Disaster!!

[Analoguesat]

hope the weathers ok for you then --

you have pushed on with the job realy well in the last couple of weeks --

i,m hoping to be in greater manchester for a day or two -- in about a week from now -- and will be making sure i have the time to call for a first hand viewing of the new installation -- it will be in full operation - and fine tuned by then i think

regards nelson.b

DONT break a champagne bottle over the dish

 

[Analoguesat]

here is my first received picture ...unaligned ..but certainly booming in ...with no choke /scalar ring ...but dielectric plate fitted in a hurry..
Time for a Bacon Sarnie ...
I think _so_..
rgds
VS

Great stuff VS Fantastic to see the system bringing signals in again after the hearbreak of a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Lazarus]

No alignment as yet ..
Spent the morning refitting the actuator arm ...and the tripod ..
Ready for action at 12 noon ..
Lucky break in the cloud ..
The sun showed its face around 12:15
This gave me just enough time at 12:19 to do final true south alignment using the sun ..
Check out the shadows cast on the dish face ..
Assuming I gave set the dish in the midle of the polar mounts 'swing' accurately enough ..
I should be bang on ..
I certainly would claim accuracy to within 2 degrees ..possibly 1 ...
To that end I quickly hooked up the lnb and checked my due south sat @ 0.8W (C band)

here is my first received picture ...unaligned ..but certainly booming in ...with no choke /scalar ring ...but dielectric plate fitted in a hurry..
Time for a Bacon Sarnie ...
I think _so_..
rgds
VS

Looks magnificent - and what with the wx drying up I think you're in for a good day.

Two rashers, or six?

 

[sonnetpete]

Time for a Bacon Sarnie ...
I think _so_..
rgds
VS

......and a segment or two of Chocolate Orange to follow??

Well done VS, you must feel a great sense of achievment.

 

[Vipersan]

Compromise Gordon ..
3 rashers and mushrooms ..
Have to keep an eye on the Cholesterol..
Doctors orders..
Mmmmm...tastes even better when you've earned it ..
;)

 

[Vipersan]

Thanks for all you congrats m8's ..
Swung her over to 30E...just so I could take a few full pics in profile ..
These will be the last pictures for now ..
The hard work of tweaking and alignment now begins in earnest ..
Judging by previous attempts ...this process can span many days ..
rgds all ..and again thanks to everyone for their help and advice..
VS

 

[Lazarus]

Continuous tweaking and refining are all part of the fun - I bet you love it, really.

Well no doubt the regular contributors, commentators and silent viewers who have all given you top rating for the Thread will keep their beady eyes open for the full-time score in a few days time.

 

[Huevos]

This gave me just enough time at 12:19 to do final true south alignment using the sun ..

Can you explain the theory behind that? What is your longitude?

 

[Lazarus]

Can you explain the theory behind that? What is your longitude?

Not sure you'll get VS's answer in the short term, so go back to Post #238 in particular and the posts preceding it for background.

 

[Huevos]

Not sure you'll get VS's answer in the short term, so go back to Post #238 in particular and the posts preceding it for background.

Ok, this is some long thread. Not a very practical method for an installer though.

 

[Lazarus]

No, I agree ..................... but VS is acting in the capacity of a hobbyist, thankfully!

 

[Channel Hopper]

Just one suggestion, as that actuator does look rather small in diameter for the dish.

If the majority of satellites to be viewed are east of south then it might be worthwhile swapping it to the other side at some point, so the majority of time it is in compression. Or strap a concrete block or two behind the polarmount to act as a counterweight.

 

[Vipersan]

Hi CH ..
In actual fact I have a somewhat restricted view of the arc at this height ...East of 30 degrees..

Wheras I have clear line of sight for all birds West of this ..
..all the way down to 58 west ..
Remember ..this is to be used for C band only ..so there is relatively little on the Eastern arc for me ..
Im using the 24 inch actuator from almost fully closed at 58 west ...to fully extended giving me total arc coverage from about
58 west to 35 East ..
I spend most of my time with the dish relatively low pointing westward towards the USA..
rgds
VS

 

[Vipersan]

@Huevos ..
Using the sun to find true south is very useful indeed ...and accurate ..

At a specific time on any given day in the year (which can be calculated) ..the sun will cast a shadow which can be used for alignment of the whole polar mount assembly ..
a tricky operation to use a compass in proximity to so much metal ...so this is the best way to align a large dish ..
After a vertically mounted pole ...this adjustment is of paramount importance ...
a degree out and as you know ...everything else ..ie accurate tracking of the arc is impossible ..
..and the larger and deeper the dish ..the more accurate this needs to be ..
no room for error ...

fwiw after setting the dish at polar noon ...and guestimating the elevation and polar offset for my location ..
(This is neccessary ..as charts are only as good as the polar mounts build design and accuracy ..)

without ...any tweaking I instantly found 1 West 55W and 58W ......2.8 East and 20 East ..
Although its an old method which dates back pre the Egyptians ....It works well ..and I think is more accurate than any compass reading..as this can be influenced by proximity of objects ...
..so it can't be physically mounted on the dish..
rgds
VS

 

[Channel Hopper]

Hi CH ..
In actual fact I have a somewhat restricted view of the arc at this height ...East of 30 degrees..

Wheras I have clear line of sight for all birds West of this ..
..all the way down to 58 west ..
Remember ..this is to be used for C band only ..so there is relatively little on the Eastern arc for me ..VS

We all know, at some point you will strap a Ku band LNB onto it, just to see how well your panel beating is......

 

[Vipersan]

...Just got a solid signal from IQRAA 30deg East ..so looks like the mount is tracking near perfectly..
Had to alter the East limit switch inside the motor case ..as I appear to have a bit in hand ...now the dish is set up again ..
Might even try to push a bit further East..
I'm assuming this is because the whole assembly wan't quite set up correctly due South ...origionally ..
..You can't beat good old Sol as a set up tool..
;D
rgds
VS

 

[Vipersan]

..I have now set the East limit to the maximum I can ..
I might possibly have pushed on to about 52 East ..but the polar mount physically limits the actuator from pushing the dish this far ..
I estimate I can now get to about 45 East ....but of course there is nothing receivable on this part of the arc between 30E and 45E.. (C-band)
A pointless excercise really ..but at least I know I can move the dish to this extreme ..for future reference ..
Enough for today ...
Time to start packing away as the next installment of Prof Cox's new show is on in a few hours ..

rgds 2 all
VS

 

[Vipersan]

Perfect tracking of the arc from 30East to 58West ...without needing any elevation control/adjustment ..
The lnb postion etc hasn't even been optimised yet ..
..just loosly fitted a scalar plate ...and tried both H/V and L/R signals ..
the dish is already pulling at least 80% of previously stored channels ..without any tweaking ..
I hope I'm not jumping the gun as its yet not optimsed.....but the dish _appears_ to be outperforming previous useage..
rgds
VS

....just for reference ..
I know its a very clear night ...but I'm currently receiving the Pentagon channel @ 1W ...the best I ever have..

 

[Analoguesat]

You ever got any C-band off 40E VS?

 

[Vipersan]

You ever got any C-band off 40E VS?

I did try briefly AS ..
but it is inclined 0.7deg...
I may need elevation control back ..for that one ...
but not planning on re-fitting the extra actuator just yet ..
rgds
VS