arc set

[shankle]

Thanks for responding Stanleyjohn.
The Norsat c-band 8515 bolts onto the scalar ring and so does the KU lnb.
So the ones you suggested from Sadoun I don't think will work.
I need one from Norsat specially made to handle the 8515 and I can't find a
dealer that has one. Skyvision would have one but I don't like dealing with them.

 

[phlatwound]

....Have you tried another cable?

That jumpy signal level could be a bad cable or connection. Well worth checking/swapping if you haven't yet.

 

[B.J.]

Thanks for responding Stanleyjohn.
The Norsat c-band 8515 bolts onto the scalar ring and so does the KU lnb.
So the ones you suggested from Sadoun I don't think will work.
I need one from Norsat specially made to handle the 8515 and I can't find a
dealer that has one. Skyvision would have one but I don't like dealing with them.

LNBs like the 8515 don't bolt onto a scalar ring. They bolt onto a feed horn, and the feedhorn throat connects to the scalar ring. If you buy a new feedhorn, it will include a scalar ring.

Lee Richardson (?sp?) has both Chaparral feedhorns and Norsat LNBs. I've bought my last couple from him. He has a web page, but it's better to email him at mechtech@evansville.net

Also, Global has both ADL feedhorns and a selection of LNBs,.

http://www.global-cm.net/catalog.html

Both are knowledgeable and have been around for a LONG TIME.

 

[shankle]

Thank you guys for responding.
Phlatwound - will check connections and cables.
B.J. - will contact Global - they sound very reliable.

 

[shankle]

B.J. - Richardson has gone out of business.

Kohl is fine but he is now affiliating himself with Skyvision.

 

[B.J.]

B.J. - Richardson has gone out of business.

...

Sorry to hear that. He's a real gentleman. I seem to remember that he had some health problems about a year ago, but he was back after that. Hope he's just retired, and not having problems again. Although I guess the TVRO business can't be very profitable for small volume dealers I guess, so it probably just wasn't worth the effort for him.

 

[shankle]

Think I see some of my problems.
For EX: I place the dish at the top of the arc and adjust for N/S.
The bolts are loose on the pole. Then I move the dish as far West as I can.
While it's going West the weight of the dish makes it drop suddenly.
Of course this gets all the aiming messed up. If I tighten the bolts before
moving it and then when I get to the bottom going West I would think
it would drop again when I loosen the bolts on the pole to adjust N/S.
Any ideas on the proper way to get around this?

 

[Lak7]

I place the dish at the top of the arc and adjust for N/S. The bolts are loose on the pole.

With the Dish at the top of the Arc, carefully tighten bolts, making sure the mount stays plumb. Double check Elevation and Declination. Double check Sat Signal.
With the bolts tightened, drive the Dish to the West, checking Sats along the way. Make notes of which Sats you can and can't get.

 

[B.J.]

I have that same problem with the weight of the dish shifting the alignment if I try adjusting the mount's azimuth while on an extreme sat, which is where you need to adjust it. When I had a mount which had a tight fitting pipe over a pipe type of mount connection, this wasn't a problem, my current dish has a mount that is more of a clamp onto the pole, and it is terrible in this respect. The only way I can do it is to only loosen the bolts very slightly, which then makes it very difficult to turn the mount on the pole. I usually need a lot of leverage to turn the thing, such as by using a 16" cresent wrench on the mount with a pipe extension for leverage. But yes, if I loosen the bolts enough to easily turn the mount, I have the same problem. I keep meaning to go back to the pipe over pipe connection I used to have. That didn't shift when loosening the bolts. I figured that I could go to a welder and get a piece of the bigger sized pipe welded onto a piece of the smaller sized pipe (and also nuts welded on the bigger pipe for tightening). Lift the dish up, slip this adapter over the pipe, then connect the dish to this adapter. But that's so much work, I've figured I'm better off getting a new dish instead.

 

[shankle]

Thanks guys for respomding.
A new dish - two problems money and Wife. She has Dish and I NEVER watch the
thing. She wants me to junk the bud and get another dish box so I can watch
the garbage she watches. Women.....
I am at latitude 29+ and longitude -82+ W degrees.
Which means that I have to turn the dish slightly to the West on the pole.
Since there is nothing on C-band at Nimik4 (82d), why not make the slight
adjustment there to the West before I take it down to G13 127d.
This way I wouldn't have to loosen bolts and mess everything up.
I guess this is a ridiculous idea from a novice.

 

[stanleyjohn]

Hang in there Shankle!I'm in the same boat as you.Since i got my new 6 ft motorized ku/c dish set up a few weeks ago i have been only able to get a few satellites.Like you i believe my arc isn't up to par yet.I haven't been able to do much lately due to a G-box that does strange things like not being able to stop motor with any button unless i unplug the thing and also loosing the set points.I have another box coming in next week (diff manufacturer) and then i will try again.Wish i had a i phone or a droid!then i could get satellite finder software and get a really good idea where all the satellites line up on the arc.When i get back to it later next week i hope to make some headway then i will share results with you! and i will also be following this thread for ideas on what I'm doing wrong. PS! we are not alone!many helpfull guys and gals here. Take care! Stan

 

[shankle]

Hi Stanleyjohn,
Sorry to hear that you are having problems like me.
Like B.J. says a new 10' dish might solve my problems. My pole
mount is round and the mount from the dish is square.
Tennis shoes, a rope around the chimney and around your waist
for roof work. Good luck up there.
The only way I can find out where I am on the arc is with a straight edge
and an inclinator and the ARC-SET analysis by the guy in California.
This gives me the angle of the face of the dish for each Sat. Cost me
$15 from him.

