Dish installation and positioning....

guv69

I've had my 1.2m Channel Master planted in my back garden now for 15 years. Unfortunately, with time, a tree in a neighbours garden has blocked out 19E - and I've only ever tracked the arc from 19E to 30W.

Things are not easy to get round this problem. If I move the dish further towards the house, another tree will get in the way. The back wall of the house is nigh on completely facing the wrong direction and the side (a) doesn't really give enough access, and (b) the dish couldn't rotate enough before it got driven into the wall.

Unfortunately, getting the trees trimmed isnt really an option. (We do get on with the neighbours - but they are nature freaks!)

As I see it, I have only a couple of options, but both will involve replacing and re-siteing.

Option 1, would involve a bracket and pole on the back wall, raising the dish above the gutter. Needless to say, I'm not too keen on this. Would look horrible and I'd be worried about the back wall being blown away in high winds!!!!!!

Option 2, would be continuing to use the current location, but raising the height of the dish. This in itself raises issues.

The pole I'm using atm, is 4" ultra strong steel and embedded in concrete. I'd would withstand a hurricane! Obviously this causes a problem. Its hardly easy to come by and I'm unsure how the hell I'd get the same size to extend. Remember, the dish is a polar mounted 1.2m channel master (which itself brings in problems with having to use a Vbox) So thinking about replacing the dish with a 1m diseq compatible dish.

So finally the questions.....

1. Would I be correct in the opinion it would be unwise to have a 1m dish attached to a wall above roof height. (I think I know the answer - but no harm in asking!!)

2. Would it be easy to find something to attach to the 4" pole, that I would be able to elevate a further 5 foot - and would this be wise?

Cheers

guv69

Obviously the above is difficult to visualise. The photo below shows the back garden and dish pointing towards 1w.

snaps

Seems you have a simular set up to my 1.1m motorized setup. I can see 54west to 36east before neighbours house gets in the way. I would never recommend putting a dish that size up high on a wall unless you uses a good strong T & K bracket and pole system. If the tree is blocking 19east now, you may just find raising the dish 100cm may be enough to bring other sattelites in. My mate couldnt get 1 west because of a tree in the summer. He moved his dish as far up on the pole as he could roughly 15cm and that was enough to bring in 1 west for the near future.

Could the dish be relocated in the corner (Behind where it is) and put up a litle higher? The overlooking tree would just need to be trimmed on your side possibly to achieve a good sign of sight

guv69

snaps wrote: »

Seems you have a simular set up to my 1.1m motorized setup. I can see 54west to 36east before neighbours house gets in the way. I would never recommend putting a dish that size up high on a wall unless you uses a good strong T & K bracket and pole system. If the tree is blocking 19east now, you may just find raising the dish 100cm may be enough to bring other sattelites in. My mate couldnt get 1 west because of a tree in the summer. He moved his dish as far up on the pole as he could roughly 15cm and that was enough to bring in 1 west for the near future.

Could the dish be relocated in the corner (Behind where it is) and put up a litle higher? The overlooking tree would just need to be trimmed on your side possibly to achieve a good sign of sight

Thanks for that...

You mention not locating the dish high up without a T&K - but would it be ok with one? I'd rather not be taking any chances, but if its genuinely OK and wont take the wall down in very high winds, it still would be a possibility?

Raising the dish as it currently is with the polar mount, is a problem. The pole is approx 4' long and the polar mount sits directly on top of it. (It needs to slide onto the pole, but then sits on the top edge as an exact fit and is stopped from going any lower. It couldnt be lowered or raised even if I want to..... without fitting something to the top of the pole to extend it.

I'm guessing I couldnt get something that would phsically fit directly to it to make it a longer pole - but maybe I could get another 3" pole and bolt that to it to extend beyond the current top? Looking online, there doesn't seem to be too much available (from what Ive seen) to deal with these older polar mounts!!!

