Orby Dish Conversion

[Far32]

Hello All,
So after Orby went out of business, I still had that big dish outside. After a brief search, I learned that their slimline dish can be used to tap into Galaxy19 W (G19W) satellite and maybe others. I bough a FA receiver, Amiko mini HD265, hooked it up. Repositioning the dish to aim at G19 W was not easy. After setting up a tv by the receiver and painstakingly I had to enter manually transponder 12152 H 20000 and do a scan on it to get those stations. a blind scan came up with more transponder but no tv stations. Does it mean I should keep working on aiming the dish? Do I have to change the LNB, if yes to what? would a standard LBN be better than a universal one, or vice versa?
Also, I was able to use my Orby box as a DTV convertor. It works to get local TV stations on an old non-digital TV.
Thanks for any input.

 

[FTA4PA]

Hello All,
So after Orby went out of business, I still had that big dish outside. After a brief search, I learned that their slimline dish can be used to tap into Galaxy19 W (G19W) satellite and maybe others. I bough a FA receiver, Amiko mini HD265, hooked it up. Repositioning the dish to aim at G19 W was not easy. After setting up a tv by the receiver and painstakingly I had to enter manually transponder 12152 H 20000 and do a scan on it to get those stations. a blind scan came up with more transponder but no tv stations. Does it mean I should keep working on aiming the dish? Do I have to change the LNB, if yes to what? would a standard LBN be better than a universal one, or vice versa?
Also, I was able to use my Orby box as a DTV convertor. It works to get local TV stations on an old non-digital TV.
Thanks for any input.

Welcome to Satellite Guys! Just for clarification, you mentioned the Slimline dish. Those are not from Orby. They are from DirecTv and do require modding with a different lnbf to make them useful for FTA. There are several threads here about that. Here is a pic of a Slimline that I modded for Orby use (top dish).

The actual Orby dish - the one I believe you are using - already has an lnbf that is capable of receiving FTA signals so no modification is necessary. If that is the dish you have then there may be a wrong setting in your receiver. If not then the dish probaly just needs aimed more precisely. You are going about things the right way as having the receiver and a tv at the dish will allow you to see changes in signal more easily. Be sure to move the dish in TINY increments and wait to see any results on the receiver. We are talking about fractions of an inch so it is easy to do a sweep too quickly and pass right by the signal you are looking for.

What are the settings for 97w in your receiver?

What method did you use to assure that you are aimed at 97w?

 

[KE4EST]

Welcome to SatelliteGuys Far32!
As I said in my other message aiming your first time and take a little time until you get the hang of it. Make sure you are skewing the LNBF or dish(I am not sure how those Orby dishes were set up). You can you www.dishpointer.com and enter your exact address to get the skew. It is also nice because you can zoom in to see your house, move the marker to where your dish will be, and see if anything is blocking. It will also let you see if you are in fact aiming in the proper direction to begin with.

 

[Far32]

Welcome to Satellite Guys! Just for clarification, you mentioned the Slimline dish. Those are not from Orby. They are from DirecTv and do require modding with a different lnbf to make them useful for FTA. There are several threads here about that. Here is a pic of a Slimline that I modded for Orby use (top dish).

View attachment 151510

The actual Orby dish - the one I believe you are using - already has an lnbf that is capable of receiving FTA signals so no modification is necessary. If that is the dish you have then there may be a wrong setting in your receiver. If not then the dish probaly just needs aimed more precisely. You are going about things the right way as having the receiver and a tv at the dish will allow you to see changes in signal more easily. Be sure to move the dish in TINY increments and wait to see any results on the receiver. We are talking about fractions of an inch so it is easy to do a sweep too quickly and pass right by the signal you are looking for.

What are the settings for 97w in your receiver?

What method did you use to assure that you are aimed at 97w?

Thanks for the feedback. I am new at this, so likely I am doing something wrong. The Orby dish I have is 34" by 20", elongated. I used LyngSat to determine the coordinates for my location (zip 12106). It gave me 212 degree and 35.9 elevation. I used a compass for 212 (adjusting for magnetic north). This gave decent readings for level and quality for TP 12152H20000. I also tried to use the Free apps satfinder and Satellite Finder. These apps were little help because they were taking me some 20 degrees east of the above, pointing me more in a south east direction. I did sweep the sky between 225 and 100degrees , I did mover slow but did not pose long enough, so maybe not slow enough.
Then, i did several scans: blind, TP scan, Standard LNBF with everything off except LNB power. I also did a uinversal LNBF scan with 9750/16000 frequency settings, polarity auto, and LNB power on. As you can tell, I am new at this and I know it would take time to learn it. However, the guy I bought the receiver from (ebay), told me that I should change the original Orby LNB (which is more like an almond shape) to a universal one. I have not done this yet.
I also skewed eh dish to about +23

