motorised dish alignment/installer needed west mids

[leeds1972]

hi everyone,bought a technomate tm 500s and a motorised dish about three weeks ago and still cant,despite all the advice/posts etc,get it aligned.does anyone know a sat installer around solihull who would give me a price etc for setting it up ??
thanx
steve

[dick b]

try this guide mate if you go to Satellite Finder / Dish Pointing Calculator with Google Maps | DishPointer.com it will show you the direction to point the motor/dish to start with.start with the dish elevation at say 22 and sweep slowly L/R past the sat direction if no luck try again with the elevation at 21 and so on if still no luck go to 23 on the scale and try and so on.if you get a kick on the meter stop and raise/ lower the dish to see if you have anything.it can be a slow process but if your pole is 100% plumb and the dish 100% central on the motor spigot you will succeed.

[leeds1972]

thanx dick.i have tried several methods and have connected to thor on a few occasions.the problem is that as well as the elevation to set there is also ,and i think this may be the problem,the angle of the dish.however,i shall have a look and give it a try.
thanx
steve

[dick b]

thanx dick.i have tried several methods and have connected to thor on a few occasions.the problem is that as well as the elevation to set there is also ,and i think this may be the problem,the angle of the dish.however,i shall have a look and give it a try.
thanx
steve

the elevation IS the angle of the dish.the scale on the motor should be set to your location latitude and NOT be moved again.so there is only the one up/down adjustment to make.

[dick b]

I"ve checked the co-ordinates for solihull and you should have 52.4 north Latitude set in your box and on the side of the motor.you should have 1.8 west set in your box for longitude.
your motor may have 2 scales on it they should read 52.4 on one side and 37/38 the other.once set dont change these.the dish bracket angle should start at around 22/23 but this is the angle that will need adjusting to get max signal in conjunction with moving the whole assemblt L/R.once you have thor tuned in and all bolts tightened you can adjust the longitude setting in the box by0.2 degrees at a time either way to peak your signal.

[leeds1972]

thanx dick,im gonna give it another try today.fortunately it is in a position to reach it quite easily,and hopefully this time ill succeed.is the 22/23 degrees dish pointing downwards or upwards ??
thanx
steve

[mdt]

is the 22/23 degrees dish pointing downwards or upwards ??
thanx
steve

there should be a scale on the side of the dish bracket with rough elevation markings. the secret is to make very small ajustments each time and then check for a signal. a couple of millimeters on terra firma equates to miles up at 36000k, just take your time and as long as your pole is 100% plumb,your bracket is central, your motor lat is correct on the motor and your lat/long on your stb are correct and you have told the dish to go-to thor6@ 0.8w then it will work! check,check and check again and when you see all those channels scanning in the satisfaction that you have done it yourself is well worth it imho. regards mdt

[leeds1972]

haha if only !!!! one of my probs i think is that the scale on the dish angle bracket is not that accurate but maybe i am being a little heavy kanded.like you say ...... one millimetre.but also,there are about 8 bolt holes on the bracket to position the bracket on which confuses me even more.anyhow,i wont give in.a bit more later cos im goin on the roof now.
thanx
steve

[dick b]

yeah dont get bogged down by setting the dish elevation scale they are rarely accurate if you start with the dish face about vertical and go from there you can ignore the scale .what make dish do you have? 8 bolt holes seems a bit excessive.(I"m just going to take a snap of my dish to try and show you what it should look like)

[dick b]

here is the photo of a Televes 1mt dish "A" is the dish elevation scale and "B" is the latitude setting on the motor.

"B" should be set at your location latitude and locked up and not moved again during setup. "A" is the one that needs to be adjusted to get max signal.

[leeds1972]

hi,its a technomate 1m dish.iv just had it aligned properly with the missis in the house watching the satfinder meter.took about 2mins.the motor elevation is set at 38 and the dish at 23.tightened the bolts on the motor pole and bang lost all the signal.so iv just come in for a break !!!!! ps.are they really that sensitive ????

[dick b]

hi,its a technomate 1m dish.iv just had it aligned properly with the missis in the house watching the satfinder meter.took about 2mins.the motor elevation is set at 38 and the dish at 23.tightened the bolts on the motor pole and bang lost all the signal.so iv just come in for a break !!!!! ps.are they really that sensitive ????

glad your getting there but yes they are sensitive slacken the motor just enough to be able to move it(I put a car exhaust clamp under it to stop it sliding down the pole) then once you have your signal back tighten up equally both side of the mount if you start to loose signal tightening one side switch to the other to pull it back. once the motor assembly is really tight(til the brackets bend a bit) do the elevation on the dish again,do not move the motor elevation 38 is right for where you are.
ps once everything is locked up really tight youll be fine,I have had a dish move in the wind but that dish in the photo has not moved since I put it up about 18mth ago even in the recent winds.

[leeds1972]

its getting like an almighty p**s take.thanx for all your advice ,it is sort of keeping me going.the exhaust clamp is a fantastic idea.im back up there in ten mins,im just waitin on my mobile to charge and hopefully...... more later
thanx
steve

[leeds1972]

no,its no good.i just cannot find the sat again im afraid.can it be so difficult ???

[dick b]

did you ever manage to download the guide I sent? as mdt has said if you persevere you will do it.I"m signing off now but we will try again tomorrow,when you tightened the motor brackets up you will have pulled the dish up as well thats why I say check that last.there are 2 "U" bolts holding the motor the bottom one can be a bit slack while setting,up the top one wants pulling in til the mount just touches the pole.then L/R if no luck move the dish elevation a touch and try again.