head wrecked trying to setup a satellite motor

[daithi]

hi all ive been giving this a go the last 2 evenings with no luck
reading tuts and stuff from all over the net

just looking for few pointers and whatever else i need to get me sorted

first off all im to make sure mounting pole is vertical in all ways
second find my corridinates which for central ireland is 53.1N and 8 w

then make sure motor and dish are straight in line ie motor pole is on zero and dish is pointing in same direction i take it when im mounting all this on the pole mounted on side of the house.......when tuts are saying it should be pointing due south this means its pointing directly east so when it moves either left or right its going to eastern or western sats

im using a secondhand motor so i presume i should reset it as i havent yet and i think this is my problem

so then i go to my openbox s10 and input my coordinates then set motor as usuals exit out
then go to sat list ad add thor 0.8w
then go to antenna setup select thor and the dish should move slighty if everything is setup right signal should be good if not il have to loosen bolts on motor slighty and on dish and move up and down and left on right till ive a strong signal then tighten up select another sat in sat list ie 13.0e and the motor will move to it and the sat should have a good signal once everything is still in line etc

would appreciate any help on this

[ramjet]

hi all ive been giving this a go the last 2 evenings with no luck
reading tuts and stuff from all over the net

just looking for few pointers and whatever else i need to get me sorted

first off all im to make sure mounting pole is vertical in all ways
second find my corridinates which for central ireland is 53.1N and 8 w

then make sure motor and dish are straight in line ie motor pole is on zero and dish is pointing in same direction i take it when im mounting all this on the pole mounted on side of the house.......when tuts are saying it should be pointing due south this means its pointing directly east so when it moves either left or right its going to eastern or western sats

im using a secondhand motor so i presume i should reset it as i havent yet and i think this is my problem

so then i go to my openbox s10 and input my coordinates then set motor as usuals exit out
then go to sat list ad add thor 0.8w
then go to antenna setup select thor and the dish should move slighty if everything is setup right signal should be good if not il have to loosen bolts on motor slighty and on dish and move up and down and left on right till ive a strong signal then tighten up select another sat in sat list ie 13.0e and the motor will move to it and the sat should have a good signal once everything is still in line etc

would appreciate any help on this

firstly , the motor should point true south , which in your case is pointing at the satellite at 8w

most tuts say use thor as its closest to true south for most of the uk , but you are better to use 5w or 8w seeing as 8w is exactly true south of you ( true south means exactly that, not magnetic south )

so I would try using 8w , or france 2 on 5w as its only 3 degrees out from your 8w position

as long as your usals is correct it should move the motor to the correct position , then just align the dish and motor (you set the motor to your latitude) , and when its got a good signal lock it up and test 42e and 30w, then check the in between satellites too , like 28e , 19e , 13e , 5e , 5w , 12.5w

[daithi]

firstly , the motor should point true south , which in your case is pointing at the satellite at 8w

most tuts say use thor as its closest to true south for most of the uk , but you are better to use 5w or 8w seeing as 8w is exactly true south of you ( true south means exactly that, not magnetic south )

so I would try using 8w , or france 2 on 5w as its only 3 degrees out from your 8w position

as long as your usals is correct it should move the motor to the correct position , then just align the dish and motor (you set the motor to your latitude) , and when its got a good signal lock it up and test 42e and 30w, then check the in between satellites too , like 28e , 19e , 13e , 5e , 5w , 12.5w

thanks a million mate il give it a lash tomorrow evening
hopefully all goes well ive mounted it on the side of the shed at ground level for practice runs

by usuals you mean where my house is i can pm ya teh location using google map just to make sure if it suits

[ramjet]

usals , as in input your longitude and your latitude into your box

then send it to 5w or 8w , set the latitude on the motor and swing the motor left and right and the dish up and down until you get onto the satellite you are using as a reference

for fta channels like france 2 , use 5w

for openbox help , use the openbox forum on here

[Elric]

also check dishpointer for 8w then take note of a marker line and try find summat that will help you to lign the dish up ie if there a chimney or a corner of house which the line on dishpointer goes thru see if you can see that object when you up ladders

[daithi]

usals , as in input your longitude and your latitude into your box

then send it to 5w or 8w , set the latitude on the motor and swing the motor left and right and the dish up and down until you get onto the satellite you are using as a reference

for fta channels like france 2 , use 5w

for openbox help , use the openbox forum on here

tried the openbox section nobody got back to me on it

[Rodbouy]

Why are people so focused on fixing for south ?

