Hello my people. I am having problem positioning my Satellite to True South. I read through the instruction that was given to me. I am having a problem with the True South position. Am I going to position the Pole or motor to True South? And another problem I'm having is the strength 45 and quality 5 it stays the same even when the motor moved. I don't know if the receiver the problem or the True South or Azumith is wrong. If you have any advice you can give I will really appreciate it. My receiver is Openbox S10, 87cm dish and SG9120b motor. My zipcode is 21044.
I need help getting a True South on dish motor
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That's a difficult spot to aim from. There are no FTA sats really close to due south for you. And the OpenBox won't see the Dish birds.
The way I would go about it, Set the motor on the pole positioned due south as best you can, Doesn't have to be perfect, just close.
With dish elevation set about where you need it. Now set the receiver to use USALS for the motor and input your Latitude and Longitide. Now I would use GBN on AMC 6 @ 72°W for tuning (12096, V, 2573). So tell the dish to move using USALS to 72W and adjust your dish. This should have you now really close to perfect on arc. Then using USALS move to the next sats and scan and check signal. Later you could switch motor control to DiSEqC 1.2 and assign position numbers if you want/need. USALS is real helpful in aiming a motor I've found.
The way I would go about it, Set the motor on the pole positioned due south as best you can, Doesn't have to be perfect, just close.
With dish elevation set about where you need it. Now set the receiver to use USALS for the motor and input your Latitude and Longitide. Now I would use GBN on AMC 6 @ 72°W for tuning (12096, V, 2573). So tell the dish to move using USALS to 72W and adjust your dish. This should have you now really close to perfect on arc. Then using USALS move to the next sats and scan and check signal. Later you could switch motor control to DiSEqC 1.2 and assign position numbers if you want/need. USALS is real helpful in aiming a motor I've found.
Magic Static said:
I guess it is due south. Is it the Pole or the motor that needs to be positioned due south? And also are the elevations for dish and motor going to be the same or different.
When the motor is at the Zero position, the dish points due south(not magnetic ,geographic south). The motor elevation is set for that position(Latitude). The elevation on the dish is figured using the offset of the motor and the desired declination angle. After setting those angles you are still going to tweak them using signal and quality as the determining factor. After the dish is initially set up due south it will look very much like how the Dish network dishes are pointed in your neighborhood.
1. With motor at it's zero point, turn the motor/dish assembly until the dish is pointed at true south ( You'll adjust this azimuth in a minute)
2. The motor latitude scale should be set to YOUR latitude, the dish elevation set by using the chart in the motor manual.
3. Once you setup your receiver for AMC6, and using USALS, move to positon ( should see the motor move the dish), THEN you gently turn the motor/dish assembly on the pole slowly to try to pick up some Quality from the transponder. This is your azimuth adjustment stage. Once you get ANY QUALITY at all, you can optimize it through azimuth adjustment, and dish elevation adjustment ( start by just leaning on the dish , a little up, then a little down, while watching the Quality meter.)
2. The motor latitude scale should be set to YOUR latitude, the dish elevation set by using the chart in the motor manual.
3. Once you setup your receiver for AMC6, and using USALS, move to positon ( should see the motor move the dish), THEN you gently turn the motor/dish assembly on the pole slowly to try to pick up some Quality from the transponder. This is your azimuth adjustment stage. Once you get ANY QUALITY at all, you can optimize it through azimuth adjustment, and dish elevation adjustment ( start by just leaning on the dish , a little up, then a little down, while watching the Quality meter.)
To make things really confusing the SG9120 and the SG9120b shafts have different offset angles, but the same instruction manual. And that manual leaves a lot to be desired.
The dish angle setting on the SH9120b model is calculated by subtracting the declination angle from 30 degrees, not from 40 degrees as the manual incorrectly instructs.
The tube sticking out of the motor (or the dish itself) should point due south when the motor is at zero degrees. This is regardless if there is a satellite at that position or not.
It must aim there to get the arc correct. Of course, that is difficult to judge your aim accurately, so simply try to guestimate it the best you can with a compass. You will correct any error in this aim once we start capturing satellites and fine tuning the arc.
First you need to determine your precise coordinates (latitude / longitude). Easiest method is to use Google Earth and position the mouse cursor over the spot where you will install the dish. At the bottom of the image, it will read out this information in degrees / minutes / seconds. You need to change that to pure decimal degrees. Take the minutes portion and divide by 60 and add that to the degrees portion. You don’t have to bother with the seconds portion, but if you want to, divide that portion by 3600 and add it to the degrees portion too.
