Please help..

[aziz]

Hi, im new here, but i have been reading many posts on these forums for about a month now... Let me give you the quick rundown.

About a year and a half ago, maybe even 2 years, my parents went to some guy, and he came and installed a Pansat 2500 clone, as well as a generic linear LNB and a 31" dish at our house for the Afghan channels on Galaxy 25. All was well with that, until 1 day our quality signal randomly dropped to 0.

For about 2 weeks, we tried various things from using a signal finder to moving the dish to so many things that we finally decided to replace a lot of it. We got the Pansat 3500SD, the QPH-031, and Q6000 motor i think it is.

We have now been trying to setup this for almost a month and still no luck, we can get a few channels on EchoStar 7, but not Galaxy 25.


I hear a lot of talk about true south... I have done all the stuff it says to get all the calculations and such, but overall have no real idea how to use it.
Also, do we NEED true south if we only want to use it for Galaxy 25? According to tutorials, it is NOT our true south satellite, but we had no problems with it before.

If anyone could please help, we are open to suggestions.

 

[Lak7]

Setting up to a True South Sat is only necessary when a Motor is being installed.
If you are going to use your motor later, don't mount it now, wait untill you are ready.
Here is a setup web page......
Satellite Look Angles Satellite Heading Calculator Azimuth Elevation Skew Tilt LNBF Latitude and Longitude values
enter Your location and select desired Sat from the list and Click GO.
Remember to Skew your LNB, see bottom of the page.

Remove switches and run cable from the LNBs "L" port directly to the receiver.

In the receivers Sat / Dish Setup Menu select the Sat you want
LNB type: Standard
LNB Freq: 10750
LNB Poer: On
Transponder: look for 11715 or 11836 (both +/- 1)

 

[aziz]

ok, so according to that site, it says:

Elevation:43.8°
Azimuth (true): 144.5°
Azimuth (magn.): 131.3° using Compass
LNB skew: -28.7°

As for the LNB skew, im not completely sure. But anyways...


So on the dish. I would set it @ a 43.8 degree angle, but how do i do the 131.3 degrees using the compass?

 

[voomvoom]

You need to point the motor (Q6000) to your true south. Don't try and point the dish to that satellite (assuming the co-ordinates above are for Galaxy 25). The motor has to point south, and the motor elevation should be set to your Latitude, then the dish/reflector elevation should be set to whatever it takes for your location to hit the ARC with. After you've done this, you should use the closest sat to your true south and drive the dish to it with USAL's and fine tune that sat into your Pansat 3500. Then try to go across the ARC and tune in the other sats. If G25 is the only sat you want, you can either take the motor off and use the co-ordinance above and set it up as a fixed dish, or you can drive the motor over to G25 using USAL's and tune it in. The Pansat may have G25 listed as IA5. Hope this helps...!!

Also on that site, did you click on http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Installation/HH-mount-installation.htm ?
Or did you use the page the link took you to?

 

[satcom1]

True South is meaning less.

From your receiver, command goto your must southerly satellite and then walk the dish and motor back and forth on the mast until you get a signal. Peak azimuth and elevation and lock it down. If USALS all other birds will track.

If you really want to find true south you can by telling the motor to go to Zero after you have done the above.

 

[aziz]

if we are on 180 degrees south, and our magnetic deviation is 13.4 degrees east, is the true south 180-13.4 or 180+13.4?

 

[Anole]

Well, if you had told us where you are, this would be a lot easier.
However, we're resourceful:

Azimuth (true): 144.5°
Azimuth (magn.): 131.3° using Compass

So, that suggests that true south would be 180-13.4=166.6º on your compass.

edit: you also didn't specify which channels exactly you were looking for.
I for one, have no idea which are Afghan. (Perhaps Ariana Afghan is.. )
Just want to make sure they're not scrambled channels (perhaps with Globecast), or moved, or off the air.

 

[USDownlink]

Well, if you had told us where you are, this would be a lot easier. However, we're resourceful:

Azimuth (true): 144.5°
Azimuth (magn.): 131.3° using Compass

So, that suggests that true south would be 180-13.4=166.6º on your compass.

