Will be ordering my motorized FTA System on Monday....

[kc5qih]

I have a few ? Though. I thought about installing it myself; although it appears to be a bit tricky, i have read through the installation instructions for the motorized setup i'll be getting, but im having a real problem figuring out what my true south satellite is, and from what ive read you find it first then track the satellite east and west for strongest signal you can get and then peak it...well that doesnt sound to hard but im a newbee and have never done anything like this. There is only one person in town who even said they could install it and he said it would cost me between $100-150 , depending on how long it takes, does anyone know if this is a good price for an install or am i getting ripped off? Also one other question, i was looking at motorized package # m1 from Sadoun, it comes with a SatControl SM3D12 motor, a 31" dish, a universal LNBF, should i keep that motor or get the Stab HH90, it doesnt cost anything to change..and what else should i anticipate. I Hope this is the right place to post this and if not, i hope i dont get flamed too bad..lol.

Chris

 

[kc5qih]

oh yeah i also forgot to add that i have an older uniden C/KU band analog receiver that i'd like to somehow hook up in parrallel or in series so i can see the analog stuff too...any suggestions on how to do this would be appreciated..i dont have the remote for it but i place on placing all this stuff on my desk in my radio room.

Chris

 

[PSB]

Give us your zip code and we will give you all the angles to the satellites from your location.

Just to give you an idea have a look at my web site for the prices I charge locally for a motorized satellite installation and service work. It can take a LONG time to get exactly right and it HAS to be done to local and NEC code. Of course the more you do the easier they become and a positive satellite identification meter can really speed things up. If the installer is licenced, bonded, certified and insured you will be getting your moneys worth.

The analog receiver can be looped through from the DVB receiver very easily using a short RG6 cable with the down side being the analog will be on the same polarity as the DVB receiver.
Not really a big deal.

 

[kc5qih]

My zip code is 76712, another thing i was looking at..there is currently an older direct tv dish on my roof, so apparently there is line of site to somewhere, my roof sort of pitches up at an angle, but it appears that i am clear until about 35 degrees above my horizon, i may only be able to get 1/2 of the arc, but hopefully i can get most all of it. Im just hoping that the satellites are higher in the sky from my location. Im in Waco Texas so im pretty far south. Im wanting to say that the old uniden has a way to manually change the polarity ...of course i couldve dreamed that up.

 

[PSB]

                       Woodway, TX 76712
          Latitude 31° 30.306'N Longitude 97° 13.866'W

                        Sat Name Sat Lng Az(t) Az(m)   El  Skew
---------------------------------------------------------------
                                
