need help on final setup

[willie8605]

I believe with a little Cowboy ingenuity, you will be scanning the skies before the weekend is over!

Well, turns out I forgot I told my girlfriend I would go to Frontier City (amusement park) with her and her family, so I didn't get anything done Sunday.

The 2 3/8" pole that fits into the dish bracket also slides inside the mast (which is 2 7/8") nicely so I think I'm gonna get my dad to bring his welder over and we are just gonna weld a short section of 2 3/8" to the top of the mast (after figuring out how to hold the short section of 2 3/8" completely plumb before welding!) and then the dish should mount nicely. Hopefully I can get it done early this week, but it depends on when I can get a hold of that welder.

If anyone else has any better ideas on how to do this please let me know!

 

[AcWxRadar]

Well, turns out I forgot I told my girlfriend I would go to Frontier City (amusement park) with her and her family, so I didn't get anything done Sunday.

The 2 3/8" pole that fits into the dish bracket also slides inside the mast (which is 2 7/8") nicely so I think I'm gonna get my dad to bring his welder over and we are just gonna weld a short section of 2 3/8" to the top of the mast (after figuring out how to hold the short section of 2 3/8" completely plumb before welding!) and then the dish should mount nicely. Hopefully I can get it done early this week, but it depends on when I can get a hold of that welder.

If anyone else has any better ideas on how to do this please let me know!

Willie,

I think that is a GREAT option. While you are in the process of welding this "adapter section" onto your mast, try to weld some sort of a totally flat and level "platform" for your motor brackets to rest upon.

This really helps a lot! You will not have to worry about your motor clamp / brackets sliding down the mast on you and if it is level, your motor assembly and clamps will not tilt so badly on you when you have the clamps loosened to make azimuth adjustments.

Not much of a lip or "shelf" is required, just 1/4 to 1/2 inch makes a lot of difference.

You will notice the difference when you need to loosen the motor bracket bolts to spin the motor east / west. Without this shelf, when you need to rotate your motor /dish in the azimuth angle, you may find that you have to rely upon the lower clamp to hold the motor from sliding down the mast, but have it and the upper clamp so loose that the entire dish will tilt downwards and throw off any sense of accurate elevation. When you tighten everything back up as it should be, it will throw off your adjustments.

This "shelf" will allow you to adjust the azimuth of the entire assembly without loosening everything so much.

I am sure that you can visualize that the more you loosen the upper motor clamp, the more the entire motor and dish will sag downwards. With the "shelf", you don't have to worry so much. The shelf will assist you in keeping everything level or square as you loosen the motor/dish to adjust it in the azimuth.

Although you may not understand what I am referring to right now, when you are in the middle of experimenting with the adjustments for elevation and azimuth (without this so called shelf) you will realize what I mean. Hard to explain in words, but easy to see in actual application.

Without this little "shelf" I found it cumbersome to adjust the dish and motor properly as I needed to loosen the bolts too much on top to allow me to dial my dish in and the lower clamp had to hold the entire assembly from sliding down the mast. That basically induced a large error in the entire elevation of the motor. When I snugged it back up, the adjustments that I made were usually too much or too little.

I think you can visualize what I am trying to describe. You gotta keep the motor elevation level while you make any other adjustments. Kinda tough at times.

RADAR

 

[Tron]

I use a 2 3/8" gate hinge (Home Depot, Lowes, local hardware store) mounted on the pole just below the motor bracket to keep the motor/dish assembly from sliding down the pole during adjustments.

 

[willie8605]

I think you can visualize what I am trying to describe. You gotta keep the motor elevation level while you make any other adjustments. Kinda tough at times.
RADAR

I understand what you are explaining, but it's hard to visualize b/c I do not even have a motor yet. Basically, you are saying that a shelf perpendicular to and at the top of the mast would help mount a motor and make the adjustments easier to do? How big of a shelf does this need to be? What motor would be recommended for this big hughesnet dish?

 

[phlatwound]

I understand what you are explaining, but it's hard to visualize b/c I do not even have a motor yet. Basically, you are saying that a shelf perpendicular to and at the top of the mast would help mount a motor and make the adjustments easier to do? How big of a shelf does this need to be? What motor would be recommended for this big hughesnet dish?

