Must Keep Updating USALS Coordinates

[cyberham]

I recently did a complete re-tweak of my Ku dish. I reset the SG-2100 motor by physically zeroing it at the 0 reference, and then pushing its reset button. I re-oriented the dish from scratch using satellite signals from the extreme east and west ends of the arc. The system is working better than ever before. For most of the arc (excluding 15W and east), USALS works great.

As the days go by, I find I must keep updating my longitude coordinate for USALS to work well. Starting out at the correct 63 degrees W, I have now "walked" all the way to 58 degrees W! USALS still works well, as long as I keep updating my longitude as though my system is walking out into the Atlantic ocean and points east. Maybe not surprisingly, if I change from USALS to DiSEqC movement, I must keep bumping the dish west on a regular basis too for peak signals.

What is causing this!? I have been motoring manually to the extreme east end of the motor movement checking for the far eastern sats. I can't see my dish as the motor moves since it is out of eyesight. Is it possible I'm hitting the end of the motor travel when trying to get 4W and I am actually pushing the dish against its end stop? But through all this, it's obvious I am still well aligned on the arc since signal levels are great from all satellites I can receive. I'm just afraid I'm soon going to be in England with my dish.

I'm pretty sure this has nothing to do with my new microHD being installed, since this symptom has been noticed in past too when using my S9.

 

[madmadworld]

wish you luck my first post here.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/87416-MOTECK-SG-2100-Trouble?highlight=SG-2100

over the years people have trouble with them spend lots of time playing and saved how much buying the cheapest motor ? worse money spent on this stuff.
3 of the stab motors are almost 7 years old now.

 

[cyberham]

Yes, I think my problem is related to the SG-2100, not to my receiver. But your problem was different since you were losing sat data all together. What do I expect from a motor that only cost me $99!

 

[madmadworld]

dang they were $50 back then. the stab's were $99 +sh

 

[Kraven]

Cyberham... same motor, same problem w/ USUALS. I'll adjust 1 day, do a full blind scan, then its off by 4 degrees. Disq1.1 seems more "stable"

Cheers, K

 

[cyberham]

I am experimenting by pressing "Go to Reference" and I notice then the longitude can be set closer to my actual value. In fact, now, USALS is working from 8W through 121W. I can't complain about this. Maybe there is interaction when both USALS and DiSEqC settings are used. I will change all sats to USALS and try it this way for a while.

 

[madmadworld]

only use USALS
can make better fine adjustments by changing the sat Longitude ex: 101.0°W try 100.9 or 101.1 etc.
think the micro does 2 digits .00

 

[SatelliteAV]

GoTo Reference will send the motor back to the positioning saved as the default center position in the motor DiSEqC 1.2 tables.

To be most accurate using DiSEqC 1.2, perform a hardware reset on the motor then use the receiver's GoTo Reference feature. Verify the tube position is at the "0" position and start programming.

 

[cyberham]

Yes, microHD allows 2 digits following decimal. I find using only digit (63.0, 63.1, 63.2, etc.) is more than accurate enough. I am finding when getting to an extreme end of the arc, I need to fine tune this longitude value for USALS to work. But, basically, over most of the arc, a single value can be entered and have it work. I'm sticking with USALS for now. It also allows for hunting for new satellites and blind scanning when you don't know a transponder.

 

[primestar31]

Go out to your motor and dish. See if you can MOVE or rock the dish slightly back and forth on the motor, or if the whole thing moves even a tiny bit when pushed on a bit.

You might have a bad motor back-lash adjustment, OR your dish itself is slightly moving/sloppy on the motors post. Even a tiny 1/8th of and inch is a huge movement out where the satellites are located.

If the lnb mount doesn't have side poles to center it, it might even be wagging slightly, moving the lnb out of the sweet spot.

 

[northgeorgia]

..., OR your dish itself is slightly moving/sloppy on the motors post. Even a tiny 1/8th of and inch is a huge movement out where the satellites are located....If the lnb mount doesn't have side poles to center it, it might even be wagging slightly, moving the lnb out of the sweet spot.

Yep, I had that happen to me before with my previous motor. Took me a while to figure out what the culprit was

 

[cyberham]

Good advice, primestar. I plead guilty due to nature of my dish support system. I have a small tower sitting on the ground that is weighted and secured but not as ideal as a pole installed in concrete. I could not sink a pole initially due to having a very satellite-unfriendly yard due to trees and vegetation, especially when wanting to have a motor drive from the far eastern satellites continuously to the far western end of the arc. I must regularly monitor/tweak the tower's verticality and stableness. I have satisfactorily resolved this motor issue by using USALS only for all satellites. If everything is installed correctly and used properly, I think USALS is the superior method over manually motoring via DiSEqC commands.

Added: I think, ultimately, I will replace my current motor with a better quality one. The latest dish I've installed is heavy compared with my first Ariza dish used. This added weight has contributed to this problem. I shoulda got a Stab, I guess.

 

[Cham]

Mine was doing the same thing... had to update the USALS location (home coordinates) several times a week. Finally removed the motor and inspected.. the reset switch had corroded and was likely shorting or causing some current to pass though. I removed the switch and problem solved. Luckily I haven't had to reset it since.
-C.