Bad Arc?

[StarScan]

I've had my Winegard Pinnacle up for several months and have been tracking 139 to 55.5 with no problems. I was trying to go down to 40.5w which was possible on my old fiberglass dish which was in same location. I have no luck with anything lower than 55.5 and am unable to get either of the eutalsat (old satmex) satellites or bad 125w. I have a clear view of arc.

Is my arc bad or am I looking for dead transponders?

 

[Lone Cloud]

Yes. Sounds like your south/zenith position is off by a couple degrees.The best way I've found is first of all not to think of your southernmost satellite as "due south", unless you live on the exact longitude of its orbit. Most live a degree or two off of it and accounting for that gets the entire arc aimed best. You probably know how many clicks or counts per degree you have at the center/south of your dish travel. I get my dish at zenith, then, since my southernmost satellite is 2 degrees east of my longitude I do two degrees worth of clicks to the east. Then I rotate the entire dish on its pole until I get a hot signal on my southernmost satellite. I lock it in there and invariably the entire arc is well aimed.

 

[N6BY]

Lone Cloud's advice is excellent. The only thing I might add would be to check your declination adjustment. I would recommend using the 'modified' declination setting, which is a few tenths of a degree less than the calculated declination of your southernmost sat.

 

[StarScan]

Thanks! I'll give it a shot tomorrow. What are some strong transponders on the eutelsat birds and on 40.5?

 

[truckracer]

The declination can cause it to go off the arc on the ends near your limits.

 

[Lone Cloud]

Farthest east I ever got was at 53 degrees west. Can't say about 40.5, but if it's near the south of your arc, you said you were getting those. Unless your dish and mount has a defined spot where zenith is, spend the time with measurements to find it. If your house/dish location is, say on 42.0 west longitude, that is a degree and a half worth of counts to the east off of zenith. Do that then don't use the motor again, but to maximize the signal, you can use elevation and the rotation on the pole..

 

[StarScan]

I tried playing with the polarity fine tune on my drake receiver and im finding its sweet spots. I bumped the polar mount a bit east and west and that only made it worse. I will try the declination tonight.

 

[FaT Air]

You can determine if your declination is off by adjusting the azimuth on a far eastern satellite, mark the pole/mount relationship.
Then adjust your AZ on a far west satellite. If the pole mount relationship changes, the declination needs adjustment.

 

[StarScan]

I get my dish at zenith, then, since my southernmost satellite is 2 degrees east of my longitude I do two degrees worth of clicks to the east. Then I rotate the entire dish on its pole until I get a hot signal on my southernmost satellite. I lock it in there and invariably the entire arc is well aimed.

Dumb question. How do I figure that out?

 

[KE4EST]

Dumb question. How do I figure that out?

Not an exact science as it depends on how your sensor is designed, so the count will be different from actuator to actuator, also will vary depending on how far you are from zenith.
Generally it is 10 to 15 counts per 2 degs.

 

[StarScan]

Going from 97W to 99W was 11 counts which would make 5 to 6 counts per degree. Going from 131W to 133W was 24 counts which would make 12 counts per degree. Is this change normal? I was asking about how to figure out my my longitude and many degrees off my zenith satellite will be (87W).

 

[KE4EST]

Several ways to figure out your Longitude of your location, even an old timey paper map, but a quick way is to go to www.dishpointer.com and enter your address.
Then say if your longitude is 86 then go about 5 clicks west to get to 87. Then rotate your dish on pole until a valid transponder your have chosen lights up.

EDIT: You should have less counts per degree as you move toward the end of your arc, on a standard actuator.
Thanks Titanium

 

[StarScan]

Did that with 87 and it worked. Moved to 113 and it also worked, went down to 55.5w and it also worked. Tried going back to 113 and nothing. Tried starting over and still nothing. Only have 87. I made marks on the pole with marker and no nothing has moved.

 

[StarScan]

Did some tinkering with it and finally got it! Thanks for your help everyone!!