I want to cap my cut-the-cord campaign by installing a 16' mesh BUD a friend give me. I grabbed everything - except the pole mount, which was solidly planted three to four feet underground in a cement casing. Can someone refer me to either an expert enthusiast or retired [military] technician who knows how to properly wire this equipment to the latest state of the art FTA receivers? I am in Prince Georges County (MD). And need help yesterday.
Nice find. Looks like you got that one in the jungles of Vietnam? IF you didn't disturb the elevation and offset settings, and if it wasn't located too far from where you're installing it, setup should be relatively simple. Did you do a site survey to make sure you have a clear line of sight of the southern sky? Important to do that first. Most of the old motor drive boxes have hookups like the picture below.
If you have a magnetic reed switch or hall affect sensor, just follow these instructions to wire in the arm. The hookup for the FTA receiver is one RG6 coax that goes from the satellite "in" on the receiver, to the RF out on the LNB. I'd buy a new PLL LNB from Titanium to go with the new receiver. Always a good idea to have something you know is going to work when finding digital signals. The easiest way I found to locate a satellite is add the satellite to the list,
Satellites - North & South America , then add one active transponder and channel information in the receiver. That way you can go to the transponder list and watch the signal meter. When you hit the transponder, you'll have signal. Then you can scan that satellite for channels.
Peak it until you have the highest reading, then lock down the dish and see if it tracks the satellites. You can tweak it as you go. When signal levels are comparable on both ends, east and west end of the arc, you should be good to go. If the dish came from some distance away, you'll need to reset the elevation and offset for your location. Here's a website that explains it further.
http://www.tvrosat.com/phpBB-3.0/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=1252 If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, it should be relatively easy to find someone to help you. Happy hunting and welcome.