Watching FTA but with a few problems

[linuxman]

Thanks PSB for the grounding tip. Everything in this building is grounded to the service ground. It was built in 1956 by a construction crew that built like they had no limits on money.

After finding the furthest satellite that I wanted to on the West end, I found AMC 7. Which leaves me with an 1" to 1.5" to extend the motor arm out a little for further East viewing. There is one TP listed as ITC and that doesn't have anything, so I will ask my question about the next one East. AMC 10 has TP3 which I can lock onto by making some adjustments in skew etc. but the No Authorization black screen kind of comes and goes. There are some other TP's on AMC 10 like TP 9 and 10 which I can't get much except rolling garble even after verifying polarity and playing with the skew. Probably not all TP's are created equal, and they may not all have the same broadcast strength.

Should I be able to view TP 9 and 10 with a clear picture? If so, I need to make a minor adjustment in elevation or something to be able to do so.

Maybe if someone has a ITC TP or two on each satellite that should have a clear picture, I could try them and quit worrying whether or not the dish is set correctly across the belt.

Thanks in advance for your help and patience while I try and tweak this for analog in preparation for DVB.

 

[linuxman]

Ok guys,

I have extended the actuator arm further out which allows me more room for viewing satellites to the East.

I read up on the whole Focal length and F/D ratio thing. My wife and I got on the roof, (it is a 5500 sq ft building with flat roof, so not much problem walking on the roof). I unhooked the actuator and moved the dish by hand totally East so it would be vertical for me to work on, and I loosened the arms on the scalar ring and re adjusted them to about 41.25 inches which seemed to be all that I could get. I slid the corotor II into .35 like the specs call for and now have pretty good picture on most of the TP's and most Satellites. I had to adjust the color output on the TV, it wasn't used to so much driving color. (Been on the pizza pans too long.)

Here are some results, and Doc, you may have to help me interpret this because I know you have a Drake too.

On the strong TP's I get between 200 - 225 signal which produces a pretty good picture the 225 is generall on the H side, and the 200 is generally on the V side. The weaker TP's run from 160 - 200 with the 200 on the H and the lower on the V.

It seems that the Satellites in the middle of the arc have the stronger signal than the ones on the outer ends.

So here are a few questions if you guys don't mind helping me out again.

1. Should the H and V both have the same signal strength? If so, how can I fix it?

2. Should the outer Sats have as good signal strength as the center ones? If so, how can I fix that?

3. I have not been able to find a single TP on any satellite with a working in the clear signal to test out the KU side. I have tried every one listed, (most are feeds), and have not gotten so much as a blip from AMC 10 on the West side to AMC 3 on the East. If you know of one or more KU ITC Tp's, can you give it to me, or PM me with it please?

Correction to #3. I have been able to pull in an almost readable ku feed on what I believe to be AMC 2 with 153 signal strength. I had to use the T1 filter, and do some fine tuning. It was in color, and I could almost read it. So the KU side is functioning, but that is about all.

4. Will the legit free DVB signals for a DVB receiver come in on what I have described here?

Thank you all very much for your help so far, and for the information that helped me to hone in on the Focal Length/F/D ration thing.

I will look forward to your answers.

 

[linuxman]

Hi again,

I am certainly glad no one has responded as I have discovered my own mistake.

Those reading this, take note!

Read what has been written here, and the links to the outside sites about installation. If you don't understand it, ask about the instructions, and read it again until you understand it, especially this link.

I know I have read that document at least twice, and still didn't follow the directions:
"If the adjustments are done in the correct order, you will have a dish that tracks perfectly."

I feel so stupid! I am going to spell out my mistake in the hopes that no one else makes the same one.

My dish specifies a 41" focal point so I measured from the center of the dish to the innermost scalar ring and moved the scaler ring mount to 41". I then adjusted the sliding Corotor assembly to the .35 F/D that the specs call for which put the "illumination" off by about 3 inches.

I have since caught my error, and will make another trip back up to the roof on Friday morning to correct it. (It is supposed to be a little cooler that day)

Once I have that corrected, I should have a good signal from all Satellites and finally see what this 10' BUD has to offer.

Also, get a focal finder, or make one. I bought a $5.00 laser pointer today that I am going to hot glue to an old Corotor cap and use that for the focal finder Friday just to make certain the feed horn is centered properly.

Thanks for reading, and read those directions. Read them until you are certain you understand. It will save you a lot of trips to the dish, wherever it is located.

 

[drhydro]

Hi Linuxman,
Sorry not to respond earlier.
H and v should have close to the same strength (depending on transponder strength).

Signal strength will vary from sat to sat, some are going to be very high, some kind of low. If you see a trend where weaker sats are grouped towards the ends or the center, that could indicate an aiming problem.

If you are tracking the center of the arc fine, and loosing signal towards the ends of the arc, then you might have to adjust declination.

