Satellite System for Spanish Channels

[izaceci]

good morning lovely people!
yesterday at last it arrived the dish pack and it is huge!. Anyway, after with a lot of help from my polish inlaw I finally was able to put it up.
However there is something we are doing wrong because at the moment we only can catch astra2a2b. We have been reading the instructions and to be honest they are not very helpful... Anyway, i guess now we have to try to get the final tunning and hopefully we can catch Hispasat and Hotbird

if you still have any suggestions, those will be much appreciated, if not, thanks again to those who has been helping a rookie in this fascinating world!!!

have a good day!! (i am so exciting!)

 

[Robbo]

Getting something is a very good start.

Have another look at rolfs guide and you can finish it off.

Just make sure that the mounting pole is 100% vertical, and you would be well on your way.


Robbo

 

[izaceci]

Hiya again

It seems that I am still doing something wrong! The motor works as the dish moves. However, even though it says we are catching some channels from hotbird and astra2a2b, I am starting to think it is not true, as I have been checking in lyngsat which channels I see with different satellites and it seems not to match 100%. Is it possible that the receiver tells you you are using a satellite being this not true?

The other thing is happening, is that even though it catched the signal satellite, once you change to another one, it seems that it looses the previous satellite, and I have to do a step by step search which I think is not normal.

To be honest I am not really sure what is wrong, as I can actually see some Spanish, polish, german, even Italian and French channels! (as far I do not change satellites)

Any ideas my friends?

Many thanks ONCE again!

 

[Robbo]

There are two ways to use a DiSEqC 1.2 motor, one is to use USALS an the other to use DiSEqC 1.2 by itself.

With USALS you enter your long and lat into the receiver and it will calculate how far to send the dish for each satellite and send it there.

For DiSEqC by itself, you have to go round all the sats in turn and store their positions manually. It sounds to me that you have not stored your positions correctly

I prefer USALs as it is easier and quicker, although sometimes it is necessary to adjust the positions slightly to get the best signal.

Yes, it is possible that you could be fooled into thinking that you have a particular satellite, but it is in fact a different one, as most receivers don't have the capability to know which satellite it is, as the same transponder frequencies are used over and over again on different satellites. With a motorised dish this is most likely to occur if using DiSEqC 1.2 on its own, i.e you have stored the wrong position. Again, USALS with take this doubt away, once the dish/motor have been set up properly on your reference satellite (eg Thor)

 

[izaceci]

thanks again,

I definetively have been using the DiSEqC 1.2 instead USALS. I give it a try, as you said, probably will be easier...
and hopefully I have got it!

 

[izaceci]

Jesus Christ! guess who is back...

The more I understand the less I understand... does it make sense? the receiver says that I find satellites Astra1, Astra2a2b and sirius 2.3. However I am searching for info in sirius 2.3 and I can not find anything (for example I can see StarTV UKR).

My biggest doubt is, is it possible to perfectly locate a satellite (for instance Astra1 and being unable to get Hispasat30W?) I thought once you locate one, the other ones automatically will come out.... (naive, me?)

I have no idea why but the receiver change the name of Hispasat to 330 and even though I feel it is good positioned, does not pick up any channels even though the first bar percentage is high (the other one is 0)

any ideas?

and thanks again!!

 

[Topper]

The more I understand the less I understand... does it make sense? the receiver says that I find satellites Astra1, Astra2a2b and sirius 2.3. However I am searching for info in sirius 2.3 and I can not find anything (for example I can see StarTV UKR).

Star TV is on Sirius 4 at 4.8 East on the Europe BSS beam, there is no longer Sirius 2.3 at this location

I think when you find a satellite you should check here to see if what you think you have got is what you are seeing on the screen.

My biggest doubt is, is it possible to perfectly locate a satellite (for instance Astra1 and being unable to get Hispasat30W?) I thought once you locate one, the other ones automatically will come out.... (naive, me?)

Yes basically naive. You are relying on a lot of parameters to correctly achieve the arc required. If you do not follow the set procedure i.e. finding your true south satellite, setting your motor to the true South then swinging the whole assembly around until you get a lock on a channel on your due south satellite then tighten everything up, you will struggle. If your post is not perfectly vertical in all planes it will not work. if your elevation is out it will not work. See the drawing for the most common reasons why the arc is not obtained.

I have no idea why but the receiver change the name of Hispasat to 330 and even though I feel it is good positioned, does not pick up any channels even though the first bar percentage is high (the other one is 0)

any ideas?

and thanks again!!

Well if the 2nd bar is the quality and that is zero you will not receive anything

Too little or too much declination is a distinct possibility


By the way it would help members to help you if you put details of all equipment in your profile

 

[izaceci]

many thanks Topper!
Obviously it makes sense everything that you mentioned, however I think everything is oriented and perfectly straight, and somehow not getting it... My dish is a 80cm Technomate and the receiver a Opticum 3000L. I do not recall right now the name of the motor, but seems to be working ok

I will keep on having a look

Many thanks for your help!

 

[izaceci]

Hello all,

ok, I have just updated my equipment details,

hope it helps

thanks!

 

[Topper]

Can I suggest you post some photos of the lnb and dish as we may be able to spot a problem

 

[izaceci]

ok thanks Mr Topper. I will try to make them later today. Thanks again and good day to all!

 

[izaceci]

hello all,
as promised mr topper, I attach some pictures of the dish. I reduce the format as much as possible so I hope it is ok

Comments will be appreciated as usual, thanks!

:-worship

 

[Robbo]

Hi again,

Are you getting Thor OK?

