I need some expert experienced help

highandmighty · #1 (**permalink**) 03-30-2004, 04:44 PM

Howdy howdy. Just got through mounting and setting up motorized sg 2100 fta system. Got all the latitude settings etc for my area and adjusted on sg 2100 accordingly. Put the dish at zero on motor after pointing it south and installed g10r sat. The sg 2100 moved to the stored receiver's setting. Right a way I got a good signal with a signal meter then scanned the sat which was g10r. Then I tweaked it for best reception and saved the channels. So now I can go back to that sat from any location on the arc and it tunes in perfectly. But the problem is I can't seem to find the other sats in the arc. I install for example t5 and others with motor engaged then motor moves dish to receiver's stored pos for t5 and others. I do a scan and a blind scan but it finds nothing. Where am I missing this picture ? How can I have g10r tweaked so well in unison with the receiver's stored location but not be able to track the arc? My location is Latitude: 33.406372 Longitude: 94.223069. So I set 33

for lat setting on motor. One ? that I'm not sure about is, since the sg 2100 is on an angle do I still need to set a declination angle on the dish which would be 24.6 for my area after subtracting 5.4 from 30 degrees? Or would the dish be exactly parallel to the sg 2100 at the same angle as the motor? My dish being a 30" offset dish do I need to add or subtract anything for my lat adjustments etc? Also I've been told to make sure the dish is pointing true south when at the zero pos but actually I have no clue how to do this. I lined up my dish by using the sun at solar noon time for this area but not sure if that was right. All I know is I can hit g10r perfectly. Finally one last thing, I have a clear shot of the skies with nothing in the way. Thankz

dtsexpert · #2 (**permalink**) 03-30-2004, 07:12 PM

Your truesouth sat is not G10R. It's G3C at 95W. Move your dish back to 0, set the SG2100 elevation at 33 deg. The dish elevation 25 deg.
Once you get lock on G3C, try to peak the best quality.
Michael

Quote:

Originally Posted by highandmighty

Howdy howdy. Just got through mounting and setting up motorized sg 2100 fta system. Got all the latitude settings etc for my area and adjusted on sg 2100 accordingly. Put the dish at zero on motor after pointing it south and installed g10r sat. The sg 2100 moved to the stored receiver's setting. Right a way I got a good signal with a signal meter then scanned the sat which was g10r. Then I tweaked it for best reception and saved the channels. So now I can go back to that sat from any location on the arc and it tunes in perfectly. But the problem is I can't seem to find the other sats in the arc. I install for example t5 and others with motor engaged then motor moves dish to receiver's stored pos for t5 and others. I do a scan and a blind scan but it finds nothing. Where am I missing this picture ? How can I have g10r tweaked so well in unison with the receiver's stored location but not be able to track the arc? My location is Latitude: 33.406372 Longitude: 94.223069. So I set 33

for lat setting on motor. One ? that I'm not sure about is, since the sg 2100 is on an angle do I still need to set a declination angle on the dish which would be 24.6 for my area after subtracting 5.4 from 30 degrees? Or would the dish be exactly parallel to the sg 2100 at the same angle as the motor? My dish being a 30" offset dish do I need to add or subtract anything for my lat adjustments etc? Also I've been told to make sure the dish is pointing true south when at the zero pos but actually I have no clue how to do this. I lined up my dish by using the sun at solar noon time for this area but not sure if that was right. All I know is I can hit g10r perfectly. Finally one last thing, I have a clear shot of the skies with nothing in the way. Thankz

highandmighty · #3 (**permalink**) 03-31-2004, 09:59 AM

It's all starting to make sense to me now. BTW if I put an angle finder protractor on the lnbf arm can I find the declination like that? Since the time I first posted this I found T5. So now I have t5 and g10r but they are not synced with the receiver's stored location. 1 is in sync with receiver the other isn't. Should I try to tweak these 2 to get them in sync or just find g3c first? What's funny about this whole thing is I can actually track a 10' c-band dish. Have done that 5 or 6 different times for myself and friends. Thanks

starman · #4 (**permalink**) 03-31-2004, 11:47 AM

You mentioned "blind scan" by chance are you using a lifetime ultra receiver? If so, you'll find it doesn't work well with the sg2100 motor.

highandmighty · #5 (**permalink**) 03-31-2004, 01:27 PM

So what is the problem with this unit and the sg2100? Is it major or something that a software upgrade can fix? The only other blind search receiver I know of is satwork 3688. Does this have same prob with sg2100? Should I get another fta receiver to use with the sg2100? If so can the ultra be slaved to it to use the blind search features? And if so what receiver would you recommend?

starman · #6 (**permalink**) 03-31-2004, 02:35 PM

Search "Lifetime Ultra firmware bug and sg2100" thread for more info.

