Primestar dish setup

[gabshere]

ok guys i'm going out in the yard tomorrow and set up two primestars dishes
probably one at a time. so i will be posting back several times looking for some tips. i don't have a sat finder so its just me pointing the dish.
i will have the tv and receiver with me outside and its my first time
running the Coolsat 5000 ( or any fta unit) is there anything i should know about how to find a sat with it. my c-band dish is currently down and will be a few weeks before its up and running.

thanks for any tips and helpful hints

two dishes one is oval and one is round , i plan on setting up the round one and later adding a motor to it. ( reading another thread on that )

 

[Gary Z]

Keep us up dated... I just set up a Primestar dish aimed at G10R a few weeks ago only using a TV and the receiver, this forum is top notch! I picked up 2 more Primstar Dishes, one was free, the other costs me $10. I plan on setting them up aimed at G10R/IA7 and IA5/AMC4.... I want to get those 4 Sats for my living room TV... I really like the Primestar dishes.

 

[iafirebuff]

DITTO on the Primestar dishes!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[techpuppy]

You may have already read this elsewhere, but the elevation markings on the primestar dish (at least the oval one) is probably off. My elevation was supposed to be 36 degrees, but when I finally found the satellite the markings indicated 52 degrees. That caused more problems for me than anything.

 

[iafirebuff]

What I usually do when setting up a dish, is I set the elevation to where it is supposed to be for my area, but the meter inline, get a nice strong signal, and when it is at the max, I then adjust the elevation, and max it out then. On the Primestar, I just keep a wrench on the elevation bolt and can quickly make fine adjustments - real slick! After I get the elevation and the azimuth maxxed, I peak everything for max signal. I love those Primestars!

 

[gabshere]

ok thanks i'll keep those in mind no inline meter maybe i will get one with my next order ..

ok about got everything hooked up
i'm using the lnb on the dish-- do i need to use V or H when hunting sats
shooting for AMC4 101W (195.6 ele 49.4 skew 12.9)


thanks about to take the plunge
lol

 

[gabshere]

ok no problem finding that
don't know what all the levels mean
maybe i used the wrong one lol

picked up several channels but it seemed like they repeted alot like after 4 they started repeting.
of the 4 i could see level was 93-94 %
but i noticed two

one would say level 93%
the other would say quality 6 or 7 %

how do i raise that # does it mean i need to tweek it a bit more
will flip to H and rescan see what i get

thanks

 

[iafirebuff]

Don't forget about the skew. Sadoun's setup pages have a chart that list what the skew is for each bird. If you are using a Primestar lnb, I am not sure how you skew it. If you replaced the lnb, then you would rotate the lnb until the signal increases.

 

[gabshere]

yeah the oval dish doesn't let you skew ( or if it does i haven't found one)
but ...

i also have two of the round dishes that does let you skew

so i need to swap out this dish and work with a round one
thanks

 

[iafirebuff]

There is probably a way to skew the lnb on your Primestar. I bet there is someone out there that knows

 

[Gary Z]

yeah the oval dish doesn't let you skew ( or if it does i haven't found one)
but ...

The pics below are of my Primestar LNB, you have to losen the bolts and skew it

 

[gabshere]

yes i found the skew lol the # are very small so i missed them

ok will post in a few more minutes with new #'s to see if they have improved

thanks

 

[iafirebuff]

GOOD LUCK! Watch your signal meter on your receiver, and see how it changes when you skew (rotate) the lnb. Peak it for the strongest #.

 

[gabshere]

the skew didn't seem to add much it maybe went up a % or 2
still have several channels but it did find several pay channels ( it didn't find these first time

i might swap lnb's to see if this one is bad

and also might put up the round dish

boy i have a bunch of options , its nice to have new toys lol lol

the wife just doesn't understand ......

 

[gabshere]

how long of a coax run can i make without loss of signal or power drop?

thanks

 

[bincitybandit]

I've got about 200 feet between my primestar and receiver. Invacom LNB. No troubles.

 

[gabshere]

thanks
i'm sure less if its going to be motorized right

well i'm going to move (the oval) tomorrow and also setup a round dish and try again. (have to try these setups seperately. all signals levels were in the low 90's but quality levels i couldn't get above 10% so will try a few things tomorrow. skew didn't gain a whole lot so will reset all and recheck to make sure everything is level and try again.

thanks everyone more post tomorrow.

how do you like the Invacom LNB

 

[gabshere]

well i'm back after a day of playing with the round prime* dish
i had no luck with it couldn't get a signal above 65% and other was close to 5%
but it was sunny and hot lol lol so i did mow the yard and try some of the hard sats. the oval dish i used yesterday is in a 5 gal bucket and it hit several sats
so i pulled the lnb off to check and clean but i'm sure its an operator & head space problem.

will have to look up a few things
my setup - to setup several dishes or to motorize
c-band dish retrofit might try the bsc-621 to replace my old lnbf

ok more hunting sats tomorrow
thanks

 

[WyrTwister]

thanks
i'm sure less if its going to be motorized right

well i'm going to move (the oval) tomorrow and also setup a round dish and try again. (have to try these setups seperately. all signals levels were in the low 90's but quality levels i couldn't get above 10% so will try a few things tomorrow. skew didn't gain a whole lot so will reset all and recheck to make sure everything is level and try again.

thanks everyone more post tomorrow.

how do you like the Invacom LNB

Have you got the LOF set right in the receiver set up menues ?

Does the Prime Star LNBF have one or two connections for coax ?

Wyr

 

[gabshere]

its all preset from the blind scan menu but you can change any of those settings and i have checked a couple but the signal falls off altogether , everything on the receiver side so far i like the coolsat 5000 is a nice easy one ( well except for wanting a pin all the time )

the primestar lnb's that i have all have a V & H coax connection, was running mostly out of the V side.

thanks