FTA Newbie - Prob receiving T5

[babyfund]

Hello Everyone, I am new to FTA. Purchased equipment from a vendor with zip support. I set up everything and aimed the dish. Immediately, received two Pentagon channels with the rest "scrambled". Just a lucky guess.

I can not find the T5 bird and I moved the dish from horizon to horizon; up and down VERY slowly with about 20 or more seconds between each move. Frustrated, I removed my DirecTv Ka/Ku (wide) over to the same location and it immediately picked up the 99-101-103 without problems... did not need a meter to peak the ka hidef sats on 99&103. I think the T5 is near the 97 orbit which is very close to the 99; no LOS problems. I checked with suggested websites for long/lat and placed that into the receiver for Galaxy 19/25/T5 and tried that; nothing. I used the settings on the website SatFinder; and nothing. I can not sort out what I am doing wrong. I have used every suggestion for LO freq, xponder, etc; nothing. The only channels that I was ever able to receive are those two Pentagon channels on the 110 orbital slot (without sound); the locals and other channels state "Scrambled".

I took a portable TV up to the dish and slowly wagged the dish with very small movements; the Pentagon Channel works great but without sound. I could imagine the sound; stuff blowing up, guys yelling at each other; whatever, at least the sys actually showed a picture; I must be missing something with this Galaxy bird. While searching for the T5, sig/qual meter jumps all over; might as well connect the receiver to a tree. The reading will be more accurate.

I only want to receive The Church Channel but after all of the problems with trying to set this thing up, anyone trying would need to receive The Church Channel. The advertisement for those FTA kits on ebay makes you think you can set this thing up in 10 minutes and watch The Church Channel until the second coming. I only Listen to this one channel and pay all of that money to Direct tee-vee.

I have a 33" dish; Lin LNB; Digiwave 7200S (no mods); post is perfectly plumb and sturdy. I can receive the Pentagon channel but I want the opposite; "The Church Channel" which is supposed to be on the Galaxy 19 bird somewhere near the 97 orbital slot. It is listed in my receiver as T5.

The Church Channel
Frq 12177 V Sym 23000

Another that I tried is:
tp 11998/H/20000 LNB Frq 9750/10750 type Normal

Location: Concord, NC 28025

If anyone has any ideas, please share.
Tks.

 

[Lak7]

Look for a sticker or label on the LNB, look for the correct L.O. Frequency.
Usually....
10.750
or
9750 / 10600

That is what you enter into the Receiver, it's not Plug-N-Play.
Also, don't forget you need to properly skew the LNB.

The Pentagon Channel is on 103 west

 

[babyfund]

Thanks Lak7,

Actually, it is plug-n-play. You plug it in then you spend a night hanging out on the ladder playing with it trying to get it to work

I have skewed the LNB; I also needed to skew the Direc dish, too in order to get a good setting on all three sats; just for reference.

Thank you for the correction of the Pentagon's orbital slot being at 103; why is it so close but yet I can not find the 97? I am missing something. This setup should work.

My LNB states:

Digiwav DGL-03S
RF: 11.70/12.20 GHz (I assume this is the downlink freq)
IF: 950/1450 MHz (I dare to assume that this is the intermediate frequency sent down the coax; that's a guess)
LO: 10.75 GHz (10750 MHz This is what I poked into the receiver)
Gain: 60dB
Noise Fig: 0.3dB

I should be able to nudge the dish just a little in either direction and find a sig, yes? Which direction?

Thanks!

 

[turbosat]

You might have been picking up the scrambled business channels on 103, Fedex has some tv channels on that satellite. If you found Pentagon channel that's where you were. One of the 2 Pentagon feeds has Dolby Digital (what we call AC-3 audio) and most ordinary standard def fta receivers will not decode Dolby sound. They usually have an output jack on the fta box for a standalone audio decoder, like a home theater amp or stereo amp with coaxial or SPDIF input. Your target channel should have regular PCM audio, and if it is on "t-5" that IS the orbital location 97W. The satellite has changed names a few times since it was called Telstar 5, but a satellite is still there, just takes a little tweaking to find it. Setting up a motor is complex for a newbie, you might consider leaving off the motor until you locate the satellite you want, just to give you some experience at aiming a fixed dish.
Less headache for beginner! There's lots of information here on how to set up the motor to track the satellite arc.

edit to answer your last post: 97 will be east of 103, so you need to turn the dish (and motor assembly if its still attached) to the east. Make marks on the pole and mount where 103 is , in case you need to go back to the beginning.
Turn the dish in tiny amounts, it'll most likely be less than 1/2" from where 103 is, with 2degree spacing of the sats, I find its more like the width of a pencil mark between one satellite and the next one to it! Will be some elevation change between 103 and 97 but not a lot. Elevation drops off as you go east or west from your South satellite, if you're in charlotte, you'll need to RAISE the dish just a little bit. Try picking an active transponder from TheList, top of page here, locate it in your receiver under your target satellite, and watch for signal activity as you move the dish.