 

[KE4EST]

I think you are confused .
I am the one you bought it from and I never said to change it. You said you had put a universal on the dish. I was just saying make sure you have your settings correct if you did that. The one that came on the Orby dish is fine. I was wondering why you changed it to universal. I assumed one of them quick to post a video YouTubers(I watched a couple of videos from some that were confused themselves about how it worked, guess they were just after views).
IF you have the dish that Orby was using it had a standard LNBF on it. This will work fine. Now it could be that whom ever installed your setup didn't use an actual Orby dish. This would be fine also, as long as it was a dish with a proper LNBF to work with Orby. I had Orby here for almost the whole time they were in business and I never bought one of THEIR dishes, I used one I already had.

So:

• Either will work, as long as you set the LO in the receiver to match.
• Did you set the skew of the LNBF for 97W?
  • Here is the info for your zip code
    
    

    • Elevation: 35.7°
      
      Azimuth (true): 212.6°
      
      Azimuth (magn.): 225.9°
      
      

      LNB Skew [?]: 23.4°
      

      ​

 

[KE4EST]

Keep at it you will get it!

 

[FTA4PA]

Thanks for the feedback. I am new at this, so likely I am doing something wrong. The Orby dish I have is 34" by 20", elongated. I used LyngSat to determine the coordinates for my location (zip 12106). It gave me 212 degree and 35.9 elevation. I used a compass for 212 (adjusting for magnetic north). This gave decent readings for level and quality for TP 12152H20000. I also tried to use the Free apps satfinder and Satellite Finder. These apps were little help because they were taking me some 20 degrees east of the above, pointing me more in a south east direction. I did sweep the sky between 225 and 100degrees , I did mover slow but did not pose long enough, so maybe not slow enough.
Then, i did several scans: blind, TP scan, Standard LNBF with everything off except LNB power. I also did a uinversal LNBF scan with 9750/16000 frequency settings, polarity auto, and LNB power on. As you can tell, I am new at this and I know it would take time to learn it. However, the guy I bought the receiver from (ebay), told me that I should change the original Orby LNB (which is more like an almond shape) to a universal one. I have not done this yet.
I also skewed eh dish to about +23

Yes, it will definitely take some time to get the hang of things. If you are using the actual Orby dish then you do not need to change out the lnbf on it as it is linear and will work fine for FTA. Also, as KE4EST said, use www.dishpointer.com to help set up your dish. You can zoom in to the exact spot you have it located on your property and use the green sight line to make sure you are pointed in the right direction. It gives you all azimuth, elevaiion and skew info you will need. I have used it myself for the better part of the last decade and rely on it. Please post up all your settings for 97w in your receiver so we can check that they are correct.

 

[Far32]

I think you are confused .
I am the one you bought it from and I never said to change it. You said you had put a universal on the dish. I was just saying make sure you have your settings correct if you did that. The one that came on the Orby dish is fine. I was wondering why you changed it to universal. I assumed one of them quick to post a video YouTubers(I watched a couple of videos from some that were confused themselves about how it worked, guess they were just after views).
IF you have the dish that Orby was using it had a standard LNBF on it. This will work fine. Now it could be that whom ever installed your setup didn't use an actual Orby dish. This would be fine also, as long as it was a dish with a proper LNBF to work with Orby. I had Orby here for almost the whole time they were in business and I never bought one of THEIR dishes, I used one I already had.

So:

• Either will work, as long as you set the LO in the receiver to match.
• Did you set the skew of the LNBF for 97W?
  • Here is the info for your zip code
    ​
    • Elevation: 35.7°
      
      Azimuth (true): 212.6°
      
      Azimuth (magn.): 225.9°​
      LNB Skew [?]: 23.4°​
      ​
      ​
      ​
      ​
      ​
      ​
      ​
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      ​
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      

Thank you Mr. Graves. You can tell that I am confused. is it that obvious? I actually did use

I think you are confused .
I am the one you bought it from and I never said to change it. You said you had put a universal on the dish. I was just saying make sure you have your settings correct if you did that. The one that came on the Orby dish is fine. I was wondering why you changed it to universal. I assumed one of them quick to post a video YouTubers(I watched a couple of videos from some that were confused themselves about how it worked, guess they were just after views).
IF you have the dish that Orby was using it had a standard LNBF on it. This will work fine. Now it could be that whom ever installed your setup didn't use an actual Orby dish. This would be fine also, as long as it was a dish with a proper LNBF to work with Orby. I had Orby here for almost the whole time they were in business and I never bought one of THEIR dishes, I used one I already had.

