FTA System Install

[freddylq]

Hi guys! I need a little help here. I'm installing a motorized FTA dish in my back yard but I don't have the manuals for the dish or the motor. I bought this system with motor years ago from Sadoun (Digipower SG2100). Looking at the image with the motor, to set up my latitude which is the marker that I use to set the latitude? I've circled the two possibilities in blue. Same thing for the dish elevation, I believe for the dish it's the edge that I've circled in red.

 

[KE4EST]

On the bottom picture. You are correct on setting the elevation.
I'm not sure on the first one, I have not used that motor in awhile and the last one I had like that I gave it to a buddy.

 

[migold]

I don't really know, but for the latitude, I would try to set by the large edge, since the little tab could never be set below 25 or 26.....

 

[KE4EST]

I don't really know, but for the latitude, I would try to set by the large edge, since the little tab could never be set below 25 or 26.....

Agreed. That has to be it because of what you said.

 

[freddylq]

Thanks guys, I just wanted to be sure since I don't have either manual.

 

[freddylq]

Well I finally got to scan some sats....looking at my dish it looked like it was facing the horizon....too low....so I used a sat finding app on my Windows phone where it showed me were up in the sky G25 is located....nowhere near where my dish was pointed at....so I told the receiver to goto G19....I slowly started raising the dish elevation....when finally I had a Q signal....I tweeked the dish elevation and the LNB for best possible quality....I did a blind scan and found all those channels....I scanned more sats and adjusted the dish position with an option in the USALS menu til I had the max Q signal for each sat. I finally did it! My FTA system is up and running!

 

[turbosat]

Congratulations Freddy=you have succeeded in what is probably the toughest part of your system setup. If you remember that the dish is "offset" and always looks to me like its looking at the horizon, shouldn't have any more problems! Unless a tree is in the path of your favorite satellite, lol. A quality chainsaw is also a very good investment if you're an fta'er.

 

[freddylq]

Congratulations Freddy=you have succeeded in what is probably the toughest part of your system setup. If you remember that the dish is "offset" and always looks to me like its looking at the horizon, shouldn't have any more problems! Unless a tree is in the path of your favorite satellite, lol. A quality chainsaw is also a very good investment if you're an fta'er.

Thanks Turbosat! It would have been easier if the dish had been set to the correct elevation. Don't know what I initially did wrong but I did follow the steps for setting the motor latitude and dish elevation. I'll revisit that later to find out what I did wrong but I'm happy I finally got....the X2 Premium V receiver seems to be working fine now.

 

[turbosat]

Yes they are trickier than a big prime focus dish. Having one of those little angle-finders with the magnetic base helps too.

 

[spongella]

freddylq,

With that Sadoun motor (I had an old Sadoun DG380 when I first started) you are correct in that you set your latitude on that heavy, motor mount first. Funny that yours has two markers on it though. Below is a pic of the old DG380 mount with the scale just for info's sake, set at latitude 40N. You got good advice from the guys here, evidenced by the fact that you now are receiving FTA stations. Have fun.

 

[freddylq]

freddylq,

With that Sadoun motor (I had an old Sadoun DG380 when I first started) you are correct in that you set your latitude on that heavy, motor mount first. Funny that yours has two markers on it though. Below is a pic of the old DG380 mount with the scale just for info's sake, set at latitude 40N. You got good advice from the guys here, evidenced by the fact that you now are receiving FTA stations. Have fun.

Thanks....this motor had been sitting on my roof for about 7 years...back then I tried to install my FTA system but after a couple of weeks I gave up on it....til now...after all this time it works nicely and has not given me any issues.

 

[hank123]

Dude nice work!
I have the same receiver as you and it works well for the most part.
Dont forget to adjust the skew and f/d to really make the dish scream. It will help with the rainy days.

Now that we have you hooked on FTA time for a C band dish!

 

[freddylq]

Dude nice work!
I have the same receiver as you and it works well for the most part.
Dont forget to adjust the skew and f/d to really make the dish scream. It will help with the rainy days.

Now that we have you hooked on FTA time for a C band dish!

Yes C-band! I had a nice 10' system back when I was younger....Now I find myself looking around for C-band dishes around my neighborhoods in case I think about knocking on their doors to ask about them. But it's definitely in the near future.

 

[Borisov-54]

dish elevation,

Probably need to put 50.5. South to the satellite 116.8w-Eutelsat 117 West A a- 116.8°W

 

[freddylq]

Dude nice work!
I have the same receiver as you and it works well for the most part.
Dont forget to adjust the skew and f/d to really make the dish scream. It will help with the rainy days.

Now that we have you hooked on FTA time for a C band dish!

F/D??

 

[Titanium]

Actually you need to set the FL (Focal Length), not the FD ratio. The FD ratio setting is fixed on a LNBF (as the scalar is cast with the feedhorn), but the FL can be adjusted to optimize the Signal Quality reading.

Slightly loosen the LNBF clamp and slide the LNBF towards or away from the reflector. The correct focal length setting will converge the reflected satellite signal into the feedhorn opening and present them with correct phasing to the probes. This will increase the desirable signal over the unwanted noise and increase the Signal Quality meter reading.

 

[hank123]

Thank you for the correction.

 

[freddylq]

Actually you need to set the FL (Focal Length), not the FD ratio. The FD ratio setting is fixed on a LNBF (as the scalar is cast with the feedhorn), but the FL can be adjusted to optimize the Signal Quality reading.

Slightly loosen the LNBF clamp and slide the LNBF towards or away from the reflector. The correct focal length setting will converge the reflected satellite signal into the feedhorn opening and present them with correct phasing to the probes. This will increase the desirable signal over the unwanted noise and increase the Signal Quality meter reading.

Thanks. That's what I thought but wasn't sure. I haven't done that so that'll be my project for this weekend.

 

[freddylq]

Probably need to put 50.5. South to the satellite 116.8w-Eutelsat 117 West A a- 116.8°W

That's why I initially couldn't get any signal. Though I did follow the instructions regarding the settings. Thanks for the info. I'll check the dish elevation this weekend. I ended up pointing to G19 and then slowly raising the elevation until I received a Q signal.

 

[Borisov-54]

That's why I initially couldn't get any signal.

DirecTV 7S at 119.0°W-
It should be circular LNB. Tune in you need to 117W the universal LNB.
Take a simple receiver DVB-S better, where there are 2 or 3 scale. Connect the receiver directly to the LNB. And set up a satellite 117W
Then, the receiver is okay to motor. Tune in coordinates location receiver .I all satellites in USALS.
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I have a south - a satellite 28.5e.Foto my setup in the receiver