re-aligning motorized dish

[echelon]

back on page 1 your first picture of the motor setting showed us your motor latitude and elevation were almost spot on

but you never posted a picture of the dish elevation (preferably both sides if both sides are marked ?) until the picture above in post #37

assuming your motor is back where you started with the first picture on page 1 , then it would help if we had a picture of the dish elevation clamp showing where the cutout is pointing to , so we know what your dish elevation is , barney stated it should be between 21 and 23 and he was correct

if you look at my pictures below , you will see the motor elevation latitude setting at about 53.5 latitude on the left side of the motor bracket (looking from the rear of the dish)

and on my triax dish , you will see the way it is assembled (the correct way round) and my settings are on the left hand side viewed from the back of the dish, so not the right hand side

so the motor and the dish adjuster are viewed from the left hand side when stood behind the dish, nothing is seen of the right hand side

looking at your picture of your dish mount on the right below, I think your bracket is upside down, comparing it to mine on the left

who assembled the dish and motor ?

[holmroad]

Only thing about your very sensible theory echelon is that fozzer12's first post in this interesting thread suggests that he may have had 'normal' coverage prior to a possible excessive wind event - so if your theory is correct and his set up was therefore already upside down at that time too, he would logically gain nothing by reversing it now?

[KARABANGA]

Hi...Have you tried to skew the LNB..ie twist it left or right to see if you get a picture on the missing sats. Also check the azimuth settings...this is the gap between the motor tail and the dish..if you are getting the east and not the west then you need to raise the gap ..in my experience in setting up motors over the years the main points to remember are:
1) LNB - make sure you have correct setting..LNB's dont work the same way for everybody due to different setups.
2)Azimuth angle settings..you need to adjust the gap between motor tail and dish bracket.
3) Correct transponder frequencies- for every satellite i always have a FTA channel as channel one..this makes it easier to see if a signal is picked up as dish is moving.
The good thing about USALS is that its very accurate in finding satellites once the first satellite is setup..it dont matter which satellite you start with ..i always prefer to start with an east satellite like 39 east and then go to 30 west and tweak it if required...once you get these two satellites then you should be on the arc. I have learned over many years that to motorize a dish you need common sense and patience .....Regards

[fozzer12]

I put my postcode in dish pointer and get this should i use the motorized option or select thor. also how would I input these lat and long readings




Satellite: ****************** Motorized ********************************* **
Elevation: 30.0°
Azimuth (true): 57.3°
Azimuth (magn.): 57.3°

[echelon]

latitude and longitude are used for usals only

go into your menu , setup , tuners - tuner setup (or whatever it says depending on the installed image)

Configuration Mode = Simple
Mode = Positioner
Longitude = 002.836
West
Latitude = 053.365
North

Extra Options = No
Force Legacy No


I still believe your dish mounting bracket has been installed upside down, hence why you are looking on the right side and not the left side

that bracket is not universal, it has a top and a bottom, it is not rectangular either , see post #40 on page 2

[fozzer12]

Hi I got 30w back after losing it but on astra 19e have lost quality its about 55% was getting about 80% tried tweaking with the receiver but no joy. what can I do to get the quality higher without losing other sat thanks

[Mickha]

What are your quality readings on 16E and 13E?
Did you manage to get 13.5E and 28.2E back?

If the dish still isn't tracking the arc, correctly, and losing satellites to the East, then you need to send it back to 0.8W, make some minor adjustments, to the bracket, and keep testing, by sending it to 30W, and 19.2E, and checking the signal quality levels.

[fozzer12]

is it possible to tweak the quality on 19e with the dish and peak it to its best or will this knock my other sats out gone back to diseq now

[Mickha]

Tweaking to get a better signal on 19.2E will affect all other satellites, more to the West.
The only real method is take the motor to 0.8W, closest to your True South, Longitude, then adjust your motor bracket, then dish bracket, to maximise the signal quality, then send the dish to 30W, check the signal quality, then furthest East, depending on line of sight, and keep making minor adjustments until you're satisfied.

