Paksat 1R 38E

[nelson_b]

Thanks Nelson.

I did a bit of fine tuning of the Az/El and polarity skew to squeeze the last drop of juice from the signals. It was after the fine adjustment that I got a lock on 4081 V (ATV Pakistan) which I had never managed before.

I noticed that the feed/scalar pair distances for the 9 different frequencies that I locked had only a small pattern. It looked like the scalar distance of 5mm to 15mm was the optimum but not a hard and fast rule. I think that with some of these extreme fringe satellites like 38.0 East each frequency might have its own optimum parameters? The solution is a larger dish or a more favourable location for the beam footprint.

If you centrally locate the C-Band feed arrangement on your 2.4m dish it will be interesting to see what results you get, particularly any variance in signal levels from feed/scalar pair adjustments. I found that Samaa TV and Madani are easiest frequencies to lock, they always seem to be present any time of day and can both tolerate a lock of tweaking before losing a lock.

Hi- M.B.
Attached is my result so far ... probably more to be had later when strength improves this evening .. i recall when i had the 3m dish on this sat there was quite a bit of feed/scalar pair adjustments needed for individual t.p,s and i,m sure it will be the same with this 2.4 offset . what seems more apparent so far is the Az/El ... i cant get 4082 v (ATV) and 3742 H (OTR) with the same Az position .. around 0.5 of a degree between them.

 

[John]

Hi- M.B.
Attached is my result so far ... probably more to be had later when strength improves this evening .. i recall when i had the 3m dish on this sat there was quite a bit of feed/scalar pair adjustments needed for individual t.p,s and i,m sure it will be the same with this 2.4 offset . what seems more apparent so far is the Az/El ... i cant get 4082 v (ATV) and 3742 H (OTR) with the same Az position .. around 0.5 of a degree between them.

View attachment 127489

.... MB - just changed the duff servo motor on the 2.2 PF and done a quick scan H & V on 38°E up here in the Midlands to see if it's coming in a bit better than last week.
Here's the scan results
......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

 

[moonbase]

Hi- M.B.
Attached is my result so far ... probably more to be had later when strength improves this evening .. i recall when i had the 3m dish on this sat there was quite a bit of feed/scalar pair adjustments needed for individual t.p,s and i,m sure it will be the same with this 2.4 offset . what seems more apparent so far is the Az/El ... i cant get 4082 v (ATV) and 3742 H (OTR) with the same Az position .. around 0.5 of a degree between them.

View attachment 127489

Nice one Nelson, you have done well there to get that ATV one, it is not an easy one to get. I could not manage to lock the S2 News channel, what frequency is that one please? You might also get Dharti TV and Roze TV if the signal picks up as the evening progresses?

As a point of information, the OTR channel is from 40.0 East, it is so strong it bleeds over 2 degrees away.

 

[moonbase]

.... MB - just changed the duff servo motor on the 2.2 PF and done a quick scan H & V on 38°E up here in the Midlands to see if it's coming in a bit better than last week.
Here's the scan results
......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
View attachment 127490

John, nice results, they are with decent signal levels and a few locks I did not achieve, well done. That 4106 V is a frustrating one for me, it sits there with what should be enough signal for a lock but the F15 never seems to lock it

 

[nelson_b]

Nice one Nelson, you have done well there to get that ATV one, it is not an easy one to get. I could not manage to lock the S2 News channel, what frequency is that one please? You might also get Dharti TV and Roze TV if the signal picks up as the evening progresses?

As a point of information, the OTR channel is from 40.0 East, it is so strong it bleeds over 2 degrees away.

Cheers M.B. - thanks for the info re OTR channel, it did seem the odd one out, but had not realized it was from 40 E l.o.l.

92 News is on 4023 V 5700 and locks - just - but only gives occasional frozen pic as do some others that have scanned in with manual scan - Dharti TV and Roze TV are locked and are just about view-able now the signal is gaining strength .. 4106 V that you mention has now locked but not displayed a picture ..

I will compare what i can lock with Johns scan after evening meal tonight .....

The one i wanted most has beaten me so far - 3834 H 6500 it has a music video channel 8XM - although Jalwa another music vid channel i,v had in the past has recently left that t.p. it seems ... i,m about 1.0db short of a lock at 8.5 db though.. so maybe out of reach i think.
I will leave this dish setup like this for a few days now - and make a proper list of what i,m locking etc in a day or two.

 

[moonbase]

92 News is on 4023 V 5700 and locks - just - but only gives occasional frozen pic as do some others that have scanned in with manual scan - Dharti TV and Roze TV are locked and are just about view-able now the signal is gaining strength .. 4106 V that you mention has now locked but not displayed a picture ..

