To Orthomode And Beyond!

[KJ6EO]

After months of suffering and the expense of $$$ trying to find a way to control it, I have abandoned my Chaparral Servo Horn. I've ordered a Chaparral Dual Orthomode Feed, two Norsat 8115's, and a used WNC 4 x 8 Multi-Switch. It'll take a few days for everything to come in. Once I get it all, hopefully my problems will be behind me. Oh my LNBF? Can't use that because I get TI at my location. A band pass filter will be installed on the H output of my new horn. That should put an end to my TI nightmare. To Orthomode And Beyond . I'll keep everyone posted regarding my progress!

 

[. Raine]

Good luck! About a week ago I replaced my Chaparral servo with a Chaparral dual ortho and two Norsats with a switch and it is much easier and better!

 

[Lone Gunman]

OK, so for those of us who may not know, what it TI?

 

[Lak7]

what it TI

Terrestrial Interference

 

[Lone Gunman]

What is TI?


http://www.birds-eye.net/definition/acronym/?id=1154194331

Occurs when a home satellite system receives unwanted microwave signals from a nearby microwave source operating in the same band of frequencies as the received satellite signal. TI is a land-based phenomena generated by land-based microwave relays and broadcasts transmitting in the same frequency range as satellite downlinks such as microwave relay towers operated by telephone companies in the C-band range.

 

[KJ6EO]

Latest Update - the TI Filter arrived today! Will install it as soon as the sun goes down and test it tomorrow (on my servo horn). Thanks to Pixl for loaning it to me for a test .

 

[KJ6EO]

Latest Update - The Chaparral Dual Orthomode Horn arrived today. Without modification, the deepest the scalar ring will go is about 1 inch (.32 f/D). The back of the scalar has a lip on it. If I cut a slot in that lip, then the ring will go back far enough to get the needed .28 f/D. I'd like to ask a question, I presume the V LNB goes on the center port, and the H LNB on the outer port. Is that correct? Looking at the horn I guess it doesn't matter as long as it's rotated into the proper position. Any thoughts you might have would be appreciated!

 

[primestar31]

Latest Update - The Chaparral Dual Orthomode Horn arrived today. Without modification, the deepest the scalar ring will go is about 1 inch (.32 f/D). The back of the scalar has a lip on it. If I cut a slot in that lip, then the ring will go back far enough to get the needed .28 f/D. I'd like to ask a question, I presume the V LNB goes on the center port, and the H LNB on the outer port. Is that correct? Looking at the horn I guess it doesn't matter as long as it's rotated into the proper position. Any thoughts you might have would be appreciated!

It technically doesn't matter as long as initial skew is set correctly, and the cables are on the proper lnb's for H or V. HOWEVER, you'd do best to have the 'heaviest' lnb (vertical) located on the bottom in the horizontal-to-the-ground position (outboard, 6 o'clock). Yes, horizontal is vertical (signal), and vertical is horizontal (signal)! Confused yet? LOL it depends on which way the probes are in the feed.

So, the lnb's are in effect mounted as an upside-down "T". When the dish is at your zenith position (not necessarily aimed at a sat for this) you can put an Inclinometer on the side of the top lnb, and set it for "0" (zero). That way your feed is now perfectly aligned to the arc.

 

[Pixl]

After months of suffering and the expense of $$$ trying to find a way to control it, I have abandoned my Chaparral Servo Horn. I've ordered a Chaparral Dual Orthomode Feed, two Norsat 8115's, and a used WNC 4 x 8 Multi-Switch.

Excellent choice of hardware. I think it will perform well for you. I'm looking to see how the TI filter does for you.

 

[KJ6EO]

So, the lnb's are in effect mounted as an upside-down "T". When the dish is at your zenith position (not necessarily aimed at a sat for this) you can put an Inclinometer on the side of the top lnb, and set it for "0" (zero). That way your feed is now perfectly aligned to the arc.

Prime - Thank you for your reply! Ok, I understand what you're saying. I'd like to ask a question about my unmodified WNC 4x8 Multi-Switch. I have 4 inputs of course:

Port 1 18V
Port 2 13V
Port 3 18V/22
Port 4 13V/22

I need to use two dishes with this switch, (1) the BUD with the Orthomode Feed. And secondly, my Ku dish that has the GeoSatPro PLL LNBF and an HH Motor on it. I presume port 2 would need to be modified for 18V (then Port 1 and Port 2) would power the Norsat 8115's on the Dual Feed. Would the Ku Band LNBF then just go to either Port 3 or Port 4? Also, is the WNC robust enough to power my HH motor?