                                
                    Intelsat 901   18.0W  95.7  90.2  0.5 -58.0
                                
                    Intelsat 603   20.0W  96.8  91.3  2.2 -57.9
                                
                           NSS 7   22.0W  97.8  92.4  3.9 -57.6
                                
                    Intelsat 905   24.5W  99.2  93.8  6.0 -57.3
                                
                    Intelsat 907   27.5W 100.9  95.5  8.6 -56.8
                                
                  Hispasat 1C/1D   30.0W 102.4  96.9 10.7 -56.4
                                
                    Intelsat 801   31.5W 103.3  97.8 12.0 -56.1
                                
                    Intelsat 903   34.5W 105.1  99.6 14.6 -55.4
                                
             AMC 12 & Telstar 11   37.5W 107.0 101.5 17.1 -54.6
                                
                         NSS 806   40.5W 108.9 103.5 19.7 -53.8
                                
                       PAS 6B/3R   43.0W 110.6 105.2 21.8 -52.9
                                
                          PAS 1R   45.0W 112.0 106.6 23.5 -52.2
                                
                    Intelsat 705   50.0W 115.8 110.4 27.7 -50.1
                                
                    Intelsat 707   53.0W 118.2 112.8 30.1 -48.7
                                
                    Intelsat 805   55.5W 120.4 114.9 32.2 -47.4
                                
                           PAS 9   58.0W 122.6 117.2 34.1 -45.9
                                
                        Amazonas   61.0W 125.5 120.1 36.5 -44.0
                                
          EchoStar 3 & Rainbow 1   61.5W 126.0 120.6 36.8 -43.6
                                
                Estrela do Sul 1   63.0W 127.5 122.1 38.0 -42.5
                                
                    Brasilsat B2   65.0W 129.7 124.2 39.4 -41.0
                                
                    Brasilsat B1   70.0W 135.4 130.0 42.9 -36.7
                                
                Nahuel 1 & AMC 6   72.0W 138.0 132.5 44.2 -34.8
                                
                           AMC 6   72.0W 138.0 132.5 44.2 -34.8
                                
                       DirecTV 5   72.5W 138.6 133.2 44.6 -34.3
                                
                           SBS 6   74.0W 140.6 135.2 45.5 -32.8
                                
                           AMC 5   79.0W 147.8 142.3 48.3 -27.0
                                
                         Nimiq 2   82.0W 152.5 147.0 49.7 -23.2
                                
                           AMC 9   83.0W 154.1 148.7 50.2 -21.9
                                
                    Brasilsat B3   84.0W 155.8 150.3 50.6 -20.5
                                
                          AMC 16   85.0W 157.5 152.0 51.0 -19.1
                                
                           AMC 3   87.0W 160.9 155.5 51.7 -16.2
                                
             Intelsat Americas 8   89.0W 164.5 159.1 52.2 -13.1
                                
                Galaxy 11/Nimiq1   91.0W 168.2 162.8 52.7 -10.0
                                
                    Brasilsat B4   92.0W 170.1 164.6 52.9  -8.5
                                
                       Telstar 6   93.0W 171.9 166.5 53.0  -6.9
                                
                       Galaxy 3C   95.0W 175.7 170.3 53.2  -3.6
                                
             Intelsat Americas 5   97.0W 179.6 174.1 53.3  -0.4
                                
                       Galaxy 4R   99.0W 183.4 177.9 53.3   2.9
                                
                           AMC 4  101.0W 187.2 181.7 53.1   6.1
                                
                           AMC 1  103.0W 190.9 185.5 52.8   9.3
                                
                          AMC 15  105.0W 194.6 189.2 52.3  12.4
                                
                         Anik F1  107.3W 198.8 193.3 51.7  15.9
                                
        DirecTV 6 & EchoStar 6/8  110.0W 203.4 198.0 50.8  19.8
                                
                         Anik F2  111.1W 205.3 199.8 50.3  21.4
                                
                   Solidaridad 2  113.0W 208.4 202.9 49.5  23.9
                                
                        SatMex 5  116.8W 214.2 208.8 47.6  28.7
                                
         EchoStar 7 & DirecTV 7S  119.0W 217.4 211.9 46.4  31.2
                                
 EchoStar 9/Intelsat Americas 13  121.0W 220.1 214.7 45.2  33.3
                                
                      Galaxy 10R  123.0W 222.7 217.3 43.9  35.3
                                
                       Galaxy 12  125.0W 225.2 219.8 42.6  37.2
                                
            Galaxy 13/Horizons 1  127.0W 227.6 222.1 41.2  39.0
                                
             Intelsat Americas 7  129.0W 229.8 224.4 39.8  40.7
                                
                          AMC 11  131.0W 232.0 226.6 38.3  42.2
                                
                       Galaxy 1R  133.0W 234.0 228.6 36.8  43.6
                                
                          AMC 10  135.0W 236.0 230.6 35.3  45.0
                                
                           AMC 7  137.0W 237.9 232.4 33.7  46.2
                                
                           AMC 8  139.0W 239.7 234.2 32.1  47.4
                                
                    EchoStar 1/2  148.0W 246.9 241.5 24.7  51.6

        Satellite Finder is (c) Copyright 2004, P. Lutus

You are lucky! Intelsat Americas 5 @ 97.0W is your true south satellite, so all you need to do is correctly setup your motor and dish elevation angles, find the satellite and you are more or less done.

