Mini SAT 2012

[slogie]

Hi Polgyver,

I too bought two of these receivers on ebay. I am a total newbie at all this satellite talk. I just want to pick up galaxy 19. I am trying to use a 22" dish to pick it up. I live in Jamaica and I have tried attaching it to the house, and set it to the directions given by dishpointer and satfinder but all I am getting is "bad signal" when I turn it on. I am using a digital signal finder and even when I hear it buzzing it says bad signal. Please tell me what I am doing wrong.

 

[FaT Air]

22 inch dish is a bit small. I only got the strongest with an 18 inch dish. I get them all with a 30 inch but will loose some with heavy overcast/rain/fog. (Bigger IS better)
What model LNBF do you have? Specifications? (best to list ALL equipment when a problem)

to Satelliteguys

EDIT: just looked at satbeams. they are recommending a 80cm / 31.5in

 

[KE4EST]

Welcome to the site!

Yes like FaT Air said try a bigger dish. Also make sure the TP list in the receiver is accurate.

 

[polgyver]

Hi, Slogie,
Welcome to this forum!
I was in such comfortable situation, that my dish, 39" high, was already precisely pointed to the 97 W sat.
This small receiver satellite list did not have in its menu 97 W, if my memory serves...
This rec is made for Europe and Asia.
But you can program "New Satellite" and add all needed data, like LNB - normal (standard), 10.750 L.O.
Indeed, the dish seems too small.
Would be easier if you can find someone (a neighbour, or friend) with working bigger Ku dish, and try programming there.
Cheers, polgyver

 

[slogie]

Hi guys, thanks for the welcome. I actually got the dish from my uncle. He used it for his directtv. Someone had told me that I could pick up the satellite with it and so I asked him for it. So I bought one of the linear ku band dual lnb to fit in the arm. You can see it in the picture I attached. I don't have to get all of the channels, I just want to be able to get the religious channels like TBN and Daystar. What my dad has now done is to get a pole that he is going to bolt on to the fence and lift it higher so that it will clear the house. I tried to add satellite, but I did not understand the frequency and all that stuff. I will try the info that polgyver has given me.

 

[FaT Air]

97W should be around 53° elevation. Any obstacle would have to very close or very tall.

 

[slogie]

Ok I have tried the settings and even moved the dish but it tells me no TP exists. I have attached a picture of the screenso if anyone can tell me if I have entered anything wrongly. Thanks.

 

[Titanium]

The LNB Power is set to only tune vertical transponders (13V=Vertical / 18V+Horizontal) from a LNBF. Set the LNBF voltage to 13/18 or if no 13/18, automatic.

If the STB displays "No TP Exists" then satellite G19 has no preprogrammed transponders and one must be programmed before a satellite can be detected and scanned. You will need to enter the frequency, symbol rate and polarity (I.E. 12177, 23000, Vertical) then the receiver will be able to detect if the dish is aimed at a satellite transmitting that transponder.

What model is the LNBF? LO Frequency printed on it?

Did you rotate the LNBF to the correct rotation (Skew) based on your location? Use www.dishpointer.com to know the correct direction, elevation and LNBF rotation for your location.

 

[slogie]

Oh, I put it to 13V because that was where I got the highest signal strength. I did align everything according to the settings from dishpointer and used satfinder to set it up. One thing I wasn't certain about is if it was the lnb arm that should be set to the compass settings or the part that has that attaches the dish to the pole. FYI I set the lnb arm to the compass settings and the skew is at 46 degrees. The elevation is 59 and the azimuth is 229-230 deg. I was using my phone but if I put it right at the lnb it throws off the compass. so I put it a little distance from it, but it is in the general direction.

As for the lnb, it is a ROC brand, it says dual output, dual polarization.
Input Freq. Range 11.70 GHz - 12.75 GHz
Output Freq. Range 950 MHz -1450 MHz
LO Freq. 10.750 GHz
0.4 Db

 

[Titanium]

The LNBF is the correct type and the receiver is correctly set to Standard type and LO 10750!

The LNB Power must be on 13/18 or Automatic so the receiver will select the correct polarity for the transponder.

The LNBF arm will point in the direction of the compass reading. You are right to move the compass away from the metal. Could you take a photo of the front and back of the dish? This will help us determine if the elevation and skew setting look correct.

What Transponder frequency, Symbol Rate and Polarity is programmed into the receiver and used to find G19? Could you include a photo of that screen?

 

[slogie]

I can try to get a picture of the back tomorrow but the front will be difficult as it is mounted on a pole pointing away from the house. Any way I'll see what I can do. Thank you.

 

[Keystone7]

Just throwing this out there. On 97W, I have to have the 22k turned on. Noticed in your photo, it is off.

 

[Titanium]

The 22KHz can be off or on because it is a Standard type LNBF with no internal switches.


Brian Gohl
Titanium Satellite

 

[FaT Air]

Keystone7; If you have to have 22Khz on, there's a switch hidden in there somewhere.

