Trouble with 8Ft dish, notfinding any bird.

[nyfrench]

Here are the latest pictures. I mounted the LNB on the dish with the right alignement. Also, pictures of the back of the dish is there, along with screenshots of the receiver. Here is the link to the receiver: FTA Satellite Receivers Junuo DVB-2500 FTA Satellite Receiver

Any news channel, for starter will be great. The 0 signal quality, is beginning to ulcer me.

 

[Jim S.]

First, you need to make sure that your receiver is set to an active transponder on the satellite you're trying to aim at. It calculates the signal quality based on how well it decodes the signal, so you need to have the correct symbol rate, and also the correct polarity so your LNB is switching to the right polarity.

The names of the satellites don't matter for now. Pick a satellite you'd like to aim for, pick an active transponder, put those transponder parameters into your receiver before you move the dish, it doesn't matter for the moment what name is attached to the satellite. You should be able to create a new satellite listing, since none of the ones you show are visible from here, but if the receiver's satellite table is full, just pick a satellite and add a transponder to it. Since you're not using a motor, you can worry about clearing out the names and positions in favor of useful ones later.

While you're editing the satellites, make sure that you have the switch parameters set correctly since you have an LNBF that covers C-band and Ku-band.

Finally, if you're not taking the receiver and a TV out to the dish, you're not going to find anything just setting the angles by eye unless you're extraordinarily lucky. And whatever you're doing, make sure you're moving the dish very slowly.

 

[Robz]

I inserted few pictures of the LNB tuning. The first pic shows the dielectric plate. The last one shows the circular position at .385, roughly. The two in between show the LNB. I guess it's ready to be put back up again, with the 0 degree inscription placed in the middle, or place the sticker looking up. I'm lost here.

Hello nyfrench,

Your f/D setting looks correct. Once you get satellite reception, a careful tune can optimize reception.
As others have pointed out, the dish elevation looks for too high. The slope of the dish should be aimed 42.79 degrees with respect to the horizon. See the picture for an estimate of the dish angles. Please verify. The drawing is accurate for my latitude; but there may be mistakes. I have not verified the drawing for your latitude.
Don't forget about the declination; I caculate 5.68 degrees. The Non-modified declination is 6.375 degrees. Download http://www.satmaster.com . They have a nice tool for satellight alignment, declination table and many other microwave utilities.

 

[whatchel1]

This dish has an Az/El mount. You can only pick up 1 sat with it. You can't track the arc with it. Where are you? The sats you have on the screen shots are all European & Middle East birds. You want help you need to give more info. We don't care if you are not in the USA.

 

[nyfrench]

This dish has an Az/El mount. You can only pick up 1 sat with it. You can't track the arc with it. Where are you? The sats you have on the screen shots are all European & Middle East birds. You want help you need to give more info. We don't care if you are not in the USA.

I'm in the Bronx, NY, I gave my altitude and latitude earlier. I also readjusted the dish per the above instruction, added a sat, the sat Freq1 are only available between 5150 to 11300 MHz. I don't know whether it's normal. Galaxy 28 Feed, TP freq 3840V. Symbol rate 29860. Signal quality 1%.

 

[T4Runner]

I'm in the Bronx, NY, I gave my altitude and latitude earlier. I also readjusted the dish per the above instruction, added a sat, the sat Freq1 are only available between 5150 to 11300 MHz. I don't know whether it's normal. Galaxy 28 Feed, TP freq 3840V. Symbol rate 29860. Signal quality 1%.

Your receiver will not receive DVB-S2 signals or High Definition (HD). So you need to reposition to a satellite that has more DVB-S signals like Galaxy17 at 91W. It's just to the West of your due South. Stick with C-Band Channels first for some nice channels.

Have you created a USA satellite list as your website dealer suggested was so easy? FTA Satellite Receivers: DVB-2500 Receiver Setup

 

[nyfrench]

The pentagon channel was the first one I tried, then the Galaxy 17 at 91W. no luck. I'm wondering whether I need a new FTA box, with all the whistling and bells, perhaps a box that can even massage my back if I tune it right?

 

[T4Runner]

The pentagon channel was the first one I tried, then the Galaxy 17 at 91W. no luck. I'm wondering whether I need a new FTA box, with all the whistling and bells, perhaps a box that can even massage my back if I tune it right?

NOW you have the right atttiude! Don't give up. You will get it focused and locked onto a satellite and when you do, things will start popping for you. It's a real pain in the neck when you are adjusting to start, but the rewards are worth it.

Start by removing that plate out of the LNB.

 

[Jim S.]

I'm in the Bronx, NY, I gave my altitude and latitude earlier. I also readjusted the dish per the above instruction, added a sat, the sat Freq1 are only available between 5150 to 11300 MHz. I don't know whether it's normal. Galaxy 28 Feed, TP freq 3840V. Symbol rate 29860. Signal quality 1%.

Do you have the frequency set correctly for your LNB? Probably 5150 for C-band.