I think moving the dish further back, could be an issue.... ie the tree may be too tall and could end up knocking out 16E and 13E. Whats the best way to check on this? (I guess using something that checks the angles - but not sure how to do this and be accurate!)

guv69

OK, I've just checked in googlemaps to find my coordinates:


Latitude 51.***** Longitude 0.*****

Is there a site that can give angles for each satellite for my specific location? (I'm sure I've seen one before - but no joy atm!)


EDIT:

OK, I managed to find some software to download for this..... but it doesnt sound right!

Says the angle for 1w from my location is 30.892 degrees. That doesn't sound right! I thought it would have been much higher than that!!!

coffee to go

http://www.dishpointer.com should be what you're looking for!

guv69

coffee to go wrote: »

http://www.dishpointer.com should be what you're looking for!

Fantastic... many thanks. I did find a similar site - but only covered the US.

The angles mentioned in the post above are actually accurate, so I'm a little surprised things are working as they are! I'm able to pull in Hispasat at 30W - which shows an angle of 24 degrees - and is directly over the roof of my house! I cant help thinking I'm only usual the partial surface of my dish!

When I originally planted, the trees in next doors garden werent really much of a problem. If I come nearer to the house, I doubt I could get beyond 1W. Without the right tools, its actually very difficult to get approximations and take into account the whole dish surface!

Any tips for the best way?

guv69

Hmmm. Well things have gone from bad to worse.

It would appear that the only decent place to plant a dish is on the front of the house and would pull in 28E to 30W and beyond for both extents.

In the back, I now know I have a further problem. The larger tree thats been an issue remains to be so, however, another tree which couldnt even be seen 5 years ago (the dish was planted in 1994), is not already above the line of sight in the area around 13E. Obviously without the 1.2m dish, I'd have already have lost those sat.

So I cant really go forward or back in the garden, side wall isn't any use and now as I see it only have one alternative (apart from moving!)

The back wall already has an 18" T&K bracket for the TV aerial. The only place I could reasonably position for line of site, is this location - ie dish above the gutter. Now I know I can't raise above the appex of the roof, but I dont think this is my concern. A dish high up with no other wind resistance definitely is.

Anyone have any experience and guidance for that possibilty? (Or is it a risk too far and forget it before I even start?)

John mac

Its a long shot I know

But What about asking the owner of the field next door if you can mount it in the corner.

guv69

John mac wrote: »

Its a long shot I know

But What about asking the owner of the field next door if you can mount it in the corner.

Shucks.... i never thought of that! :P

Apogee

You could keep your 1.2M and use a Diseqc motor for those sats the 1.2M can't see? I certainly wouldn't replace the 1.2M setup with a Diseqc - the reliability and speed of a 36V system is way ahead of a Diseqc motor.

One option with the 1.2M is simply to go up. Maybe have something like H-iron going into the ground, and then weld a 12inch length of your existing pipe onto the top which the mount can slip over? Very roughly something like this:



If you want to use the existing pipe as is, then you could also weld an extension onto that - just make sure you also weld metal braces where the two pipes join, and that the extension is plumb. In addition, you would need 4 supports at ~45 degrees welded to the central pole to take the load.

You probably won't find pipes or H-iron on the net - ring around with the Golden pages would be better.

vsat

I would suggest removing the 3inch OD pole which the dish is on, replace it with a 4 inch 5 foot high, then get a 3 inch sleeve welded into the 4 inch.

The 4" would stable the pole.

I have done this a good few times, with 1.2 channel master/Andrew antennas, that are using a actuator and works very well.

Regards,

guv69

I had previously thought about raising the height, but now realise the tree that is blocking 19E in the summer, does so by quite a margin. (If I had planted the dish a few feet further towards the house, I think I'd have been fine. However, the second tree thats been planted since the dish installed is going to be a problem pretty soon. My dish only gets a signal on the top part of the dish (Im pretty sure.) And whilst, It'll solve the problem for 13E for a while, it wont be that long before Im back to square one. (5 Years ago a photo reveals I could barely see it above a 5' fence, now its a few feet above gutter height. - Worrying in itself as its only 5 yards from my house!)

