OK... I have been tunning this dish for the better part of a week and just cannot get it tunned. I seem to be on the clark belt but my sats are almost 2 degrees toward south. 123 is at 121.2 and 83 is at 83.9. Can someone point me in the right direction. Thanks.
Primestar 84e with SG2100 problem
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Sounds like you don't have your dish centered on the motor shaft exactly. When the motor is at zero, it should be pointed at true south, or close as you can get it. Then when you drive the dish over to the closest satellite to your south position, you may have to adjust the motor slightly on the pole to get maximum readings on that sat. Then check the others as you move further away from south. That may not be worded perfectly but its how I set mine. I'm at 86.5 so I used 87, then 85 to start aligning my motor/dish. Got any pictures of how you set the declination of the dish? That may be part of the trouble also.
turbo,
when you asked about declination. I am having the same problem. I use dishpointer.com to setup mine I can not find anything. It said my dish elevation should be 25 and my declination is 4.9. So do I need to set my dish face to 20.1.
when you asked about declination. I am having the same problem. I use dishpointer.com to setup mine I can not find anything. It said my dish elevation should be 25 and my declination is 4.9. So do I need to set my dish face to 20.1.
hilsat if you have used your compass to line up the dish/motorshaft to south, when the motor is at zero, then move the dish with the receiver to the closest sat with active channels. Motor bracket has to be level, and the motor elevation set to your site latitude for it to track properly.
Use an angle finder to check, if you haven't already your elevation, then place it on a flat surface on the backside of your dish (that bracket thats holding it to the motorshaft would be good place) to find the dish's elevation. It should add up to your site elevation+declination offset. Once I set those angles, I just moved my dish to the closest satellite, tweaking the east/west adjustment by loosening the motor bracket slightly and turning dish/motor on the pole slightly. You can determine if thats necessary if you start dropping off the arc as you go east or west. Push up on top edge of dish or pull down slightly on bottom edge to see if signal improves. Slight amounts will make a huge difference when adjusting the east/west by moving dish/motor on the pole, so go slowly.\
*I use USALS on mine, and after about 3 diff "tweaking" sessions it is tracking A-1.
Use an angle finder to check, if you haven't already your elevation, then place it on a flat surface on the backside of your dish (that bracket thats holding it to the motorshaft would be good place) to find the dish's elevation. It should add up to your site elevation+declination offset. Once I set those angles, I just moved my dish to the closest satellite, tweaking the east/west adjustment by loosening the motor bracket slightly and turning dish/motor on the pole slightly. You can determine if thats necessary if you start dropping off the arc as you go east or west. Push up on top edge of dish or pull down slightly on bottom edge to see if signal improves. Slight amounts will make a huge difference when adjusting the east/west by moving dish/motor on the pole, so go slowly.\
*I use USALS on mine, and after about 3 diff "tweaking" sessions it is tracking A-1.
gremlin, what is your site elevation? That is what you set the motor bracket on, what they are calling dish elevation may be 1.site elevation+2. declination offset. The terms get confusing!
When the motor setup instructions say elevation, think site elevation. When they speak of dish elevation, instructions with my motor (DG380) actually meant the measurement off the back of the dish once its adjusted for declination offset.
When the motor setup instructions say elevation, think site elevation. When they speak of dish elevation, instructions with my motor (DG380) actually meant the measurement off the back of the dish once its adjusted for declination offset.
I am at 29.7 , 94.9. so I set my motor to 30 elevation. dishpointer said my dish elevation should be 25.
gremlin you should watch that instructional video on Sadoun's website. Just go to their site and click on setup instructions -motorized dish.
For a stationary dish, for your location, I come up with 55.4 elevation for Galaxy 3 at 95W...
but for motorized, use the gen info I posted above, it's not that hard, just takes some patience and a little tweaking. take a tv out to your dish and a short cable so you can follow what you're doing. I used the buttons on my motor while I was aligning it, and just changed sat/channels on the receiver manually, as I went west or east, to see how it was tracking. Then once I had it tracking, I started using the rec to move it, tweaking where necess.
