..and so it begins ..

[Vipersan]

...well ..thats my curiosity sated..
The homebrew open feed definately works ..but not having the slot as is part of the XMW feed..
As expected a more circular reponse is once again apparent.
There ARE definate biases for H or V signals depending on the SL3s rotation ...and overall signal levels are up ...but this open waveguide approach would be all but useless in the event 2 signals used the same frequency but oppositely polarised.
Good capture level though..
and no doubt a slot cut in a thin sheet of copper orientated correctly ..and sandwiched betweeb feed and lnb would make the whole assembly more linear selective..

Here are some pics..

 

[Captain Jack]

I wonder what the neighbours think....

 

[Vipersan]

I wonder what the neighbours think....

My neighbours are VERY understanding of my eccentricities..
..often they will lend a hand with installations etc..

 

[Costactc]

My neighbours are VERY understanding of my eccentricities..
..often they will lend a hand with installations etc..

I ditto that VS...neighbours have become quite tolerant and one of them helps me out also since I hooked him up with a 3m dish a while back. I have 4 lnbf of the circular variety pointed at 82, 91,110, 119 and 129w.

 

[Vipersan]

Ok ..so my scale is still about 300mhz out ..unless Penthouse has moved..
No pics to show of course ....but locked it using my homebrew SL3..with the open waveguide feed I constructed.
I am soooo chuffed..
This gives me hope that Ocko is still possible..
rgds
VS

 

[Vipersan]

Can I have an award for this ???
Whooohooooooo
I just locked Ocko on a very hastily contrived scale in Crazyscan..
Oh I feeel good..
rgds
VS

 

[Lazarus]

I've got an old Blue Peter Badge knocking around in a drawer somewhere .............

 

[Vipersan]

Time to go connect it up to the F15 and try a blindscan I think..

 

[Analoguesat]

Oh yes - go VS go

 

[Vipersan]

Halfway through a scan on the F15 ..LO guesstimated at 16750 ..
The Hard-wired modded SUP2400 in line so permanently upconverted ...
Only completed a Vertical scan so far but found Penthouse 3D no probs..
Hopefully Ocko will be found on H scan..
fingers crossed.

 

[Vipersan]

Hmm ..having probs getting the range to cover correctly ..Ocko looks to be off scale ..OR ..the signal has dropped dramatically in the last 30 minutes..
I aint giving up on this ..but might have to wait till about 6:30 tomorrow ..assuming we get another clear day.
It's all good fun ..and I take heart knowing it's possible.
rgds
VS

 

[Vipersan]

Hmm ..having probs getting the range to cover correctly ..Ocko looks to be off scale ..OR ..the signal has dropped dramatically in the last 30 minutes..
I aint giving up on this ..but might have to wait till about 6:30 tomorrow ..assuming we get another clear day.
It's all good fun ..and I take heart knowing it's possible.
rgds
VS

99% sure I found Ocko on the F15 ..
using the values collected for Penthouse 3D ..I did some sums ..and calculated Ocko to be at 18843 ...relatively speaking.
Sure enough it's there and stable at less than lock level of 4db.
constant 2.9db ..with occasional pulses up to 3.3 db.
So not enough ..
I wont change anything but will try again tomorrow.
rgds
VS

 

[Vipersan]

I ditto that VS...neighbours have become quite tolerant and one of them helps me out also since I hooked him up with a 3m dish a while back. I have 4 lnbf of the circular variety pointed at 82, 91,110, 119 and 129w.

Hi Costa
So ...is it possible to get single low band DirecTV ka lnbs in the US ?
Obviously these would be circular ..but a single would be much less cumbersome than the SL3 ...
If such a thing _does_ exist ...what would I search for ?
rgds
VS

 

[Vipersan]

..and there it is ..
Ocko TV locked at 4.1db using the Modded SL3 and feed ..and a hardwired SUP-2400 (so as to be permantly on) on my F15
9:15 this morning..
bit of a gamble importing these lnbs and upconvertors ...interesting project ..and probably a first in the UK ..possibly Europe ?
Nice.
rgds
VS

 

[Costactc]

Hi Costa
So ...is it possible to get single low band DirecTV ka lnbs in the US ?
Obviously these would be circular ..but a single would be much less cumbersome than the SL3 ...
If such a thing _does_ exist ...what would I search for ?
rgds
VS

I hadn't realised that the thread was about ka before posting that I had 4 circular lnb. From what I've seen they are specifically manufactured that way to get all 3 sats-99,101 and 103w. The next time I take a drive state side, I'll stop in and have a look. Dish network uses Anik F3 at 118.8 for international channels with a low band circular lnb but its ku.

 

[Vipersan]

I hadn't realised that the thread was about ka before posting that I had 4 circular lnb. From what I've seen they are specifically manufactured that way to get all 3 sats-99,101 and 103w. The next time I take a drive state side, I'll stop in and have a look. Dish network uses Anik F3 at 118.8 for international channels with a low band circular lnb but its ku.

Sort of what I thought Costa ..that's why I imported the only one I _knew_ had ka integrated and didn't use SWiM ..
The SL3 ..
If you find anything else ..let me know.
rgds
VS

 

[Costactc]

I'm well overdue to do some shopping in the States, I'll have a look for you bud and if I find one I'll pick it up.

 

[Vipersan]

Ok ..I've been puzzling this one all day ..
Why a known data transponder which is higher in frequency than say Ocko or Penthouse would appear toward the lower end of the scale..
and Ocko/Penthouse would appear at the high end of that scale ..when in fact they are lowest ?
This anomaly is also present when using the F15 ..
This of course I have no hope of ever changing ..if what I believe is true is happening..
..and the reason I cant create a useable scale for reference..
Remember In order to use the SL3s ka low band element ..I have to insert an up convertor in the IF line..
the SUP-2400.

I believe this convertor is operating in reverse of what I expect ..
IE low is high ..and High is Low..
This is the only thing that makes physical sense..
Now I obviously can't make a useable scale of reference in the F15 ..nor can I flip the custom scale in crazyscan ..
But I know a man who can ..If I can convince him (Crazycat) that this would be a useful feature..
..and of course can convince him my supposition is correct ?
does this make sense to any of you ?
here is a crazyscan capture showing exactly what I mean..
I'd have to beg Crazycat that there should be an addition to the lnb -type- list ..
ie Directv Low band with sup2400 ..
or simply a scale reverse button.
rgds
VS

 

[timo_w2s]

Are you sure there aren't some sort of weird harmonics in there?

 

[Vipersan]

Are you sure there aren't some sort of weird harmonics in there?

Not 100% of course ..but no other peaks are present ..
Those that are ..all lockable at various times of the day..
99.9999% sure the conversion action of the SUP-2400 is responsible for this reversal ..
It would be my guess that official DirecTV receivers accomodate this in software..

A scale is only superimposed on the slice of IF scanned ..thus if the scan was performed in reverse ..Hi to Low within the receiver ..and an increasing scale overlayed on it's output ..the result would then be correct.

rgds