Time to tune your antennas

[rodscha]

There was JUST a bunch of clouds 30 mins ago,so I blew it! ggrr
One question ,will it work tomorrow same time?
Or must I wait for another month?

 

[ozumo]

Yes, same time tomorrow

 

[RimaNTSS]

Question ,will it still work tomorrow same time?
with a slight drift maybe?
Or,must I wait for another month?

Not another month, but another 6 month till spring period. If you look in the site there are timing for each day, I have marked it red for you. Of course, you will have different times than me.

 

[a33]

It's working as expected here

Ah, thanks for reporting.

I just did further analyze, why it went wrong at my side.

I noticed that I first had chosen a (random) satellite from the list, that had a non-zero latitude.
(Edit: that would be an inclined orbit satellite?)
After that, when entering a (random) satellite longitude number directly, the non-zero latitude value of the satellite remained unaltered.
So that the check 'satellite elevation' equals 'sun elevation' was not relevant anymore for the sunoutage date.
So I have to check, that the satellite position that I enter has a zero latitude....

Glad I got that solved, as it irritated me!

Greetz,
A33

 

[rodscha]

@Riman ntss
ok I got the month/day wrong... so tomorrow seems still ok?
11/10 means Oct 11th or november 10th btw?
if it s oct 11th then oct 21th seems right..or?

 

[rodscha]

So,tomorrow
oct 12th at 12h 58 CET?,so tomorrow 1PM-ish?
Or have I misunderstood anything?

 

[ozumo]

The time varies depending on which satellite your dish is aimed at. On the sun outage calculator you only need to select the satellite and enter your location to calculate the time.

 

[RimaNTSS]

Or have I misunderstood anything?

TBH it is hard to comprehend what and how you have understood. Show the screenshot of the data you got from the site, and then we can discuss.

 

[a33]

Also I would ask: What exactly is your aim, by checking the sunoutage?

When you want to check the exact shadow of buildings, e.g. when you want to put a dish at a certain location at a balcony, you probably want a more exact sun outage date than when you want to globally check if trees are threatening to grow in your line of sight towards the arc for your motorized dish in the garden.

I checked the latter, and saw that 30W already caused a small shadow, so I cut the tree somewhat (with positive effect!).
Alas we have a morning fog these last days, so I don't know how the east part of the arc is.

By the way, for southern France (43.2N) the maximum sun outage was yesterday. So the sun is already a little bit lower than the clarke belt.

greetz,
A33

 

[rodscha]

i want to check whether my 120cm dish is rightly and accutately pointed at 28East
the 2 metal arms project shades that should be symetric...

 

[RimaNTSS]

i want to check whether my 120cm dish is rightly and accutately pointed at 28East

For that you do not need to wait sun-outage time.... just turn your antenna left/right/up/down and look for maximum signal. Also try to change skew of the LNB and move it closer/further from the dish.

 

[rodscha]

yesI know, I did this 6 years ago...just wanted to check my orientation was tip top ,versus aproximative
I seem to get a reception that s somewhat below what 120cm should provide here...
so the pointing might be an issue...then LNB,then cable...
and sun-outage does not require tools or anything cumbersome...
Just,no clouds at 11:40 CETtomorrow!!

 

[a33]

and sun-outage does not require tools or anything cumbersome...
Just,no clouds at 11:40 CETtomorrow!!

It will give you confirmation, if you have a perfectly free line of sight to the satellite.

For checking the tiptop orientation of the dish: check if you have a perfectly flat dish face (with the string test), and check what RimaNTSS wrote.

greetz,
A33

 

[rodscha]

Thank you will visually check today,it s now sunny...

 

[rodscha]

it worked!!! well aligned it is!! 11:40am CET in Carcassonne

 

[RimaNTSS]

it worked!!!

Nice picture, clearly shows that you do not have any obstacles toward Astra @28.2*E.
But what it does not show:
- whether antenna has perfectly "flat face";
- whether LNB's focal point is co-located with antenna's focal point;
- whether LNB is pointed towards the proper point on the surface of the dish.

 

[rodscha]

Thank you,RimaNTSS!
I understood the "string" trick for antenna's flatness;
and how can I check these two latter points?

 

[RimaNTSS]

and how can I check these two latter points?

I am sure that was discussed many times in several topics. But in 2 words: From the datasheet of your antenna you have to know the position of the focal point. Then you must know the position of the phase center of your feed. After you co-locate those to points, aim the feed a little lower (approximately 10 percent) than the center of the dish.
Also, from the datasheet you have to know the offset angle of the antenna. Later, you can compare this built-in offset angle to one you calculate from measuring the leaning angle of the dish when it is pointed to the satellite.

 

[rodscha]

So,I have to check whether 2Galli sent me the aforesaid data sheet...
If not,could I find such data online?
It's a 120cm offset dish

 

[RimaNTSS]

could I find such data online?

Sure, you can find data online or even in this forum if you know exact model of your dish. If you do not know the model, you can calculate needed data.