Did you look at Tron's picture? You don't need a "shelf", actually you don't need anything, but I do agree that some sort of "stop" might make it easier to get your motor setup.

As far as a motor recommendation, the DG-380 and STAB 120 are the biggest and baddest out there now that I am aware of, I like the 380 myself. I think the 380 is specced to about 30 pounds, and you will probably have to fabricate a mount to be able to use any motor with that dish.

 

[AcWxRadar]

I understand what you are explaining, but it's hard to visualize b/c I do not even have a motor yet. Basically, you are saying that a shelf perpendicular to and at the top of the mast would help mount a motor and make the adjustments easier to do? How big of a shelf does this need to be? What motor would be recommended for this big hughesnet dish?

Willie,

Just a small "lip" of a shelf, maybe 1/4" to 1/2" all around the mast. I use galvanized 1 1/4" to 2" water pipe for my mast and use a pipe coupling with a 6-8" nipple pipe above. The pipe coupling provides the shelf or lip that I need for the motor to rest upon.

Without it, as with a straight tube mast, the motor bracket seems to want to "walk" down the tube when you are turning the assembly in the azimuth angle. As well as you can twist (rotate) the motor easier without having the clamps too loose so that the motor sags when you are trying to set up. This sagging that I refer to is very, very slight, but can be a nuisance during initial alignment.

RADAR

 

[AcWxRadar]

Did you look at Tron's picture? You don't need a "shelf", actually you don't need anything, but I do agree that some sort of "stop" might make it easier to get your motor setup.

As far as a motor recommendation, the DG-380 and STAB 120 are the biggest and baddest out there now that I am aware of, I like the 380 myself. I think the 380 is specced to about 30 pounds, and you will probably have to fabricate a mount to be able to use any motor with that dish.

Phlatwound,

Tron's picture shows the "shelf" or "lip" that I am attempting to describe. The motor brackets are resting on some sort of pipe cap/adapter and the clamps are attached to a section of the mast above that.

RADAR.

 

[willie8605]

Got a 9.5 ft mast up. Much better than the wooden post that was there before. Still can't pick anything up. I know I have LOS, it's pretty obvious, but I just can't get any Q on 97W. Hooked up a Dish Network dish at 119W for NASA, about to test it (it was already mounted and aimed from previous house owner, I just had to plug in coax). Just gotta keep at it I suppose. I am determined to have at least 97W coming in by the end of the week.

I am trying to adjust elevation by about 0.5 degrees at a time, then move azimuth back and forth very slowly and watching meter. How much should I adjust the elevation when trying to pick up signal? +/- 5 degrees in each direction? More? Mast is plumb. I just don't want to be adjusting the azimuth so many times at useless elevation settings.

 

[osu1991]

Have you tried a blinscan to see if your close? If you don't have an active transponder set when your adjusting the dish, then you could be on it and wouldn't know it.

 

[willie8605]

Have you tried a blinscan to see if your close? If you don't have an active transponder set when your adjusting the dish, then you could be on it and wouldn't know it.

No, unfortunately the Viewsat Ultra Lite doesn't have blind scan. I looked up a strong TP on 97W from the thread Iceberg made about strong TP's and kept switching back and forth between two of the strong ones just to make sure. The Ultra Lite does have autoscan, which I didn't try. I'm not sure why I didn't I guess I just didn't think about it. I know the two are different, but my Ultra Lite does have all the TP's programmed into it for 97W so it would still work about the same, right?

I will have to get back at it tomorrow. I dressed all the coax I ran today and yesterday, so now all I have left to do is adjust that dish. Although it's taking forever to get this thing aligned, I'm still having fun!

 

[willie8605]

I hooked up the Dish 500 and scanned it at 119W....I picked up a TON of pay-per-view previews, but not Angel or NASA...what's going on with this? Am I missing something? Are they still there?

:EDIT:

I'm using the original circular LNB.

The List - Nasa TV @ 12372 (R/V) 20000
Lyngsat - Doesn't list Nasa TV on 119W

The List - Angel @ 12518 (L/H) 20000
Lyngsat - Angel One @ 12516 R, tp21

1) Is Nasa TV still there?
2) Why is the Angel info different between the The List and Lyngsat?

