OTHER Dish Aiming Help

[PetaVolt]

Hey Guys,

I'm new to FTA and could use some help. Presently, I'm trying to get SES3 at 103 W on Ku band.

Here the setup:
39" Ku Dish
Amiko S2X Receiver
Universal LNB

I put the Amiko into setup mode, switched the satellite to SES3, changed LNB type to universal - ensured LO frequencies matched, and went to work aiming the dish while watching the signal strengths. I used transponder 1 as the measurement at 11760 H. I got 96% level and 75% quality and thought I was in business. I promptly did a blind scan and only got 2 channels:

WPIX KU Uplink 2: 12136
Another feed at 11882

I'm sure I'm doing something wrong - I would appreciate your help.

Thanks!

 

[FTA4PA]

Hey Guys,

I'm new to FTA and could use some help. Presently, I'm trying to get SES3 at 103 W on Ku band.

Here the setup:
39" Ku Dish
Amiko S2X Receiver
Universal LNB

I put the Amiko into setup mode, switched the satellite to SES3, changed LNB type to universal - ensured LO frequencies matched, and went to work aiming the dish while watching the signal strengths. I used transponder 1 as the measurement at 11760 H. I got 96% level and 75% quality and thought I was in business. I promptly did a blind scan and only got 2 channels:

WPIX KU Uplink 2: 12136
Another feed at 11882

I'm sure I'm doing something wrong - I would appreciate your help.

Thanks!

Welcome to Satellite Guys PetaVolt. There is a WPIX on 103w but it is scrambled and on c band, not ku so that can't be it. There are feeds that pop up on 99w and Lyngsat lists 11882 as one from the past. Possible you are too far east. What method did you use to aim your dish (compass, phone app, etc) to be sure you are on 103w?

 

[PetaVolt]

I used a best guess average between phone compass and a line on a satellite map, I very well could be off. Part of my confusion is why the receiver showed excellent signal strength on the 11760 transponder but didn't receive anything there. Are frequencies reused across satellites?

 

[FTA4PA]

I used a best guess average between phone compass and a line on a satellite map, I very well could be off. Part of my confusion is why the receiver showed excellent signal strength on the 11760 transponder but didn't receive anything there. Are frequencies reused across satellites?

You mentioned using a line on a satellite map. Was that dishpointer.com by any chance? If not I highly recommend them. I never found the phone/tablet apps to be accurate enough to aim a dish by - in the general area yes - but not exactly. We are talking about maybe an eighth of an inch being the difference between a good signal and none at all. If you haven't done this before it can take a lot of trial and error before you find what you are looking for. That was a while ago but trust me I know from experience.


Try 12145 V 20000. I am getting a good strong signal on that one. Best advice I can give is to move the dish VERY SLOWLY, first a bit to the left then to the right of where you think the satellite is, until you get a lock. It takes a while to lock so slow is the key. If you don't get a lock raise or lower the elevation a degree and repeat above until you do then fine tune and tighten down.

P.S. Frequencies can be reused across satellites but not generally right next to each other.

 

[PetaVolt]

After using dishpointer.com and an abundance of small adjustments I was able to locate Galaxy 19 then SES3 on the 12145V transponder - I indeed started too far east. However, I'm not able to receive anything on the 11760H or 11880H transponders of SES3. Should I need to make any dish adjustments between different transponders on the same satellite?

 

[FTA4PA]

After using dishpointer.com and an abundance of small adjustments I was able to locate Galaxy 19 then SES3 on the 12145V transponder - I indeed started too far east. However, I'm not able to receive anything on the 11760H or 11880H transponders of SES3. Should I need to make any dish adjustments between different transponders on the same satellite?

Sorry, got busy and forgot to check back here. Glad you were able to get 97w and 12145 on 103w. If I'm not mistaken 11760H and 11880H are the NBC feeds? If so, I swear there was a thread recently where they went to fiber distribution. Not sure but will check - unless someone else confirms that before then.

 

[Keith Brannen]

Both 11760 and 11880 are still there.

To answer PetaVolt's question, yes, sometimes a slight shift in the dish (left/right or up/down, or even a slight skew adjustment of the LNB) is necessary to bring in certain transponders on the same satellite. 12145 is DVB-S, which means it is an easier transponder to get a signal to begin with than 11760 and 11880 which are both DVB-S2 and require more accuracy in dish aiming to get them to come in.

 

[FTA4PA]

Both 11760 and 11880 are still there.

To answer PetaVolt's question, yes, sometimes a slight shift in the dish (left/right or up/down, or even a slight skew adjustment of the LNB) is necessary to bring in certain transponders on the same satellite. 12145 is DVB-S, which means it is an easier transponder to get a signal to begin with than 11760 and 11880 which are both DVB-S2 and require more accuracy in dish aiming to get them to come in.

Good to hear they are still up for now. Couldn't find anything other than they were still there on July 1st. Definitely some tweaking is in order.

 

[PetaVolt]

After more adjustments I was able to get both 11760 and 11880. I got the level up to 99 and the quality 78 but picture and sound cut out about once a minute briefly then come back - all the while the the level and quality stay consistent. I'm wondering if my budget LNBs are to blame. I've heard the model I have drift a fair amount. Or perhaps more adjustments are in order.

Thank you all for your help!

 

[FTA4PA]

After more adjustments I was able to get both 11760 and 11880. I got the level up to 99 and the quality 78 but picture and sound cut out about once a minute briefly then come back - all the while the the level and quality stay consistent. I'm wondering if my budget LNBs are to blame. I've heard the model I have drift a fair amount. Or perhaps more adjustments are in order.

