Need Help Trying to find 97W

[jahb]

am not sure how to post this to the full forum.

I have a Coolsat 500
33in dish
Spitfire KU LNBF Model ASC321

I live in Minnesota and the Sat finder says the coordinates should be.

Elevation 38.1
Azimuth 185.1


I am new member and new to this stuff. I am trying to get FTA channels on 97W. I am think I am lined up because my satfinder is squaking very loud, but I am not getting any quality on reveiver. Is there a setting I need to adjust on the receiver? Help?
I adjusted my elevation on the dish to 38 and my compass direction show the 185. My zipcode is 55125. Not sure if there is a frequency setting I need to set on the recevier etc. Help.

[wejones]

Originally Posted by jahb

am not sure how to post this to the full forum.

I have a Coolsat 500
33in dish
Spitfire KU LNBF Model ASC321

I live in Minnesota and the Sat finder says the coordinates should be.

Elevation 38.1
Azimuth 185.1


I am new member and new to this stuff. I am trying to get FTA channels on 97W. I am think I am lined up because my satfinder is squaking very loud, but I am not getting any quality on reveiver. Is there a setting I need to adjust on the receiver? Help?
I adjusted my elevation on the dish to 38 and my compass direction show the 185. My zipcode is 55125. Not sure if there is a frequency setting I need to set on the recevier etc. Help.

Make sure that your receiver is set to a LO freq of 10750, and not Universal. Look in Lyngsat, and find one of the Globecast transponders, and set your receiver on that. I'm not familiar with your receiver, but usually there will be a transponder scan which will give you a signal and quality meter, or perhaps in the window where you set your LO and other satellite parameters, there may be signal/quality meters, but whichever you use, make sure you are on the proper frequency and SR value for one of the active transponders. Then, it's best to have your TV out at the dish so you can SLOWLY move the dish around looking for a lock or good quality reading. Signal strength isn't very meaningful. If you can't get the TV out there and need to use the hand held meter, the problem is, that you'll get strong readings from DBS satellites, like the DTV sat at 101 degrees, or the Nimiq sat at 91. Set your hand held meter to mid scale so you can see it increase when you get near a sat. I'd look for the 2 strong signals, then look for a weaker peak in between those two. It's usually very easy to find the DBS sats, and you can use those to help find the linear sats.

[radiobob]

Well, the good news is, your geographic azimuth is only 1 degree off magnetic, so your compass will be pretty close to being accurate.

Make sure the local oscillator frequency in your antenna setup menu is set to 10.750 and the type to Standard LNB.

11836V, SR 20765 3/4 works well for me as a test transponder, although you can consult lyngsat.com for any number of possibilities. Others may have other suggestions.

I know it's cold in MN, but the best way of aligning the dish is to haul your TV out to it and use your receiver's tuning indicators. The little squealing sat finders are okay for ballpark alignment, but many of these linear Ku satellite signals are pretty puny and you will need to make finer azimuth and elevation adjustments than you can get while watching/listening to the squealers.

Set your dish up per the recommended azimuth and elevation, but use these as starting points. Watch the signal strength meter on the TV as you very gently and very slowly (and with tiny movements) rock the dish east and west, looking for the best signal. Tighten down the azimuth bolts/nuts then repeat the slow-and-tiny movement up and down with the elevation, again looking for peak indicated signal. Then repeat, if necessary.

I know it's a pain hauling a TV outside, but I promise you it's worth it!

Oh, and be sure to set your LNB skew about 4 degrees counter-clockwise as you face the business end of the dish. You may need to touch this up a bit, too, once you have the azimuth and elevation set.

Patience is key. Trust me.

Good luck,
Bob

-----

P.S. Darn, Bill...you beat me to the draw!

[jahb]

No luck man.. I have changed the settings and still not luck. Hopefully I have the correct LNB setup. Any more suggestions.

[jahb]

Yep have the TV outside. Its not that bad today and pretty sunny. No wind. Maybe since this Sat is so sensitive I have have a leaf on the tree in the way.. no clue. I will keep trying to adjust it.

[bobkat]

Common mistakes:

1) Dish coax plugged into "ANT IN" on receiver and not "IF IN"

2) LNB L.O. setting in receiver does not match LNB (the other members said try 10,750 -- also try 10,600, as your LNB might be UNIVERSAL)

3) DiSEqC setting in receiver is wrong - make sure it is set to "NONE" or "#1"

4) Dish mast is not plumb in all 4 directions - this is crucial

5) LNB is not optimized for focal distance - try sliding LNB backwards or forwards in its cradle

6) Trees in the way - hold you arm up at approximately a 45 degree angle and "eyeball" your line of sight -- anything in the way = zero signal

7) Receiver "LNB POWER" set to "OFF" - it should be "ON"


Patience is the key as radiobob told you. Slow, tiny dish movements. Adjust the elevation one degree up and swing the arc - if nothing, one degree down. Small steps.

kat