I may be wrong, as I don't know what your dish offset angle is, but the dish does look like it is tilting up a bit more than it should do, when I'm on Thor, the dish face is at 5 degrees.

Also the elbow bracket is not the best choice, T&Ks and a scaffold pole would be much better, are you 100% sure the pole at the end is 100% vertical.?

 

[izaceci]

hiya mr Robbo71. thanks again for your response. Regarding Thor, at the moment I can not get it but because my receiver it is quite crappy...(by the way,..someone could suggest a better one, which I could also set up with keys and stuff...[which I will be asking later on in another chapter... !]) and it only gets around 2000 channels, which is already what I have with astra2a2b, sirius and hotbird. Do you reckon I should try to set it up first to Thor? my latitude is 51.427° and longitude -1.728° but I am not sure if I am doing it right as I can not put a minus figure in the receiver when I use usals...

If I get channels,...is there any way to know where is your limit? Maybe I am giving you all a headache and it is not possible to get Hispasat or other channels

i believe the pole is 100% vertical if that helps,

would anyone attach some pictures or their dish so perphaps I can see the light?

millions of thanks

 

[Robbo]

Any old crappy receiver should get Thor, even yours. There are lots of FTA channels on there, including BBC World on 11325H.

And Yes, that is where you should attempt to set up the dish.

Not all receivers have a minus sign, actually I don't know if it is common or not, but anyway, on mine you have to set a W or an E.

If you put our lat and long in, send it to 0.8W or 1W, tune to 11325H, then monitor the sig quality. Then adjust the dish elevation and swivel the whole lot roun the pole for max quality.

Also I would recheck the elevation of the motor to make sure it is correct.
Also, you have to be sure that the pole is vertical, as it will never track the arc if it isn't, unless you are very lucky.

I can't do a picture of my dish as it is too dark now, but I measured the angle of the face and it was 5 degrees whwn on 1W, but this is dependent on the dish. If you look through the members Pictures section, you should find some pics in there. There is also one in Rolfw's guide and satelliteman's ( see the stickies).

The limit is basically when the dish looks at the ground (around 60 or 70 degrees), but if the dish is low and there are obstructions, it would be less.

I live in a housing estate with relatively close together houses with my dish about 4ft of the ground, and I can get 42E to 30W. So what you want should be achievable, as long as you dont have an obstruction.

 

[Topper]

I second all that Robbie has said, one thing is certain, in your posts you have admitted you have not followed the procedure correctly by not setting up on your due south satellite. You are thus lucky to have what you already can receive. Robbie is also correct about the bracket, basic moments of inertia principles dictate that the rotational stress on the bracket is far too high for the strength and small size of the material used since the motor is set away from the bracket. The sheer forces on that bracket mean that if it does not snap soon, if will in the next strong winds we have. Those brackets were never designed to be operated with motors.
Finally, it looks to me that the lnb is fixed too far forward (towards the dish) in the sleeve, have you fine tuned this setting to achieve maximum signal on a given channel, or have you just put it in there?

 

[satelliteman]

Important to also make sure the dish is centre on the motor shaft.
On that motor there is a thin line running down the shaft. Line this up to the centre of the dish. If it's not spot on, it will throw you off the arc as the motor turns

 

[izaceci]

thanks satelliteman, the motor line is definetively line up to the center of the dish. if not, I probably will have to go to the optician... ;)

thanks again for all your support and kindness to share all your knowledge about this. I hope I am not being too painfull...

good day!

 

[izaceci]

thanks again Mr Tooper.

at the very beginning I did not follow the procedure as I was completely lost and even though the forum is extremely good and helpful, at the beginning can be a little bit difficult as it has quite a lot of info to manage.

as far as I understand, I set up the dish to the south, and I did make sure everything was straitgh and line up. I tried to install it with the automated search of the receiver, and I picked up some channels. After the help of some of our colleagues from the forum, I did as they suggested and I tried using USALS (but then the negative signed, gave me a problem, as I could not insert it in the receiver, or do not know how).

What I meant with my crappy receiver, is that only pick up about 2000 channels, and it is already full!!!, so what I have to do now is delete those channels/satellite, and try again to pick up THOR, as suggested.

Hopefully after that I can achieve Hispasat, however I can already see spanish, italian, polish, german, russian, french,... but not the freesat english ones..

Regarding the pole, at the moment I will prefer to leave it like that, as I already have few arguments with the boss..., and I prefer not to be hunged up by it... :-bash (however when it came the installation kit, it was saying the bracket was suitable for a motorised dish up to 90 cm)...maybe in the future I'll change it!

Regarding the Lnb, thanks for that, I will look into it, as that can be definetively something I have got wrong, even though I moved it few times to check up the signals in the receiver.

Once again, many thanks for your help and patience!!

GOOD DAY TO YOU ALL!!

 

[izaceci]

Frustration, frustration, frustration is my surname!!

after winning the fight with my wife :toke:, and setting up the dish with T&K brackets, checking everything is vertical and aligned, now... nothing! I barely can get anything [I still try to find out what satellite I am getting checking the channels.. ] and before I got plenty of channels in astra2a2b, astra1, hotbird, and sirius (not hispasat... ) [spanish, italians, french, germans, polish...]

now it seems that I am getting dutch channels and few english, which makes me think is the one for freesat (... I can not believe I forgot which satellite name is now! )

basically the only change I have done is that I have raised the dish about a metre as I thought this might help to avoid roof houses when trying to reach hispasat 30W. I tried to keep the same elevation, but...

any other ideas? I will try to finish with this once and for all during the weekend

THANKS for your suggestions!!