I can't Post a question

[Mrgrip]

I tried posting a question twice now & when I "preview" my post, it knocks me out & says I can't & I have to log on again

???????

Mrgrip

[Vitruvius]

Is that suppose to be a question?

[Mrgrip]

Hi,

Sorry!

I logged in twice & printed out my "question" on installation & when I clicked "Preview Post" I got another screen that said I was NOT logged in & to log on. I logged on on the new screen & I tried to send a message but I forgot I was still in "Installation" help. Let me try again.

Location: Latitude 26.6227 Longitude: -81.9234
Receiver: Coolsat 6000
Dish: 36" Fortec Star
LNB: Invacom QPH-031 LNBF
Motor: DG-380
Question: Having a hard time finding my true south.

Motor set at 26.6
Dish elevation set at 31 ( I had to tweak the elevation a little on 110)
Moved the motor assembly slightly to the west on 110.

I've read a lot & I tried setting my true south to NimiQ 82 but the signal (upper right hand corner of the CS 6000 was reading 77W) I had the circular lnb hooked up from the motor, no switches. I found 110w & got a 97 quality. I went to 123w (after I switched back to the linear lnb) & I had about 68 quality, enough for a blind scan & picked up about 39 channels. I thought I was good but when I tried other sats I was getting no signal at all.

If I remember correctly, Nimiq 82 was a tough sat to sight in. Maybe I wasn't patient enough.

I guess my question is: What am I doing wrong?

[rainman]

you need to get aligned on your true south sat first then the rest will fall in to place. be very patient and make sure you are using a active transponder see lyngsat for a list of transponders.

[Mrgrip]

So, would 82w be my true south sat?

[rainman]

So, would 82w be my true south sat?

yes it would.

[Mrgrip]

I keep getting 77w echostar coming in but no 82w nimiq. Having a hard time finding it. I'm going to start over with a different receiver (Visionsat 200)

One more question: Is there an alternative "true south sat" or another way to calibrate my system?

Thanks, Mrgrip

[pmb1010]

If you are using USALS to move your dish, which sattelite you use for "true south" isn't really all that important. It just makes it a bit easier.

The process is to point the whole system, with the dish at center, to the spot highest on the arc for your location. (thats your magnetically corrected south heading)

From there, you use USALS to tell the dish to move to a sat high on the arc. It can be 82w, it can be 77w - it's only a few degrees away.
When you move the motor on the pole, and the dish elevation up & down a little bit you are hoping that finding that sat puts you on the arc.
If it's a bit left or right of your highest arc point really doesnt matter.

Using the circular sats to line up can be deceiving. They throw out a lot of signal, and even though you're getting a signal, you could be off of the arc by enough that the linear sats might not be seen.

Use circular to get close. Switch to Linear and search for 79w linear as a south sat - and look for the NYNet transponder. You'll have better luck.

[William Eng]

I keep getting 77w echostar coming in but no 82w nimiq. Having a hard time finding it. I'm going to start over with a different receiver (Visionsat 200)

One more question: Is there an alternative "true south sat" or another way to calibrate my system?

Thanks, Mrgrip

I live in Tampa, which pretty close to your locaton. I used 82W to peak my dish, but since there is not much there, I've seen a couple of Canadian channels on it, you have to do a scan a compare the 82W transponder profile to the published information in lyngsat.com. It is a pain the the butt, the 82W signal is weak, but it is still there. Is it possible to align the dish with another satellite? Yes, but you may be tracking the rest of the Clarke's Belt correctly.

[Mrgrip]

If you are using USALS to move your dish, which sattelite you use for "true south" isn't really all that important. It just makes it a bit easier.

The process is to point the whole system, with the dish at center, to the spot highest on the arc for your location. (thats your magnetically corrected south heading)

From there, you use USALS to tell the dish to move to a sat high on the arc. It can be 82w, it can be 77w - it's only a few degrees away.
When you move the motor on the pole, and the dish elevation up & down a little bit you are hoping that finding that sat puts you on the arc.
If it's a bit left or right of your highest arc point really doesnt matter.

Using the circular sats to line up can be deceiving. They throw out a lot of signal, and even though you're getting a signal, you could be off of the arc by enough that the linear sats might not be seen.

Use circular to get close. Switch to Linear and search for 79w linear as a south sat - and look for the NYNet transponder. You'll have better luck.

I did as you suggested. I used 79w linear as a reference & it locked in good. Since 79w has a slight skew, I went to 79w with the motor & I went to 11900 (NYNET transponder & tweaked it a little to get a steady 97 on both bars. (signal & Quality) I did a blind scan & got a few channels. Then I went to 123W, & blind scanned. Quality varied from mid 60's to low 90's. I also did 97w, quality was good & did a blind scan.

It took me a while to get this far & I consider the install to be a success. I don't need the circular LNB hooked up yet so I'll leave it like it is. I have to learn more about the other sats I'll be able to scan. At least I'll be able to do that inside where it's air conditioned.

Thanks pmb1010 & all others for their help,

Mrgrip