I left the F15 receiver on 4023 V last night and periodically checked the signal. It was just a few fractions of a dB below a lock every time I checked. Thinking about it, perhaps I should have tried a small Az/El adjustment as some of these frequencies seem to benefit from their own personal Az/El.

Doh, just checked and realised what is going on with 4106 V, it is a radio frequency !

 

[nelson_b]

I left the F15 receiver on 4023 V last night and periodically checked the signal. It was just a few fractions of a dB below a lock every time I checked. Thinking about it, perhaps I should have tried a small Az/El adjustment as some of these frequencies seem to benefit from their own personal Az/El.

Doh, just checked and realised what is going on with 4106 V, it is a radio frequency !

I didnt realize it was radio either .... it scans in as a tv channel on the F15 l.o.l.

A tiny tweak to the east has given me a watchable picture now on 4023 V

Re Johns scan ... I locked all the same t.p.s. - plus a number of others that don,t always pick up on blind scan on the F15 but will lock and scan manually .

I will try to find time to type and post a list later.

 

[nelson_b]

Hi - M.B.
My results taken around 7.30 last night ....with 2.4 Channel master offset - BSC 421 l.n.b + conical scalar ... into
Dr HD F15 receiver.

The comparison to John,s scan = all verticals were the same give or take 0.2 db ... the 2 horizontals were both just over 1.0 db higher for me.

Other transponders locked and channels scanned in were
3719 V 14400 .. 5.8 db Dunya News
3761 V 2900 .. 4.7 db Sindh TV
3770 V 7700 .. 8.1db Channel 24 HD
3777 V 2645 .. ? db AJK (switched off early evening )
3952 V 2950 .. 7.6 db Kohenoor News
3983 V 2000 .. 9.4 db Channel 5 *
4017 V 3553 .. 6.0 db Dharti TV
4023 V 5700 .. 5.7 db 92 News
4033 H 2400 .. 8.0 db Oxygene *
4047 V 3250 .. 8.0 db A Plus Pakistan *
4052 V 5185 ..5.8 db PTV National
The ones with a * are not holding a lock now since 10 30 p.m. ... will maybe take some screen pics tomorrow if possible.

​

 

[moonbase]

Hi - M.B.
My results taken around 7.30 last night ....with 2.4 Channel master offset - BSC 421 l.n.b + conical scalar ... into
Dr HD F15 receiver.

The comparison to John,s scan = all verticals were the same give or take 0.2 db ... the 2 horizontals were both just over 1.0 db higher for me.

Other transponders locked and channels scanned in were
3719 V 14400 .. 5.8 db Dunya News
3761 V 2900 .. 4.7 db Sindh TV
3770 V 7700 .. 8.1db Channel 24 HD
3777 V 2645 .. ? db AJK (switched off early evening )
3952 V 2950 .. 7.6 db Kohenoor News
3983 V 2000 .. 9.4 db Channel 5 *
4017 V 3553 .. 6.0 db Dharti TV
4023 V 5700 .. 5.7 db 92 News
4033 H 2400 .. 8.0 db Oxygene *
4047 V 3250 .. 8.0 db A Plus Pakistan *
4052 V 5185 ..5.8 db PTV National
The ones with a * are not holding a lock now since 10 30 p.m. ... will maybe take some screen pics tomorrow if possible.

Those a great results Nelson, you are getting 4 frequencies in the 3700 MHz range that I am not locking. If you centre focus the LNBF there might be more juice awaiting you?

With respect to 4052 V it is time dependent, the signal fluctuates during the day. If you take a look at the evolution table I uploaded in post 144 of this topic you can see the times of the day for maximum signal.

 

[nelson_b]

Those a great results Nelson, you are getting 4 frequencies in the 3700 MHz range that I am not locking. If you centre focus the LNBF there might be more juice awaiting you?

With respect to 4052 V it is time dependent, the signal fluctuates during the day. If you take a look at the evolution table I uploaded in post 144 of this topic you can see the times of the day for maximum signal.

Better results than i expected certainly .. I was studying your time of day chart yesterday.. - Thanks.

Thick cloud, and not much spare time to play around today ... but i,m going to leave this dish setup intact for a few days now, i will tinker further with l.n.b. focus if we get some clear skies. Perhaps try a Zinwell l.n.b. on there as it works well in an offset position for linear on this dish .

I,v always liked this satellite for the challenges that it offers ... there is always the next transponder hovering on the edge of lock to pursue - l.o.l.

