Setting up DVB-735NA Receiver and 36" Satellite Dish

[MDProuty]

I am trying to set up a satellite dish for the first time. The equipment I purchased is a Fortec Star DVB-735NA receiver, a Fortec Star FC90CM 36" pole-mount satellite dish, a Satcontroll SM3D12 HH motor, and a Fortec Star FSKU-2v digital/analog universal KU LNBF. The satellite dish is mounted on a plum pole that is cemented into the ground. I first tried to do the entire satellite assembly with the motor and all. I live in Ruston, LA (zip code = 71270) and found my latitude to be 32.530823 N and my longitude to be 92.643927 W. I then found my southern-most satellite, which should be the Telestar 6 with a longitude of 93 W. My calculations for the alignment are as follows:

Azimuth: 180.7 deg (minus 5 degrees for magnetic variation)
Elevation: 41.2 deg (calculated using the formula: elev = 46.5 - 5.3)

With all of this I got a signal strenght of anywhere from 50-60%, but I have not been able to get a quality strength. I have moved the satellite up and down and from left to right in 1-2 degree increments, waiting 5 or 10 seconds, and rechecking the strength. However, no luck. I found it very odd that I could detach my LNBF and point it at my house and still get a signal strength of 50-60%. I also thought it might be in the cable, so I bought a new one to test it with no luck. The antenna setting I used are as follows:

Antenna: 1
LNB Type: Universal
LNB Power: V/H
DiSEqC: 1
12V: On

Any further suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

[MDProuty]

The next step in my venture was to temperarily get rid of the motor and just install the satellite dish on the pole. I noticed that the dish was pointed at the edge of a tree before and thought that might have something to do with it. I aimed the satellite dish at Galaxy 10R, which was in a clear line of view, with the following adjustments:

Elevation: 40
Azimuth: 227.5 (minus 5 degrees for magnetic deviation)
Skew: 38.4

This time I was able to get a signal strength of up to 75%, but still to quality strength. even adjusting the dish up, down, left, and right by 1-2 degrees didn't help. I tried different transponders on the satellite and changing the channel search mode from Auto All to NIT FTA. However, all of these things didn't work at all. There is not a tree or any other obstacle in sight and the sky doesn't have a clound in it. Again, my new antenna settings are as follows:

Antenna: 1
LNB Type: Universal
LNB Power: V/H
DiSEqC: Off
12V: Off

I am getting very frustrated. Any suggestions or pointers would be appreciated. I have gone through these forums looking for similar problems and found that most solutions are to try and move the dish a little at a time and wait 5-10 seconds for the signal to steady out, but it just isn't working for me. Thanks for your help and your time.

[bobkat]

Well, you have done a great job so far of eliminating possible causes such as bad cable, etc. Did you have the receiver set to an active transponder when searching for signal? Active transponders that your receiver will pick up are those in yellow color and marked "DVB".

Here is G10R --- > http://www.lyngsat.com/g10r.html

Here is T6 --- > http://www.lyngsat.com/ia6.html although in all fairness there is precious little FTA on that bird. Galaxy 10R is a better bet.

By the way, it is normal to get a signal strength reading even with the LNB pointed at the house or even disconnected entirely... the key is obtaining the "quality" level.

I know its frustrating, but keep trying. Took me 8 hours to align my first FTA dish... :shock:

kat

PS: Setting up the dish without the motor was a smart move. Practice first without the motor and then install the dish on the motor.

[MDProuty]

I am pretty sure I had the receiver set to an active transponder. On Telstar 5 I mainly tried transponder #27 (freq. 12177). I also tried transponder #9 (freq. 11898) and transponder #5 (freq. 11836). On Galaxy 10R I maintly tried transponder #9 (freq. 3880). On Telstar 7 I mainly tried transponder #20 (freq. 4100). Like I said before, I am pretty sure that all of these transponders are active for their corresponding satellites. Please correct me if I am wrong. Any other help would be appreciated. Thanks...

[bobkat]

Oooops :shock: :shock: :shock:
The dish you have can only pick up KU band signals, not C-Band. It will not pull in C-band transponders. The way to distinguish between the two is by the frequency. A 4 digit number is C-Band (eg: 4,000 MHz) and a 5 digit number is KU Band (eg: 12,177 MHz). So forget the 4 digit transponders as your dish cannot pick them up.

Go the lyngsat.com (see my links) and have a good look around at the data. Look for a 5 digit transponder (KU Band) and yellow color and "DVB" and then "F" (free to air). If you look on transponder 12,177 for T5 (now IA5) you will see what I mean - there are lots of channels on that transponder.

Then do the same for the other satellites you want and get the corresponding transponder data (frequency, polarity and symbol rate) then make sure the data in your receiver matches that info.

Try T5 (IA5) first to gain experience, then tackle the motor.

kat

[MDProuty]

Thanks for the tip. I didn't realize that. I will try it out and let you know how it goes today.

[MDProuty]

When you set up the transponder data in the Channel Search menu I understand what Video PID and Audio PID is, but what is PCR PID?

[dtsexpert]

PCR is used to synce the audio and video. Most channels have PCR the same as video Pids. If not, 8190 is a common PCR.
Michael

Originally Posted by MDProuty

When you set up the transponder data in the Channel Search menu I understand what Video PID and Audio PID is, but what is PCR PID?

[bobkat]

Originally Posted by dtsexpert

PCR is used to synce the audio and video. Most channels have PCR the same as video Pids. If not, 8190 is a common PCR.
Michael

Hey Mikey:

You know how the audio/video sync is sometimes off on VTV4? Do you think adjusting the PCR would solve this or not?

kat

[dtsexpert]

This is the problem from the uplinker (probably when they set the encoder).
Manual change PCR won't fix the problem at our end. Using wrong PCR might cause the receiver confuse, leading to not getting audio at all.
Michael

Originally Posted by bobkat

Hey Mikey:

You know how the audio/video sync is sometimes off on VTV4? Do you think adjusting the PCR would solve this or not?

kat

[bobkat]

Originally Posted by dtsexpert

... leading to not getting audio at all.
Michael

K; thanks. No audio at all wouldn't bother me but the wifey would be pissed. :x Thanks Mikey

kat

[MDProuty]

Great! I finally got everything working with and without the motor. My next probelm is transferring the channel list from the receiver to my computer so that I can edit the channels and what not. I downloaded the software from Fortec's website and connected the receiver to my laptop with a null modem cable. When I start the download everything seems to work okay, but then the download just stops. It doesn't stop at a particular percentage. Sometimes it stops at 14%, sometimes it stops at 27%, sometimes it stops at 46%, etc. The furthest it has getten is about 73%, but it has not yet gotten to 100%. Is there something I am doing wrong. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[bobkat]

Correct me if I'm wrong but can you not edit the channels from within the Fortec receiver itself? Or am I missing something here?

kat