Newbie Here New member from s.africa

moonbase

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2. Personally, I would fit the scalar to the LNB, it will reduce the background noise and enhance the signal.

I never gave u a pic of the inside of the dish. There is a scaler ring already attached.


No, due to the scalar on the inside of the LNBF clamp you do not need the scalar that came with the LNBF.

I am not sure what you mean by being "told to have the bottom piece of the LNB level with the ground"? The open aperture end of the LNBF needs to be pointing at the direct centre of the dish. As the dish is pointed skywards at an elevation angle of approximately 30 degrees, an imaginary elevation line through the centre of the dish skywards should pass though the central rotational axis of the LNBF. I cannot understand why any part of the LNBF should be level with the ground?

If you get within one degree of the satellite you should start to pick up signals. For example, if I were aligning a dish on 40.5 West I would expect to pick up signals over the range of approximately 39.5 West to 41.5 West. Obviously the signal levels would be strongest when directly on the satellite but they would be present and reducing in level when moving off the satellite. Depending on the satellite the range could be even wider.

Another option to try to locate the satellite would be to connect the receiver to the LNBF and run a blind scan for 68.5 East. Check to see what comes up on the scan. If you get anything locked then post the details and it will help to identify if you are on 68.5 East or a nearby satellite such as 66.0 East.

Lastly, do you know the focal length of the dish? If you know the focal length you could measure the distance from the LNBF opening to the centre of the dish to check if it is within a reasonable tolerance.
 
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Thx .. its a strangely addictive hobby.

(The expert from local town was most clear the LNB square piece at the end, had to be level with the ground. I don't know why etc.)

He will come and resolve in about 10 days .. but it would be great to fix.

I am gonna play some more this afternoon.

Will post updates if I achieve anything.
 

moonbase

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...(The expert from local town was most clear the LNB square piece at the end, had to be level with the ground. I don't know why etc.)
...


Thinking about this, I could be confusing which plane of the square piece is level with the ground. Looking at the dish from the front, it might be that the left to right plane of the square piece needs to be level with the ground to give the correct polarity skew for the two probes inside the throat of the LNB.

Looking at the dish from the front, the front to back plane of the square piece needs to be at the elevation angle of approximately 30 degrees.

If you can take a photo of the inside of the LNBF that shows the two probes and also shows the square piece of the outer part it might be useful? My guess is that the two probes are each at 45 degrees with respect to the square piece if the LNBF was layed flat on it? This would be consistent with the left to right plane of the square piece being level with the ground.
 
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John

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Thinking about this, we could be confusing which plane of the square piece is level with the ground. Looking at the dish from the front, it might be that the left to right plane of the square piece needs to be level with the ground to give the correct polarity skew for the two probes inside the throat of the LNB.



... That was my understanding as well MB.
I'll just say this as well, and then stand aside with any further comments as i'm a believer of 'Too Many Cooks Spoil The Broth' - - Physically we have a 3mtr mesh dish, getting the whole installation including the reflector / lnb assembly to perform like a 3mtr dish is another matter. it's quite easy to end up with the performance of a 2.5mtr or less mesh dish if the whole installation is not done with accuracy and plenty of time spent for final tweeking. If your chosen receive satellite has bags of signal coming at you then an under performing dish assembly will probably be ok for you - but if you really do need the performance of a 3 mtr for a weak satellite then a more accurate assembly is required. A couple of things i would do if it was my 3mtr dish at my gaff Re: the purple scalar ring - leave that on to continue to act as a lnbf position clamp. Looking at your picture the lnbf barrel is off centre from the purple scalar centre so i would address that so that there is an equal gap all the way around between the two items. Do a bore sight alignment of the feed assembly, find the focal point measurement for your particular mesh dish, remembering that this will be approx 1/4" inside the lnbf throat, slot the lnbf back into the purple lnbf clamp, using your known f/D setting for your dish offer up the new gray scalar ring onto the lnbf at the right setting place indicated on the lnbf and clamp it down - with a bit of luck the purple back plate will allow you to do this and not impede the new scalar going back far enough - if it wont, then you will need to address that. By adopting this scalar plate procedure it will give you more flexibility on final set-up tweeking to get the scalar ring in the right place as well as the lnbf - theory placement of these things will get you probably 90% in the right place. Unfortunately the tweeking does not stop with the points mentioned but it's a start - Welcome to the addictive world of of satellite tinkering , good luck with it.
 
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I have been told I need at 1.5 metre ku motorised dish and a 2.3 metre c band motorised dish to pick up FTA signals in S.Africa. It will be an adventure.
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Thanks for all your input. I would like to contact the expert, but can't .. as he's friends with the guy from another town
who is trying to install, and has to wait for him to give up before he calls him. (small town politics etc)

Here are some pics. I am getting some signal, but the C/N ratio never budges from 0. This cant be good. The
Ku-dish that was installed on 4.8E had these numbers .. so, I know I need something.

I am moving the dish etc, but can't get the level above 60. When I turn the satellite finder on, it always says 'No or bad signal' .. thou
if I attach the 4.8E cable, it doesn't etc. Its possible the elevation is wrong. I haven't got a big enough spanner to change .. so, I will have to
wait till tomorrow.

The junior engineer has been booked for next Tuesday. When he fails, the further town expert will be available a few days later.

Patience is a great virtue.
 

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a33

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If the 0 degrees skew mark on the LNB is normal to vertical (that is what I would assume), the skew would probably 90 degrees off, as I see it now in your photos.