I just dont get it.


1st off make as long as the pole brakcet and dish is all level and spot on that the main thing, for it wont matter what receiver and method you use its just never going to happen.


Most people starting off dont have a clue about 1w or what on other sats.

So why not pick a sat that you know and are used to.

So pick 28, move your motor so that it marked on 28. No get a point of ref on dishpointer.

Now have the box plugged on the the receiver and leave it on bbc 1 for example.

Now with the cheap sat beeper and head phones get a strong signal and if possible get some one is hearing distance to say you have a picture. Once you tinker and get the strongest snr then lock it all down nice and tight.

Now if you are not used to usals then dont use it.

Manually tune the box in, start with the strong and easy to get sats.

So set it to find 19 and manually step it west then store then pick 13 and step it west and store.

Usual only gets you nearly there then its a fine tune.

Learn how the dish moves and understand where its moving.

Then once you get the hang of it, try usals for other sats.

If you go from 28 and miss 19 then the bracket is not set up right. You should get the same snr for 28 as you do on 19, so if its a good bit lower with a clean line of sight then something is a miss and you will prob not hit 13 due to the arc in which your moving.

[daithi]

also check dishpointer for 8w then take note of a marker line and try find summat that will help you to lign the dish up ie if there a chimney or a corner of house which the line on dishpointer goes thru see if you can see that object when you up ladders

just checked dishpointer and it shows the direction of where 8w is to be a lot different than where 28.2 and 13.0 e are pointing on my gable end
hopefully il have enough clearance from the gable end wall for the dish to point that direction

also will my 80cm dish be able to catch these sats?

my house is almost an east to west direction but the gable im using is pointing more south than north

[Rodbouy]

just checked dishpointer and it shows the direction of where 8w is to be a lot different than where 28.2 and 13.0 e are pointing on my gable end
hopefully il have enough clearance from the gable end wall for the dish to point that direction

also will my 80cm dish be able to catch these sats?

my house is almost an east to west direction but the gable im using is pointing more south than north

Im from the west of Scotland and I get 28, 19, 16, 13, 9 on a 80cm dish.

there should be abut on dishpointer that gives you best dish size from your location.

[ramjet]

just checked dishpointer and it shows the direction of where 8w is to be a lot different than where 28.2 and 13.0 e are pointing on my gable end
hopefully il have enough clearance from the gable end wall for the dish to point that direction

also will my 80cm dish be able to catch these sats?

my house is almost an east to west direction but the gable im using is pointing more south than north

although you can use any strong satellite if you are using usals , anyone who hasnt had usals uses the due south method, and in any case that is the top of the arc for your location and as you are on 8w then it means that you are at 12 o clock when pointing at 8w , so its always best to use the nearest satellite to due south , and my point was that most tuts in english are for england or the uk and so use 0.8w , myself included , but as setting up a dish and motor was invented long before usals and was using diseqc or was using a polar mount and actuator then the true south method was used

some people may decide that the usals method allows for any satellite to be used and there is some truth in that argument but the fact remains that movement of the dish is by diseqc methods even when using usals and so its useful to know how to do it properly. my first stab motor didnt have usals and so necessitated using the correct methods

in some cases members wont even "see" the due south satellite as they may only have east or west satellites in view , so then do the best you can

I dont pooh pooh other members here for putting alternatives , I was the first respondent and gave the correct answer to his first post , I didnt say it was the ONLY ANSWER or THE ONLY METHOD

do as you please m8 , makes no odds to me , but by using 30w , 8w (or 5w ) and 42e you are getting 3 points on the arc

basically its like hitting 9 o clock , 12 o clock and 3 o clock , then fine tuning for the ones in between

in your case the top of the arc is at 8w and so that is the highest point on your arc

you will also find that using 13e or 19e or 28e doesnt need as fine a tune as there is some tolerance compared to some other weaker satellites

dishpointer can be used to check for obsctuctions and also the arc you can "see" too

for those who have already done this , try switching usals off and doing it using diseqc v1.2 before trolling other members , or try using a polar mount and actuator with an old pace box !!

my motor is set to use usals OR diseqc v1.2 and either can be used, so mine is set for both and is tested on both, measure twice , cut once !