The good news is all the elevation angles are pretty high so you should pull in a lot more of the Clarke belt than you think : )

 

[kc5qih]

what does AZ(T) and AZ(M) mean? Does that mean azimute true and azimuth Magnetic, is that just taking into account the magnetic deviation? So for my true south satellite I would be going to 179.6 or 174.1? Thanks for all your help by the way.

 

[W_Tracy_Parnell]

I would advise doing a self-install if possible. Is it tricky?-yes! I just went through it and it was a rough week or two. The thing is you need to know enough about the system to maintain it yourself-IMO. And self-install "forces" you to do that. Read through this thread about my ongoing "adventure" if you get a chance:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=74936

I have no "handyman" skills what-so-ever so if I can do it...

Good Luck

I have a few ? Though. I thought about installing it myself; although it appears to be a bit tricky, i have read through the installation instructions for the motorized setup i'll be getting, but im having a real problem figuring out what my true south satellite is, and from what ive read you find it first then track the satellite east and west for strongest signal you can get and then peak it...well that doesnt sound to hard but im a newbee and have never done anything like this. There is only one person in town who even said they could install it and he said it would cost me between $100-150 , depending on how long it takes, does anyone know if this is a good price for an install or am i getting ripped off? Also one other question, i was looking at motorized package # m1 from Sadoun, it comes with a SatControl SM3D12 motor, a 31" dish, a universal LNBF, should i keep that motor or get the Stab HH90, it doesnt cost anything to change..and what else should i anticipate. I Hope this is the right place to post this and if not, i hope i dont get flamed too bad..lol.

Chris

 

[kc5qih]

I wonder if i could use the preexisting mount that the 18" direct tv dish is mounted to...its up there and the mount it is on is already plumb level, well at least according to my level it is...just mount the motor to that mount. Im really excited about this though..ive been wanting a FTA system for some time but just haven't ever gotten one.

 

[PSB]

AZ(True) and AZ(Magnetic) The magnetic is where you can expect the satellite to be using a compass.

I agree try to do the install yourself if you can but there is no shame in getting a professional in if you want it done right the first time, there and then. But we are here to help

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_declination

The mount you have may work but when you add the motor the dish monting tube becomes even lower and the dish may hit the roof, only one way to find out!

 

[kc5qih]

okay so if i wanted to park on sbs6, id basically find 135.2 on my compass, adjust the elevation angles for the dish and i should be able to pull in the signal? Is that right? And what is all this talk i'm hearing about skew? Once the dish and motor are parked and peaked on my true south satellite shouldnt the rest be well academic..just a few little adjustments the rest of the way? On the one hand doing a self install doesnt seem to complicated, on the other hand it seems to be very very confusing..trial and error i guess. Just gotta be sure to plan a whole afternoon around it.

 

[PSB]

If you have a receiver with USALS (most do) then the dish will move itself to any stored satellite, as it moves it tilts the dish and thus the skew sets itself, it really is something to see when you realise the dish is positioning itself to line up precisely with the satellite as it lies in the sky.

 

[snathanb]

You are lucky! Intelsat Americas 5 @ 97.0W is your true south satellite, so all you need to do is correctly setup your motor and dish elevation angles, find the satellite and you are more or less done.

The good news is all the elevation angles are pretty high so you should pull in a lot more of the Clarke belt than you think : )

He is 134 miles SSW of me. He's gonna pull in IA5 like gangbusters. I get over 80% quality on nearly every tp.

 

[W_Tracy_Parnell]

Yeah, that has to be one of the better sats to have for a TS!

He is 134 miles SSW of me. He's gonna pull in IA5 like gangbusters. I get over 80% quality on nearly every tp.