I'd also be unsure exactly how to go about it. (A shame my dad has long since retired as he was a welder!) If I was to remove the pole, I'd also have to dig a 2'6" block of solid concrete which has the bottom plate bolted to. If it was just a case of building upwards, I'd probably be more receptive. The pipe I have is no ordinary pipe. It's thick and very heavy. There is no this pipe could ever move without unbolting. (I'd approximate its probably at least 6mm thick!) Would anything be able to be welded directly to it? Whatever I think I could get is never going to be as strong as this pole!!!

I take it the lack of reply suggests the idea of a smaller dish supported on the back wall above gutter height is a bad idea?

Apogee

guv69 wrote: »

I take it the lack of reply suggests the idea of a smaller dish supported on the back wall above gutter height is a bad idea?

There should be no problem mounting a 90cm on a diseqc mount on the wall - that's a very common set up.

With a bit more effort, you could mount the 1.2M on the wall as well. Just as long as you don't run foul of complaining neighbours. It does make tweaking the mount more difficult than on the ground and installing a 1.2M fibreglass dish on a wall requires a good head for heights too!
See here for ideas on wall mounts:

http://www.satellitesuperstore.com/gstands.htm

snaps

guv69, i would edit your long/lat if i was you (delete or just reduce the decimal placing) as it basically gives away your address! (Thats if it is your real coordinates)

guv69

snaps wrote: »

guv69, i would edit your long/lat if i was you (delete or just reduce the decimal placing) as it basically gives away your address! (Thats if it is your real coordinates)

Cheers for that bud. I had already amended very slightly so no real harm. Appreciate the thought.




OK, I've been mulling over what to do for the best and whilst my mind is not 100% made up, I think I would probably for for a 90cm dish mounted on T&K brackets above gutter height. Luckily for me, I have an extension with a flat roof, so access isn't as high / bad as it sounds (though bad enough!!!!)

Currently, I actually already have T&K brackets fitted to the back wall, that support the 3m TV aerial, which is a 2" galvanised pole. I was thinking of just mounting the dish, using this existing pole. Would this be a wise move or should I make it a seperate install? I have noticed at the top ot the pole when large bird lands on the TV aerial, there is some flex. Probably nothing near where the dish will go, but should I be concerned?


Now as mentioned previously, I've never touched diseqc - and only ever used a polar mount and actuator. This is all new territory and before I proceed, I really need to understand a bit more of what I am getting myself into.

From the position I intend to fit, I would get a clear view from probably 50E to 70W (maybe even better), though appreciate, I only need to concern myself with the main sats - and anything else is an unexpected bonus!


Just a little bit unsure on how the dish mounts on the pole (I assume its just U clips) and how far the LNB arm will end up being from the pole (and how far up the pole the dish would end up!)

Dont suppose anyone has any photo's of similar installs that I could have a look at? Many that I've seen online all seem too small to really work it out clear enough!

Its rather fortunate, the pitch of the roof itself is actually quite low, so I'm really hoping I wont need the bottom of the dish to be much higher than gutter height.

One final thought!!!! The current position of the T&K brackets and pole are quite near the the boundry (ie the semi detached next door) The dish itself would definately fit inside this when pointing to say 1W, but I'm guessing that turning the dish to say Hispasat, would mean I have to take into account the LNB arm, which could take it over the edge of the boundry and mean I'd need to move the complete T&K assembly. Is there an easy way to work out these details? Also - have noisey are these motors? (I ask since it will be above bedrooms!)

watty

Are you sure about the location? That is the South East of England.

Ireland is approx about 4W to 9W I think. 0 to 2W is in UK

guv69

watty wrote: »

Are you sure about the location? That is the South East of England.

Ireland is approx about 4W to 9W I think. 0 to 2W is in UK

Yes, I'm quite sure.

