Pansat 2500a Help needed!

[stonecutter]

Hello Everyone. I am new to the FTA world. My system is a Pansat 2500a, 30in Winegard, and Ku LNB. Didn't have much trouble setting it up and it went pretty quickly. I've picked up a variety of TV and radio channels on a number of different satellites. It is amazing what is up there for free!!

Anyway, the problem that I am having is that I am not receiving signal on certain TP frequencies. For example, last night I was pointed at G10, trying to pick up some of the locals. I was looking at the frequency chart for Lyngsat on G10 for the station I wanted and it showed that the down freq. should be 11719 MHz, vertical.

So, I enter the "Advanced menu" on my 2500a and select the G10 satellite. I punch in the down freq, the symbol rate and the polarity (11719, 27692, vertical) and begin a scan. Of course, nothing appears, which is why am I here. I also noticed that "quality" level dropped to zero when I entered the 11710 frequency, and this is why it didn't find anything on the scan. I should note that I have a decent signal strength on other TPs, say 12324 MHz, I am getting 60% quality.

My question is why am I unable to receive certain frequencies? Do I have to enter the down frequency I want and then tweak the dish until I get a signal on that TP, even though I am already receiving signal on other TPs? Perhaps I am pointed at the wrong satellite (even though the Pansat "sees" G10)?

One more thing...my LNB freq range is 11.7-12.2 GHz (or 11700-12200 MHz). So I am pretty sure my LNB has the required range.

Finally, just want to say I been reading the forums for a couple weeks and there is a lot of excellent info/help on this site. Also I am aware of the No Hack Talk rules and don't plan on using my system for those purposes. I think I am hooked on FTA.

Hope you guys can help me!

 

[stonecutter]

Thanks for the quick reply. OK, first it's not a motorized system. I plan on installing a motor in the near future because I can see the advantages already.

So what you are saying is that even though I am getting signal on a preprogrammed satellite, ie G10, I still may be pointed at the wrong sat?


I did a Smart Search and it found the following TPs:

12237 H+V
12267 H+V
12296 H+V
12324 H+V


Now that I think about it, these TPs don't match to the G10 frequency listing on Lyngsat.

 

[stonecutter]

OK, some of the channels it picks up on the smart scan are BET, Bravo, Animl, Sport, Cnnfn, HBO, Fuse....and a lot of music. As well, it picks up multiples of each channel. Now it seems obvious to me...I must be on the wrong sat. Something tells me that I am pointed at 119°W. So, why is the box preprogrammed for a variety of satellites and transponders, or more specifically, how does preprogramming help?

BTW, haven't moved the dish yet.

 

[stonecutter]

thread closed by misunderstanding!

in regards to previous thread "newbie - need help with down Freq...."

PSB - I believe you have misunderstood me. When I mentioned I was receiving Bravo, Cnn, HBO, etc., I didn't mention that they were ALL scrambled channels!!!! My Pansat only picks up some of the FREE music. I only get ONE TV channel. All the others are scrambled. I bought my FTA system for FTA, not to hack it. I know there are people out there that do that, I have read the rules and have agreed to them. I have NO interest in hacking my receiver. When I said it was preprogrammed I was refering to the list of satellites under the "Antenna Setup" menu. I don't fully understand how to determine exactly which satellite I have found and was simply looking for help.

 

[PSB]

Fair enough : ) You should only scan the Free channels and it will save having to dig through them all, as I am sure you have read we are in a war with the hackers and we do not want anything to do with them here, and being a licensed person my license could be revoked if it were deemed I was helping anyone steal, sorry for the confusion!

 

[PSB]

If you think you are 119w you still need to move the dish 4 deg. to the west or right from behind dish, what kind of LNBF do you have? If its a standard LNBF the L.O. low setting should be 10750

 

[stonecutter]

THANK you! I understand what you are saying. It is hard to find a decent forum where people want to talk about FTA, not hacking it. I having been reading the posts for a while and have watched the threads get closed as people start to talk about hacking.

Didn't mean to get off on the wrong foot! BTW, the my video channel isn't very good. The music is OK though!

 

[PSB]

Thanks for understanding : )

 

[stonecutter]

My LNBF a linear Ku Band, 0.6dB, freq range is 11.7 to 12.2. I have the LO setting at 10750, lnb type is standard, 22khz and diseqc are off.

 

[PSB]

Cool sounds just like a pointing issue, as I said I would use the smart scan, nudge the dish over a tad and do a blind scan, being so close to G10 you will not need to change your elevation yet after you find G10 then you can peak your dish, but you are very close, I dont know why you want to move it as you are getting the video channel and some radio channels ; )

 

[stonecutter]

No harm done, PSB. My apologizes for not being clear!

I will try moving the dish a couple degrees to the right (from behind the dish) and see what the does.

Part of my confusion is that I assumed the Pansat was able to differentiate between different satellites. Some how I thought the sat signal was unique and the receiver knew that it was on a particular satellite. So basically the list of satellites in the Antenna Setup menu just has names associated with known TP frequencies?

 

[PSB]

Yes your right it is confusing! These receivers are fully loaded with each satellites transponders and channels as very often they are used with a motor, that makes life a lot easier, all you do is point at your true south bird peak the signal and you are done, then when you switch satellites the dish moves to the corresponding satellite, I am sure it will only be a matter of time until you go motorized!

 

[PSB]

You only need to move it very little around 2-3mm sorry I come Europe and still use the metric sizes! I would use the blind scan but a live TP will work while watching for quality!

 

[stonecutter]

ahhh...now I understand. It sounds like the list of satellites is really to help the receiver! Yes, I will be purchasing a motor very soon. I thought I would buy my system, set it up and see if FTA was for me. After the first DAY, I decided I needed a motor!

I will give the dish a "nudge" tomorrow and see what happens. BTW, metric is fine with me. I am familiar with both measurement systems.

 

[PSB]

Its a great idea to set up your system without a motor to bag a few satellites (Mainly your true south bird) as it makes the motor install a breeze good luck tomorrow!

 

[stonecutter]

well, just moved the dish a couple of millimeters to the right and adjusted the elevation down a bit...then did a smart scan and found G10! The smart scan feature is so helpful.

Whew, I thought there was something wrong with my system because I wasn't picking up certain TPs. Now I know I was just on the wrong satellite.

Thanks for the help! Next step is a motor!

 

[PSB]

Well done!

 

[Mr Tony]

congrats on getting it working