 

[kc5qih]

Pardon my ignornace, but what is a "TS" a "tuning satellite" or something else. It appears that my location may actually be of quite a benefit to me when it comes time to set up my system. I Think I may try to do it first myself before I hire someone else to do it. From what i understand, since my true south satellite is "IA5" then I just set the motor and dish elevation angles, peak the signal out as far as I can get it and the rest should almost be automatic(thats the way i'm understanding it anyway.Okay so attached is a short little video, 2.5 megs or so of my southern sky..now never having done this before i tried to pitch the camera up at an approximate angle, say 40 dgrees, to give everyone an idea of the pitch of my roof and to see what everyone thinks about my visibility or if i should try to find a better spot. The spot there is level and the post i am going to mount on is also plumb..of course this could all change..i just want to make sure that my roof isnt going to get in the way. Hope all this makes sense. The starting point of the video is my true south satellite position, 174.1 (magnetic taking into account magnetic deviation)the ride side is 242 magnetic and the left side is 62 magnetic(at least thats what my compass stopped on. So if anyone could comment id appreciate it.

 

[kc5qih]

it was 2.5 megs but i changed it to wmv(because i couldnt upload avi)and now its smaller. thanks.

 

[Mr Tony]

TS-true south

the satellite that is at 180 degrees. When using a motor, you have to line up with the true south. You are luky as you have a true south (in MN ours is IA6 at 93W). Some people don't have a true south and that takes some more work to find the arc

 

[W_Tracy_Parnell]

If I understand you, you are going to pole mount from the spot wher the video was taken. You will have no problem if you can clear the house-fantastic view of the arc where you are. Remember, the actual dish look angle is about 20 (if I remember right) degrees higher than it appears so you could clear it ok. You will have to test and see when you get the setup. If not, the roof would be good but a more difficult install for a first-timer.

Pardon my ignornace, but what is a "TS" a "tuning satellite" or something else. It appears that my location may actually be of quite a benefit to me when it comes time to set up my system. I Think I may try to do it first myself before I hire someone else to do it. From what i understand, since my true south satellite is "IA5" then I just set the motor and dish elevation angles, peak the signal out as far as I can get it and the rest should almost be automatic(thats the way i'm understanding it anyway.Okay so attached is a short little video, 2.5 megs or so of my southern sky..now never having done this before i tried to pitch the camera up at an approximate angle, say 40 dgrees, to give everyone an idea of the pitch of my roof and to see what everyone thinks about my visibility or if i should try to find a better spot. The spot there is level and the post i am going to mount on is also plumb..of course this could all change..i just want to make sure that my roof isnt going to get in the way. Hope all this makes sense. The starting point of the video is my true south satellite position, 174.1 (magnetic taking into account magnetic deviation)the ride side is 242 magnetic and the left side is 62 magnetic(at least thats what my compass stopped on. So if anyone could comment id appreciate it.

 

[kc5qih]

yeah i am really hoping i don't have to climb up on the roof, there is already a mount on the roof where an old dish network dish is (18") but id have to raise the mount and then be up on the roof to get a 31" dish up there so i'm really hoping i will be able to clear it from where i am looking. There is nothing up there to obstruct me other than the roof and i'll be mounting from the exact spot that that vid was taken from , so hopefully it will work out smooth and easy the first time ..plus that is right in front of the window to the room where ill be installing the receiver, so i can literally set the tv up to the window with the receiver and tune it without having to carry anything extra around..its a great spot, just hope its great for my install.

 

[smata67]

I would suggest you part with another $15 and upgrade to the 36" dish. To figure out if you have a shot from that spot, do some math and cut out a cardboard triangle with one angle being that of IA5. Use a level to keep the bottom straight and look along the cardboard edge to site the bird. Also, be aware that there are adjustments necessary due to magnetic declination, the sat may be a few degrees on either side of the compass reading.

 

[W_Tracy_Parnell]

Also, there is a calculator floating around on the Internet somewhere that takes the height and distance of what you are trying to clear and tells you if you can-maybe PSB will jump in on that. After using that I had faith I could use the pole I had in mind in spite of many trees on my lot-the trees were about 60 feet high but I was far enough away.