My setup so far has been according to the book. Of course, everyone always says that...of course I've never made a mistake in my life! (sarcasm) But I do believe I followed everything to a tee, to include the following:
1. in assembly, I was sure to set the
SG-2100 to the proper declination (=30 - ~6 degrees or so (can't remember the exact value at the moment)). I'm in Albuquerque, ZIP 87114.
2. in alignment, I've verified that my mounting pole is plumb and level.
3. after attaching the dish/motor assembly to the pole, I've used the supplied compass to align it 170 deg (180-10) as best I can. The compass is affected by metal, so I stand just a few feet away and align the dish assembly as best I can with 170. (I would like to rest the compass directly on the pole itself to get the most accurate reading, but alas, physics won't let me). Now of course, this could be a source of error...I realize that this could be a weak link...my eyeball alignment is only so good, and I could easily by 1 deg off. BUT....
a) I've aligned it dozens of times, and I feel pretty confident in it, and
b) even with what I've described above, I just can't imagine (and I say that knowing full well that I'm a rookie) that alignment here is the biggest issue. I've come upon three different satellites that are showing me 40% or so quality, and I can't pick up ANY channels, or ANY
signal level. Given what wejones has said above, most people pick up
some signal level even looking at the ground.
I'll note that somehow I accidentally posted my original question on another thread (in addition to this one), and Sadoun replied by saying that the
Mercury II receiver is not supposed to go above 0-4% until you get within 1 deg of the proper satellite, then both it and quality will start to show. But I am getting quality with no signal level.
OK, all that and I still probably didn't provide much of a hint for anyone.
One more question...what is the lowest quality level that one can generally lock in a station with? 30%? 40%? 50%? Should I have reason to believe that I should lock something showing betweem 30-40% quality?
Thanks once again!