It's not an issue I hope? If it is, apologies. Your boards are a very friendly and helpful place!

vsat

guv 69, you could always install your 1.2 on the side of the house with heavy T/K brackets, (These brackets are specially made for 1.2 metre antenna's)I have this set up since 2001 in Skerries, 200 metres from the Irish sea, and I had have some serious winds.
PM me if you want a set of brackets with U bolts to suit a 3" pole.

Regards,

vsat

Stick with 1.2 metre and actuator, much faster and a real satellite motorized setup.

Good points

1) high gain,
2) fast moving,
3) commercial antenna,
4) excellent polor mount/
5) upgradable to H/H mount

Bad points

1) Wind loading 1.2
2) more work installing 1.2
3) 90cm disque very slow,(less wind)
4) 90cm less gain for weaker satellites

Now you can decide, best of luck.

regards,

guv69

vsat wrote: »

guv 69, you could always install your 1.2 on the side of the house with heavy T/K brackets, (These brackets are specially made for 1.2 metre antenna's)I have this set up since 2001 in Skerries, 200 metres from the Irish sea, and I had have some serious winds.
PM me if you want a set of brackets with U bolts to suit a 3" pole.

Regards,

Many thanks for that. Whilst I really dont want to lose my old (and very) faithfull dish, I think its probably better to go for a smaller dish. On the side of the house, I reckon I could only manage from 28 to 16E, so nothing to gain by it. If I leave it where it is, I can still get Nilesat (V) without too many problems.

guv69

vsat wrote: »

Stick with 1.2 metre and actuator, much faster and a real satellite motorized setup.

Good points

1) high gain,
2) fast moving,
3) commercial antenna,
4) excellent polor mount/
5) upgradable to H/H mount

Bad points

1) Wind loading 1.2
2) more work installing 1.2
3) 90cm disque very slow,(less wind)
4) 90cm less gain for weaker satellites

Now you can decide, best of luck.

regards,

The only place it could possibly go to gain decent line of site, would be above the gutter on the back wall. I'd never convince the missus on this (not even sure how she's gonna take a 90cm yet!!!!) and if I'm completely honest, its just too big to even contemplate doing so!


Out of interest, how long would a decent diseqc motor take from say 28E to 1W?

Am I likely to get much noise or motor vibration? Just a bit concerned as it will effectively be above our bedroom and only about a metre from the neighbours!

snaps

Diseqc motors are very quiet, you would hear them moving when sitting next to one, but not through a brick wall. A 90cm would be ok in your position SE of England, My mate gets so much more on a 90cm in Essex then i can here on a 1.1m in west of reland. I was trying for one of the weak transponders on 23.5east last night (ESPN america) in cloudles skys, he can get a lock on a 90cm, i cant get a strong enough lock here on a 1.1m. He can also get the nordic beams on 1west and 5east, i cant get a sniff.

guv69

snaps wrote: »

Diseqc motors are very quiet, you would hear them moving when sitting next to one, but not through a brick wall. A 90cm would be ok in your position SE of England, My mate gets so much more on a 90cm in Essex then i can here on a 1.1m in west of reland. I was trying for one of the weak transponders on 23.5east last night (ESPN america) in cloudles skys, he can get a lock on a 90cm, i cant get a strong enough lock here on a 1.1m. He can also get the nordic beams on 1west and 5east, i cant get a sniff.

Yeh, I guess its one of the very few advantages I have living where I am. With my 1.2m I can lock onto Showtime V channels without too much problem. Obviously those will be lost with a 90cm dish, but if I'm honest, I dont think I'll miss them. These are the only channels I receive now I'd lose I think?


Have decided it probably would be for the best to do a fresh purpose made install, with a new pole and T&Ks. During the day, its never going to be a problem, but given the channel hopping and dish movements are more likely to be very late at night, I think its better not to take any chances. Just a shame I dont know anyone local that has this type of setup that I could go and view (and listen!)