Enter the pure decimal coordinates in your receiver’s USALS setup menu. Ensure that the longitude coordinate reads WEST and not EAST. You will need to enter the installation (motor setup) menu for any satellite in the list and select USALS so that you can enter the coordinates. Once these coordinates are entered for any one satellite, it is recorded for ALL satellites in the list that you select to use USALS.
Connect the motor to the LNB IN port of the receiver (the dish does not have to be attached to the motor yet and the motor does not have to be mounted on the mast yet, either). Then in the USALS setup menu there should be a "GOTO ZERO" or "GOTO REFERENCE" command. Execute that command to drive the motor to zero degrees or the center of its range of travel.
Ensure that the mast is absolutely perfectly plumb (vertical). Use a level on the east/west/north/south sides of the mast and align the mast so that the bubble is centered from all sides.
This is VERY critical so don't fudge on it.
Now you can attach the motor on the mast. Set the motor LATITUDE angle to the degrees of your site's latitude coordinate. Some motors have two different scales (LATITUDE and ELEVATION). Use the latitude scale (or subtract your site latitude from 90° and set the elevation angle to that degree). Elevation + Latitude = 90°. You can place an inclinometer on the FLAT bottom of the motor and read the ELEVATION. A dial inclinometer or a digital one will allow you to read the elevation to a higher degree of accuracy than using the stamped scale on the motor bracket.
Then attach the dish to the motor tube. Ensure that the dish clamp is perfectly centered on the motor tube. There should be a seam or two on the motor tube. Align one of the seams with some center feature of the dish bracket. Often there is a cutout or hole in the dish clamp that you can see the seam of the motor tube through, use that if present.
Determine what your dish elevation should be from the manual and set this angle on your dish. The manual may be incorrect for this motor. Use 30° where the manual states 40°.
At this point you should determine your NEAREST true south linear FTA satellite. If your longitude is, for example, 96.2W or 97.8W, use Galaxy 19 @ 97.0°W. Set this satellite up to use USALS motor positioning and then command the motor to GOTO SAT or GOTO POSITION. Some receivers state it a little differently, but they all calculate a DiSEqC 1.2 string to be sent to the motor that tells the motor which direction to move and how far.
Attach the LNBF to the dish. Set the polarity of the LNBF to zero degrees. The polarity is often called the skew, but that is an improper terminology. The polarity is the rotation of the LNBF in the LNBF clamp, CW vs CCW. Set the LNBF focal distance from the dish to the center of its range to start out with. After you find a signal, you can move it in or out in the clamp to fine adjust the reception.
Now you need to select a strong transponder signal to monitor the signal QUALITY from. Determine which satellite is nearest due south and then research what the best transponders are to use on that bird. You are NOT required to use the nearest due south satellite, but it makes the calibration process much easier and quicker. The closer you start to true south, the better.
Command the motor to move to the satellite you are going to look for first and monitor the signal quality on that one transponder that you researched. With the motor clamps on the mast just barely loose enough so that you can turn the motor on the mast by hand, position the motor to aim roughly in the direction (AZIMUTH) that dishpointer tells you where the satellite is.
Then rotate the motor CW / CCW on the mast, one direction and then back. As you rotate it, move a tiny fraction of a degree and pause for a few seconds, then move it again and pause again. Once it locks onto a signal, you will need to verify that it is the correct signal. Try running a "TRANSPONDER" scan and see what channels you log in. Check Lyngsat to verify if those channels match what is supposed to be on that transponder on that satellite.
Once you have located the proper satellite, you can fine adjust your dish elevation, motor azimuth and the LNBF polarity and focal distance to optimize your signal quality.
DO NOT adjust the motor latitude! Once that is set up initially, you never tweak it.
Now tighten the motor clamps on the mast, but not too tight, just enough so that it won't move.
Next step is to calibrate the motor and dish to the satellite arc.
Pick out two good FTA linear satellites which are as close to being equadistant (one to the east and one to the west) from your nearest true southern satellite that you just located. Try for two sats which are 10 - 15 degrees away from your nearest true south sat. Determine a really good, strong transponder on each of those.