 

[FaT Air]

Sorry FTA isn't "plug and play" but a bit of hands on will be richly rewarded. Info we have is: location - 40.835524,-73.929757 ; Az-el mount, DMX741 lnbf
FTA Satellite Receivers: DVB-2500 Receiver Setup Reference for programming the receiver.
Their Step(2)adding North American Satellites- Think their "FREQ1 = LNB L.O.(freq).
To program the receiver to work with the DMX741 LNBF: (NOT A DMX741U - it makes a difference.)
For Cband satellites the LNB L.O. must be programmed to 5150Mhz, and the 22Khz set to Off.
For Ku satellites the LNB L.O. must be set to 10750Mhz, and the 22Khz set to On.
Sorry but this receiver is really an unknown here, so you're going to have to figure out the steps required to input the settings, but we can supply you with the info, just not the steps to input it.
How is the dealer in customer support??
TheList (link on every page here) is a great reference for transponder info, Frequency, polarity, and SR, to program in.
Take a look at www.dishpointer.com. It will give you a visual of where to find a satellite. Plug in your latitude and longitude, then grab the marker and place it right on the dish's placement. Select the satellite you want to get. Dishpointer will list the satellites elevation above the horizon*, the required skew of the DMX741 NOTE: if the satellite is East of south, the Skew(Twist) appears clockwise when facing the dish, West appears counter-clockwise. The reference for the skew is the very top, hughest point, of the dish. Dishpointer also has an obstical calculator. (Buildings around your site) Click the box and place the indicator on the line at the oblstical and it will output the height at which it will block signal.
*Placing an angle finder on the angle iron on the back of the dish that the elevation adjuster is attached to will read dish elevation. NOTE: if this were to be vertical, and the reading is 90° means all readings will be subtracted from 90 to calculate elevation. If this reading is 0, it is reading dish elevation derectly.
Set dish angle and skew as required, You're very luck if you get a Quality indication right off the bat. Most likely you will have to adjust the dish. Start at a point to one side of where dishpointer says and make small adjustments towards dishpointers line, and past. Wait a few seconds between each movement for the receiver to lock onto the signal, it's not instintainious. If signal is not found, Adjust the dish elevation slightly and repeat. Once you get a Quality indication, you can adjust for "dead on". Just make eack "tweak" small, and don't be hurried.
You can then see if moving the feed slightly closer or further from the dish face improves your Quality readings. Also adjusting skew slightly from its initial setting for max Q (Feed tweaking)
At this time, I'd concentrate on C band only. Ku is a lot more finiky with a dual band lnbf.
Good luck getig "the first sat" after that they get easier.

C and Ku On a big dish - It's a tradoff- either peak the feed for C or Ku, most likely the feed won't be at the same distance from the dish face. Might be a "happy meduim" halfway between?
Ku on a big dish also reqires each adjustment to be smaller than what you did aligning it on C band. Big dishes focus tighter on Ku than C.
Once you have it working on a C band, here's a Ku Suggestion- find G19, C band at 97°W, Freq=3851, Polarity = vertical, SR = 9983. Program in G19- Ku freqs (Same satellite, different band usually requires 2 satellites be programmed) from TheList. hopefully you have Quality reading on all. Check dish alignment, (fine tune) mark the feed in/out position then see if adjusting improves Quality reading. peak an mark it again.(Ku) Blind scan the Ku, theres a ton of channnels here on Ku. (Not that much C band though)
Dishpointer info for G-19: Latitude: 40.8355° Longitude: -73.9298°; Dish Elevation:37.2°; Azimuth: 213.1° ; LNB skew: 24.4°

 

[guacharaca]

Try satelite 118.7 W. put 03920 H in your asiasat3s screen for a TP and 18447 as your symbol rate and then point your dish south-west using the following:

Elevation: 24.7°
Azimuth (true): 236.6°
Azimuth (magn.): 249.7°
LNB Skew: 39.2° clockwise when looking at the sky from the dish.

The TV and the STB needs to sit beside the dish when seeking signals, especially the first time you do it or you will be very frustrated. Watch for minor changes in the signal stength when paning the correct area of the sky. The qualty bar will tell you when you hit the correct satelite.

I admit that I have a 10ft dish so it is a much easier when the signal is stronger.

 

[nyfrench]

Thanks for all your help, but nothing. I eant to get an actuator with its mount and vbox, to help with the tuning. Should I go for it?

 

[Jim S.]

If you can't find a satellite yourself, an actuator isn't going to help you. You need to find one satellite first to make them work. (Actually, with the C-band version, I think you need to find all the satellites yourself.)

 

[whatchel1]

Thanks for all your help, but nothing. I eant to get an actuator with its mount and vbox, to help with the tuning. Should I go for it?

No it's not a polar mount that needs an actuator. It is an azimuth elevation mount you can only do 1 sat at a time and not track the arc. To track the arc you need to get a polar mount.