I appreciate that diseqc is slower to move a dish and the reasons for it. However, still dont know what sort of differences we are talking about. eg from 19E to 1W would probably be about 6 seconds currently. (Not timed - just a guess!) How much longer would that be for diseqc?

Also, unsure of LNB setup. I'm going to go for a quad, just to make it expandable, should I want to add another receiver - which is likely.

From the LNB, one of the cables needs to be plugged into the diseqc motor. I assume that any other cables would be just straight runs from the LNB to the receiver. Is that correct? I know its probably a daft question, but actuators are different beasties alltogether - and its all I know!

Anyway, I'll probably be placing an order for an AZbox Premium, dish, LNB, T&K's and pole very shortly. Just a bit gutted the supplier I'm looking at only has 85cm or 1m dishes. Buying a complete system usually works out so much cheaper!!!

snaps

A diseqc motor isnt that slow, yes it seems like ages from say 28east to 30west, but normal satellite movement its not to bad. Why dont you keep your 1.2m dish where it already is for 7west etc? Can you get 4west amos?

A 1m dish should be sound on a diseqc motor mounted on strong T & K brackets. You can always park your dish side onto the wind in stormy conditions. Your lucky you dont live this far west, its always windy. Today is gourgeous, but now the wind is gusting very strong and spoiling the day.

Hagar

watty wrote: »

Are you sure about the location? That is the South East of England.

Ireland is approx about 4W to 9W I think. 0 to 2W is in UK

guv69 wrote: »

Yes, I'm quite sure.

It's not an issue I hope? If it is, apologies. Your boards are a very friendly and helpful place!

guv69 wrote: »

Obviously the above is difficult to visualise. The photo below shows the back garden and dish pointing towards 1w.

The two English flags on the shed were a bit of a clue.
He could still be a pirate though.

snaps

Hagar wrote: »

The two English flags on the shed were a bit of a clue.
He could still be a pirate though.

Yes when i first saw those flags in his post i thought he's brave with having them on display in Ireland!

But when i saw his Long/Lat i could see he was in the London area.

guv69

Hagar wrote: »

The two English flags on the shed were a bit of a clue.

hehe...

He could still be a pirate though.

Arrgghhhh, me hearty!

snaps

guv69 wrote: »

Yeh, I guess its one of the very few advantages I have living where I am. With my 1.2m I can lock onto Showtime V channels without too much problem. Obviously those will be lost with a 90cm dish, but if I'm honest, I dont think I'll miss them. These are the only channels I receive now I'd lose I think?

The things i miss from living in the south east of England is 1) Getting so much more stuff on satellite, 2) The better weather 3) Going to white hart lane!

guv69

snaps wrote: »

The things i miss from living in the south east of England is 1) Getting so much more stuff on satellite, 2) The better weather 3) Going to white hart lane!

:D:D

Used to be a season ticket holder. Dont go much at all now - but went a couple of times this year.

guv69

OK.... back on subject!

Just been up onto the flat roof to look at the existing 24" T&K brackets used with a 12' pole for a TV aerial. I mentioned that the pole flexed when a large bird landed on it.... not a problem for TV!

However, I can now see the reason! It's not the pole at all - the movement is through the T&K bracket. ie There is lateral movement at the ends of both top and bottom. They both look very sturdy - but clearly aren't! Is there a minimum or maximum distance they should be fixed between top and bottom bracket? Mine is at about 2' 6". Cant think it would make much difference tbh - if its the end of the brackets that move!

EDIT:

Been back up again and tightened all the bolts. Has made a slight improvement, but there is still movement.

I was mistaken previously by saying they were 18" T&Ks - they are actually 24". I've measured the distance from wall to edge of gutter and its 16". (So 18" T&Ks would definately be too small.) With the current brackets, I miss the gutter by 4" - and still have 1/2" horizontal adjustment. 20" T&K would be what I'd really need to tuck as close to the wall as I could. (The pole is probably longer than 12' also!!!! - I'd obviously be using a much shorter one with the new install. A 2m should be more than adequate.)

guv69

Finally bit the bullet and bought the new setup.

