N00b Needs Help

[k3n0bl]

man i really appreciate all your help, I moved the dish slightly to the east... got a squeel... and I'm getting stuff now! I am not getting all the transponders, You mentioned the pentagon channel, Im not getting that transponder, but at least i'm finally getting the dish moving somewhat accurately and picking up transponders from multiple satellites lol. I really need to do what you were saying about getting a visual of the receiver readings from the roof... I do have a slingbox HD, but I do not have a laptop, plus it's been one rainy week so i don't want to haul that stuff up there with me. Again I really appreciate all the help guys!

Someone mentioned that the LNB should automatically set itself since I have a motor? I don't see how that would work with my motor... I think i need to mess with the LNB skew? My roof is about 25 feet high, the feedhorn is hanging off the roof, and quite honestly i don't have the balls to mess with it on a rainy cold roof lol, i'll get to it later this week if it's something i need to mess with. BTW, when i see a diagram of an LNB skew, is that looking at the LNB from the view of the Dish or Behind the LNB?

 

[cyberham]

I really need to do what you were saying about getting a visual of the receiver readings from the roof... I do have a slingbox HD, but I do not have a laptop...

Someone mentioned that the LNB should automatically set itself since I have a motor? I don't see how that would work with my motor...

The slingbox adds some additional delay, so you must move the dish a little and wait for the result.

No skew adjustment should be done if using any H-H motor. When this motor turns, it will indirectly and automatically adjust LNB skew, in this case, by moving the whole dish appropriately. When the motor is at 0, the LNB skew should be 0. If that's correct, you are done with the skew.

 

[oblio]

May need to go back to first principles before you go much further. Now that you know the system works, if you have a motor you make sure you are at zero (reference) and physically rotate your dish/motor mounting East by hand on the mast about 14 degrees to find your due south sat which was suggested earlier as 87w. If you find it and set the correct optimized elevation, you should be aligned with the Clarke belt so you can then use USALS or diseq 2 to find all the other sats. If you dish is aimed at 101 but not currenlty at reference, then simply figure out where 14 degrees east is so you can move there after you zero it (zeroing will lose your 101)

After settign up due south I find it easiest to use diseq 2, by inputting a known strong tp for the sat I want and bumping e or w until I get that tp signal. Right now if you do a hard set up on 101 as if it was your due south, your skew will be off when looking for other sats. USALS can find all sats automaitcally once the due south reference is set but can be error prone if the mast is not perfectly upright or your due south is off. You then have to tune using diseq 2 anyway.

 

[k3n0bl]

If you dish is aimed at 101 but not currenlty at reference, then simply figure out where 14 degrees east is so you can move there after you zero it

What happened was I pointed my motor to what i thought was due south, then had USALS point to 97W Galaxy 19. I strolled thru the transponders and noticed one was in the green (it was getting a signal), so i thought I was at G19, turns out I was really at 101. Earlier this morning I went up on the roof and physically moved the motor a few degrees east, and I hit 97W.

So now the motor is moving and hitting some transponders on some satellites, but it seems like a lot are not hitting. One of the problems is that the transponder data on my receiver is old, I don't know how to update the I-link 9500 to get the new transponders but there are usb ports, I have a thumbdrive, i just don't know where to get the file. The other problem is that I may not have it aligned perfectly, which I will need to get my bro's laptop and use my slingbox to set it via the receiver as cyberham suggested... and cyberham was right about the signal meter too, all it does is get me in the general vicinity, I need a visual of the receiver signals.

Good information Oblio, I do think the mast might be off slightly. So i may have to do this with Diseq. Thanks again guys!

 

[k3n0bl]

So I was able to get everything going pretty good! So far I am getting 448 channels with my KU band LNB, seems like some sats are easier to lock than others, Satmex 5 took a lot of East/West Diseqc'ng before i got a transponder to lock lol. Everything west of 73 degrees I've been able to lock, everything east of that is obstructed by neighbors trees... nothing that some black clothes, a chainsaw, and a 4 AM mission can't overcome... Just kidding.

Lots of cool stuff on FTA, i'm really liking the wildfeed sports i've been able to get! Thanks again to everyone that's helped... I'm in debt to you!

 

[cyberham]

So I was able to get everything going pretty good!

It's a good feeling when you finally get it, isn't it? After all that frustration! I too just finally tweaked the dish and am now perfectly on the arc. I can't receive anything east of 74W anyway except 15W. You being further south could get 30W and 72W if the trees weren't blocking them. Can you get one of my favorites: History on SES1 at 101W? I'm working at getting a new fixed dish up specifically for PBS on 125W.

 

[k3n0bl]

It's a good feeling when you finally get it, isn't it? After all that frustration! I too just finally tweaked the dish and am now perfectly on the arc. I can't receive anything east of 74W anyway except 15W. You being further south could get 30W and 72W if the trees weren't blocking them. Can you get one of my favorites: History on SES1 at 101W? I'm working at getting a new fixed dish up specifically for PBS on 125W.

It is a good feeling, I think i am on the arc i don't know exactly lol! History on SES1 is pretty much on all the time here now lol. When i first got it i was hearing audio on the other channels and i thought i was getting them but then i realized the video was scrambled, but the history test channel rocks, one of my favorite channels I had on cable. I was getting MSNBC/CNBC the other day off of one of the birds but i forget which one, not sure if it's still up or not!

Looking at Dishpointer.com... there arent any obstructions so I should be able to get 72 W. Which I would like to get it because i am a big soccer fan and the Mexican seminals is on a 72W wildfeed in 20 minutes lol

 

[turbosat]

k3n, you won't see msnbc or cnbc much on the weekends, and especially on sundays, they have most of the transponders tied up for NFL football feeds, prep and other football stuff. This afternoon I've even found nfl stuff on 91 and 95ku , and 74w. Well I guess it IS big money , haha.

 

[cyberham]

... I was getting MSNBC/CNBC the other day...

.....so I should be able to get 72 W.

MSNBC is on Telstar 12 at 15W which is where I see it, but I don't think you were watching there. More likely, you saw it and CNBC on 72W.

 

[k3n0bl]

I tried to document the satellites i was able to lock on to the other day, I locked on to 72W. But i was unable to hit 74w or 78w

NFL feeds would be awesome! Looking at wildfeeds.org it seems like most of the NFL stuff is on C band, I only have a 90cm dish and i am not sure if it's possible with that size, or with a linear LNB.

It's 72W that is doing NFL feeds? What is the best way to blind scan? My Ilink9500 gives me options to scan increments of 4-6-12 or something to that effect, it seems like you'd miss a lot of transponders by scanning that way.

If you guys know a site with better wildfeed listings than wildfeed.org please let me know!

 

[cyberham]

NFL feeds would be awesome!

You won't get C-band with a 90cm dish, but 72W has some good feeds I've heard. You might light Rick's Page. I guess if you scan in smaller steps, it's slower but more accurate.

 

[Jim S.]

I tried to document the satellites i was able to lock on to the other day, I locked on to 72W. But i was unable to hit 74w or 78w

If you really mean 78w, you're too far north to pick it up. If you meant 79w, there's no satellite there anymore. Pretty soon there won't be one at 74w either.