[gopoc]

My quest to acquire FTA channels failed miserably (headaches and disgust came over to be my friends) today at 8 PM after 14+ hours of hard work, careful measurements, and reading useless manuals. I am now beaten down to the ground and humbly asking for help in order to get this project going. Here are the details (please let me know if I have any wrong data):

· Location: 41.1N and 73.1W; full open sky to South from 110 to 250
· True South: by compass is 180+14=194, also verified with GPS set to measure True instead of Magnetic
· Antenna: Fortec Star 48" (120cm); offset angle 24.62 degrees
· LNB: Invacom Quad Polar with 40mm horn - QPH-031
· Receiver: Viewsat 2000 Ultra
· Pole: 2"3/8, 8' long (3' under in concrete and 5' above ground); plumb on all sides (I used protractor and level)
· Motor: Stab HH120
· Switch: S-DS41C 4-Way DiSEqC Switch
· Cable: Eagle Aspen RG-6 Coaxial Cable - Model QCB5HRG6-B-SF
· Connectors: Compression F RG6


I started by connecting the LNB's 4 outputs L C L C (L=linear; C=circular) labeled from left to right as viewed from the opposite side of the horn - http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Installati...om-QPH-031.htm. I connected two equal length RG6 cables from first (starting from left) L/C group to LNB1 and LNB2 inputs on S-DS41C 4-Way DiSEqC Switch. I terminated the other L/C LNB outputs and LNB3/LNB4 DiSEqC Switch inputs with F59T F terminators. I ran another RG6 cable from S-DS41C 4-Way DiSEqC Switch output to LNB F connector on the HH120 motor. From the REC F connector on the HH120 motor I then ran a 50' RG6 cable to the receiver's DISH connector. Finally I connected the receiver to the TV via RF on channel 3 and got a blue background with menu.

I aligned the HH120 motor with the dish and then I pointed the whole assembly to True South according to compass/GPS readings. I set the motor angle to my Latitude value of 41.1 degrees and set antenna elevation to 23.6 degrees as resulted from calculation for motorized dishes at http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Installation/STAB-Installation-Angles.htm. The LNB polarization tilt is set to 0 as it is not required to set an angle for motorized dishes.

Happy like a turkey alive after Thanksgiving I turned on the TV and the receiver and proceeded to Installation --> Antenna Setup menu where I set:

· Satellite: Intelsat 5 (97.0W)
· LNB Power: On
· LNB Type: Universal (also has Standard as option)
· LNB High: 10750 (this turns to LNB Freq, when Standard selected)
· LNB Low: 9750 (this turns to 22 KHz, when Standard selected)
· TP Freq: 11789
· DiSeQc 1.0: NONE (this menu also has ToneBurst-A, ToneBurst-B, Port 1, Port 2, Port 3, and Port 4 options available)
· Motor: USALS (under this menu I set my Lat and Long to 41.1N and 73.1W then I pressed OK to turn the dish to the satellite position)
The dish turned to 97 W (about 24 gradations on the motor shaft scale), the S(I guess Signal) peaked at 68, but Q(maybe Quality) stayed 0. I then proceeded to adjust the dish East/West, changed elevation angle up/down 1 degree at a time but Q stayed at 0 all this time. I tried other satellites via USALS with similar results. The only one that had a Q of 10-12 was Nimiq 1,3 (91 W) and I was able to scan channels in and list program names and schedules but the TV stubbornly displayed the blue background even when those channels were clearly identified. No picture, no sound. I know life is hard but it should not be this hard to setup a motorized dish as I have done it manually in the past many times. I even connected the L output from the LNB directly to the receiver and I manually tried to point the dish to IA5 (97.0 W) and Nimiq 1,3 (91.0 W), adjusting elevation, and East/West angles manually but no Q greater than 0 was reached this time no matter how much I measured the angles over and over and swiped the sky East/West. When I connect the SG95 meter as I move the dish it shows increased/decreased signal with max/min values in between. I adjusted the dish with SG95 for max value signal and got nothing on screen - Q stays at 0 with that Nimiq exception that I was not able to replicate after the one lucky event horizon. I also used another DiSEqC switch that came with the receiver but that did not change the Q. Please advise if I am doing something wrong here.

I have the following receiver menu (the receiver manual is at best incomplete if not confusing) and equipment setup questions:

1. What LNB Type setting should I use (Universal or Standard)?
2. If Universal what values should LNB High and LNB Low be (they seem to be preset but I can change them)?
3. If Standard then what LNB Freq. and value for 22 KHz menu should I select?
4. Should I select any value other than NONE for DiSEqC 1.0 (ToneBurst-A, ToneBurst-B, Port 1, Port 2, Port 3 - not connected, or Port 4 - not connected)?
5. Should I use F59T F terminators for empty connections?
6. Why didn't I get any picture on screen when channels were scanned in on Nimiq 1,3 (91.0 W)?

Thank you in advance for any help and guidance in resolving this desperate situation (missus and kids are making fun of me already, not to mention the neighbors). I appreciate any input and time spent on this thread.