Thought I'd throw this into the thread, may help

Aiming your Ku dish

using the receiver's meters (or a digital Satellite meter).

Prerequisits:
A known active transponder, on the satellite you're aiming for, must be programmed in the receiver. This consists of Frequency, SR, and Polarity.
Check TheList at Satelliteguys, MPEG-2 Central or sathint.com for these.
LNB type and L.O. frequency also has to be programmed correctly.
The pole the dish is mounted to is perfectly vertical.
NOTE: Remove power to the receiver whenever connecting/disconnecting anything to the coax. May destroy the LNBF (or switches if/when added later on)

Lets 'do it':

Get a reference 'line' from www.dishpointer.com
Set the elevation scale on the dish mount to match elevation dishpointer.com indicates.

Adjust the LNBF skew to the angle dishpointer indicates. When looking at the face of the dish, (back of the LNBF, your back to the satellite) Twist the LNBF Clockwise if the satellite is East of your location, CCW if west.
(if imagining a clock, each hour is = to 30 degrees)

Select one of the known active transponders, That's been confirmed/or entered previously, in the receivers tune up screen. (should have transponder information, Signal Level(see below), and Quality meters.

Pan the dish across the dishpointer 'line' in small, stepped, increments and wait** a while for the receiver to "lock on" to the signal to display Quality. ** 10 seconds is not unreasonable to lock on and display Quality..
If panning both sides of the dishpointer 'line' results in no Quality reading, adjust the dish up or down no more than 1° and repeat.
Once you have 'lock' and a Quality reading. Fine tune the dish UP/DN, L/R for maximum Quality. Try improve signal with skew adjustment and LNBF fore/aft adjustment. Again, wait 10 seconds to see any change.
Once satisfied you have Quality maximized, tighten the dish mount, and Blind scan in the rest of the transponders/channels.

Signal Level reading:
Signal level shows that an operating LNBF is attached, no more, no less.
Without an LNBF attached, most receivers show 0 to 10 Level.
With an LNBF attached, and not aimed at a satellite, Level typically is 30 to 50.
Once a Quality reading is attained, Level usually increases to 80+.

 

[slogie]

Ok. So first of all let , me say thanks to FaT air for the info. It was a real great guideline especially for newbie like me. However, I did everything according to what he said and all I am gettting is a high signal strength of 55 and no quality. I programmed in the transponder settings I got, along with another one I got from lyngsat and still nothing. I am attaching the pics of the dish that u guys asked for and a few shots of the tv screen. Hope you can see if I did anything wrong. By the way on the pic the elevation is probably off but I did set it correctly at 59 and 60 also and still nothing.

 

[Titanium]

Thanks for the photos. These really help!

The menu settings for the satellite and the transponders appear correct. The LNBF skew is not correct. Your location is east of the satellite position and the dish is aimed towards the South West. This means that the Skew angle of the LNBF should be set to be high to the East side and low to the West. Standing behind the dish, the dish would be rotated clockwise, not counter-clockwise. The markings on this dish might not show the 12 o'clock position as zero (0). If not, calculate the skew position from the dish in the level position (maybe marked 90 degrees).

I still am not confident that the small diameter dish will receive G19 in your area. A 30" is minimal for reliable reception and a 36" is recommended. This may not sound like much of a difference, but those few extra inches could be the difference between receiving and not.


Brian Gohl
Titanium Satellite

 

[Cham]

I have a bell 24" dish and a very similar LNBF, that size dish almost picks up G19; borderline at best. It will take very precise fine tuning and a clear day. At sea level with all the moisture in the air it may not work... but if you do get it to work you will have had some good experience and will find setting up a larger dish a cakewalk.

I use the 24' dish as a birdbath now.

 

[. Raine]

I have an 18'' dish setup here that I slapped a LNB onto and torture myself with once in a while, so far I've been able to lock transponders but never have gotten a watchable picture. It may be destined to become a birdbath.

 

[FaT Air]

Agree on both points. Skew needs to be the opposite direction. And it, dish size, may be a bit small. 22 inch is only ~56cm
http://www.lyngsat-maps.com/footprints/Galaxy-19-Ku.html looks to be in the 44dbw area where they are recommending a 95 to 120cm dish.
Satbeams says a 90Cm for 44dbw area.

Give it another try with the dish rotated the other direction of shown in pic 3 tho. (I would)
maybe try these transponders: 97.0 °W (Galaxy 19) 11929 V 22000 (V) or 11967 H 22000 (V)
(FROM Satellites, Positions & Strong Transponders )

 

[slogie]

Hey guys, I tried adjusting the skew in the other direction, but still nothing. I am wondering if the problem is because it is an offset dish. I know that it is small..yes.. but I do get signal strength of 53%, but the quality is 0%. I am just wondering if maybe, I tried putting the lnb arm at the mid-point and then try rigging the lnb a different way so that it is held on by the head and then try rotating that. Any suggestions???? Do you think that will work??