Thank you all for your help!

Glad to hear you are making such good progress. You will want to move on to a motorized setup in no time so you can get the full arc on demand.

What is the brand/model of lnbf you are using?

 

[PetaVolt]

Presently I'm using a SatMaximum Universal Single LNB. As of this morning, I've lost 11760 and 11880 - I was then able to aim the dish and got L99 and Q78, believe the best so far. I was expecting aiming to be a challenge but this is a struggle. I'm thinking a dish finder/strength meter is in my best interest. What are the preferred models?

After another blind scan I got no picture, I had to reboot the amiko to restore normal performance. Is this typical?

 

[FTA4PA]

Presently I'm using a SatMaximum Universal Single LNB. As of this morning, I've lost 11760 and 11880. I was expecting aiming to be a challenge but this is a struggle.

I had an lnbf from Satmaximum a while back. It came with an 80cm dish I bought (I think on eBay). Can't say how it performed though because I immediately swapped it out for one of these sold by a member here. I know for a fact these are excellent quality and can highly recommend them. Unfortunately they appear to be sold out right now.

MAVERICK KU BAND PLL LNBF Free-To-Air Standard Linear FTA LNBF 737534698778 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for MAVERICK KU BAND PLL LNBF Free-To-Air Standard Linear FTA LNBF at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Not saying that is your issue, just recommending it if you decide to swap out. Casey at (HyperMegaSat) is also good to deal with if you need FTA equipment. I have done business with him before and you will get good products and service there.

First I would check that your dish has not moved at all since you fine tuned. Only an 1/8 inch of movement will lose signal for you. I don't believe it was asked but what kind of mount are you using? Is it good and solid like it should be - plumbed metal pole in enough concrete? Or is there possibility for slight movement such as a dish mounted on a tripod, pallet or post with bracket attached to something not sturdy. Things to avoid are trees and wood posts (bad, wood warps, tree grows and sways in wind), pvc pipe (worse, not sturdy enough). Perhaps post up a few pictures if you have the capability of doing so.

 

[PetaVolt]

The dish is mounted on a wooden shade structure. I suspect you may be correct as sometimes there is a bit of movement. I suspect I may have had it right on the fringe of the satellite as well. Depending on what happens, I may need to move it.

I've ordered a couple of other LNBs, a Bullseye and an Avenger. I'll give them a try when they show up

 

[FTA4PA]

The dish is mounted on a wooden shade structure. I suspect you may be correct as sometimes there is a bit of movement. I suspect I may have had it right on the fringe of the satellite as well. Depending on what happens, I may need to move it.

I've ordered a couple of other LNBs, a Bullseye and an Avenger. I'll give them a try when they show up

If there is movement in the structure then that is likely the cause for loss of the signals you previously received. As far as the lnbfs you bought I have heard of the Avenger but have not used one yet. It is supposed to be good though. The Bullseye is made by the people who run Othernet (formerly Outernet). From what I have read it is well made too but again no experience with it.

If you are interested there are several threads here about the former Outernet data service. Been a while but I believe you could use a Raspberry PI to access their content. Also, they offered something called a Lantern to receive it as well. Do a search for Outernet if you are interested.

There was also a service on 97w called Knapsack for Hope I found and posted about which sent info via satellite. You saved the broadcst as a TS file and when unpacked there was media inside. The purpose was to provide some data to areas of the world that did not have internet capabilities or had content restrictions. More here:

https://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/threads/knapsack-for-hope-satellite-filecasting.378096/post-4272949

Not sure what either of these are up to now and with Starlink coming on the scene not sure how they will figure in the future.

 

[arlo]

Been looking this over. You can't have any movement in your dish mount. At the least get some long lag screws to put the dish platform on and screw them in the dirt to stop any wobble. That dish can't move at all.
From posts here from back in 2007. Is there any advantage in a universal lnbf in the USA?
My little Maverick works like a peach. Too bad Ku fta sucks.
I don't own a sat meter. The receivers have always done me well.
Situations like all horizontals but no verticals? Spin the lnbf 90 degrees. Look for a good strong tp you should get but aren't on the tp in question. In receiver setting swap polarities. Helps weed out if your lnb settings are cool.
I didn't have good luck with 22 kHz switches. Both C and Ku lnbf's are polarity voltage controlled with a diseqc multi switch to select. So far, pretty slick.

Like FT4PA says. I'd really like to see a dedicated satellite data section here. I've peed around with some of the services he's mentioned. Inmarsat, GOES is quite enjoyable. Lately it's been the NOAAPORT tp on 89W.
My receiver's are not happy receiving it. Working on a dedicated sat data receiver. I've used dvbsnoop and Wireshark to get data streams from it. I have the CAVE/AWIPS package installed. Learining multicasting is blowing my mind. Which is where FTA receivers like my osmio4K's just do not shine.
Starlink deserves it's own section. I could go on and on. The 2 people I turned on to it love it. They were Ka sat service subscribers. Starlink is having some issues currently. But Elon is on top of it. The wok dish providers hate him.

 

[Keith Brannen]

Is there any advantage in a universal lnbf in the USA?

Yes, there are a few satellites (mainly Spanish channels) that I have (or in one case, did have). Couple of channels (Spanish) on 30W. A whole slew of Spanish channels, plus a few French, and one English (Arirang) on 34.5W, and one I use to get (would need a larger dish than I have available) which has a few English channels from Guyana, on 65W.