New Install with HH100 and 90cm Fortec dish questions

[robbert]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to the hobby, the equipment and this forum. I just installed my sat setup this past weekend, and got it working fairly decently. I have a 90cm Fortec Star dish with Univ. LNB, Stab HH100 motor and Fortec Star Lifetime receiver.

I got this system primarily to get IA5's international channels, specifically BVN-TV on Transponder 11 (11929V). But I am very curious as to what else I can pick up out there, hence, the motor . After lining everything up and finding my closest true-south sat, I can now scan most of the Clarke belt from about 74W (SBS6, about 40% quality) to 123W (G10R, also about 40%).

Inbetween those, I optimized the dish alignment for the 97W IA5 satellite, where I get about 80-90% signal and 70-90% quality on most transponders, EXCEPT 11929V, where I can only get about 50-55% quality at most. Signal is at about 80-85%.

My questions:
- Is this normal to have such a difference in quality between different transponders on the same satellite, while the signal is the about the same?
- Is 11929V a known weak transponder? Or do I have something messed up with my dish alignment? I did peak the dish at this satellite/transponder and even moving it a hair away in azimuth or elevation drops the quality to 40-30-0 immediately.

- To align my dish better on the Clarke belt, is there a good satellite (with a decent signal) I could use further East? Everything seemed pretty blank further east than 74W... My longitude is 71.2 degrees, and I shouldn't have any trees or other objects blocking my view until I get to about 10-15 degrees above the horizon. I was thinking of using Telstar 12 (15W) as my furthest East satellite. Anyone have any tips for a good transponder to align with?

Thanks!
Robbert

[aar5ac]

You must peak on your true south satellite. If you don't it will gradually throw everything else off the further away from the satellite that you peaked on. You will gradually drop below the clark belt on one end of the arc and be above the belt on the other end.

Your best sat according to your long would be AMC-6. As you can see if you look on a sat service that there are no full time mpeg carriers on there but you can try an ip data carrier. Try 12060H sr 13022....This IP provider belongs to synergistic communications and is full time 24/7. I would set up my due south on this sat preferably even if there is nothing else on their that interests you.

You really want the KU band satellite the closest to your site long as possible. The other thing to check is that your mounting pole is perfectly plumb. Even a half a bubble off on the level is enough to upset the apple cart on the far edges of the arc. If your mount is plumb and you peak on your true south satellite it will eliminate the lion's share of the trouble your getting....and yes, quite often there is a big difference in carrier power levels on individual transponders. The direct broadcast transponders are usually the strongest as they are meant for the end user. The network feeds, backhauls and SNG feeds are usually much weaker as there is a big downlink antenna on the other end. They try to use the least amount of power as possible to get the job done.

[robbert]

Trying to peak it at AMC6 (which I have tried) doesn't give me a very accurate pointing. I can move the dish slightly in all directions and the signal stays pretty much the same. With it being peaked at AMC6 (I actually started with peaking it at AMC5 first since I couldn't find a transponder on AMC6 at first), it received IA5 ok when I told it to move there. However, that 11929V transponder on IA5 didn't come in with any quality. Just slightly nudging the dish while it was pointed at IA5 got me around 50% (on a clear day) and I haven't been able to get it any higher. I also tried reprogramming the sat position in .1 degree increments from its 97W position (in case there was some kind of alignment issue), but the optimum position turned out to be at 97.0W.
I'm just surprised that I get such a low quality on that one transponder off of IA5 (it is a broadcast transponder). Can you confirm that my 50% quality is representative for the 97W 11929V transponder? (with a 90cm dish and 0.4dB univ. LNB).

After playing around a little more yesterday, I did manage to get as far east as 43.1W (PAS3R; got some of the BT feeds). My pole is as plumb as I can measure (my level shows exactly center in all directions). I'm still curious if I should be able to receive Hispasat (30W) and Telstar 12 (15W) (and maybe even Atlantic Bird 2 (8W) (would be 10 degrees above the horizon for me)..

Thanks,
Robbert

[aar5ac]

You should be o.k. Transponders are all at different power levels. I run a 90cm KU dish with a similar lnb and I have 45% quality looking at it right now. I have seen a perfectly recieved signal with as low as 25% quality so I wouldn't worry about it. Just make sure your peaked on your true south sat....or as close to true south as you can get and if your pole is perfectly plumb then you should track the arc just fine.

[robbert]

Thanks for checking! Just curious, where are you located? Any idea if I should be able to get Telstar 12 or Hispasat?

Thanks,
Robbert

[aar5ac]

I'm in michigan so that's way beyond the look angle for me. You can go to lyngsat and check the satellite footprint for those sats. It also depends on how clear a shot you have at the horizon for the low birds. Aiming East over the atlantic with no obstructions you should be able to get pretty low in the sky I would think.

[robbert]

Thanks for all your help! It was rainy here yesterday so I didn't get to play with it any more, but this weekend I will try to aim at Hispasat and Telstar 12.
Speaking of rain.. Wow.. With the little bit of drizzle we had here yesterday I lost most channels on IA5. The transponders that had about 50-60% quality (such as 11929V) were down to 20-30% (and breaking up heavily, or not coming in at all). I tried pointing to Echostar 6/8 (GOL TV is on there I think), and got 80-90% quality. Sounds like I might need a bigger dish than 90cm for IA5 if I want to keep the signal coming in when the weather isn't perfect....

Anybody know whether replacing my 0.4dB LNB with the Invacom 0.3dB may make the difference here? Or am I looking at a 100cm dish? (and a long talk to convince the wife I need an even bigger dish.. :mozilla_laughing: )