My calculations put him in the Thousand Oaks, CA area, a little bit northwest of LA. True south in this case would be roughly 119°. It sort of sounded like you were trying to identify the location and give a true south, rather than answer the hypothetical. I might be confused, however, either in my estimation of location or my understanding of what true south means. It's a little late here right now.

we only want to use it for Galaxy 25

Regardless of where you are located, may I suggest an alternative approach?

Take down the motor and put it in the closet. You only want Galaxy 25? Then the motor adds nothing but extra math, extra nuts and bolts, and extra headaches (as you are finding out).

we can get a few channels on EchoStar 7, but not Galaxy 25.

Now this is an interesting bit of information. You have a QPH-031 and can see Echostar 7. This is a strong hint that you are plugged into one of the the circular ports on the QPH-031. Please check that your coax is connected to one of the linear ports.

Finally, the "meaty" part of the alternate approach:

we tried various things from using a signal finder

Excellent - You have a signal finder. Forget the math, compass, and whatnot. Hook the signal finder up and power up the receiver. Find a signal, any signal. Tell the Pansat to blind scan. (Side note to Pansat owners: Is this box capable of blind scan? I have a latent fear it might not be or it has some quirks about it..) Identify the satellite position you are on, and adjust the dish accordingly.

If you cannot identify the satellite, report back here and we will happily accomodate, and/or tell you how much and in which direction to move the dish in order to zero-in on Galaxy 25.

I have used this method almost exclusively, setting and resetting many fixed dishes. It has yet to fail. I personally believe it is under-used, based on what I read.


Edit: Much credit to Lak7, as his post identified most everything I've expanded on. His suggestions had not been answered yet, and they are indeed important (read:necessary) points.

 

[Anole]

oops

Yes, technically, I used the wrong terminology.
As did the OP.

True South satellite, is the satellite due south of the user.
So, if you are located at 97º west, then the 97º west bird is your True South satellite.
That is only relevant in tuning up a motorized dish.

However, the OP asked which way South was from his location, and I answered where south was located on a compass.
Sorry for any confusion.


I agree with USdownlink on sidelining the motor at this time.
That would reduce the complication of the whole problem, and alleviate the question of a True South Satellite.

 

[USDownlink]

oops oops

You are right on four counts. I read something into the OP's post that wasn't there, your terminology was a little vague, I misunderstood both of you, and the OP's terminology was a bit off too. If we keep this pace up, we might win a gold!

 

[aziz]

Going back to my question before this. I am trying to answer at looking at the compass.

We know our true south satellites would be at 119 degrees, and we know galaxy25 is at 97 degrees.

We have azimuth, we have deviation, etc.

We WANT to get it to TRUE SOUTH.

Using a compass, 180 degrees would be magnetic south. Now since we have a 13.4 degree E deviation, do we ADD 13.4 degrees, or subtract it since we are on 118W.

 

[Mr Tony]

I'm confused if you are motorized or a fixed dish?

If motorized, you subtract from 180

 

[Lak7]

aziz - This will answer your question.....
Satellite Footprints by Dish Size - Magnetic Deviation Maps - Global and North America, South America, Europe, Middle East, Orient/New Guinea, Australia/New Zealand

 

[Machman]

We know our true south satellites would be at 119 degrees, and we know galaxy25 is at 97 degrees.

We have azimuth, we have deviation, etc.

We WANT to get it to TRUE SOUTH.

Using a compass, 180 degrees would be magnetic south. Now since we have a 13.4 degree E deviation, do we ADD 13.4 degrees, or subtract it since we are on 118W.

You subtract it from 180, so that when the compass is pointed at 166.6 then you know you're pointed at the true south satellite. 119W and 97W are the longitudinal positions of satellites over the equator and are not the true or magnetic compass headings. You need a calculator such as this one to convert the satellite's longitude into its magnetic azimuth (compass heading) from your particular location.

For 97W you also need to set the skew of the LNB to what the page tells you. For example, if the skew is -28, stand so that the LNB is between yourself and the dish and turn it 28 degrees clockwise.