3 LNB Dish Alignment Help!

[Whitey436]

Hey all,
I replaced my original Sony Dual LNB with a new DirecTV 3 LNB as I am upgrading to HDTV. I used the setup on the DirecTV Tivo to set the elevation, tilt, and azimuth. When I look at the satellite strength I get nothing on A or B but 100% on C.

Can anyone help tell me what I am doing wrong??

Many thanks,

Keith

 

[Mike500]

Check your tilt and elevation settings, and make sure that the post is perfectly plumb.

If you used the bullseye level, beware! It is highly inaccurate. The post is not always cut squarely at 90 degrees.

 

[Whitey436]

Why would I get 100% on Sat C though??

 

[Mike500]

Why would I get 100% on Sat C though??

If the elevation is set too low tilt was set wrong, the angle would be too high for 101 and too low of 119, or vice versa. However, it might be fine for sat c at 110, since it is lower that the elevation for 101 but higher than the elevation for 119..

 

[GrogLikesBeer]

Whitey - did you end up getting the other sats by rechecking the pumb of your post? I just installed mine today and get the exact same problem. I did use that center bubble level that came with the dish. I will go check it with a real level & try again. If you found different solution please post it so I don't go crazy trying to do this. Thanks.

 

[dragon002]

make sure the post/arm is plumb AND level.

 

[Sady]

Post needs to be level

make sure the post/arm is plumb AND level.

I fought with it to. Very important to level post.

 

[raoul5788]

make sure the post/arm is plumb AND level.

How do you make the post plumb AND level?

Chip

 

[charper1]

Well if your mast doesn't have the built-in level inside the post (top) then you can get something like this: Craftsman Magnetic Post and Pipe Level #39633 from Sears or any other Wal-Mart or hardware store for about $4 - $9, Great to have one in the toolbox anyway.

 

[dietamstel]

Having the same problems with my attempt at a 3 LNB install, basically, getting 100's on Sat C, 50's on Sat B and nothing ever on Sat A. After 3.5 hours of trying to figure out where the azimuth (152 for Pasadena, CA), I took the 3 LNB off and reinstalled my 18" single round dish. Naturally, the single LNB dish is working fine and picking up Sat A. I will double check again the plumb of the mast, but can I use the line-of-sight of the single LNB to use as a guide to set the Sat A LNB when I try again to get the 3 LNB working. My idea is to place a tape mark on the roof where the single LNB dish is pointing/receiving Sat A then reinstall the 3 LNB dish again with its respective elevation and tilt, (50 and 102 for Pasadena, CA), utilizing the tape mark as a line of sight guideline. Will this help? Or do I give up and call in the pros? Any comments will greatly be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[charper1]

but can I use the line-of-sight of the single LNB to use as a guide to set the Sat A LNB when I try again to get the 3 LNB working. My idea is to place a tape mark on the roof where the single LNB dish is pointing/receiving Sat A then reinstall the 3 LNB dish again with its respective elevation and tilt, (50 and 102 for Pasadena, CA), utilizing the tape mark as a line of sight guideline. Will this help?

No, the regulars dish and the PhaseIII point to slightly different azimuths; post your zip code or lat/long and we can post back with the correct look angles. The receiver can also give you the new coords. You will need a heading compass.

 

[dietamstel]

My zip is 91107 and my Sony SAT300 shows Azimuth 152, Elevation 50 and for the Tilt 102. When I had the 3 LNB up and I was getting the 100's on Sat C was I too far West or East? I did go out and purchased a compass for the install attempt, but still the same result of only finding success with Sat C and not Sat A. I realize that the single round has different numbers for the Azimuth and Elevation, but was trying to inquire since Sat A is picked up by the single dish should not the triple dish's Sat A single LNB be "looking" in the same general direction? Thanks for your assistance.

 

[jimisham]

Here's a link to a web site that might be of help to you. http://perso.numericable.fr/~gjullien/satellite.htm
By entering your latitude and longitude, you can determine the azimuth for each one of the three satellites by the position of the sun at a certain time of the day.
The latitude for your area is about 34.16 and the longitude is about 118.
If I've done this right, it tells me, that over the next few days the sun will be at the same azimuth as the 101 satellite at about 10:24 AM PST, the 110 satellite at 11:17 AM PST, and the 119 satellite at 12:11PM PST. These times are for next Saturday. Today the times will all be a couple of minutes earlier.
It looks like the elevation of the sun will be about 12 or 13 degrees lower than the satellites.
One other thing, standing at the back of the dish, the LNB on your right will be picking up the 101 and the one on your left will be picking up the 119.

 

[dietamstel]

Jimisham,
Thanks for the info. I will give it a try for this coming Saturday during the morning hours.
Dietamstel

 

[kds64]

the one on the setup screen is wrong ,i live here in 85542 area it says 90 tilt, 50 elev, 1?? am . I set it to 91.tilt , 52 elev 1??

 

[dietamstel]

Thanks to Jimisham

Just thought that I would report back that the "sun" alignment info worked liked a charm. Using the time coordinates to figure out the Azimuth made the install a lot simplier. Thanks again for the assistance.