Here is an excellant link that should help you visualalize what is happening.
http://www.geo-orbit.org/sizepgs/tuningp4.html
Look towards the bottom of the page, there is a graphic titled "philosophy of tuning dish to satellite arc" which shows what happens when declination is off / polar mount needs to be adjusted.

There is an ITC analog test card somewhere, you might want to do a search of the forums as i cant remember where it is at.

Once you have analog coming in fine, then you should be able to get digital FTA signals with only minor adjustments.


Good Luck.

 

[linuxman]

Thanks Doc!

I got on the roof this morning, and centered the feed horn on the dish. I also set the Focal distance to the 41" specified, and the F/D ratio to the .35 as specified.

The adjustments above boosted the 225 signals that I mentioned in post #22 to 255. The V and H signals are pretty much the same on each satellite.

I then came down and took a look at each of the sats that I had previously looked at. I still showed some weakness on QVC and HSN on AMC-10, while the center sats were still strong. I followed the directions on the link that you referred to in your last post, and pulled up the bottom of the dish while on AMC-10 which showed some improvement on QVC. I loosened the cap bolts, and moved the dish clockwise or west about an 1/8" in effect giving more elevation to that sat.

There was marked improvement in signal strength and quality of the picture. I then swung the dish to try and pickup something on the East side. I had a great find with a KU signal on AMC-5 with a signal strength of 219 and a beutiful picture.

That proved to me that the KU side is working and working well.

Should I quit while I am ahead or continue to try and tweak?

The C side looks to be pretty good, but there is not much analog KU to do further testing.

Let me know what you think guys.

Thanks for all your help. I am a happy camper.

 

[drhydro]

At each end of the arc, push / pull on the dish, if you see increase in signal you can still "tweak" it better. When you start trying for ku (dvb digital) sats you will want to be as dead on the arc as possible.

 

[linuxman]

Will do Doc.

I want it to be solid.

I'll try and find something as far East as I can to try out the push/pull experiment. Then swing back West, and see if that is improved too while not losing anything in the middle.

I will post back a little later.

Thanks!

 

[drhydro]

BTW, great job, it is not an easy thing to set up your own c/ku setup

 

[linuxman]

Thanks Doc, but I have had lots of help getting it on the pole. When my daughter gets back from London which her flight out today was delayed for 4 and a 1/2 hours, and she will miss her connecting flight so she won't be here tomorrow. I am just thankful that she got out and is almost to the US. I will post pictures of this setup.

Back to the subject.

The only thing I can find East is a football game playing on KU somewhere around 77 or 76 west. I haven't identified the satellite yet, but the signal is pretty good at 225 on the Drake meter, and the picture is clear.

I found the test card on AMC-2, TP6, but moving the dish up or down has no effect on it, and it is pretty fuzzy.

Let me know if there is something else I can hang my hat on East.

Thanks!

 

[linuxman]

Okay!

Without divulging too much info here, I watched a game on a Sat East of AMC-5 on a KU transponder with a Drake signal strength of 219 and I watched a different game on a different Sat East of that one with a Drake signal strength of 233. BTW the picture quality was stunning.

That is as far East as I have been able to pick up signals.

Also with that in mind. When I moved this dish from approx 10 miles SW of my location, we didn't touch the elevation/declination at all. We just made sure the pole was plumb and set it on it. I have not even checked them as I don't own an inclinometer. I am at Latitude: 38.93 N, Longitude: 90.75 W or using satfinder 38 degrees 56.076 latitude and 90 degrees 46.692 longitude. Which would make Galaxy 11 my true South Satellite.

I have a few more questions, and maybe we can wrap up this thread.

1. Doc or anyone with a Drake receiver, do you know what the highest signal strength is that can be registered? That will help me know where I am on these Sats to know if they are peaked out or not.

2. It appears that I am able to watch from West to East with pretty good results on both analog C-Band and KU. With everything I have posted, do I need to delve into the elevation/declination part of adjusting this dish? I am more than willing to do so, if needed but am a firm believer that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

3. Is there anything I need to do further before purchasing a DVB receiver?

Thanks for all who have responded so far, and I will look forward to your answers.

 

[drhydro]

1. Doc or anyone with a Drake receiver, do you know what the highest signal strength is that can be registered? That will help me know where I am on these Sats to know if they are peaked out or not.

255 is as high as it goes. Anything over 200 should give you a nice, sparklie free picture.

do I need to delve into the elevation/declination part of adjusting this dish? I am more than willing to do so, if needed but am a firm believer that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

It seems like you are tracking the arc for analog, grab a dvb reciever and see what happens. You might have to do some more adjusting for peak digital signal.

 

[linuxman]

Very Cool!!

Thanks Doc! You and everyone else have been very helpful in getting the basic setup out of the way.

I will do some more research on receivers and try to make a decision.

I may open a different thread on that subject.

Thanks again!

 

[linuxman]

As I promised I would, here are a couple of pics of my 10' BUD. It is just the first of what I am sure will be more in the future.