Little help with true South Satellite

[tomnardone206]

I am trying to set up a dish in rural Northern Michigan (without Internet access it has been tough).

The Lat is: 43.637
The Long. is: 85.245

I pointed the dish to 186 (.2) on the compass using the old trick where you walk away from the dish and make sure the LNB is pointing at you. I have the Lat. set to 44 degrees on the scale on the side of the mount closest to the pole (motor elevation I think) and the dish elevation set at 28 degrees.

Now, I don't know what satelite to look for. I can't figure out from Lyngsat which satelite will have an active transponder. Can someone help me out? I am trying to figure out what I should be pointing at first.

Also, many of the satellites on Lyngsat aren't in the Mercury II menus that I see (is my positioning method wrong?). How do I tell the motor to point to a new satellite?

After two attempts at trying to get any signal at all, I brought the whole kit home to try to get it to work here where I can access the net.

Finally, what type of LNB should I have selected? What positioning type can should I use and how do I know what transponder to look for?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Thanks.

Digipower SG2100 motor
Mercury II receiver
Fortec 90cm dish
Sadoun LNB

[rainman]

AMC 16 would be your true south sat but since there are no active transponders you can use AMC 3 at 87degrees west.

[greg47]

12196 H Symbol rate 3.979
tp 24

[EchoStar info card]
DVB3979-?
16231624


Look for this Freq. and Symbol Rate in the mornings and weekends. Echostar Satellite Center has been pretty regular in having this test channel with color bars and sound turned on. Another way to get close is to use the Hughes Internet signals on AMC 9 which is at 83 degrees west. Just peak in on those signals(which you can find on Lyngsat.com). Those signals are all in the 12.000-12.200 range and have a symbol rate of 30.000. Once you find them your satellite is to the west two degrees. Makes it easier to find.