Problem pointing to AMC4, again (!)

[markchadwick]

I know, I know, I had this issue last time, but with help from Iceberg and a few others, I was able to point it successfully, no prob.
Now I have another dish, a Fortec 90cm with a Finepass receiver and a universal LNB. Still trying to point at AMC4, this time from a different house in a south suburb of Chicago. So now that I was able to do it once, I think I'm an expert.
So I dial in my settings, approximately 200 for azi, 40 for ele, and 14 for skew (almost the same as my previous setup). Only this Fortec and LNB have no skew settings on the dish! (the other dish I had had degree markers on the LNB mount, making it easy to set the skew)
So I guesstimate as best I can but no luck, 0% signal quality. Even many multiple attempts do nothing.
Could it possibly be the skew?
I made sure the receiver was set to universal LNB to match the LNB on the dish, made sure the pole mount was level, made sure the cable connections were good, azimuth and elevation were as good as I could make them.
I'm going out there this weekend again to try pointing it again, any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[SatelliteAV]

Did you set the receiver to a strong transponder like 3ABN, 11822 / H / 5700. The receiver must be on an active transponder in order to locate and tune the satellite.

The LNBF rotation is critical, but set the rotation in an approximate position to find the satellite, but then fine tune the rotation as you peak the dish aiming for maximum Quality readings.

Here is a aiming calculator that you might find useful: http://www.geosatfinder.com

 

[markchadwick]

Oh yeah, I learned that lesson (pointing at a strong transponder) from Iceberg a couple months ago.
I thought I was approximating 14 degrees skew during my attempts, but I'll give it another go. Try try again, that's the old saying.

 

[markchadwick]

success!

Tried it again (it's a beautiful, record temp day here near the Windy City) and successfully locked in the signal!
Turned out my azimuth and skew (estimated) were ok, but my elevation turned out to be 45 degrees. The satcalculator said the elevation should be 40.1 degrees, last time I went as high as 41 or 42. On a whim, turned the elevation higher and the meter jumped! Locked in a 75/71 (level/quality) signal.
On a side note, is it normal to have to set elevation so much higher than what the calculators give? I was under the impression that at most the elevation should be 1 or 2 degrees higher than what's given, not 4 or 5 degrees higher. Just wondering...

 

[Mr Tony]

sadly I've seen the Fortec dishes be off by 5 degrees

I learned that today when I moved my 90cm dish for G10 to the roof. Elevation shows 25 right now (should be 30)

 

[Anole]

extra source of error for motor

I've seen several reports of 5º error, though I've never seen it.
(Well, maybe I had it, but just never bothered to measure it)

In addition to bent LNB arms or heavy LNBs throwing off the elevation, there is another source of error.
Not all brands of dishes have the same offset angle
So, if you assume and calculate for 22º, but your dish is 25º, there's an extra 3º error right there.
Always check the manufacturer's specs when calculating elevation for a motor.

Of course, if you aren't using a motor, there's just no excuse.

 

[Mr Tony]

Not all brands of dishes have the same offset angle
So, if you assume and calculate for 22º, but your dish is 25º, there's an extra 3º error right there.

most of the time thats a moot point because the elevation scale is on there.

 

[concord]

sadly I've seen the Fortec dishes be off by 5 degrees

I learned that today when I moved my 90cm dish for G10 to the roof. Elevation shows 25 right now (should be 30)

Thanks for the info, maybe this is my problem.

Tried to set up the 31" fortec with HH90 and Merc II receiver this last weekend and did not get any signal at all (below 4%, I assume it's just noise). I was begining to think it was a bad LNB. Used Sadoun's calculation page, AVsales program and USALS results to make sure motor elevation, dish elevation and true south were correct. The Merc II is ok (connected it to my DISHnetwork dish and found sat, viewed info channel). Guess I'll try again this comming weekend.

 

[Tron]

Another thread on a similar problem regarding the engraved elevation scales: http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=92413