help tracking the arc please

[boro]

hello i have read many of the tutorials on here and they have been very helpfull but im having a problem getting all the sats ive a 80 cm dish and a disecq motor ive found 1 west and my motor setting is at 0 but when i come round the arc i get 28.2 19.2 hotbird and nothing really from the west ive nothing in the way of my signal and the quality level on 28.2 19.2 are of the page brilliant best ive ever seen. i had a 1metre dish set up in back garden and tracked most east to west but couldnt get 33 east as house is to close so downgraded to a 80 cm on the front of my house , ive set excatly the same set up for me mate and ive got him everything from 42 easet to 30 west ,hes got same set up as me ive done excactly thesame latitudes etc but i cant seem to track them all any ideas guys cheers boro

[Keano]

m8 I think you're in the North East by looking at your nick.

For starters i don't think the motor setting should be on 0 when you are 1.0w.


Look at this guide by echelon, I used a while back and worked perfect for me.

https://www.satpimps.co.uk/showthread.php?t=58680

[drpaulos]

The key things to consider are:-

1. Did you ensure that the pole is exactly vertical - with a spirit level?
2. Did you set the motor elevation for your latitude?
3. Did you set the dish declination for your latitude?
4. Is there anything in the way of the line of site to the west?

DrPaulos

[drpaulos]

I don't know where boro is, but Multimap has the following lat/long for Middlesbrough so 1W would be the best starting position:-

Lat: 54:34:23N (54.573)
Lon: 1:14:16W (-1.2378)

DrPaulos

[boro]

cheers lads for reply i live in felixstowe near ipswich ive got all the latitude and longitudes set and my pole is vertical dont you set motor to 0 and then move round on the pole till you get 1 west or am i doing that bit wrong cheers for help

[drpaulos]

Yes set the motor to zero, and physically move the dish round to get be best signal you can get on 1W. Assuming you have set the motor elevation to your latitude in degrees, peak the signal on 1W by raising or lowering the dish declination.

Then using the motor take the dish to a weaker sat like say 16E, and again peak the dish declination. Then try checking sats such as 28E, 19E, 13E, 7E, 5E, 5W, 12.5W, 30W. There are other weaker sats in there, that you might also get.

DrPaulos

[Prontopro]

You seem to know what you're doing. Are you absolutely sure you haven't got line of sight problems with the western satellites now that you've moved your dish to the front of the house?

[digger556]

cheers lads for reply i live in felixstowe near ipswich ive got all the latitude and longitudes set and my pole is vertical dont you set motor to 0 and then move round on the pole till you get 1 west or am i doing that bit wrong cheers for help



set dish at 0 degrees and manually move the motor manually with buttons to the marking on the motor at 1w.
then
align to thor at 1w......
then
move it to 28.2 and test by flexing the dish and arm etc.... see if you have a good reading?
then
move to 30 w and repeat?
then
all the rest should be on the arc....
if not
you may have an elevation problem check and adjust the dish settings.

[boro]

thanks for all your help this is doing me head in i have put a few up and never had this problem ive done everything people are saying ive just noticed the bracket isnt level along the straight of the bar but ive packed the bracket of the wall so the upright bit of the pole is upright and plumb to the level both sides im wondering if the bracket has been welded wrong am i doing the right thing in packing behind the wall plate to bring the upright bit of the pole level ? but the longet bit of the bracket is miles out but the end the mount sits on is plumb both ways might have to call the proffesionals in bit peeved as i thought i was quite good at it now lol cheers once again lads for help

[drpaulos]

The important thing is whether the pole is completely vertical as indicated by a spirit level.

DrPaulos

[NeasdenNW10]

Do not forget that although your nearest south satellite is Thor at 0.8west or Intelsat at 1.0west the look angle from your location 1.3east is 182.66degrees to 0.8west and 182.9degrees to 1.0west. Setting your motor to zero degrees to pick up one of those satellite you are nearly 3 degrees out when trying to scan an arc.
Norm

[satwyn]

surely if you've set your motor on 1w at the back it should work the same at the front

[boro]

so what does my motor need to be on while pointing at thor cheers

[Krikkitt]

Zero will be fine for the moment mate.


K.:)

[satwyn]

if 1w worked for you before at the same location it should still work I personally use 4w as my highest point but I live in a different part of the of uk

[uniuk2000]

Reading this thread it would appear that people use different means to reach the same end. So I thought I'd put mt 2p worth in. This is the way I was shown years ago.
Assuming pole is vertical.
Set Latitude on motor and place on mounting pole (roughly facing South) not completly tight.
Drive motor to 0.
Mount dish, on motor, in perfect alignment to stub mount.
Put Lat & Long into sat receiver.
Use receiver to drive dish to most southerly satellite.
Adjust dish elevation and motor position on pole for best signal.

Of all the dozen or so systems I've put up, not one didn't track the arc accuratly first time.

[drpaulos]

Another factor about the relative signal strengths, is that you have gone from a 1m dish to an 80cm dish, so signals will be exponentially weaker.

For me, weaker signals like from 5E Nordic beam, and 26E are virtually non-existant on the 80cm dish, but are usable on the 1m dish.

DrPaulos

[Prontopro]

Reading this thread it would appear that people use different means to reach the same end. So I thought I'd put mt 2p worth in. This is the way I was shown years ago.
Assuming pole is vertical.
Set Latitude on motor and place on mounting pole (roughly facing South) not completly tight.
Drive motor to 0.
Mount dish, on motor, in perfect alignment to stub mount.
Put Lat & Long into sat receiver.
Use receiver to drive dish to most southerly satellite.
Adjust dish elevation and motor position on pole for best signal.

Of all the dozen or so systems I've put up, not one didn't track the arc accuratly first time.

This assumes the receiver has USALS, some don't. DisEqC 1.2 also gives total azimuth control.

[uniuk2000]

Yep, that's a fair comment Prontopro. Didn't think of that.