So:

• Either will work, as long as you set the LO in the receiver to match.
• Did you set the skew of the LNBF for 97W?
  • Here is the info for your zip code
    ​
    • Elevation: 35.7°
      
      Azimuth (true): 212.6°
      
      Azimuth (magn.): 225.9°​
      LNB Skew [?]: 23.4°​
      ​
      ​
      ​
      ​
      ​
      ​
      ​
      ​
      ​
      ​
      ​
      ​
      ​
      ​
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      

Mr. Graves thank you. Is it that Obvious that I am confused? I actually used dish pointer and got the same coordinates you listed. The dish is an Orby dish logo on it and it still has the LNB that came with it. I am not sure what was meant above by what are the settings on my receiver? The only setting I had were the TP low and high. and all the other options were set to off, polarity auto and LNB power is on. The first scan I did was using 12152H20000 as you suggested. So that is where I am now.

 

[KE4EST]

If you are using the LNBF that came with the dish then the LO(Local Oscillator) needs to be set to 10750 in the receiver, the way it was when you purchased it.
TP is transponder(think of it like a repeater). The transponder you are using right now is 12152.
I am assuming by (Tp low and high) you mean the LO and you are still set on universal.
A universal LNBF has two local osc. circuits. Some satellites in other parts of the world use a different frequency range. This will allow it to be used around the world. You do not need universal for 97W.
Just to clarify, you CAN use a universal LNBF for 97W but not needed. The one that came with the Orby dish is standard. With a LO of 10750.

 

[rmccolman]

If you are using the LNBF that came with the dish then the LO(Local Oscillator) needs to be set to 10750 in the receiver, the way it was when you purchased it.
TP is transponder(think of it like a repeater). The transponder you are using right now is 12152.
I am assuming by (Tp low and high) you mean the LO and you are still set on universal.
A universal LNBF has two local osc. circuits. Some satellites in other parts of the world use a different frequency range. This will allow it to be used around the world. You do not need universal for 97W.
Just to clarify, you CAN use a universal LNBF for 97W but not needed. The one that came with the Orby dish is standard. With a LO of 10750.

I'll confirm, as a owner of an Orby dish (with the original LNB that came on it), that it's very possible to hone in on FTA KU signals without jumping through too many hoops. Like you, I purchased a Amiko HD265 from Michael, and using dishpointer.com I was able to pick up SES 3 (103.0 W) channels on my first aiming attempt (Signal strength - 98%, Quality - 90 on vertical and 81 on horizontal). I will say that it helped a lot that the plotted aim path from my dish location on dishpointer.com went right over the northeast corner of our next door neighbor's garage roof -- that made it pretty easy to aim accurately in azimuth on the first try. If your dishpointer plot goes over something less well defined, like a mass of trees or a large grassy field, it's going to be a bit less helpful.

I'll also note that using a compass can be problematic, depending upon whether there are significant metallic objects close by, or worse yet, something with sizeable magnets. I ran into this issue back when first setting up our dish when we initially subscribed to Orby. We have some hi-fi loudspeakers just inside that corner of our house where I placed the dish, and through a process of checking and double-checking, I was able to determine that at least one of the loudspeaker woofer magnets a few feet inside the house's exterior wall was throwing the compass reading off by as much as 10-15 degrees. So be careful when using the compass, as it can be vulnerable to getting thrown out of whack, depending upon any metallic or magnetic objects nearby. Once I figured this out, I abandoned the compass, and went solely with dishpointer.com. (Fortunately, the Orby Eutelsat 117W A azimuth plot went right over the chimney of our neighbor's house, in that case.)

Best of luck!

Richard

 

[Far32]

If you are using the LNBF that came with the dish then the LO(Local Oscillator) needs to be set to 10750 in the receiver, the way it was when you purchased it.
TP is transponder(think of it like a repeater). The transponder you are using right now is 12152.
I am assuming by (Tp low and high) you mean the LO and you are still set on universal.
A universal LNBF has two local osc. circuits. Some satellites in other parts of the world use a different frequency range. This will allow it to be used around the world. You do not need universal for 97W.
Just to clarify, you CAN use a universal LNBF for 97W but not needed. The one that came with the Orby dish is standard. With a LO of 10750.

So I checked the type of the LNBF on the dish, here is what it is:
Model: SELOBV
Single Elliptical LNB
Freq: 11.7-12.2 GHZ
Does this change things?
I am able to get a handle of channels (Infowars, JBS, Fox news, and still camera on the White house and other building) and some radio ones. All of the channels where within 4000 H, no vertical ones. It has been cloudy and rainy since yesterday so I did no more adjusting, when it clears out i will.

