Hello Campers
I hope someone out there can shine some l;ight on my problem
when I try to tune my satellite dish it takes for ever
I have just got a satellite finder the one with a needle and connected it to a battery back to supply the 15V. If I adjust the dish until I get a full reading on the 0 /.2 setting as suggested in the instructions, then when I unplug and connect to the sky receiver it shows no signal, but then other times I do the same thing and it works great???
what am I doing wrong??
------------- Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.
The problem could be that you are getting a strong signal from the wrong satellite? I tend to checkout the general direction of other satellite dishes on site and work from there. I also have a maxview digital compass which identifies the positions of the various satellites which makes life a bit easier. I am sure you will get lots of answers.
As David said you could on the failed occasions simply be locating the wrong satellite. [ well satellite cluster for the purist].
Your meter almost certainly reacts to any satellite; only the very expensive ones are selective.
As the cluster we want is the furthest East of the reasonably powerful ones up there we can exploit that to find it. If we start with the dish pointing a little too far to the East, then slowly move to the South then the first time the meter reacts should be the one we need.
So start pointing at about 140 deg [magnetic] and by the time you get to 146 ish you should be getting the signal. If you get to over 150 degs before you get a signal then its one of our Continental friend's satellites which your Sky decoder will not recognise.
I find using my compass to lay a non magnetic "stick" on the ground to the 140 deg bearing before I get the dish out saves the dish misleading the compass. I use a short pot plant cane or have used a GRP awning pole.
found out the hard way now it takes only 10/15 minutes.find due south on your compass and point the dish that way.make sure the dish is fully vertical.turn dish to compass to 140 degs and you now have signal.the easy way is to point your 12 o clock on your watch dead south and your bearing is at five too 12 on the watch.then very slight tweaking until you get the full signal strength.
Post last edited on 04/03/2011 21:40:25
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
I had probs till someone told the LNB arm must be Horizontal,I use a very small spirit level on it,and then set up is easy.
------------- Think this year is to follow old meet friends for 2014.
If you cant do someone a good turn,don`t do them a bad one,its nice to be nice you know,and little things mean much more later in life.
Pete.
Quote: Originally posted by pete1946 on 04/3/2011
I had probs till someone told the LNB arm must be Horizontal,I use a very small spirit level on it,and then set up is easy.
That will not hold true for all dishes and even those where it is right at one latitude that will not be so at another more distant one.
Certainly with the normal off-set dishes knowing the actual elevation is near impossible to judge.
If the dish has a marked scale then in the UK a good starting point is about 26 deg followed by on signal trimming using your sat-finder. Where an off-set dish is un-marked then in the UK a worth while first stab is to put the dish vertical.
good point my tv has a set channel for sky and will not work on any other,so it needs to be on the right setting or you will be there all day.i set mine on and watch the signal bars on the tv until correct.if using a sky box a more than 50% bar should give a good picture. see bottom of page.
Quote: Originally posted by shirl250 on 05/3/2011
Depends what it was tuned to before and where you were doesn't it ? Maybe not with a satellite feed once you've done it the first time...... ?!
I disconnect cable at LNB and insert the SLX so it is now inline between the dish and Skybox. Use a compass prior to pitching and make sure you have a CLEAR line of sight to SSE [no trees,buildings etc]. Remember you often have to elevate the dish. My dish is on a tripod and once tuned in I tie it down with guy ropes to prevent movement.
Leadruss, I used to have exactly that problem. The solution is simple:
* Buy yourself a decent compass
* Chuck the satellite meter in the bin
Then .....
1) Set the dish up on your tripod (or whatever you use) to be roughly vertical, looked at edge on
2) Use the compass to aim the satellite dish about 40deg west of south.
3) Connect the cable, switch on the TV and set it to the sky page that gives you signal strength. - point the TV towards a caravan window, so you can see it from outside
4) Turn the dish a tiny amount towards south (clockwise looked at from above) and have a look at the TV. If you don't see any signal strength, do it again.
5) Once you have some signal strength, loosen the dish's vertical clamp and adjust the dish vertically until signal strength is at a maximum.
6) Repeat 4 until you have good signal strength and signal quality and are "Locked on"
If you start from about 40deg east of south, the first time you get any signal, the dish is pointing at (or near) the correct satellite.
When I relied on a meter, it used to take me ages to get it set up properly. Sometimes I even gave up in disgust and tried again after a coffee and a cooling down session. Since I chucked the meter, it rarely takes more than 5 minutes & sometimes much less.
If a cheap metewr is used then itis easy to lock into the wrong satellite. With a decent meter only the correct satellite is identified and the process is at its simplest. The only drawback is that it costs around £150 for one of these meters, but you can actually align the dish and peg it down before connecting to the telly.
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Topic: What am I doing wrong Satellite alignment