 

[Lak7]

LO: 10.75 GHz (10750 MHz This is what I poked into the receiver)

In the Receiver's Setup Menu....
LNB Type: Single or Standard
LNB Freq / L.O.: 10750

If you can, find the Pentagon Channel again, then you know where you are at.
On a Pole that has about a 2" Diameter, 2 Degrees is about 1/32"
So, in theory, you need to move the Dish 3/32" to the East
Remember to enter the Correct LNB setting for each Sat you aim for, the defaults usually are not correct.
AND.....
Remember to have a known Active Transponder selected in the Sat Setup Menu.
Even on brand new receivers, the Sat Transponder List is probably out of date.
Look at the top of these Web Pages, there is a Tab Called "The List" is kept up to date

Actually, it is plug-n-play. You plug it in then you spend a night hanging out on the ladder playing with it trying to get it to work

LOL

 

[babyfund]

Thanks Turbo, No motor for me, I just want to listen to The Church Channel. I really do not own a tv; I am using a loaner to set up the signal. The only thing that I was using Direc for was to listen to The Church Channel. I do have the SPDIF decoder in quite a few of my audio devices. It is very easy for me to find the Pentagon Channel, which way do I move the dish for the 97 orbital slot?
Thank you for your help.

 

[turbosat]

babyfund I just checked, your church channel IS there and coming in just fine. Also, I find that it also has 2 audio streams, one regular PCM audio, and the other in dolby digital.
12177 vertical 23000symbol rate 3/4 fec
video Pid 47, audio 48 pcr 47.


edit: RE-read my other post<I edited it after posting, to include the info on how to turn the dish, it won't take you long to find 97 now. Finding the first signal is usually the painful process, haha, you've already done that.

 

[Lak7]

which way do I move the dish for the 97 orbital slot?

On a Pole that has about a 2" Diameter, 2 Degrees is about 1/32"
So, in theory, you need to move the Dish 3/32" to the East, 6 degrees

 

[rv1pop]

You are on the Right coast and I am on the left, but do n ot give up. What you listed first for the LNB frequency looked wrong. I think someone else gave a correction to 10750.
When you get 103 again, check the elevation and azmith for it and then also for 97. then you will know how much up and down to move the dish and carefully move it east until you see the signal. I have set up my dishes literally a hundred times. I can almost do it in my sleep, but 3000 miles is a little far to go to give you a hand in person.
Blessings on the install.
POP

 

[babyfund]

Thanks Everyone

I thank everyone for the well-informed help. I will not be able to play FTA until the weekend so that I can borrow someone's TV. I hope that by then, watching the Pentagon channel and all, that I can resist the urge to join the army.

Thanks everyone!

 

[babyfund]

I gave up on FTA. I cheated. I searched everywhere for that !#^#!@#$% T5 Sat. I was only able to view the Pentagon channel and that became old very fast; not suitable for babies. Anyway, I cheated, gave up and purchased a broken down non-functional Birdog 2.5v for $25; downloaded the sat difs to the dog and an hour later, the dog came to life; 2% batt remaining. Went up to the dish, I tell you, literally within 5 minutes, dish peaked out on the T5. Went back to the loaner tv and it started downloading all of these channels...oodles...one after another. The Church Channel was x-tal clear and may even influence me to buy one of those magic boxes... what do they call it? Oh yeah, a tv. Anyway, it works great even during storms. Connected the toslink to my sound system, and wow. Immediately cancelled Direct and even installed an FTA for a relative...like me, could not find T5; also peaked out a Direct k/ku hi-def swm for a friend. Not bad for $25; I am going to tell everyone that I know about this FTA. I was paying almost $40 per month for years just to listen to that one channel. Now I can take that $40 and donate it to the Church Channel. I would not have been able to setup this system without all of the help and encouragement you guys have given me. I sincerely thank all of you.

 

[pback]

Congrats! well-done!..........another happy camper!:up

 

[ynnedibanez]

glad to hear it:up:up