Advice Needed Latitude & longitude

[Gladstones]

Hi everyone
My latitude is 56 and longitude is 3.10.
I installed the 1 meter dish 3 years ago by time signal got weaker so instead alignment I started changing longitude say 2.9,2.8,2.6….
ATM it’s on 2.0
Good thing is I always gets the best signal from dish by changing longitude along the full arc i.e 30w to 52e.
Can I leave it like this or realign the dish
I worked out if I gets badr4 12523H dish is doing well and I always get this TP except bad weather.

 

[jeallen01]

I would suspect that the longitude issue could possibly be related to one or more of the following:
1) the nuts on the U-bolts fixing the motor to the house "pole" are not tight enough, and thus the motor is gradually shifting slightly around the pole due to the "inertia effect" when you send the dish a long way West, and then a long way back East in one movement?
2) Similar to 1) but for the nuts on the bolts securing the dish to the pole on the motor itself
3) "backlash" in the motor is building up and so the backlash adjustment needs attention?
4) the ground under your house isn't stable, and so it's very slowly moving a bit East & rotating a bit "clockwise" at the same time

My "bet" would be on No 1) above!

 

[Gladstones]

I am just wondering if any need of realignment or leave it as I am getting strong signal from 30w -52e
All the nuts and bolts are fully tight if I do more metal will bend.

 

[jeallen01]

..All the nuts and bolts are fully tight if I do more metal will bend.

Which "more metal" are you talking about, and what has already bent?

 

[Gladstones]

Which "more metal" are you talking about, and what has already bent?

Metal pipe (bracket)
Nothing bend ATM if I tight nuts more pipe will bend.

 

[jeallen01]

If that pipe is visibly on the point of bending then it's likely that it has already bent a little but that that's not visible - and that's quite possible if it is made of aluminium; if so, then it needs replacing by a steel pipe which should not bend anywhere near so easily providing it has adequate wall thickness (and thus is not just electrical steel conduit which has quite thin walls).

 

[Gladstones]

I am using this

 

[jeallen01]

IIRC, you added some other stuff to stabilise the dish and, some months/years ago, you posted some pics of what you had done - please could you either repost those pics or a link to where they can be found, as this issue is not as simple as it might seem at first.

BTW, in that context, I have a suspicion that fitting a motor and 1m dish on the vertical part of that "L" bracket might weigh more than the bracket was desiged to carry - and might that have caused the bracket to slighyly distort in some way?

Edited: I'm also now wondering if the bolts that fix the L bracket to the house wall might need retightening?

 

[ozumo]

IIRC, you added some other stuff to stabilise the dish and, some months/years ago, you posted some pics of what you had done - please could you either repost those pics or a link to where they can be found, as this issue is not as simple as it might seem at first.

Help Required - 1m motorised install

Change the angle of the wire by using the following Frankly I do not, and would not use, those except in "exceptional" circumstances because, based on actual experience: - the internal 90 deg "bend" is often only a "touching" joint betwen the cores coming out of each of the F-connector joints...

www.satellites.co.uk

 

[jeallen01]

Help Required - 1m motorised install

Change the angle of the wire by using the following Frankly I do not, and would not use, those except in "exceptional" circumstances because, based on actual experience: - the internal 90 deg "bend" is often only a "touching" joint betwen the cores coming out of each of the F-connector joints...

www.satellites.co.uk

Thx but that related to the 90 deg F-connectors/joiners and thus not to this particular problem and some photos which I'd like to see again - which are the ones that @Gladstones posted, IIRC, several years ago (and of which you were possibly not aware).

 

[ozumo]

Thx but that related to the 90 deg F-connectors/joiners and thus not to this particular problem and some photos which I'd like to see again - which are the ones that @Gladstones posted, IIRC, several years ago (and of which you were possibly not aware).

The first photo in that link shows a bent roof strap(?) being used. Look through the OP's previous threads to find more.

 

[jeallen01]

Those linked photos may show some of the issues, but I've neither the time nor the patience to try to search through @Gladstones' previous posts (not even sure I'd have the access rights to do so anyway ?). Anyway, he's the one asking the questions, so if he wants any further help then he's the one to provide the info as far as I am concerned.

 

[Gladstones]

 

[Captain Jack]

That's quite a contraption!

 

[jeallen01]

That's quite a contraption!

IIRC, it's like that because, without the strap to the edge of the roof, the dish/motor combo wasn't very stable in any wind, and so the strap "triangulated" the mounting and stabilised it.

In the context of the current thread, the shot of the rear of the dish and motor-to-dish mounting is the interesting one to me. I'm now begining to suspect those "thumbscrews nuts" on the motor pole to dish clamps because it would have been difficult to really tighten them by hand, and that could then have allowed the dish position to alter in strong winds (which are almost certainly pretty frequent "up there".!).

Personally, I think I'd now:
- As I said before, make sure the 4 bolts holding the "L" bracket to the wall are really tight;
- make sure the vertical part of the "L" bracket is still actually vertical;
- recheck, & correct if necessary, the motor azimuth setting on the "L" bracket;
- replace the thumbsrews nuts with "proper" nuts (probably M6 or M8, maybe?) and with spring washers under them;
- recheck, & correct if necessary, the dish position on the motor pole, and then use a spanner to tighten those nuts properly;
- tell "us" what was found during the checks, and what was then done, as, then, we all might have a better idea of what had "moved" in the last couple of years.

 

[jeallen01]

View attachment 150755

Thanks, those were the shots to which I was referring, and now see post #15 above

 

[Gladstones]

Just fixed the problem by pushing the dish bit west nuts were loose in the red circle
It’s fully tight now I think will do fine for next couple of years.
Signal level remains the same and longitude back to 3.10

 

[Gladstones]

Next time I will fit t&k brackets and mast because they are more sturdy and simple to use.
Thumbscrews are super tight because I used ranch to tight them.
L bracket is dead vertical.

 

[jeallen01]

Just fixed the problem by pushing the dish bit west nuts were loose in the red circle
It’s fully tight now I think will do fine for next couple of years.
Signal level remains the same and longitude back to 3.10

Good and thx for updating us.

I "missed" those U-bolts when trying to work out what the issue might be - that's always going to be a problem when there are multiple fixings involved as any one could be the cause.

 

[a33]

I "missed" those U-bolts when trying to work out what the issue might be - that's always going to be a problem

I would think (but I'm no expert on this) that the V-shape of the U-bolt is not ideal. I would think that a bracket with "teeths" at BOTH sides of the bolt (and a real U-bolt, instead of a V-bolt) would be better.
Just my ten cents...

Greetz,
A33