Help with C band satellite dish install (Any help would be appreciated)

[shanklej]

Hi Fat Air,
I tried going to your site but got "Page cannot be displayed".
Is it still up there?
If so, how long will it be there?
It's been quite a while since you helped me set up my 10 footer.
I'm sooner or later going to have to do some adjustments and us
once in a while guys have a tough time remembering this stuff.
Looks like I'm going to get through Hurricane season without having
to take down my dish and put it in the garage.
Please let me know why I can't access your web site.

 

[FaT Air]

PM sent.

 

[shanklej]

Thank you Fat Air for responding.
I found my error. I had www. in front of "theho".
Thanks for the site. It will take me time to read and absorb all that.

 

[MN_Vikings]

Update...

I gave up two summers ago do to family / home projects including my satellite dish installer who fell off a roof and broke his back installing a dish on a roof for another customer. Last summer my 6ft fortec star broke off the HH-180 motor in a wind storm. I do not recommend this type of dish as it is flimsy unless well protected from the elements. I'm back to aiming my 80" black Skyvision Orbitron S-7 80” black mesh dish and still not having any luck getting a signal.

 

[MN_Vikings]

Last night while trying to get a signal on my southern most satellite I discovered there was a gap between the Universal c/KU LNBF (NS741) and the scalar ring so it would not fit centered. I'm going to replace the scalar ring tonight with the original scalar ring that came with the dish as the LNBF fits snugly without any play. I will also take measurements to make sure the LNBF/Scalar ring is centered on the dish.

 

[MN_Vikings]

I read though my old posts and researched aiming FTA C/KU Band motorized dishes and wondering if someone can answer four questions. I have since junked the 6ft solid white dish (Fortec Star) from Sadoun and now working on the Skyvision Orbitron S-7 80” black mesh motorized dish.

All my equipment appears to be in working order and have tested all Coax RG6 cables with a cable tester. I also mentioned in my last post I plan to replace my scalar ring and make sure the LNBF is centered. I also purchased three new receivers - an OPenBox X5 Pro, a TBS 6922SE DVBS/S2 BDA PCI-E Tuner and a USB DVBS Satellite TV Box for use with FastSatFinder which is a Windows software program and I plan to use my laptop computer as a signal finder at my Dish. I also have a Dreambox 800 HD se receiver. The next time the temps are nice - hopefully this weekend I can bring all my receivers out to my dish ( I also have a analog satellite meter) and attempt to hook them all up and aim the dish.

On my MultiSwitch there are inputs for 4 LNBF's (See Photo)

LNB A LNB B LNB C LNB D

18V/0HZ 13V/0HZ 18V/22KHZ 13V/22KHZ

I understand the 22KHZ signal is to toggle between the C and KU bands and the 22KHZ port is for KU and the 0HZ port is for C-Band.

Question 1: - I have two Coax cables coming from my C/KU Band LNBF Universal LNBF (NS741). One from C and the other from KU. Is either the 18V or 13V ports for either the C or KU band or does it matter?

I understand what declination, elevation, polar angles are but having trouble applying these setting to my dish. I can move the dish with the VBox7 DiSEqC-Box and the SuperJack II=HQ Linear Actuator and with a compass I can center the dish on my southern most satellite which is called Zenith. (93.1W GALAXY 25 (G-25))

My modified declination angle at my latitude 44.8N is 6.8
Dish 'look angle' at zenith is 90 - lat - declination.
90 - 44.8 - 6.8 = 38.4

From Dishpointer.com

Your Location:
Latitude: 44.8376°
Longitude: -93.2742°

Satellite Data:
Name: 93.1W GALAXY 25 (G-25)
Distance: 37912km

Dish Setup Data:
Elevation: 38.3°
Azimuth (true): 179.7°
Azimuth (magn.): 179.5°
LNB Skew [?]: -0.2° Turn counter-clockwise standing behind the dish

I have two setting adjustments for my dish where I do not understand to apply my specific location settings.

