is it really this hard??

bcsjr · #1 (**permalink**) 04-22-2004, 05:32 PM

i have set up a couple dish and dtv systems but ive
been working on this for a week is it reallt THAT sensitive??

if so im thinking of getting a cheap sat finder to see if that
helps at all.

any input is helpful

PS ive used all the alignment tools several time to check alignment
changed satellites double checked transponder activity.

hooked up circular lnd and get great quality on 119
no picture except for nasa of course so i think im on the right track.

again any input is welcome. :?:

Anonymous · #2 (**permalink**) 04-22-2004, 08:22 PM

Hi bcsjr

Yes and No. DTV is easy compared to DVB, why you might ask,
well the DTV dish you can free hand position the dish till the signal is
found. Can't do this with DVB. You also have to be well aware of the
transponder settings, which most of the default Fortec are incorrect.
I have found the most difficult part to be moving the dish in the
azimuth 1 deg at a time. What I did was; went to the hardware store
and purchased a 4ft wooden dowel rod and attached it to the bottom
of the feed horn arm so that the tip was set at 5.5ft from the dish
mounting pole. Then attached a plumb bob to the end of the rod and
below the plumb bob lay out a yard stick. At this distance of 5.5 feet
1deg equals one inch. Now how to move the dish slowly? Drill a hole
into the end of an old broom stick handle just the size of the u-bolt that
attaches the dish to the mounting pole. After the hole is drilled you
can place the handle on one of the legs of the u-bolt. This will make
it easy to sweep the dish a bit at a time. Dont use the signal meter
for FTA sats. Have the receiver and small tv at dish. The quality bar will
jump when you get at almost +/- 2deg . It does acquire quality signal fast..
Supprised me compared to what I've read.
Dave In Belton, MO.

bcsjr · #3 (**permalink**) 04-23-2004, 05:45 PM

thanks for the taking the time to reply i appreciate it
i was begining to wonder if something was wrong with the equiptment
well ill give it a shot this weekend and hopefully ill be
successfull

again thanx

dtsexpert · #4 (**permalink**) 04-24-2004, 03:32 AM

What satellite are you trying to aim at? Double check the LO.
Tell us more about your gears, your location.
Michael

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcsjr

thanks for the taking the time to reply i appreciate it
i was begining to wonder if something was wrong with the equiptment
well ill give it a shot this weekend and hopefully ill be
successfull

again thanx

casa · #5 (**permalink**) 04-27-2004, 09:58 AM

is there any driver tweaks for the VP1020A red?using My Theatre.

bcsjr · #6 (**permalink**) 04-27-2004, 06:00 PM

fortec lifetime ultra
36" fortec dish
fotec universal lnb

trying to get anything fta id perfer g10r but
at this point ill take anything

my coordinates are 44.96 89.63

i cant think of anything else

oh ya her is were im pointing for g10r 223 degrees west
28.6 degrees elevation 28.8 degrees counter clockwise lnb
can get a 80 on t5 but no quality thats the problem no quality

thanks

pmb1010 · #7 (**permalink**) 04-27-2004, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcsjr

fortec lifetime ultra
36" fortec dish
fotec universal lnb

trying to get anything fta id perfer g10r but
at this point ill take anything

my coordinates are 44.96 89.63

i cant think of anything else

oh ya her is were im pointing for g10r 223 degrees west
28.6 degrees elevation 28.8 degrees counter clockwise lnb
can get a 80 on t5 but no quality thats the problem no quality

thanks

I can't tell from co-ordinates exactly what state you are in, but I suspect not too far from Milwaukee, WI. With that, you need to add a few degrees of azimuth to compensate for magnetic deviation.

Make sure you are on the antenna setup screen (do NOT leave this screen until you get some green indicator):

Note you will need to change some of the options here to match your equipment (like Univeral 1 LNB, positioner off if you dont have a motor, etc)

(do NOT scan yet) and have an active transponder selected for G10R at the time you are peaking the dish. An 1/8 of an inch will lose the signal quality completely. It's very touchy. Take your time.
Ignore the "level" but aim for some green "quality" indicator...

Anonymous · #8 (**permalink**) 04-27-2004, 10:32 PM

hi bcsjr

Just an FYI. I decided to play with the dish this afternoon and went
to tweak up the LNB using an SF-95 power meter that goes in the coax
line between the LNB and receiver. After I turned on the receiver there
was no picture and the quality bar was zero. Removed the power meter
and picture came back. So you cant use the power meter and look for
the quality bar to change at the same time. I would suggest to you,
use a power meter to find the satellite band elevation wise and then tweak
the azimuth while looking at the quality bar. The reason I say this is because
my dish points 7 degrees lower than the angle finder and the mounting
bracket scale indicates.
Dave In Belton, MO.

bcsjr · #9 (**permalink**) 04-28-2004, 11:22 PM

i really appreciate all the responses.