 

[KJ6EO]

This is what I currently have:

MicroHD > V-Box - Chieta 4x1 P1 > HH-Motor > LNBF
P2 > BUD LNBF

 

[primestar31]

Prime - Thank you for your reply! Ok, I understand what you're saying. I'd like to ask a question about my unmodified WNC 4x8 Multi-Switch. I have 4 inputs of course:

Port 1 18V
Port 2 13V
Port 3 18V/22
Port 4 13V/22

I need to use two dishes with this switch, (1) the BUD with the Orthomode Feed. And secondly, my Ku dish that has the GeoSatPro PLL LNBF and an HH Motor on it. I presume port 2 would need to be modified for 18V (then Port 1 and Port 2) would power the Norsat 8115's on the Dual Feed. Would the Ku Band LNBF then just go to either Port 3 or Port 4? Also, is the WNC robust enough to power my HH motor?

Yes, modify port 2 for 18v, then port 1 & 2 (22k OFF) are for your c-band dish. You can leave 3 & 4 (22k ON 18V for Horizontal, and 13v for Vertical.) as they are, and hook them to your dual output ku lnb as-is. You'll have to remove the Geosatpro PLL lnb, and use a dual output lnb instead such as the Geosatpro SL2 bullet lnb. (You'll notice next to no difference between the pll lnb, and the SL2 lnb signal wise) I wouldn't run your HH motor through the switch, there's no good reason to do so. Put the switch AFTER the motor! It might have enough power to run a motor, but why would you need to do it that way? There's less and less of those switches in the market all the time, so you really don't want to take a chance on frying it by running a motor with it.

 

[primestar31]

This is what I currently have:

MicroHD > V-Box - Chieta 4x1 P1 > HH-Motor > LNBF
P2 > BUD LNBF

Change like this:

MicroHD > V-Box -> HH-Motor > Chieta 4x1 Port1 -> WNC 22k OFF -> BUD LNBF's
........................................................................^> WNC 22k On -> KU dual LNBF

Your KU dish HH motor is used as USALS, and your C-band dish is used as DisEQc. That's how I do mine, and it all works perfectly. You could actually remove the Chieta 4x1 diseqc switch completely for now, but you might want to keep it in case you ever add MORE dishes in the future!

P.S. Oh yes you will! LOL

 

[KJ6EO]

Change like this:

MicroHD > V-Box -> HH-Motor > Chieta 4x1 Port1 -> WNC 22k OFF -> BUD LNBF's
........................................................................^> WNC 22k On -> KU dual LNBF

Your KU dish HH motor is used as USALS, and your C-band dish is used as DisEQc. That's how I do mine, and it all works perfectly. You could actually remove the Chieta 4x1 diseqc switch completely for now, but you might want to keep it in case you ever add MORE dishes in the future!

P.S. Oh yes you will! LOL

Prime - Thanks for the information. I was trying to figure out how my single output LNBF was going to work through the multi-switch. So dual output Ku LNBF .. ok I see the light now! Yeah, I think I'll pull the Chieta out for now. It's a good switch, will put it in my stock pile in the garage . I'll order a dual output Ku LNBF from SatelliteAV's site. Have a nice evening!

 

[KJ6EO]

Latest Update: The TI Filter worked ... PRAISE DA LAWD ... FREE AT LAST! I put the Chaparral Orthormode Horn on the dish today and set the skew. Currently I only have 1 LNB so I set the shew first on V, then moved the LNB over to the other port and checked Horizontal ... gee it works . Tomorrow, I get my Norsat LNB's. So as soon as they arrive I'll put them on. I haven't modified the scalar ring yet, so I just set it as deep as it would go (.32 f/D). With a little modification ... I'll get the needed .28 out of it. Well I can only watch Horizontal channels tonight but the signal strengths are good! More details tomorrow!

 

[KJ6EO]

Latest Update: Got my Norsat 8115's today. I installed them on the Orthomode horn. I modified my WNC switch and hooked everything up. Gee ... it works . I'll upload some pictures after I finalize everything. Right now the switch is just laying on the top of the roof.

 

[primestar31]

Did you notice you could hook up 7 more receivers now? AND................. they are now ALL independently tunable (on any one sat) without affecting the others! LOL.

It never ends...

 

[KJ6EO]

Did you notice you could hook up 7 more receivers now? AND................. they are now ALL independently tunable (on any one sat) without affecting the others! LOL.

It never ends...

Gee, I only have 7 more receivers to buy . I guess I'm gonna have to break down and buy a receiver for the Bedroom now. I modified the scalar ring this afternoon. I've got 1.5" sticking out in front of the scalar now,
that should get the job done. Ordered the Bullet from SatelliteAV, should get it next Monday maybe. I haven't had a chance to check the signal strengh since I modified the scalar. My Father-In-Law is visiting us today and he's glued to a Soccer Game on the big TV. Interrupting that would probably get me kicked out of the family . More soon! I love my Orthomode feed .... sweet :

 

[KJ6EO]

Here's a picture of my Orthomode Feed. It was a little late in the day, so I'll take a better picture soon. You can see the TI filter on the horizontal section of the feed.

 

[primestar31]

Cool!

Now buy some packs of Coax Seal, and seal those cable ends. It's kind of a flat roll of tar, that will keep out water, yet is removable if needed: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Coax-Seal-p...=US_Video_Cables_Adapters&hash=item23296ea033