Did you try changeing that? That is: rotating the LNB 90 degrees (Or, same effect, setting the polarity of the signal from V to H, or vice versa)?

Greetz,
A33
 
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H.

I did rotate the LNB, but that would make the square piece not level to the ground. Anyway, i got similar readings .. no C/N ratio

Just a question. The juniors engineers mate attached cables to the LNB. There are 2 holes .. 1 marked RCV and 1 marked LNB.

Should the cable come out of the hole marked RCV ?
 

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mike1

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Very interesting why not get a portable sat finder v8? They are only £40 on ebay uk.
 
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I spent 300 GBP equivalent on this :

Kit isnt so easy to get here .. it might take 2 weeks minimum.
 

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I have been told I need at 1.5 metre ku motorised dish and a 2.3 metre c band motorised dish to pick up FTA signals in S.Africa. It will be an adventure.
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This is the direction I have aimed it .. maybe its too low, and have to tilt slightly.
 

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Channel Hopper

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If you can strap on (oooerrrr) a Ku band LNB onto the dish and swing round to a known strong satellite for your region (68E ?) this will confirm the dish is performing well enough for you to look for the C band stuff
 

moonbase

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In the Intelsat 20 picture you uploaded, your sat finder meter LNB settings are configured for Ku-Band, look at the LNB section on the meter screen, it indicates a value of 9750/10600. If you are connecting your C-Band LNB to the sat finder meter you need to change the LNB setting in the meter to a C-Band value, probably a value of 5150.

Look at the label on the LNB for the L.O. value, it should be 5150 if it is a standard twin probe C-Band LNBF

Change the value in the meter setup to match the value listed on the LNB label and it will register a signal if you get close to the satellite.
 
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Hi.

Thx. I was playing around with the 2 x 68.5 settings and just happened to take a pic of the one with KU settings.

I have changed the C band LNB frequency, but I think its not the problem.

When I power-on the device, with the LNB cable attached .. it comes up with the error 'No or bad signal' even before
you select a satellite. I am not sure what this means. I will text the expert who sold me the device tomorrow and see if
he can shed any light etc.
 

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a33

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I didn't read the whole topic back. But some questions:

- did you do the string test, with good results?
- did you check LNB is exactly at center? (distances to sides of the antenna should be equal)
- did you check that LNB is at about focal distance?
- did you check azimuth http://www.satellite-calculations.com/Satellite/lookangles.htmof the dish, e.g. by using the sun method, when sun has exactly the same azimuth as the satellite (calculations e.g. Satellite Look Angle Calculator )
- does the sat-meter have a spectrum analyser, that you can use to see if you receive some (any!) satellite?

greetz,
A33
 
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I have been told I need at 1.5 metre ku motorised dish and a 2.3 metre c band motorised dish to pick up FTA signals in S.Africa. It will be an adventure.
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Hi.

I think the fault does lie with the dish somewhere .. but I want to do a few things first.

1. The installer fed cables from the roof to my office. The Ku-Band roof installations were supposed to find 7E and 10E. I can understand
10E not being found, but 7E just has to be there. As he was giving up, and basically wanted to show some success, he fixed 2 sats on
4.8E, and fed the cables to my office. He also did the C-Band cabling, so now all the cabes are far from the dishes. I want to buy a seperate
LNB cable, and take that to the roof ./. close to the C-Band dish, and see if the cabling is OK / make it easier to check signals.

2. Buy a big spanner to be able to change the tilt on the C-Band dish. There is a sat at 51.5E, which is about 6 degrees higher on the horizon. I am gonna tilt the C-Band dish to point at that .. and then test etc. There is an absolute clear line of sight to this.

3. The sat expert lives about 120km away .. but close to an airport, I may have to drop kids today. If I go etc .. will see if his shop is open, and try chat. The dish has been assembled/reassembled about 5 times in the last 10 yrs. Its hardy and am told it works (have no reason to doubt this). I suspect its a basic error somewhere.

Many thanks for all your input/suggestions. Its tough. The local installer just has little experience of any user asking for any install apart from Ku band at 68.5E, and he's using obsolete equipment.

I have zero knowledge, but people are tremendously helpful and am learning.
 

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If you can find an old receiver & portable tv take them up to the roof & attach the receiver to an lnb with a short bit of cable. Tune the receiver to one of the supposedly active frequencies and dstart hunting. If you arent used to using a meter ts much easier to find signals by using the receiver meters on a transponder. Mark the dish bolts with tippex / a sharpie etc so you can quickly reset.

Loosen the bolts just enough so the dish can move - take extreme care and dont try if its windy - a decent sized dish could easily cause severe injury if it swings free when caught by a gust. Works slowly & logically across the arc where you believe the satellite to be located. Use dishpointer.com to give you a starting point as to where the dish should be pointing for a particular satellite.
 

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..Loosen the bolts just enough so the dish can move - take extreme care and dont try if its windy - a decent sized dish could easily cause severe injury if it swings free when caught by a gust. Works slowly & logically across the arc where you believe the satellite to be located. Use dishpointer.com to give you a starting point as to where the dish should be pointing for a particular satellite.
Also, it doesn't take much to "miss" a sat beam because the dish is aimed even a fraction too high or low, so you might want to make small experimental adjustments to the elevation as you swing it across the arc.
 

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Yes I should have mentioned that - you need to be within a degree or so to get any sort of signal at all.
 

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I thnk you mentioned the dish was originally a promotion item placed outside the satellite shop.

Can you confirm the mesh on the reflector panels is metal ?
 
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