 

[shankle]

Apex Elevation - I swear there is no adjustment for this on the antique I have.
It is supposed to be set to 56.1 when the dish is straight up and due south.
I use the back ring of the dish to find the straight up position with an inclinometer to 33.94. This would be the same on the face of the dish. This is the sum of my axis 29.72 and declination angle 4.22. I set both of these.

I have never set an apex elevation as I don't think there is any way to do it.
It is arrived at by subtracting 33.94 from 90 giving 55.06 I think.

The Sami dish uses this terminology and it maybe has a setting for it.

 

[mmewrench]

bsc- 621

If you are using this lnb, I believe it is ku capable. Put the dielectric plate back in and then you will be capable of receiving a ku circular signal from nimik 4. you can now peak the dish on your southern satelite. You wont get video but you can lock a signal and go for a quality reading. I have never used a pansat receiver so I dont know what your setup options are. I too am at 83 degrees west and thats exactly how I set up my bud using a captiveworks receiver. There are only a few transponders left that are receivable (12234 R or verticle and 12239 L or horizontal). Once you have your true south satellite (the most important I am told), You can move the dish over to 91 west which is also circular polarity and all transponders should give you a signal I your declination is and elevetion is right. These two satellites have very high power and because they are circular polarity, your skew angle does not have to be precise.

 

[shankle]

Thank you mmewrench for responding.
I have the bsc621-2d lnb. which is supposed to do C and KU.
I am at latitude 29+ and Longitude 82+.
My axis setting is 29.72 and declination is 4.22. Since I am using an inclinometer
to check the angles I can only approximate between degrees.
My understanding of scew is to set the bar inside the lnb horizontal when the dish is pointing straight up. That also is an approximate adjustment.
This is what I found on Lyngsat:
Nimiq4 82 W 12224 V 20000
12239 H 20000
These don't specify if KU or C. They just say DVB Canada

Nimiq1 91 W 12297 H tp6 20000 Bell TV Info Channel
Brown color(digital encp)
Doesn't specify if KU or C DVB Canada.
Galaxy 17 91 W 11925 V tp12 3979 Is an ABC feed in Grey
I don't think I can get this.


Being the old foggie that I am, I will try your suggestions tomorrow as I just
can't handle 100 degree temperatures anymore. It is reasonably cool from 7:00
to 9:00 am.

 

[mmewrench]

your welcome

These are ku band transponders and circular polarity as well so you will need the dielectric plate installed in order to receive them. They are encrypted channels but you will still receive the signal. When you can lock both of these satellites, you must remove the dielectric plate from the bsc 621 in order to get a good signal on linear polarity transponders. I know how frustrating it can be to search blindly when setting up your dish, but this should get you close enough to be able to receive c band satellites through out most of the arc. from this point you can fine tune and receive all of them. by the way, If your old feedhorn is still good you should be able to use the scaler ring from your bsc 621 with the other feehorn. there are quite a few norsat ku lnbs available on ebay for a reasonable price.

 

[shankle]

My old feedhorn was destroyed by the tree.
The scalar ring of the bsc621-2d might be able to be used with a feedhorn
without a scalar ring. I saw a used one on Ebay that accepted C and KU.

The KU lnb that was destroyed was a Norsat 4506a LO +/- 500 KHZ nf 0.6db
Gain 64db. It seemed to work decently. I can get another one like it on Ebay
but need advice on the quality of this one. All these prices on Ebay are half of
what you would have to pay from Skyvision.

 

[B.J.]

I'm not familiar with that LNBF, so this may not be true for it, but with some other similar C/Ku lnbfs and feedhorns, the dielectric plate only gives you circular on C-band.
But even if it does give circular on Ku, it's not worth destroying your signal on all the linear sats just to get slightly better signal on Nimiq4. You don't need circular to tune 12224R . With most lnbfs, it will come in fine on linear. Being circular, it's signal level will be attenuated in a linear lnbf, but that's such a strong sat that it's still going to be plenty strong. Being circular, you'd also get interferrence from the opposite polarity, but since that 12224 signal is the first one on that sat, you'd only get interferrence from the 12239L, so it won't be too bad. Anyway I'd try it first without the plate. I bet it will work just as well without the plate as with it.

 

[shankle]

I tried Nimiq4, Nimiq1 and Galaxy 17. They gave a green signal on the Pansat 2800 level indicator
that flashed from about 30 to 90. I then went down to AMC10 135dW and could get analog there
but no C-band. Same old story.

The only thing I know to do is buy a feedhorn I've seen for about $45 to $75.
The lnbs go straight out the back so I could put a cover over it. It is used but
working according to the seller. No scalar ring but I think I can use the one from the bsc621-2d.
I could also substitute the C-band lnb that comes with it with my Norsat 8515 c-band lnb.
Then I would have almost the same configuration as I had before the tree fell on my dish.
Still will have to suffer with the focal point and the skew I guess it's called.

Of course all this might be for nothing as I am obviously floundering.
I have come a long way from nothing but obviously not far enough.
But I also lack the proper tools to work with. It doesn't make sense to
spend 100s of dollars on equipment that will only be used once or twice
in a lifetime barring falling trees.

 

[mmewrench]

c band

If you can get a ku signal on galaxy 17, you should be able to get a c band signal as well. maybe you are having issues with your switch settings. I havent used my bsc621 for years but If memory serves me correctly, there is a disque switch on the side with a jumper going to the cband lnb. which means ku would be lnb 1 lo frequency 10750, and cband would be lnb 2 lo frequency 5150. I may have it backwards. as I said I havent used this lnb for years.