Command the motor to drive to one of those satellites and monitor the signal quality from the hot transponder. If you are detecting a fairly good signal, grasp the dish from behind like a steering wheel and ever so gently try to push/pull the dish east or west to see if any improvement can be made to the signal. If you can improve the signal, loosen the motor clamps just enough to be able to move the motor and rotate it on the mast in that direction. Retighten the clamps.
Command the motor to drive to the other satellite in the other direction and monitor the signal quality from the hot transponder on it. If you are detecting a fairly good signal, grasp the dish again and this time, try to pull/push the dish up and down and determine if any improvement to the quality can be made. If you can improve the signal, loosen the dish elevation bracket just enough to be able to move the dish and position it in that direction. Be careful that the dish doesn't fall all the way down! Retighten the clamps.
Go back and forth between these two satellites and repeat the steps over and over until no more improvement can be made. Just remember to adjust ONLY the motor azimuth on one side of the arc and the dish elevation on the other side. It does not matter what you adjust on either side, just ensure that you stay with that selection throughout the entire calibration process and ensure that you ALWAYS monitor the SAME transponder on each satellite. This way you know that you are remaining consistent with your source signal level.
Then pick two satellites FURTHER away from your nearest true south satellite and repeat the entire process. Keep going out further and further until you have covered the entire arc.
This can be a time consuming process, so dedicate yourself the time to do it right. Be very patient and don't get greedy. When I say "GREEDY" I mean don't get impatient and start adjusting other angles and parameters to peak the signal Q on one satellite. Stay true to adjusting one thing and one thing only and the entire arc will eventually fall into place and it will be RIGHT!
You can also read my post "How to set up a motorized Ku band dish" in the FTA FAQ's section. Good luck and happy hunting!
RADAR
It must aim there to get the arc correct. Of course, that is difficult to judge your aim accurately, so simply try to guestimate it the best you can with a compass. You will correct any error in this aim once we start capturing satellites and fine tuning the arc.
First you need to determine your precise coordinates (latitude / longitude). Easiest method is to use Google Earth and position the mouse cursor over the spot where you will install the dish. At the bottom of the image, it will read out this information in degrees / minutes / seconds. You need to change that to pure decimal degrees. Take the minutes portion and divide by 60 and add that to the degrees portion. You don’t have to bother with the seconds portion, but if you want to, divide that portion by 3600 and add it to the degrees portion too.
Enter the pure decimal coordinates in your receiver’s USALS setup menu. Ensure that the longitude coordinate reads WEST and not EAST. You will need to enter the installation (motor setup) menu for any satellite in the list and select USALS so that you can enter the coordinates. Once these coordinates are entered for any one satellite, it is recorded for ALL satellites in the list that you select to use USALS.
Connect the motor to the LNB IN port of the receiver (the dish does not have to be attached to the motor yet and the motor does not have to be mounted on the mast yet, either). Then in the USALS setup menu there should be a "GOTO ZERO" or "GOTO REFERENCE" command. Execute that command to drive the motor to zero degrees or the center of its range of travel.
Ensure that the mast is absolutely perfectly plumb (vertical). Use a level on the east/west/north/south sides of the mast and align the mast so that the bubble is centered from all sides.
This is VERY critical so don't fudge on it.
Now you can attach the motor on the mast. Set the motor LATITUDE angle to the degrees of your site's latitude coordinate. Some motors have two different scales (LATITUDE and ELEVATION). Use the latitude scale (or subtract your site latitude from 90° and set the elevation angle to that degree). Elevation + Latitude = 90°. You can place an inclinometer on the FLAT bottom of the motor and read the ELEVATION. A dial inclinometer or a digital one will allow you to read the elevation to a higher degree of accuracy than using the stamped scale on the motor bracket.
Then attach the dish to the motor tube. Ensure that the dish clamp is perfectly centered on the motor tube. There should be a seam or two on the motor tube. Align one of the seams with some center feature of the dish bracket. Often there is a cutout or hole in the dish clamp that you can see the seam of the motor tube through, use that if present.
Determine what your dish elevation should be from the manual and set this angle on your dish. The manual may be incorrect for this motor. Use 30° where the manual states 40°.
At this point you should determine your NEAREST true south linear FTA satellite. If your longitude is, for example, 96.2W or 97.8W, use Galaxy 19 @ 97.0°W. Set this satellite up to use USALS motor positioning and then command the motor to GOTO SAT or GOTO POSITION. Some receivers state it a little differently, but they all calculate a DiSEqC 1.2 string to be sent to the motor that tells the motor which direction to move and how far.