For a stationary dish, for your location, I come up with 55.4 elevation for Galaxy 3 at 95W...
but for motorized, use the gen info I posted above, it's not that hard, just takes some patience and a little tweaking. take a tv out to your dish and a short cable so you can follow what you're doing. I used the buttons on my motor while I was aligning it, and just changed sat/channels on the receiver manually, as I went west or east, to see how it was tracking. Then once I had it tracking, I started using the rec to move it, tweaking where necess.
Hilsat you have to adjust for error on the motor brackets, that elevation guide is close but not perfect.
Turbosat
I went to the dish and rised the elevation and got good green bars. Then I moved the dish to 72 at the motor and got green bars I think I might be on the ark not sure. But my dish face is not at 25 degrees it is ay least 40 have not checked it yet. If i can figure out to move the dish with my cs5k I think I might be ok. Just not sure. If I need more help I will ask thanks for your input.
I went to the dish and rised the elevation and got good green bars. Then I moved the dish to 72 at the motor and got green bars I think I might be on the ark not sure. But my dish face is not at 25 degrees it is ay least 40 have not checked it yet. If i can figure out to move the dish with my cs5k I think I might be ok. Just not sure. If I need more help I will ask thanks for your input.
Before you rush into tweaking alignment when you don't need to, it sounds to me like your SG2100 is just out of sync. Mine came from the factory with it's zero not at zero, plus that motor seems to have a tendency to get diseqc commands wrong from time to time, which seems to change where it's zero is.
Before doing anything, go into a diseqC-1.2 window, and give a GOTO zero or GOTO reference, or whatever it's called in your receiver. Then go outside, and with a mirror (since the scale is in a place where it's hard to see), check to see if the little pointer where the rotation shaft comes out of the motor is actually on zero. Mine was approximately 2 degrees off, right from the factory. I lived with this for a couple years, just either using DiseqC-1.2 instead of USALS, or by telling the receiver that I was located 2 degrees east of where I actually live. However, you can re-set this by manually moving the motor to where the pointer points at zero, then do a hard reset. I forget the exact procedure, but it's in the manual. I think there's a little recessed hole or something.
Anyway, if you seem to be getting all the sats displaced, it's almost certainly a sync problem not that your alignment is off.
Good tip BJ. Trying to explain how to do motor setup is a lot harder than it is for me to do it, lol.
Checking for zero is one of those things I forgot.
Checking for zero is one of those things I forgot.
I did start over and according to the motor scale it was at zero. What has me is that I can get great signal by switching to 1.2 and bumping toward south about 2 degrees on any sat other than directly south which require no movement from USALS setting. My Q is in the 90's on almost all sats. But the 2 degrees toward south makes me think it is play in the motor otherwise I would have to move 2 degrees either east or west no mater what side of the arc I am on. Now if I am west of my true south I have to move east 2 degrees if I am east I have to move west 2 degrees. My south sats 93.1 and 95 are right on in usals.
hilsat, tracking errors will increase the further away from true south you go. Can you get all satellites with good signal by manually moving the dish , or using 1.2? How about 123,129?
If you start dropping off the arc after 15-20degrees of movement, I'd suspect declination isn't correct. If you get sats very close to true south, then start to lose out, you can't be far from figuring it out.
If you start dropping off the arc after 15-20degrees of movement, I'd suspect declination isn't correct. If you get sats very close to true south, then start to lose out, you can't be far from figuring it out.
I get both 123 and 129 with quality in the 92... 94 11720 on 123 is around 70 range 11800 94. The farthest east I have went is 72 also in the 90's
Curious. If you're getting all the sats with good signal levels, except showing at the wrong place on the receiver, I'd have to blame the receiver. Don't recall you telling us what kind of box you are using though. I suppose you have tried factory-defaulting the receiver and starting over....
if that didn't fix it, you might just have to fudge on your location coordinates when you enter that info into the receiver.
if that didn't fix it, you might just have to fudge on your location coordinates when you enter that info into the receiver.
Didnt some of those motors have a problem with tracking, I recall a thread about people returning them and getting exchanges because there was a manufacturing problem with them the magnets inside were not installed properly.
I am useing a Coolsat 4000 pro. It has me baffled. It has to be either the receiver or the motor. I will see if I can borrow another receiver and try it. Thanks for all the help.
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