[daithi]

ramjet thanks for the info i havent a clue so im taking advice from people as ya can seeid pmya coordinates but you dont accept pms then you can see what i think will be an issue and thats moving the satellite over that direction to 8w etc

[ramjet]

ramjet thanks for the info i havent a clue so im taking advice from people as ya can seeid pmya coordinates but you dont accept pms then you can see what i think will be an issue and thats moving the satellite over that direction to 8w etc

as you say my pm is switched off

that was my point earlier , as these coordinates go into your openbox , and as I dont have an openbox , you should post openbox questions in the openbox section , as it varies from box to box as to the numbers you put in

obviously you translate your coordinates so that the correct numbers go in the box and ensure you select west and north for your location as well as inputting the correct numbers

alternatively use diseqc v1.2 , work out where the due south mark should go on your motor and mark it with a black marker pen , point the box at 8w and move it to that mark and lock it into the box and motor , then look for 8w , that was how my first one was done but I used 0.8w seeing as I am only 1 to 2 degrees away from it

but usals is easier as it finds it for you

[digicon]

This needs Clearing up once and for all as i see different threads and advice given that make sure the motor is on '0' and point the motor and dish to either 0.8? west and then fine tune from there.

Ok lets clear it up '0' on the motor is not a Satellite position at all it is as ramjet has clearly stated is to aid you to point your dish and motor to True south, As soon as you choose a channel on 0.8? or even 5.0? then the dish should move and the little arrow indicator underneath on the motor stub will have moved away from the '0' mark. meaning that if the '0' mark on the motor is pointing near enough true south then you should have some sort of signal on that satellite.

ramjet makes another good point about using Diseqc 1.2 the motor and dish does not have to be aligned as precisely as when Using USALS so there is margin for error as you are fine tuning the motor and dish yourself and saving each satellite position, My own personal feeling on this is its a lazy way out for installers who cant be arsed to set the motor and dish up correctly for USALS use.

I have always found that if the system is setup correctly for USALS and fine tuned if you switched to Diseqc 1.2 then there should be little or no difference between them.

Again as Ramjet clearly stated USALS is software controlled in the receiver and motor and does all the hard work for you, if your going to use Diseqc 1.2 then set a few hours aside to fine tune every satellite position.

[Manic01]

Just use usals on any satellite you fancy, 1w or 5w was only used pre usals and for diseqc to find the highest point on the arc for your location.
If a dish is set up correctly mount wise etc then any sat will do.

[daithi]

right lads i gave it a go again this evening after a few attempts i got somewhere i reset the motor and lined it up at zero

i tried to find 8w but couldnt i couldnt even lock on by aiming the dish at it without ever using the motor

so i reverted back to setting the motor to zero then telling it to move to 13.0e it didnt lock so i moved it about a bit then it locked i got the strongest signal possible which was intesnsity 90 strength 76

i then added 28.2 the motor moved and signal was the same it also locked to 19.2 at signal the same

i tried other sats then like 16e 26e etc and 8w and 0.8w but couldnt lock to them

i think the only reason i picked up 28.2 and 13.0 is because i have already scanned them with my box as ive two fixed dishes on the end of my house pointing at these two sats and 19.2 worked because its got similar channels on it as sky uk

maybe its a box issue im having i think it may have a weak tuner because if i stick a sky box on my fixed diadh in the house it reads a lot better signal than my openbox on the same setup

or my house could be to close not sure but i should be picking up the east sats