Help with true south

[mg1963]

I need help please!!!
I've searched and read every thread i can find and I'm still confused.
my location is
USA - AL - Arab ,35016North Latitude: 34.3237
West Longitude: 86.4928
What is my true south settings, i have a fortec 33 in dish with a digipower
sg2100 motor and a coolsat 6000 stb.
Thank you for reading this

[satnutwillb]

Your closest true south sat.should be AMC3 at 87.o W.or you could use AMC-16 at 85.o.W.Hope this helps.

[mg1963]

thanks for the response, so if i understand your post if i can hit nimiq 2 (which i can) that would be my true south. Right?

[satnutwillb]

You should try the sat.closest to your longitude,which would be AMC-3 or AMC 16 for true south.

[radiobob]

satnutwillb is right! Go with AMC 3...(assuming you have a linear LNB).

Think of it this way: your longitude is roughly 86.5 degrees, right? And longitude lines run north and south...so if you lined up your dish pointing due south, it would theoretically be pointing right along an imaginary line at 86.5° west longitude.

So, if you guestimated where due south was (a magnetic compass will only be a couple of degrees off of true at your location), you could then point your whole dish and motor assembly right along what you think to be due south.

Well, some 22,000 miles out in space, parked above a line running at 87° W (just 1/2 a degree off) is satellite AMC 3. If you use USALS in your Coolsat box to steer the motor to 87°, the motor really won't turn very far since it only needs to move 1/2 a degree, right? Nonetheless, the system will "think" its pointed at AMC 3 @ 87°.

But, this doesn't mean you'll really be pointed at AMC 3, since you don't know if you were really pointed True South to begin with (that's the whole point of all this). You'll now need to truly aim at the satellite.

In my opinion, unless you've got a high-end satellite finder, you're better off hauling your receiver and a small TV out to the dish. Tune to transponder 11716 H (we know there's a signal there). Slightly loosen the U-bolts that hold the motor onto your (perfectly plumb) mast and ever-so-slowly move the entire rig--motor and dish--east and west looking for the best signal (and quality). Once you find that, you can then peak elevation as well.

Yes, you could use Nimiq 2 @ 82°, but that's several degrees off of your "true south satellite" and using that as your starting point could throw everything else off a bit. And, of course, Nimiq 2 is circularly polarized and scrambled (although I think there's a preview channel in the clear).

Ultimately your goal is to have your motor trace an arc in the sky that perfectly matches the arc along which the satellites are parked (a.k.a. the Clarke Belt). If you're out of whack from the get-go, you won't be able to effectively point at all the satellites you want to watch!

That oughta either clear things up for you or confuse you beyond repair!