How To Install a USALS Motor - Condensed Version

[KE4EST]

Glad you figured it out Chas!

 

[cyberham]

This is an excellent thread. It's mandatory reading for anybody installing a motorized Ku dish.

Is AcWxRadar still around? Or has he moved on to where the geo sats don't provide coverage?

 

[primestar31]

Is AcWxRadar still around? Or has he moved on to where the geo sats don't provide coverage?

I'm pretty sure he died years ago.

 

[cyberham]

I thought so. But I thought there used to be another "Radar" user ID so I wasn't sure.

 

[arlo]

It's a great manual. Graphics to go along with it surely would help. Kind of gives a visual bit of assistance when you're pulling your hair out saying "what the hell is going on".
Although tailored for a C-Band polar mount this gives a good mental concept of how and why.
You just have to remember the parallax error is a lot less when you're pointing at the North star from different spots than true North on the globe.
I "believe" that the actual motor shaft on a Stab style mount is pointing true north. Yes? Not the dish mount arm.
And wonder if you were able to take your standard Dish or DTV az-el mount and tilt the dish mount arm at celestial North if you could then simply set the declination, if you could simulate a polar mount. Hmm. Too cold out to try it.
As soon and if Stab starts pushing out the HH-120's again. Let me know.

 

[primestar31]

It's a great manual. Graphics to go along with it surely would help. Kind of gives a visual bit of assistance when you're pulling your hair out saying "what the hell is going on".
Although tailored for a C-Band polar mount this gives a good mental concept of how and why.
You just have to remember the parallax error is a lot less when you're pointing at the North star from different spots than true North on the globe.
I "believe" that the actual motor shaft on a Stab style mount is pointing true north. Yes? Not the dish mount arm.
And wonder if you were able to take your standard Dish or DTV az-el mount and tilt the dish mount arm at celestial North if you could then simply set the declination, if you could simulate a polar mount. Hmm. Too cold out to try it.
As soon and if Stab starts pushing out the HH-120's again. Let me know.

View attachment 154927

I more than once have setup a polar mount, by going out late at night and sighting in the polar star to get the polar axis near perfect.

Now I just do it by looking up local solar noon time, going out to the dish with an atomic clock, and pounding in a long tall stake piece of pipe perfectly leveled some feet away from the pole to line up with it's shadow at solar noon. That stake and satellite pole will then ALWAYS match perfect with True South if you use them as sight points.

 

[cyberham]

It's a great manual. Graphics to go along with it surely would help....

See the attachment in Post #2 above. This is the long version. Lots of images included in it.

 

[arlo]

Oops. Missed it. As the kids say. My bad.