 

[Far32]

I'll confirm, as a owner of an Orby dish (with the original LNB that came on it), that it's very possible to hone in on FTA KU signals without jumping through too many hoops. Like you, I purchased a Amiko HD265 from Michael, and using dishpointer.com I was able to pick up SES 3 (103.0 W) channels on my first aiming attempt (Signal strength - 98%, Quality - 90 on vertical and 81 on horizontal). I will say that it helped a lot that the plotted aim path from my dish location on dishpointer.com went right over the northeast corner of our next door neighbor's garage roof -- that made it pretty easy to aim accurately in azimuth on the first try. If your dishpointer plot goes over something less well defined, like a mass of trees or a large grassy field, it's going to be a bit less helpful.

I'll also note that using a compass can be problematic, depending upon whether there are significant metallic objects close by, or worse yet, something with sizeable magnets. I ran into this issue back when first setting up our dish when we initially subscribed to Orby. We have some hi-fi loudspeakers just inside that corner of our house where I placed the dish, and through a process of checking and double-checking, I was able to determine that at least one of the loudspeaker woofer magnets a few feet inside the house's exterior wall was throwing the compass reading off by as much as 10-15 degrees. So be careful when using the compass, as it can be vulnerable to getting thrown out of whack, depending upon any metallic or magnetic objects nearby. Once I figured this out, I abandoned the compass, and went solely with dishpointer.com. (Fortunately, the Orby Eutelsat 117W A azimuth plot went right over the chimney of our neighbor's house, in that case.)

Best of luck!

Richard

Thank you Richard for the input. I have five transponder that are at 98% and 80 quality, but not much on them . The plotted aim goes over one of my garden beds, so I am using that. When I set the elevation to the recommended one, I lose the five transponders but if I increase it by 2-4 degrees, I get them back (from 35.6 to 39 degrees). I am wondering now if I change the skew.

 

[Jim S.]

I am able to get a handle of channels (Infowars, JBS, Fox news, and still camera on the White house and other building) and some radio ones.

You're pointing at 99 west, not 97 west.

 

[KE4EST]

Yep, you are getting close but wrong bird. You need to drop your elevation just a bit and move the dish to the left just a bit(standing behind dish). Use 12152 H 20000 again this will zero you in on 97W.

 

[Far32]

Success!!! This pm, under clear sky, I re-aimed the dish. I had my other half stand in front of the dish, using a compass, she located 225 West, I had her hold a stick to point in the direction, me behind the dish pointed in that direction and bam!, I got 51 channels. But, I still can't get 12152h20000. Most of these channels are at 98% level and 65-70 quality.

 

[FTA4PA]

Success!!! This pm, under clear sky, I re-aimed the dish. I had my other half stand in front of the dish, using a compass, she located 225 West, I had her hold a stick to point in the direction, me behind the dish pointed in that direction and bam!, I got 51 channels. But, I still can't get 12152h20000. Most of these channels are at 98% level and 65-70 quality.
View attachment 151535View attachment 151536

Making progress! From the channels returned in your scan your dish is aimed between 97w and 99w as you are getting channels from both satellites. Still need to go a tiny bit east to lock only 97w. Be sure to mark everything (azimuth, elevation, skew) before adjusting anything so you can return to the spot you are at now if you get lost. Keep up the good work!

 

[Far32]

Making progress! From the channels returned in your scan your dish is aimed between 97w and 99w as you are getting channels from both satellites. Still need to go a tiny bit east to lock only 97w. Be sure to mark everything (azimuth, elevation, skew) before adjusting anything so you can return to the spot you are at now if you get lost. Keep up the good work!

It was exactly what you said Michael, dropped it down slightly and to the left, So I will move it slightly to the left by a coupld of degrees. I mean this is what I call knowledge, from the little info I am giving you are able to determine what needs to be done, Bravo to you!!!

 

[primestar31]

It was exactly what you said Michael, dropped it down slightly and to the left, So I will move it slightly to the left by a coupld of degrees. I mean this is what I call knowledge, from the little info I am giving you are able to determine what needs to be done, Bravo to you!!!

IF you make a very thin pencil mark on the pole to the dish mount itself, you know just how far you are really turning when you go either East or West. If you overshoot, etc, it really helps to get realigned easier as it gives you a reference point.

 

[HipKat]

This is one of my favorite threads to follow on here

 

[Far32]

IF you make a very thin pencil mark on the pole to the dish mount itself, you know just how far you are really turning when you go either East or West. If you overshoot, etc, it really helps to get realigned easier as it gives you a reference point.

IF you make a very thin pencil mark on the pole to the dish mount itself, you know just how far you are really turning when you go either East or West. If you overshoot, etc, it really helps to get realigned easier as it gives you a reference point.

So I just went outside and a slight (a couple of degrees East), brought in 12152h20000 at level 99 and quality 90. You are a genius!!! thank you for your guidance. I am now getting 120 channels, did I say fro free? Correction, I am now getting 153 channels.