First Setting:

Question 2: - My protractor angle is currently set (See photo) to 38.5 which is adjusted from the elevation bolts. Could someone tell me if this protector angle of 38.5/38.4 is correct or should this be something different for my location which I posted the info above from Dispointer.com?

Second Setting:

Question 3: - There is a line mark on the dish tube which you cannot see in the photo due to rust that lines up with the lattitude scale on the declination socket and I currently have this set to 38.4 degrees. Could someone tell me if this is setting is correct or should I be using my actual Latitude setting of 44.8376 or something different?

I understand you cannot just use dish settings alone and to optimize the signal it will take some fine tuning but I just want to get started and receive a signal to my southern most satellite which is 93.1W GALAXY 25 (G-25).

Question 4: - I do not know how many C/KU feeds are on the satellite 93.1W GALAXY 25 (G-25) and should I use satellite "Nimiq 6 at 91.1°W & Galaxy 17 at 91.0°W" instead as this is my next closest to my true south southern satellite.

My end goal is to learn how to set up and maintain my motorized BUD dish to receive both C-band and KU-band signals and to track as many satellites as possible on the Clarke belt with the actuator motor.

Thanks, Tom

 

[FaT Air]

On my MultiSwitch there are inputs for 4 LNBF's & Universal c/KU LNBF (NS741

No need for the multiswitch with thqat LNBF. Coax from receiver direct to the LNBF.
IIRR, that LNBF uses DisEqC to select band. (Port one for C, port 2 for KU) and 22 Khz to select 10600 L.O. (11.7 to 12.2)
For examples of multiswitch use, see Switch setups simplified, in the FTA / MPEG2 FAQ's section.
Can't tell where you're measuring that angle, but your polar axis angle should be very close to, within 1° of, your latitude. Check out my post, #60, earlier in the thread.

 

[MN_Vikings]

FaT Air,

After two years I finally got a signal from my southern most satellite 93.1W GALAXY 25 (G-25) and was able to get a 74% signal. I could not get the signal quality any better but was able to receive a few high definition channels as well as signals from other satellites. I was then able to move the dish from the receiver using Disq1.2 to other satellites on the Clarke belt and got a variety of 40% to 70% percent signal readings so I will be working on fine tuning now. I set the polar angle to 45 degrees and also set the latitude scale on the declination socket to 45 degrees. The Declination Scale on the socket is in real bad shape do to rust and is hard to read so I will have to figure something out, repaint and try to find a replacement scale. I originally pointed the dish to what I thought was 180 degrees due south with a compass but after I turned the dish on the mast about 10 degrees west I then got a signal from 93.1W GALAXY 25 (G-25). I replaced my scalar ring with the one that originally came with the dish and had to use a tap and die to tap a new threaded socket for the screw bolt that holds the LNB in the scalar ring. Prior to this the LNB was not tightened down and would move around and you could not get it centered correctly. I also discovered the actuator arm is not centered correctly and not not traverse the satellite arc so I will need to adjust this. Also thanks for links to the switch setups simplified, my plan is to be able to hook up to 3 or 4 receivers to the dish LNBF.

 

[FaT Air]

I originally pointed the dish to what I thought was 180 degrees due south with a compass but after I turned the dish on the mast about 10 degrees west I then got a signal from 93.1W

Most likely 'Magnetic Declination' came into play there.

my plan is to be able to hook up to 3 or 4 receivers to the dish LNBF.

Multiswitch and a dual output LNBF, but they are either C or KU band.
the Titanium C2PLL would be my choice for C band on the BUD. A separate 36 inch dish and dual output LNBF for Ku.
Or, I suppose you could Siamese a prime focus Ku LNBF on the BUD. But it won't be looking at the same satellite as the C band LNBF.

 

[fred555]

I have used these with success:
http://gotcband.com/collections/muli-switch/products/zinwell-sam-4803

In this arrangement: