Satellite meter with H-H motor?

[bigfatdaddy]

I am getting ready to re-mount and align my dish and motor drive. This time, it will be mounted high on our tower and working up there will not be fun but the arc visibility is the best there because of all the trees here.

Previously I had the dish and motor set up on the ground and to align I had my cheap satellite meter, my receiver and a monitor on a table near the dish. Up on the antenna I won't be able to have that setup so I am thinking about a better satellite meter and have been reading up on several and thinking about the Sathero SH200.

I have read the instruction manuals for several meters and what is puzzling me is how do I operate the H-H motor from the satellite meter? With the receiver, I could tell it to go to a particular bird and then do the fine adjustments at the dish. In the manuals I have read, it tells you how to do the alignment with the meter but no mention of operating the motor drive to go to the next satellite?

Obviously I am missing something in my understanding. Are there any motor drive experts out there who align with only a meter? How do you operate the motor drive? What meter do you use?

Thanks, George

 

[Magic Static]

You probably are not missing anything, it's just not that easy. My meter won't run a motor. So I leave the motor hooked to the receiver and connect the LNBF to the meter. Move the dish when needed with the receiver and tweak with the meter. Some meters will move a motor with DiSEqC 1.2 one step at a time, but can't go to a position number or do USALS.

 

[Nosbod]

If you use USALS to find your satellites you won't need a signal finder as long as your set up is accurate. Make sure your pole is bang on 90 degrees. Mount your motor and set the inclination on the motor to your latitude. Mount the dish on the motor making sure it is 90 degrees to the motor mount.( You can eye ball this or use a measuring tape to measure each side of the dish to the motor.) Dish pointer.com will give you your longitude and latitude plus dish elevation. Set your dish elevation. Mount your LNBF make sure it is 90 degrees to the dish. Using a compass align the dish to true south. Go to your receiver and pick your southern most satellite, choose USALS and enter in your longitude and latitude including decimal points.Make sure your LNBF is set to 10750. The dish will automatically move to this satellite position. If your settings were accurate you should be able to run a blind scan and have picture and quality. You can now fine tune your dish for best picture.

You could use a signal meter at this point to fine tune the dish unless you have a mate to help you. I use a Acutrac 22 MKII Pro. It runs off battery or receiver power as soon as you hook it up. You can tune 2 satellites at the same time. It automatically gives voltage at the LNBF and it has audibly signal find.

Once you have fined tune just enter in your satellites and the dish will go to that sat.

Happy hunting.

 

[Lak7]

If you have a Dual Output LNB, you could still bring a Receiver and TV out (on the ground) to control Motor, and connect the Meter directly to the other LNB port.

 

[bigfatdaddy]

Thanks. I think you guys have talked me out of buying an expensive meter. Seems like it would be a natural function of a pro satellite meter (to operate the HH motor) if the purpose is to have everything you need in the palm of your hand up on the tower and you are working by yourself?

 

[Lak7]

I have a Telemann Meter, but still use a Receiver to drive the motor.

 

[SatelliteAV]

Several meters have the ability to drive a motor, but most do not activate the feature as the motor draws so much current. The meter battery is quickly depleted!

The sample SatLink S2 meter that we recently offered in a contest http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/264028-contest-enter-win-telling-story-s2.html has the ability to control the dish via USALS and DiSEqC 1.2