Attach the LNBF to the dish. Set the polarity of the LNBF to zero degrees. The polarity is often called the skew, but that is an improper terminology. The polarity is the rotation of the LNBF in the LNBF clamp, CW vs CCW. Set the LNBF focal distance from the dish to the center of its range to start out with. After you find a signal, you can move it in or out in the clamp to fine adjust the reception.
Now you need to select a strong transponder signal to monitor the signal QUALITY from. Determine which satellite is nearest due south and then research what the best transponders are to use on that bird. You are NOT required to use the nearest due south satellite, but it makes the calibration process much easier and quicker. The closer you start to true south, the better.
Command the motor to move to the satellite you are going to look for first and monitor the signal quality on that one transponder that you researched. With the motor clamps on the mast just barely loose enough so that you can turn the motor on the mast by hand, position the motor to aim roughly in the direction (AZIMUTH) that dishpointer tells you where the satellite is.
Then rotate the motor CW / CCW on the mast, one direction and then back. As you rotate it, move a tiny fraction of a degree and pause for a few seconds, then move it again and pause again. Once it locks onto a signal, you will need to verify that it is the correct signal. Try running a "TRANSPONDER" scan and see what channels you log in. Check Lyngsat to verify if those channels match what is supposed to be on that transponder on that satellite.
Once you have located the proper satellite, you can fine adjust your dish elevation, motor azimuth and the LNBF polarity and focal distance to optimize your signal quality.
DO NOT adjust the motor latitude! Once that is set up initially, you never tweak it.
Now tighten the motor clamps on the mast, but not too tight, just enough so that it won't move.
Next step is to calibrate the motor and dish to the satellite arc.
Pick out two good FTA linear satellites which are as close to being equadistant (one to the east and one to the west) from your nearest true southern satellite that you just located. Try for two sats which are 10 - 15 degrees away from your nearest true south sat. Determine a really good, strong transponder on each of those.
Command the motor to drive to one of those satellites and monitor the signal quality from the hot transponder. If you are detecting a fairly good signal, grasp the dish from behind like a steering wheel and ever so gently try to push/pull the dish east or west to see if any improvement can be made to the signal. If you can improve the signal, loosen the motor clamps just enough to be able to move the motor and rotate it on the mast in that direction. Retighten the clamps.
Command the motor to drive to the other satellite in the other direction and monitor the signal quality from the hot transponder on it. If you are detecting a fairly good signal, grasp the dish again and this time, try to pull/push the dish up and down and determine if any improvement to the quality can be made. If you can improve the signal, loosen the dish elevation bracket just enough to be able to move the dish and position it in that direction. Be careful that the dish doesn't fall all the way down! Retighten the clamps.
Go back and forth between these two satellites and repeat the steps over and over until no more improvement can be made. Just remember to adjust ONLY the motor azimuth on one side of the arc and the dish elevation on the other side. It does not matter what you adjust on either side, just ensure that you stay with that selection throughout the entire calibration process and ensure that you ALWAYS monitor the SAME transponder on each satellite. This way you know that you are remaining consistent with your source signal level.
Then pick two satellites FURTHER away from your nearest true south satellite and repeat the entire process. Keep going out further and further until you have covered the entire arc.
This can be a time consuming process, so dedicate yourself the time to do it right. Be very patient and don't get greedy. When I say "GREEDY" I mean don't get impatient and start adjusting other angles and parameters to peak the signal Q on one satellite. Stay true to adjusting one thing and one thing only and the entire arc will eventually fall into place and it will be RIGHT!
You can also read my post "How to set up a motorized Ku band dish" in the FTA FAQ's section. Good luck and happy hunting!
RADAR
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First thing to understand is your S10 may be one of the good ones so it will work fine or one of the bad ones that will drive you to pull your hair out. The meter readings are subjective so consider 45 and 5 as a baseline and the reading must change when you hit a sat. S is simply the power in your system and if its too low, the LNB will not work. Q is sat signal strength and higher is better.