 

[moonbase]

...I,v always liked this satellite for the challenges that it offers ... there is always the next transponder hovering on the edge of lock to pursue - l.o.l.

Yes, 38.0 East in C-Band certainly provides challenges and opportunity for experimentation for UK located DX'ers.

I decided to take the Titanium Wimax LNBF out of the replica ADL linear polarity pipe and secure it directly in the feed clamp. I got increased signals pretty much all round so decided to do a quick feed/scalar pair test with the LNBF throat aperture 750mm from the centre of the dish (focal length = 755mm).

The feed/scalar pair table from the test is attached below. There looks to be a vague trend whereby the lower frequencies require a longer scalar distance along the LNBF barrel and the higher frequencies do not like so much length. The length phenomena was observed for a prime focus dish, I am not sure if it would apply to an offset focus dish.

I am still sniffing after a lock for 4023 V (92 News) and was getting 5.0 db about an hour ago. If it increases as the evening progresses I might be lucky enough to grab a lock on it.

.

 

[nelson_b]

Yes, 38.0 East in C-Band certainly provides challenges and opportunity for experimentation for UK located DX'ers.

I decided to take the Titanium Wimax LNBF out of the replica ADL linear polarity pipe and secure it directly in the feed clamp. I got increased signals pretty much all round so decided to do a quick feed/scalar pair test with the LNBF throat aperture 750mm from the centre of the dish (focal length = 755mm).

The feed/scalar pair table from the test is attached below. There looks to be a vague trend whereby the lower frequencies require a longer scalar distance along the LNBF barrel and the higher frequencies do not like so much length. The length phenomena was observed for a prime focus dish, I am not sure if it would apply to an offset focus dish.

I am still sniffing after a lock for 4023 V (92 News) and was getting 5.0 db about an hour ago. If it increases as the evening progresses I might be lucky enough to grab a lock on it.

.
View attachment 127500

Keep on trying

I.v been out most of the day so no adjustments made to my l.n.b. focus etc ...

I,v managed to take a few photos of some screens tonight though .... I,m still having to make slight adjustments to the AZ to get the best from some transponders.

 

[moonbase]

Keep on trying ...

Well, some partial success, I managed to lock the 92 News frequency on 4023 V with a signal of 5.5dB, the F15 receiver signal indicator is green, indicating a lock. However, it is constantly in and out of a lock at the moment and does not lock long enough render a picture. I noticed that you have a picture on this frequency with 5.7dB, perhaps I need that extra 0.2dB to get the picture.

What receiver are you using, the menus look like it might be a TM-5302 or TM-5502. I have both of those, I might try swapping over the receiver.

.

 

[nelson_b]

Yes

Well, some partial success, I managed to lock the 92 News frequency on 4023 V with a signal of 5.5dB, the F15 receiver signal indicator is green, indicating a lock. However, it is constantly in and out of a lock at the moment and does not lock long enough render a picture. I noticed that you have a picture on this frequency with 5.7dB, perhaps I need that extra 0.2dB to get the picture.

What receiver are you using, the menus look like it might be a TM-5302 or TM-5502. I have both of those, I might try swapping over the receiver.

.
View attachment 127508

Yes i think it will need the extra 0.2dB the pic was still jerky even at 5.7 db

My receiver is a DR HD F15 with original S/W
i tried newer software but reverted back to original.

 

[John]

... been trying to lock 4023 V for the last half hour - signal is up and down here in bonny North Notts - max at 5.5 dB but not stable enough to get lock on 6903 card .

 

[moonbase]

... been trying to lock 4023 V for the last half hour - signal is up and down here in bonny North Notts - max at 5.5 dB but not stable enough to get lock on 6903 card .

I finally managed to lock 4023 V (92 News) with enough signal level to render a picture. It is a frequency that seems to be at its strongest mid to late evening?

.

 

[John]

I finally managed to lock 4023 V (92 News) with enough signal level to render a picture. It is a frequency that seems to be at its strongest mid to late evening?

.
View attachment 127512

Tried it on three other rx's as well as the PC card but just couldn't grab that extra smidgin of signal to lock it.

 

[nelson_b]

I finally managed to lock 4023 V (92 News) with enough signal level to render a picture. It is a frequency that seems to be at its strongest mid to late evening?

.
View attachment 127512

Well done .. you got there in the end

 

[nelson_b]

Tried it on three other rx's as well as the PC card but just couldn't grab that extra smidgin of signal to lock it.

So very near ... :-(

 

[John]

So very near ... :-(

Yep, it's just evading capture Nelson. I'm about 1dB down on it this morning's scan compared to last evening's scan
Might have a bit of a mini tweek & see if it will go up a bit