Can you please check my work and questions

[JDS]

My apologies now for the length of this message, I wanted to provide as much detail as possible. I appreciate any thoughts on any of the below. I'm hoping another set of eyes will see something I'm missing or messing up. Thank you for your consideration.

I probably should have written some time ago since I've been trying get my installation to work since the first week of June to no avail. I initially tried from my roof, but I believe I was too close to the nearest trees to get sufficient clearance. It is now in my yard and appears to have a good view of the sky. The tips of a few branches are partially in the path, but at quite a distance away and only in small portion of the field of view. They still may be interfering though.

I have the M-2 motorized kit, though I see it has changed since then. My invoice had the following DYNAMIC,DG280B,80P,QPH031,SM21H. So it looks like the only things that have changed are the dish and the receiver.

I have followed the directions on the site as closely as I can each time I've tried to test the setup. I've also re-watched the video many times. When I test I have hooked up a small tv directly to the receiver and made small, slow adjustments by hand. I have also checked Lyngsat to make sure the transponders I am trying for are indeed active. I have also tested with the switch and motor not connected as I have seen suggested in other threads. I still have never gotten above 41 and 1 which I understand is essentially noise.

Each time I have taken it apart and put it back together I have always checked to make sure it is level and plum.

Here is what I get from dispointer:
Motor Latitude: 39.1°
Declination Angle: 6.2°
Dish Elevation: 29°
Elevation: 44.7°
Azimuth (true): 180.0°
Azimuth (magn.): 183.8°


Here is where my settings are (my last test have been based on lining up the notch instead of the line, though the line didn't work either):





And the overall current setup (it may have tilted down a little since my last test), it is not currently hooped up.



Lastly, here is the current top down view from Dishpointer. I have included the obstruction finder to note that the main tree that may be causing me problems. It should be just enough to clear it, but so far no luck.



The red dot indicates where I am considering building a 20-30ft tower to mount the dish to for my next attempt. According to Dishpointer I should have a good view of the sky and I'm hoping the additional height will help me clear any potential problems with branches. Though I wonder if I'll then be aiming too high?

So based on any of the above, am I messing up somewhere? Anything jump out at you? What do you think of the tower idea?

I appreciate your consideration and any thoughts you can offer.

Thank you,

JD

[rainman]

some of these Fortec dishes are off by 5 degrees try 5 degrees higher and 5 degrees lower and see what happens.

[William Eng]

The LNB arm looks bent from the picture. Is this an optical illusion? It should be straight.

[pmb1010]

whats your zip code?

[JDS]

Originally Posted by William Eng

The LNB arm looks bent from the picture. Is this an optical illusion? It should be straight.

I will check when it's light again tomorrow. Though I agree, in the picture it does look bent. The arm is as it came in the original packaging. I don't believe there was any damage since the box looked fine, though the Styrofoam packaging was carved out in the center in what seemed to be an attempt by the packager to fit everything in the box.

JD

[JDS]

Originally Posted by pmb1010

whats your zip code?

The zip code is 47401.

[JDS]

Originally Posted by rainman

some of these Fortec dishes are off by 5 degrees try 5 degrees higher and 5 degrees lower and see what happens.

If I might ask for a slight clarification, are you meaning a difference of 4 on the dish angle? If so, try as low as 25 and as high as 34?

Thank you,

JD

[Jim-S]

Also it looks like a bolt is missing on the motor bracket?
If you have the switch in the circuit, remove it from the circuit until you have a signal. Just use the Linear side of the LNB direct to motor.
I would call Sadoun about the LNB arm............
Jim

[JDS]

All right, ran out to the dish this morning and the lnb arm is indeed bent. There are no marks on it and its contours match the rest of the arm, so it looks like it was manufactured that way. I can call Sadoun and see what they can do about that, though having had this since June they may not be willing to replace it without an expense. Though that would mark the second item they would need to send me since the receiver wasn't included in the original box. They were nice enough to send it without billing me for shipping again.

[JDS]

Originally Posted by Jim-S

Also it looks like a bolt is missing on the motor bracket?
If you have the switch in the circuit, remove it from the circuit until you have a signal. Just use the Linear side of the LNB direct to motor.
I would call Sadoun about the LNB arm............
Jim

I have tried it by doing that on a few occasions to no avail. I started trying it that way since there sometimes seems to be a clicking sound coming from the switch. I have read in other threads that that can mean a short. I agree about worrying about getting a signal first. After that I can worry about whether or not the switch has been bad from day one

There is a bolt missing. I couldn't get the bolt all the way through when I was attaching the dish. It didn't seem to make the run through to the other side. I can try to locate the bolt again and see if I can get it to work this time.

Thank you all for the continued support with this, I appreciate it!

JD

[Jim-S]

Some fyi on the switch...I went thru two of the S-SM21H switches, I was having trouble with them. I went with a DiSEqC switch and have not had a problem since. I was having trouble moving the dish especially in the winter.
Just my two cents.

[JDS]

Went through my collection of materials that came in the box with my kit and found the instruction for assembling the dish. In the instructions the arm has a bend which is why I guess I never questioned it when I assembled it. Also in seeing the manual saying Winegard DS-2076 and doing a quick web search it looks like about half the results I see have the same bend that mine does.