:ANOTHER EDIT :
The List is correct. I added them manually and found them both. Had to change my LO to 11250.
I'm still wondering about the 2 questions from the first edit above....

 

[Lak7]

Numbers vary on different receivers, especially if it's a Blind Scan.
Lyngsat is not always up to date, or correct info for that matter. I use Lyngsat as a "guide" only.

 

[willie8605]

Turns out my dish was warped. I kept barely getting a Q for 97W and it would increase from 15 to 40 if i pushed on the left side of the dish when rotating. Took off mast, put knee in middle of dish and pulled on sides. Now I get TPs on 97W with a Q signal ranging from 35-70! I can't believe I have spent hours trying to align that thing when all I had to do was bend it a little. grrrr....now to find 123W. should be cake now that my dish is healed

 

[Mr Tony]

I hooked up the Dish 500 and scanned it at 119W....I picked up a TON of pay-per-view previews, but not Angel or NASA...what's going on with this? Am I missing something? Are they still there?

:EDIT:

I'm using the original circular LNB.

The List - Nasa TV @ 12372 (R/V) 20000
Lyngsat - Doesn't list Nasa TV on 119W

The List - Angel @ 12518 (L/H) 20000
Lyngsat - Angel One @ 12516 R, tp21

1) Is Nasa TV still there?
2) Why is the Angel info different between the The List and Lyngsat?

:ANOTHER EDIT :
The List is correct. I added them manually and found them both. Had to change my LO to 11250.
I'm still wondering about the 2 questions from the first edit above....

1. Lyngsat is based in Europe so the US sats may not be 100% correct
2. a couple of on the frequency is no biggie especially when blind scanning

 

[phlatwound]

Glad you got it figured out, I read through this thread a couple of times and it sure seemed like it should have been working. Good luck with 123W.

 

[willie8605]

I am now watching 123W. However, I can't get a Q strength above 25 for the TP at 11799, and it is really choppy video. The TP at 11805 comes in at a Q strength of 35 and works fine. I tweaked the dish for a long time and couldn't get either one any higher. 123W is right above the peak of a tree, but dishpointer.com says that the object (tree) can have a max height of about 90 ft. before interfering. I estimate the tree to be around 60-70 ft. It is shown in a attached pic (the pics I took from behind the dish). Is there any way I can try to boost the signal other than tweaking the alignment? The tree isn't mine so I can't mess with it. I don't think the alignment can get any better, though...

I welded a section of 2 3/8" pipe to the top of the 2 7/8" mast so the dish could mount properly.

 

[meinename]

Looks like you are fine for LOS and need to work on fine-tuning your dish.

Does that dish NOT have an elevation fine tuning bolt?

 

[willie8605]

Looks like you are fine for LOS and need to work on fine-tuning your dish.

Does that dish NOT have an elevation fine tuning bolt?

It does, but it doesn't work too well. I ended up tightening it enough to hold the dish and tapped the dish up/down in very small increments. I did this quite a few times and every time the TP at 11799 peaked at a stable 25 and jumps to 27 every once in awhile but not for long.

 

[turbosat]

willie was the dish in your pics the same one you said was warped , and you bent it by hand?
If so, I doubt I would trust it a whole lot, far as accuracy. It might look ok and work some, but if it had been visibly bent, I would look for another dish, that could cause all kinds of problems.

 

[willie8605]

willie was the dish in your pics the same one you said was warped , and you bent it by hand?
If so, I doubt I would trust it a whole lot, far as accuracy. It might look ok and work some, but if it had been visibly bent, I would look for another dish, that could cause all kinds of problems.

It is not visibly bent. It looks the same as it did before. I barely pulled on it when I did that, and before I removed it, I was aimed at 97W. I marked the position on the bracket and mast so I could line it back up. I put it back up there in the exact same location and the Q for a strong TP on 97W went from 10-15 to 65-70. Before, I couldn't get anything at all (Q=0) on 123W and afterwards I found it quickly. Visibly, nothing on the dish looks bent, dented, or anything like that. I did just get another Hughesnet dish of the same size, but has a different feedhorn. Would it work if I just swapped the brackets and feedhorns on the two dishes?