Not picking up anything on my M2

[jasonlow]

Its been over a month now and I still can't get my motorized FTA system working - neither the signal level or quality stays above 3%. I have the M2 system with upgrades to the STAB HH90 motor and Invacom Universal LNBF. The dish is mounted on the roof.

I live in Austin, TX and so here are my calculations:
Latitude 30
Longitude 97
Motor elevation 30
Dish elevation 41
True south 172

A friend of mine - he's got a stationary FTA system - couldn't get a better signal either even after switching the dish to a stationary mount. He suggested that I try other LNBF settings in the Mercury II receiver (besides the default Universal) for the Invacom LNBF - would this matter?

I'm in desparate need for other ideas...

[rainman]

yes it does matter.do you have the invacom qph-031 or the snh-031 if its the qph it is a standard lnb and should be set at 10750 if its the snh than its a universal and should be set at 9750/10600.

[jasonlow]

Yes, its an Invacom SNH-031 model. I did try "Univ LNB (9750/10600)" for which is the default setting as shown in pic 2 at http://sadoun.com/Sat/Installation/R...structions.pdf (And I have the LNBF skew set to 0). Thanks for the tip.

[rainman]

try raising or lowering dish by 5 degrees some of the fortec dishes have been off this much on elevation scale. 31" dish needs to be moved 5 degrees higher usually.

What worked for me was I was pointing to Echo 110W and then set the receiver to the install part showing the level and quality bars.

The looked on lyngsat / satcodx for the Tp with the most channels that might be strong / strongest and use it as referance. My universal lnb and a TP above 11000 was selected. 12311 possibly.

I also had to make sure the info for the TP was correct according to the lyngsat / satcodx list and not some off old setting not being used today.

Then the moving east / west and later elevation / up /down movement to get best results.

Long story short = level and quality appeared and by them going green I presumed I was on the correct sat = not likely as most sats have similar tp's but not all of them.

Then once green I scanned and made sure the channels = Echo 110W channels = jackpot.

Once this is set to best possible Quality mark and try another close by sat + it's new elevation.

Hope some of this helps as I got mine up and running in 4 hours + drilling and other stuff.

PS> elevation and height above sea level ??
I am at 6750' above sea level, my 48.1 for 97W is actually 38/39 elevation in reality. Tracking a perfect arch / clark belt this way.

You might want to move the elevation back to zero and then slowly move it up until correct
Or 5-8deg above and below the 41 for the dish but slowly.

[keebs]

how confident are you in your mount? this factor made a huge difference in the set up of my system. it would be nice to see some pics of your mount and location of set up. also having a tv next to you will help greatly.nothing too complicated, just simple things to think about. JUST MY 2 CENTS.

[keebs]

also having an active tp on is crucial. took me a little while to figure that one out. and some great help from people who know the stuff.

[elgemcdlf]

I woudl start with the pure basics. Motor set to latitude on the latitude scale of the motor. Dish elevation set to correct setting for dish elevation. I assume you are not running a DiSEqC switch so this entry should be none. Lnbf setting to UNI. Now with one of the little squeeler meters start fishing east to west for signal. Once you find signal work with elevation to peak signal. You must be on an active transponder. Now scan in that tp and see what you have. Do a full scan and post what channels have surfaced. This will determine where you are and what from there what needs to be done can be determined.

Slow movement is the key. If you think you are going slow you are probably twice as fast as you need to be.