satellites are -- on the clarke's belt on the equator] )is the clue to which way you need to look to the west or east. If you are in houston, for example, its 95 degrees west here, so you would move it over more to the West. Towards the east (if you are in the northern hemisphere, in the US) the numbers get smaller. So aim to the right to increase the degrees. When you are pretty close, even see the picture, a 10 dollar sat finder will do the job. Very sensitive and affordable. Early on these buggers can lead you to a stronger, but maybe wrong, satellite. Better in the final stages, in other words. These are all over Ebay ranging from 5.00 to 15.00. This is with the needle guage with tone emitter with lit background. As for elevation........your dish sounds like an offset, and this falls outside of my knowledge. The elevation is your latitude, or how far away from the equator you are. Since you are using a dish I know nothing about, I cannot help you with the declination offset or built in offset or whatnot.

Again, im only familiar with the stuff in this section of forum regarding C-band dishes with an actuator (dish mover), and declination, elevation, and azimuth settings. Try to come back in a day or two, especially during weekdays, to see a more thorough answer from our Satelliteguys knowledgeables. I'm just a residential user, a passer-by, visiting here.

Have you tried the SMWLink program that tells your your elevation offsets? DOwnload free here.... http://www.smw.se/FreeSoftware.htm
The satellites are located in an arc, but since the earth isn't perfectly round and so forth, the circle, or antenna arc to see the sats, needs to be "squashed down" a little to see the sats, this is the elevation offset. Hope at least some of this helps!

Get the pipe 100% plumb , both directions .

Buy a cheap inclinometer / anfle finder at Harbor Freight . If you are only going to be aiming at one sat , set the dish at the highest part of its arc ( use angle finder and / or level on the back of the mount ) . Set the total angel to what ever is correct for your location .

Post your zip & we can give you some more of the angles you need .

Wyr

 

[somery]

my many words shrunk to two sentences. Am i red! thanks WyrTwister! True about the angel finder....there are a couple for under $10 made by swanson at home depot and lowes. The plastic post level didn't serve me well :-( it bends a little, throwing off the reading :-( :-(

 

[dfergie]

Welcome to SatelliteGuys!...

just the FAQ's man

 

[Splicer]

Thanks for the welcome and I apologize for my inpatience . Isn't Azimuth = left/right and Elevation = up/down?

The zip code is 45154.

Thanks for the link Voomvoom:up .

 

[voomvoom]

Isn't Azimuth = left/right and Elevation = up/down?

Yes, here's another site that may help:
http://www.al-soft.com/saa/satinfo.shtml

Al

 

[Splicer]

Cool, thanks I'll look into it.

I just received an email form The HITS guy my partner signed up with. His info states nothing about G4 or Galaxy 4 but instead:

HITS 8
G-16 Ku Transponder 12
L-Band 1190 V
VCT 253
Virtual Channel #253

I hope it is OK to publish these #'s?

Let me take it line by line and see if I understand everything correctly:

-G-16 is the sat # and the Transponder 12 is the 'channel' on that satellite???
-L-Band 1190 no clue but I think the 'V' means vertical?
-VCT 253 is short for virtual channel?
-Virtual channel #253 I still don't know what I do with this or the above # as I believe they are both one in the same?

The dish I got had a dual line cable cut off and when I removed the LNB cover there is a silver cylindrical lnb I guess (looks NOTHING like the LNB I see on the big dish), where the dual cable attached. Stamed by each 75ohm connection point is a 'V' by one and a 'H' for the other. I put a new cable (RG6 quad shield) on the 'V' side only and ran the cable into the headend where the DSR410 is located.

The quad shield brings another subject to mind. The cable I used is the standard quad shield copper clad steel center conductor that most cable co's use. Seems to me I have heard or read somewhere that for satellite configurations that solid copper center conductor RG6 was the ideal wire to use. I DO have a box of that type wire in my warehouse. Would that make any difference since I am only using it for one channel?

Back to inside the headend & the DSR410. Do I set the channel on 253? Or set it to 12? Or is it 1190?

Back to the dish, what is skew and how is that set if Azimuth and Elevation are set already?

 

[tdti1]

Cool, thanks I'll look into it.

I just received an email form The HITS guy my partner signed up with. His info states nothing about G4 or Galaxy 4 but instead:

HITS 8
G-16 Ku Transponder 12
L-Band 1190 V
VCT 253
Virtual Channel #253

People seem to use the wrong name for the satellite, iit is Galaxy-16 Ku-band.

 

[Splicer]

People seem to use the wrong name for the satellite, iit is Galaxy-16 Ku-band.

You would think a salesman would know what he is selling.

G-16 Ku Transponder 12

 

[voomvoom]

Well, it is G16, but most people who would comment on this Forum would probably still call it G4 or X4 for ku. That would be because the people here who use X4 are 4dtv (920, 922, and 905 sidecar) users. And with a 4dtv, it's listed as X4 in the receiver. Your receiver (410) is obviously different. RFD is found on channel #730 on ours, while #253 has Lifetime Movie Channel. Your receiver obviously will have it on #253.

Al

Edit: So the Salesman probably does know what he's talking about.

 

[Splicer]

4dtv (920, 922, and 905 sidecar) users

What does this info mean?

 

[dem0nlord]

What does this info mean?

Those are the model numbers of the DCII receivers intended for home use.

 

[voomvoom]

These are receivers made by General Instruments (1st) and Motorola (later) and they have the satellites pre-programmed into the receiver, so you can't change the name of them. And G4 was for C-band @ 99, while X4 was for ku-band @ 99. The name of the satellite now @ 99 is G16. Those were the DSR 920, DSR 922, and DSR 905 sidecar (the 905 attached to/with a regular analog receiver, as an upgrade). These were receivers used by backyard dish owners to get Digicipher II programming. While the receiver you have was made for Cable Head-Ins, to receive Digicipher II programming (I think).
I was trying to explain that the Salesman was right about the satellite being G16, and for you not to worry when most of us users of G16, refer to it as G4 or X4, because that's what we've known it as for about 15-20 years. And it's that way in our receivers, and we can't do anything about it. Sorry if I confused you any more.

Al

 

[tdti1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4DTV

 

[Splicer]

Damn! Thanks guys!:up You all have been VERY cool helping a newb out . I REALLY do appreciate this help .

So Digi CipherII = 4DTV? The decoding format?

And the 'sidecar' of 902 etc = my 410? What is "sidecar"?

 

[dem0nlord]

Damn! Thanks guys!:up You all have been VERY cool helping a newb out . I REALLY do appreciate this help .

So Digi CipherII = 4DTV? The decoding format?

And the 'sidecar' of 902 etc = my 410? What is "sidecar"?

Sidecar is the DSR-905. It is DCII only, no analog, and cannot move the dish. So it is normally paired with an analog receiver.

 

[Splicer]

Still having MAJOR difficulties. The pole is 100% plumb (both directions). But the reading i get from the link voomvoom offered says my elevation should be 40.9 degrees. That pretty much aims the LNB to the ground. WTH am I doing wrong?

Would it be advisable to get a cheap Satellite Vu meter off eBay?

 

[voomvoom]

I won't comment on a Satellite Vu meter, as I have never had any luck with them, although some people do. The best meter I've found to use, is taking the receiver to the dish with a small tv for a screen to use the meter from the receiver's menu. What is the size and type of Channel Master dish you have? Is it a prime focus or an offset? Is it 3'-4' across or is it 6'-12' across?

Al