 

[WhyMe1]

I setup a dish in my backyard, an 8 Ft parabolic from Sadoun with a DMX741 LNBF C/Ku. The receiver I have is a Junuo DVB-2500. There is only one problem, it does not hit anybird, none. Signal intensity is above 80s, however, the signal quality fluctuate between 0 and 1. The dish is rightly aligned. The satellites that came with the receiver are: Hotbird 13E, Nilesat 7E, Arabsat2B 33E, Badr 26E, Telstar 15E, Amos 4W, Sirius 4E8, Eutelsat W3A, Eutelsat W6, Turksat 1C, AsiaSat3S C 105.

Also, there is no ability to add a satellite with polarity below 5150.

First thing I noticed is the feed supports need to be fixed. Look at the photo below



The feed support needs to be moved to the left. The supports need to be equally spaced apart on the dish. Then the top of the moved support needs to be bolted to where the yellow arrow is. Now you need to center the feed horn and make sure it's square to the dish. Here's a link to what you need to do:

Well the forum software won't let me post a link! cut and paste this.......www.geo-orbit.org/sizepgs/tuningp4.html#anchor797917
Here's another good link on installing a dish..........www.hooktech.co.nz/files/file/Help_Files/Hooktech_DIY_Cband_GndMnt.pdf

Ignore the parts on polar mounts because you don't have one. The most important question is.......... is the pole perfectly plumb? Not close to plumb but dead on. It makes everything that follows much easier if the pole is perfectly plumb.

 

[FaT Air]

First thing I noticed is the feed supports need to be fixed. Look at the photo below

View attachment 72793

The feed support needs to be moved to the left. The supports need to be equally spaced apart on the dish. Then the top of the moved support needs to be bolted to where the yellow arrow is. Now you need to center the feed horn and make sure it's square to the dish. Here's a link to what you need to do:

Well the forum software won't let me post a link! cut and paste this.......Footprints by Dish Size - Adjusting the Polar Mount for Prime Focus Antenna - C/Ku-Band Satellite Systems - Tuning, Tracking, Azimuth, Elevation, Declination Angles, F/D Ratio, Focal Distance, Inclinometer, LNB/Feedhorn Assembly, Actuator Assembly, C
Here's another good link on installing a dish..........www.hooktech.co.nz/files/file/Help_Files/Hooktech_DIY_Cband_GndMnt.pdf

Ignore the parts on polar mounts because you don't have one. The most important question is.......... is the pole perfectly plumb? Not close to plumb but dead on. It makes everything that follows much easier if the pole is perfectly plumb.

What he said. Nice job spotting that. that could mess things up seriously.

 

[waylew]

Something else that might be helpful ,while we can see what's behind the dish,what's in front of it ? Even if it is set right can it actually see anything ?

 

[FaT Air]

Previous post :

Dishpointer also has an obstacle calculator. (Buildings around your site) Click the box and place the indicator on the line at the obstacle and it will output the height at which it will block signal.

NOTE: spelling correction. Even better is sighting along an inclinometer or mounting the inclinometer to a length of tubing, mounted to a tripod is an option.

 

[oceansatellite]

send us an email so we can give u some guidance on adding some North American satellites using your remote. The pre programed sats that are shipped from the factory are not North American satellites, u will not hit any of those birds.

Or u call call my cell during working hours at 848-448-7447 and I'll get you on the right path.

 

[okiesat]

I've got a similar problem,have a coolsat 5000 platinum I bought off ebay,from a guy in chicago.S/W VER.NORW-VER 1.73P; H/W VER.=1.10, BOOT VER.1 210 [09:14] CH VER.E007.No card in slot,guess it's not necessary.,except for subscription services.
An KTI 7.5' mesh dish,bought a dmx741u LNB off ebay,which I've learned from this site,was a serious mistake to buy,judging by all the problems people seem to have on here with it.Until I can afford a dish positioner,I'm using my old Uniden UST4600 receiver to move dish.
I've got dish set at 48.4 elevation,and 181.7,adjusted to 178 magnetic azimuth,acording to my location south of mounds,, oklahoma,on wsidigitals azimuth,elev. finder,for Galaxy 19,my southern satellite.
Doesn't seem to matter what I do,level is in 80's,but quality never moves above 7%,galaxy 19 is not in receivers list,but IA5 is for 97w,no picture,nothing,I even done a factory reset to clear all his old chicago channels from receiver,and now it tells me no channels.If I turn off LNB power,or disconnect LNB,quality level stays the same,but level goes down to 2-3 bars,hooked up,or on 73-88%,depending on satellite chosen.but still 7% max quality level.I've tried auto,blind,manual scans,nothing is detected,no channels.Tried moving dish,nothing detected.Used my ATi sat finder,lights up,got highest signal I could obtain with it,by adjusting dish.Checked voltage at dish,almost 17v at LNB,bar in LNB is east west oriented,Lnb protrudes approx. 1" from scaler ring,as per old c-band Lnb was about that.Thinking about putting old chapporal scaler & corotor/dms BSC211 5150Mhz input 3.2-4.2,950-1750 C-band LNB back on here to see if it's an LNB problem.Will coolsat 5000 work with this LNB?
Any help would be appreciated,I'm running out of ideas.
Dean