dtsexpert · #7 (**permalink**) 03-31-2004, 03:08 PM

Starman,
I have heard mix reports on the Ultra Diseqc 1.2 and USALS. Some say work while the others say not. I don't have any problem moving the dish with both 786v3 and Lifetime. When you set up your system, did you use 1.2 or USALS? If you use USALS, make sure you key in the Lat/Long correctly.
I don't have the Ultra receiver, so I can't test to confirm if the problem is from the receiver or SG2100.
Regards,
Michael

Quote:

Originally Posted by starman

Search "Lifetime Ultra firmware bug and sg2100" thread for more info.

starman · #8 (**permalink**) 03-31-2004, 05:21 PM

Hi Michael, my lat/longitude are correct, I can find the satellites no problem using usals, the problem is after scanning one, the dish starts moving on its own, sometimes it starts moving during the scanning, resulting in only some, not all transponders being scanned. Weather it completes scanning or not I can't locate another satellite till I exit out of the usals screen, go to diseqc screen and take dish back to 0 reference point. Then start over with usals to locate another satellite. After another satellite is found with usals, I scan, and store, however when I select a channel from the first satellite, the dish won't move, if I go back to usals screen dish will move to correct location. Another problem is that when bringing the dish to the 0 reference point it is sometimes off by about 5 degrees and I have to re-set it. I had a lifetime that worked fine with the SG-2100, also I use a dvb card which works fine with the motor.
If some people are having good luck with the Ultra/SG2100 I wonder if the Ultras are all loaded with the same software? System information on mine says:
Fortec star 2.20
Boot version 5
01.19.2004

dtsexpert · #9 (**permalink**) 03-31-2004, 05:42 PM

Here is my experiences with the SG2100: I could never make it move to desired satellites I want using USALS. It's seem to me that the SG2100 is not fully USALS compatible.
Here is my testing results:
1. Lifetime with Stab 100 mount: both diseqc 1.2 and USALS work fine.
2. Lifetime with SG21000: Diseqc 1.2 work fine. Using USALS, dish does not move to desired sat position precisely. Sometimes it's off 1 or 2 degs while other time it's way off like 10 or 15 degs. So I conclude that the SG2100 somehow does not understand the USALS commands.
3. 786v3 with SG2100: Diseqc 1.2 work fine.
4. 786v3 with Stab 100: Diseqc 1.2 work fine.
Have you try the Diseqc 1.2 yet? It might fix the weird movement problem using USALS.
Michael

Quote:

Originally Posted by starman

Hi Michael, my lat/longitude are correct, I can find the satellites no problem using usals, the problem is after scanning one, the dish starts moving on its own, sometimes it starts moving during the scanning, resulting in only some, not all transponders being scanned. Weather it completes scanning or not I can't locate another satellite till I exit out of the usals screen, go to diseqc screen and take dish back to 0 reference point. Then start over with usals to locate another satellite. After another satellite is found with usals, I scan, and store, however when I select a channel from the first satellite, the dish won't move, if I go back to usals screen dish will move to correct location. Another problem is that when bringing the dish to the 0 reference point it is sometimes off by about 5 degrees and I have to re-set it. I had a lifetime that worked fine with the SG-2100, also I use a dvb card which works fine with the motor.
If some people are having good luck with the Ultra/SG2100 I wonder if the Ultras are all loaded with the same software? System information on mine says:
Fortec star 2.20
Boot version 5
01.19.2004

vj9999 · #10 (**permalink**) 03-31-2004, 06:07 PM

Micheal, I guess I can't speak for starman, but in my case (and in all other cases that I have seen people report) the problem is there no matter if you are using USALS or 1.2 . I have since ran a separate cable from my twinhan card to sg2100 and I have been using it for a week now to move sg2100 (using USALS) with no problems.

So my current setup looks like this:

Twinhan 1030a -> sg2100 (used just for moving the dish using USALS and it works great)
Ultra-> directly to the lnb

and I have a cable going from ultra IF output and just laying near my computer if I want to see a 4:2:2.

It's a hassle, but I can live with it. It's a hobby anyway so it doesn't have to be perfect.

starman · #11 (**permalink**) 03-31-2004, 06:19 PM

Michael, thanks for reporting your findings, that is helpful. Like vj9999 says, the problem exists with diseqc1.2 as with Usals. vj9999 good thinking on your setup with the twinhan/ultra, I've got a 1020a here, nexus also, may try your method while waiting for a fortecstar reply....it may be a long wait.

dtsexpert · #12 (**permalink**) 03-31-2004, 06:42 PM

Yes, I agree. If for some reasons the Ultra does not work well with h-h mount, you can "fix" the proble by using another card/receiver to drive the dish, then slave the Ultra to it...:-), it's kind of inconienent. If it is a bug, then the next firmware release might fix it. Just make sure Jamal aware of this, so he can pass the info to Fortec tech support.
Michael

Quote:

Originally Posted by starman

Michael, thanks for reporting your findings, that is helpful. Like vj9999 says, the problem exists with diseqc1.2 as with Usals. vj9999 good thinking on your setup with the twinhan/ultra, I've got a 1020a here, nexus also, may try your method while waiting for a fortecstar reply....it may be a long wait.