first off im in wausau wisconsin, from the charts i figured only
about 1 degree of deviation.
umm an 1/8 th of an inch were,at the lnb or at the dish
adn thanks for the info on the signal meter
i havent gotten one yet but im still thinking about it

i havent had the time to crawl up on my garage to play with it yet.
is there a way to tell if the lnb is working properly like
the signal strenth is low to start or something like that.

well again thanx for the replies

pmb1010 · #10 (**permalink**) 04-29-2004, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcsjr

i really appreciate all the responses.

first off im in wausau wisconsin, from the charts i figured only
about 1 degree of deviation.
umm an 1/8 th of an inch were,at the lnb or at the dish
adn thanks for the info on the signal meter
i havent gotten one yet but im still thinking about it

i havent had the time to crawl up on my garage to play with it yet.
is there a way to tell if the lnb is working properly like
the signal strenth is low to start or something like that.

well again thanx for the replies

OK on the 1 degree.

1/8" at the dish. Once you get some signal quality level indicated, you'll see what I mean.

Take a small TV with you and your box to the roof with a short cable to attach to the dish to dial it in.

The only way to see if there is a signal is to move very slowly up, down across the region where the sat should be. The "level" indicator is (IMHO) useless. Keep fiddling till you get a blip on the quality indicator, and then adjust for highest quality level. Pause for a few seconds (like 3-5) while moving the dish as you need to give the receiver box a chance to "catch up". It's very easy to move by the signal if you move things too quick.

If you don't get a reading from one sat, try another. In my case, I can't get G10R. Spent a whole day on that one. Telstar 5 comes in good, though.

bcsjr · #11 (**permalink**) 05-02-2004, 01:42 AM

again thanx for the replies
i decided to move the dish from the roof to
the side of the garage where it will be easier
to move slowly. i also came up with an idea how to move the dish slightly left to right it is actualy kinda neet.
i am going to use a pipe clamp and a turn buckle atached to
the pole and the u clanp that way ill make the large moves
by hand then tighten down the clamp of the turn buckle and
use it to make the accurate ajustments. ill be trying it out on sunday
weather permitting and let you all know how it works

ill c ya for now

bcsjr · #12 (**permalink**) 05-04-2004, 10:55 PM

well as of 5-4-04 9:00pm i can still
not get any sats off of the fortec lnb dtv lnb works great
i am seriously concerned for my sanity.
at this point im concidering buying a new lnb and sat finder
meter thing . just an update to this thread. :evil:

pmb1010 · #13 (**permalink**) 05-05-2004, 12:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcsjr

well as of 5-4-04 9:00pm i can still
not get any sats off of the fortec lnb dtv lnb works great
i am seriously concerned for my sanity.
at this point im concidering buying a new lnb and sat finder
meter thing . just an update to this thread. :evil:

how are you measuring your azimuth?

Anonymous · #14 (**permalink**) 05-05-2004, 03:25 PM

Try putting your hand between the lnbf and the dish while watching the
top bar on the tv screen. You should see the bar move with your hand
movement. If it moves the lnbf is probably ok.

bobkat · #15 (**permalink**) 05-06-2004, 12:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lintond

Try putting your hand between the lnbf and the dish while watching the
top bar on the tv screen. You should see the bar move with your hand
movement. If it moves the lnbf is probably ok.

Yup -- that's one way of testing an LNB. :wink:

kat

bcsjr · #16 (**permalink**) 05-07-2004, 06:32 PM

how much of a difference in signal will i see when i put my hand in
between the dish and lnb

DruzeTito · #17 (**permalink**) 05-07-2004, 08:35 PM

well when i tried that it got totally blocked.

bobkat · #18 (**permalink**) 05-07-2004, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DruzeTito

well when i tried that it got totally blocked.

Its all that hair on your palms blocking the signal !!! :lol: :lol:

j/k :wink:

kat

Anonymous · #19 (**permalink**) 05-08-2004, 07:58 AM

You Guys!!

The signal level can be all over the place, depends on how much RF
background noise in your area. What happened when I tried it,
my hand about center between the lnb and dish, the signal drop about
10%. Then moving your hand towards the lnb the signal jumped way
up to around 80. If you see change of signal with hand movement thats
all you really need.

bcsjr · #20 (**permalink**) 05-10-2004, 07:24 PM

what if i cant lock onto a sat.
how can i tell if its working?
the lnb that is.

also ive got the fortec universal lnb
do i need to turn on the 22khz in order to
get this lnb to work ?
just wondering cuz i still cant get this thing to work.

TIA

dtsexpert · #21 (**permalink**) 05-10-2004, 07:45 PM

Set the lnbf type at universal. The receiver will switch the bands base on the freq you tune to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcsjr

what if i cant lock onto a sat.
how can i tell if its working?
the lnb that is.

also ive got the fortec universal lnb
do i need to turn on the 22khz in order