Which satellite can you get to the furthest East? 42E, 52E?
What are your signal quality readings, on 13E and 16E?
If 19.2E is now only 55% you might not even be able to get 16E.

[TonyO]

The big enemy of dishes installed in gardens are trees and other foliage, at this time of year with sun and rain together they grow at a furious pace, half the work in my back garden is clearing the dish from plant and tree growth.

Last week I lost Astra 1 reception on a small dish, a creeper had rapped itself around the feedhorn, a tree pruner soon had it going

[echelon]

as mentioned earlier , all this is to do with you tracking the arc corrctly, so I have merged your threads

alter for one satellite alters everything else as well , so tracking the arc correctly is the only way to fix this across each and every satellite , from 42 east through thor to 30 west, including everything in between

altering your dish for astra at 19e will cause you issues elsewhere , altering those issues does the same again, its a knock on effect

my previous comments still stand and once you have fixed the dish mount and arc you will find all of them will work both in USALS and also in disecqc v1.2 as well

[fozzer12]

Hi We had a really strong gust of wind and it knocked our sky dish and motorsied dish out of alignment. I have got my motorized dish back on (using usals which I couldn't seem to get working when I tried earlier in the year) I get 19e, 13e, and 23e but dont get 28e I get 8w but only certain channels and not great quality, just wondering do i need to adjust the dish itself i.e moving it up or down any help much appreciated, thanks in advance

[Mickha]

If the wind has moved it you need to physically re-align it, to track the satellite arc correctly.
Using USALS, send your dish to any satellite, I prefer using one closest to my True South, which is your longitude reading, remember negative (-) readings = West. positive = East, then physically move your dish to get the strongest signal.
This will only work if you have your correct Latitude, and Longitude positions entered, in your receiver.
The Sky dish is easier, just adjust that until you get back your channels.
Forgot to add that you should also check that your pole is still plumb, and secure, otherwise no amount of moving your dish will get it to track the satellite arc correctly.

[echelon]

agreed

pole must be plumb, this is crucial

use usals and not diseqc 1.2

set your usals to your longitude and latitude as shown on dishpointer or similar

select a satellite near to you true south , so for the uk something like 0.8 west and free to air channel
let the motor move to that position and stop
disconnect the motor and go straight to the lnb, use a barrel connector if its easier
check the motor is locked to your latitude on the motor mount markings
check the dish is on its correct setting for elevation for the motor

unbolt the motor mount slightly after marking its position on the pole with a sharpie or similar felt tip pen or marker (I use black)
turn left or right a touch until you get a signal and check its the correct channel you selected, peak the signal and lock the motor mount nuts up
now try moving the dish elevation up or down ever so slightly , peaking the signal

if all ok , reconnect through the motor and check other positions like 13e , 19e , 23.5e and 28.2e, plus 30 west

[Barney]

i believe its natures way of giving you free exercise
using a marker really helps i've done this years ago it really makes re-aligning the motor a lot less painful
as usual spot on advice echelon :respect-054:

[fozzer12]

I can get thor 0.8w, 13e and 19.2e I cant get any signal on 23e and 28e I did get 23e before I adjusted the dish and now I get thor and not 23e. I think it maybe my dish elevation but not sure what it was set on originally I posted a picture that says 41 but that doesn't get me all these sats. I would just like to get 23e and 28e but I seem to lose one sat if I get another I know I must not be tracking the arc right its very frustrating. appreciate all the help and advice. thanks

[oscar]

Exactly what echelon said -- your motor has moved off from it's highest elevation at 0.8w.
Until that is set correctly you have no chance of tracking the arc and the mounting pole must be plumb

[echelon]

all the correct advice was given in the previous thread, nothing more to be added

I believe I said that your mount was upside down in the previous thread, nothing has altered my opinion

if you line up every duck in a row, it will work , until then , it wont

[fozzer12]

it maybe be upside down you would have a better idea than me I did not set the dish up but it did work correctly regardless of the mount being upside down

[echelon]

it maybe be upside down you would have a better idea than me I did not set the dish up but it did work correctly regardless of the mount being upside down

I still believe the dish mounting bracket is upside down !!!!!!!!!!!!!