Gone for a 1m Orbital Dish, TM2300 motor, 2.0 Invocom quad LNB (with terrestrial link), DM800.

guv69

Started putting it up this evening. The dish was put together last night. Got the brackets up - very heavy duty - they wont be moving in a hurry!

Pole being used is scaffold... its about 15' long - and needs to be cut - but at the moment, not entirely sure how much. The plan was to get the dish on the pole and in the brackets, then cut and lower until I have the perfect length. (fnar fnar!) Got the dish on the pole and attempted to raise it on the bracket - but just too heavy. I'd have ended up dropping the whole lot.

Gonna get back up on the flat roof tomorrow (weather permitting) and cut about 3' off the pole and see if that makes a difference. Its not the overall weight, just the awkwardness. I know the idea is to get pole up and the slide dish down - but thats just so damned awkward because of the height!

One thing I'm unsure of. The angle of the dish itself. I've set it ATM at 37 degrees - but really unsure.

Edit: Just asked the supplier and he's told me it should be 29 degrees! Slight difference!!!

snaps

do you mean the declination of the dish? Check out dishpointer.com and set you south satellite as thor 1 west and it will give you all your settings. It will even draw a line of where the dish has got to face! Also out of interest why did you go for the Dm800 and not the new azbox?

guv69

snaps wrote: »

do you mean the declination of the dish? Check out dishpointer.com and set you south satellite as thor 1 west and it will give you all your settings. It will even draw a line of where the dish has got to face! Also out of interest why did you go for the Dm800 and not the new azbox?

Yeh, cheers. I thought thats what it was, but wasn't 100%. All sorted now. Took a while to find 1W and be certain of true south, but once done, it very quickly fell into place. Probably needs slight tweaks, but tracks the arc from 28E to 30W fine. (I can go beyond those limits, but havent done so yet.)

Went for the Dm in the end purely because of the uncertainty and the need for CCcam. Plus the dealer gave a little extra incentive!:D Have to say, so far I'm happy. Perhaps I will still get an AZbox once its all sorted and relegate the DM800 to the bedroom. Bought a quad LNB and in tandem with a diseqc switch and sky only dish, I'm all ready to roll!

Hows things going on the AZbox front? Still in Beta software isnt it? I've seen mention that CCcam is working, but only with one line in the config, which isnt any use for me. No doubt it'll be sorted shortly and I'm be left wishing I'd taken a different route..... thats normally the way!

I'll post a pick of the new dish a bit later.

snaps

have fun playing mate, threads like these make me want to start playing with new set ups!

guv69

snaps wrote: »

have fun playing mate, threads like these make me want to start playing with new set ups!

He he.... might be a new install, but 3rd new box in 12 months!:D

Thing is, I probably spend more time reading and just flicking through the channels and seeing what's what, than I do actually watching. Hopefully the bag of tricks this has installed will mean I'll actually start watching!!

Pic as promised, showing the old dish LNB for good measure! (And the "new" offending tree that caused this install!)

guv69

Got a few questions to ask - post install!


The motor is a TM2300. I was using an Eagle box to drive it at first - but it was really struggling and often stopped. (At the time, the cable length was 30m). So I swapped the receiver over and used a 4 meter length of cable. It seemed ok - but I did notice, occasionally the motor whir pitch would change. (ie it sounded like it was running out of steam!)

Only one of the two buttons is working on the motor to move the dish manually. (Not an issue in itself) I've also noticed the motor gives up before it gets to the end of the arc in both directions.

Is this something I should be very concerned about?

snaps

make sure all limits are reset on the dish via the motor settings on receiver

guv69

snaps wrote: »

make sure all limits are reset on the dish via the motor settings on receiver

Just re-did that. Must have been to do with that, as it now goes further West. (Not that I needed it to go past Hispasat!) Didnt go further East though - stuck at about 45 East I would say. Happy enough with that (and dont need to to go further) - just concerned with it coupled with the other niggles.