Unfortunately the due south sats for your zip have been moved so the right way to setup may be difficult. For those of us without a true due south sat sometimes its all about at least finding something up there and then adjusting as needed. If you can digest what Radar and others have suggested as the `right` way , you will likely have to try to find due south as best you can using a compass or maybe a sat shot of your location from google maps (gives you a local aiming reference) with your motor at 0 or reference. Then you will have to hunt for 83w and 72W by bumping your motor using diseq 1.2, tweaking your set up to fine tune both which may include shifting your due south a bit and certinaly you will have to adjust elevation. Then try farther west or east sats and adjust again.
Another brute force approach is set up your best due south and then move the dish using the motor to shift off the reference point the number of degrees to where either 83w or 72w should be for you. You then make small adjustments of the motor on the mast. With your best guess due south at reference and if your dish and motor are angled correctly off reference for say 83w and you can find 83w, then by default your due south must now be very close to correct. You can then try 72 w and others and then fine tune from there.
especially if you are using a universal lnb.I switched to using a standard ku linear lnb for my motorized setup to get the correct timely response on the dish aiming screen.
I am kinda confused with all these instructions. When i checked the motorized location from Dishpointer is says the dish elevation is 30 and both Azumiths are 57 from the back of my Apt where I installed my Dish. My Zipcode is 21044 can someone help me with the Latitude and Elevation for the Motor and My Dish. I will really appreciate it. I don't want to Spend extra money for someone to come install it.
1. Google shows your latitude as about 39.2 deg. So set your motor latitude scale to 39.2 deg, and leave it alone .
2. Your dish elevation scale should be set at 23.9 degrees ( 30 deg - 6.1 declination angle), to start. Adjust it slightly later to optimize signal quality.
With those starting points and a HOT transponder, you should be able to follow above directons and find AMC6 at 72W and get USALS working.
My strongest TP on this bird is 12055 V 6890, with a Q of 77% on my 1.0M dish.
2. Your dish elevation scale should be set at 23.9 degrees ( 30 deg - 6.1 declination angle), to start. Adjust it slightly later to optimize signal quality.
With those starting points and a HOT transponder, you should be able to follow above directons and find AMC6 at 72W and get USALS working.
My strongest TP on this bird is 12055 V 6890, with a Q of 77% on my 1.0M dish.
I draw a string across the antenna from top to bottom (0 and 180 degrees) crossing the center of the dish. Then I look up the exact time the sun is going to be due south on one of the web astro sites. I then move the antenna until the string shadow is striking the center of the antenna at the exact time the sun is due south. You can really dial it in accurately using this method.
nelson61 said:
Can you take a pic of that you did and post it on this thread? If you can that will really help.
To everyone. Is it the Pole or the motor that needs to be on a due south? And do i need to move the Pole or to another location?
Johnson,
The pole (or mast) that the motor is going to set on can be located anywhere. It can be in the yard on any side of your home, on the roof or attached to the side of a building. It can be anywhere PROVIDED that from that position you have a clear LOS (Line Of Sight) to the satellite/s in the sky when facing the southern horizon AND that the pole or mast is perfectly plumb (vertical).
If you stand at the mast and look south and turn east and west and see big trees or buildings then your LOS may be blocked and you will have to pick another location to set the mast. This depends on how tall the trees or buildings are and how far away they are. The satellites are higher up in the sky than most people think at first. However, if you have to tilt your head back really far (like straining) to see the sky over the tops of the trees, then you are probably too close to the trees. If you can nod your head like you were agreeing with someone's statements (a natural movement) and you can see blue sky over the trees or buildings, you are probably alright.
Once you have determined a spot that has a clear LOS to the southern horizon and the mast is set, then you point the MOTOR TUBE to face DUE SOUTH when the motor itself is at zero degrees. There is a degree scale on the bottom of the motor where the tube attaches. Zero degrees is dead center and then it counts up from there in both directions (CW / CCW).
If you point that motor tube due south, then when you attach the dish to the tube, it will also be facing due south. THat is what you are trying to achieve.
RADAR
The post / pole must be "plumb" vertical. The motor must be square on the pole so the 'flat' surface is level. When the motor is at the zero position the dish is at its highest point of travel and at that point, the arm / dish is pointing due south.
with my s9 when i get close to signal, the 43/5 moves up to 43/7 and when closer goes to 43/10 and then when strength jumps to 80 you are getting really close. hope that helps. charlie
if it gets too frustrating .... let me know i might be able to help . i'm currently in Bel Air ( or close to there)
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