I called Sadoun today and they said the person I would need to talk with was out of the office today. I'll probably send him an e-mail and reference this thread, though now with this new info to consider I'm not sure if things are clearer or not. Plot thickens...

JD

[Jim-S]

We thought this was a Fortech dish, it must be a Winegard by the paper you show us, so the bent arm is probably correct.
M-2 bundle from Sadoun shows a Fortech dish.............?

[JDS]

Originally Posted by Jim-S

We thought this was a Fortech dish, it must be a Winegard by the paper you show us, so the bent arm is probably correct.
M-2 bundle from Sadoun shows a Fortech dish.............?

My apologies, in my original info I provided what was in the receipt e-mail. Back at the time when I ordered the M-2 kit I believe there was a statement that said something like "if this dish isn't available, a comparable one will be sent."

Should I still be trying to adjust for being 5 degrees off or with it being a Winegard dish, is that no longer a consideration?

I might try taking it all apart again and putting it back together and see if anything jumps out to me as being off. May also try it from another location.

Sorry again for the confusion,

JD

[pmb1010]

looks like AMC3 at 87 is your "most south" sat.

Did you

- zero the motor and aim to magnetic south (what was that number you used?)

- put in your location coordinates and have the motor drive to 87W?
(motor will not move much)

- tune to active transponder (ie: 11720H) to look for a signal?
(move dish elevation up/down in a hair amounts, and motor side to side slightly looking for quality blip?)

[spongella]

First off, you are missing a bolt on your dish bracket. I can see a hole where that bolt should be, this is what the whole dish pivots on, and also keeps the bracket aligned properly. Stick the bolt in and tighten it up, this is very important.

[rainman]

[quote=JDS;66492]If I might ask for a slight clarification, are you meaning a difference of 4 on the dish angle? If so, try as low as 25 and as high as 34?

Thank you,

JD[/quote

yes that is right my 90 cm had to be 5 degrees lower than called for.

[JDS]

Originally Posted by Jim-S

Some fyi on the switch...I went thru two of the S-SM21H switches, I was having trouble with them. I went with a DiSEqC switch and have not had a problem since. I was having trouble moving the dish especially in the winter.
Just my two cents.

Thank you for the tip, I'll have to keep this in mind if I end up getting this working though I have every hope I won't have to spend more money if possible

Thank you,

JD

[JDS]

Originally Posted by pmb1010

looks like AMC3 at 87 is your "most south" sat.

Did you

- zero the motor and aim to magnetic south (what was that number you used?)

- put in your location coordinates and have the motor drive to 87W?
(motor will not move much)

- tune to active transponder (ie: 11720H) to look for a signal?
(move dish elevation up/down in a hair amounts, and motor side to side slightly looking for quality blip?)

I put in my location as:
Latitude: 39.1333°
Longitude: -86.5294°

I did zero the motor before anything else. I was aiming for the 183 magnetic correction that dishpointer gave me.

AMC3 at 87 has been what I have been trying to align. Yes it barely moved when I sent it there. I've tried a few different transponder values, but have most often been trying for 4043H since it looked like there was a lot going on there according to Lyngsat.

Once it drove to 87 I then tried moving left and right tiny amount. Each time I went one way or the other I would then move it up and down in small increments allowing time for the receiver to potentially get a signal.

I've never seen a gain of more than 1 on either strength or quality.

It's been a week or so since my last attempt, so I'll be trying again in another day or two.

Thank you for your thoughts on this, I will go through the paces again. I will also review all of the install materials again to make sure I'm keeping the right settings (e.g. USALS, universal lnb, etc.).

JD

[JDS]

Originally Posted by spongella

First off, you are missing a bolt on your dish bracket. I can see a hole where that bolt should be, this is what the whole dish pivots on, and also keeps the bracket aligned properly. Stick the bolt in and tighten it up, this is very important.

I will try this again. It's been awhile, but I seem to recall there being an issue as to why I didn't put the bolt back. I'll post on this again once I've either replaced the bolt of discovered why I didn't put it back in the first place.

Thank you,

JD

[JDS]

[quote=rainman;66523]

Originally Posted by JDS

If I might ask for a slight clarification, are you meaning a difference of 4 on the dish angle? If so, try as low as 25 and as high as 34?

Thank you,

JD[/quote

yes that is right my 90 cm had to be 5 degrees lower than called for.

Thank you for the clarification, I will add this as a new variable to test with.

JD

[pmb1010]

40xx is c band - there's your problem.
you can't get C band with your setup.

You have to use Ku transponders in the 1xxxx range (5 digits)

Use the 11720H I suggested.

That will make a BIG difference.

[JDS]

Originally Posted by pmb1010

40xx is c band - there's your problem.
you can't get C band with your setup.

You have to use Ku transponders in the 1xxxx range (5 digits)

Use the 11720H I suggested.

That will make a BIG difference.

I've tried the 5 digit values before, but that may well have been when I was definitely too close to the trees (i.e. my first setup site). Forgot to make sure I was in the Ku range and instead was just looking for a transponder with a lot going on. Thank you for pointing this out. Hopefully this plus the other advice offered here will get me over the last few hurdles.

JD

[JDS]

Sorry no updates for a little bit here, I've had several work deadlines I've had to deal with. I'm hoping to get a chance to get out there again this weekend or by Monday/Tuesday. I will post results.

Thank you,

JD