Still not got the dish 100% aligned. Seems fine on everything to the West (inc Hispasat - and even pulls in a few bits from Nilesat), Going East appears OK also - but I have noticed that if I tweak the SNR signal on 28E for instance, I start getting BER. True Movies is unwatchable. Its the fact that Hispasat is ok that throws me! Think its more likely both of the motor settings to the dish need a very slight tweak, along with the true south setting. But its so close its a bit scary to change it!

fishfoodie

guv69 wrote: »

Just re-did that. Must have been to do with that, as it now goes further West. (Not that I needed it to go past Hispasat!) Didnt go further East though - stuck at about 45 East I would say. Happy enough with that (and dont need to to go further) - just concerned with it coupled with the other niggles.

Still not got the dish 100% aligned. Seems fine on everything to the West (inc Hispasat - and even pulls in a few bits from Nilesat), Going East appears OK also - but I have noticed that if I tweak the SNR signal on 28E for instance, I start getting BER. True Movies is unwatchable. Its the fact that Hispasat is ok that throws me! Think its more likely both of the motor settings to the dish need a very slight tweak, along with the true south setting. But its so close its a bit scary to change it!

Why did you align due south on 1 West ?, wouldn't 5 East be a better judge of South for an Irish user ?

guv69

fishfoodie wrote: »

Why did you align due south on 1 West ?, wouldn't 5 East be a better judge of South for an Irish user ?

'Cos I'm in London!

fishfoodie

guv69 wrote: »

'Cos I'm in London!

Fair enough

My only other contribution would be the open thing that continually gets me, which is, how plumb is the pole ?

guv69

fishfoodie wrote: »

Fair enough

My only other contribution would be the open thing that continually gets me, which is, how plumb is the pole ?

Its the first thing I sorted out. Looks spot on all round the pole.

One thing I have just done (after speaking to the guy I bought the DM800 from) was to change the USALS settings. Have a feeling this is to show that I'm not pointing to true south!

My Longitude should be 0.117 - but it actually receives better with a setting of 1.000 I'm guessing in reality, I need to turn the pole a smidgen to the east and reset USALS to the correct Longitude.

Edit: Just been playing around to see how much of the arc I can pick up stuff on. 30W round to 53E - Quite happy with that!

snaps

its all comming together for you! Good work, it all looks nice and tidy.

watty

Yes the mount is off if you can improve it by putting wrong position.
Easily tweaked.

guv69

watty wrote: »

Yes the mount is off if you can improve it by putting wrong position.
Easily tweaked.

Well, Its certainly just small tweaks that are needed. Not so sure if its easy though!

But the fact I live on a longitude 0.117E and I've found I get higher signal strength in the arc using 1.000E in USALS, tells me the pole needs to be very slightly turned. I still think I will need to adjust the other settings once that's done. Hopefully, If I increase the Latitude on the motor and reduce the declination of the dish, I'll get it right first time. However, I have my doubts!

I'm assuming I need to turn the pole by just under 1 degree to the East BTW. Is that correct on what Ive said above?

snaps

so is it all done and working 100% guv?

guv69

snaps wrote: »

so is it all done and working 100% guv?

Nah. Tweaks not done yet. The fact the arc tracks better using USALS at 1.000W and not 0.117W, tells me the pole needs to be turned very slightly. I'm assuming it needs to turn Counter clockwise (ie East), but wanted confirmation before doing so.

Once I'm happy that I really have got true South, I'll play with the motor Latitude a knats doh dah if it needs to be. If Sky comes booming in, but not Hispasat, it tells me the pole must be slightly out of true.

I enjoyed playing when I first started, but these tweaks are so minute, but important..... and unknown! its a bit frustrating!

Just to clarify... I am tracking the arc from 53E to 30W with pretty good signal strength all the way. (I can even pick up a few Nilesat channels!), However, I am getting BER on some channels - even with very high SNR and AGC.