a lost FTA newbie

[RAbbott]

I was reading in serveral very informative postings around the web on how to try an setup my new FTA system an was told this is the place to ask if you become lost, so here I am to try an ask.. if you can though bare with me cause I am totally new to this area..

I guess I need to first off attempt to explain my hardware.. I have a Coolsat 4000 professional an a Digipower sg-2100 motor.. I began with only the Coolsat 4000 pro an using a dual LNBf dish an was able to find a signal an a few pictures an radio feeds off 110-119 (most was scrambled it said).. but I then got channel hungry.. I then tore a old 22" dish 500 dish apart an using a arm from a 18" dish made it into a single LNBf 22" dish.. I climbed back on my roof an took the old setup down an using the info best I could mounted my motor an "custom" dish.. I have fought for days now trying to find satellites an make head or tails of what they are.. an my helper has been tempted to throw it all in the yard .. so needless to say to ease everyone headaches I feel I should ask the pros an stop fumbling around..

ok now where I am at I am located at Lat: 37.309019N
Lon: -079.466512W.. I have my elevation set at 53 with a declination making my dish bracket set to 23.. I am using a old standard dish network legacy LNBf with dual ouputs for now.. an I set the motor as close to true south as I could which I looked around an was told 188.8 was the true south for my location (not good with a compass).. I have the dish mounted through the holes of the shaft on the motor as I read I should do.. an I ran one output of the LNBf to line 1 of my DiSEqC an the other to the line 2 of it an rubber taped the other two off (try to keep moisture out).. I then ran from the switch to the motor an from the motor to the receiver as instructed.. I am able to get power an movement but fighting, an yes cussing, for a signal to come in.. an when I do ever get one then I am having to dig for hours on end to try an figure out what dish I "might" be on to try an run a blind scan..

I am wondering if any of the older knowing FTA users may be able to help me to work out how to make this thing pop in better for me.. an tell me what satellite I should be peaking with my signal meter on at true south.. I have now also figured out if I can get my true south dish set an peaked I am use the USLAS an hopefully hit the rest ..

so after all this info I am tossing out is done my questions are.. what should be my true south satellite?.. an where can I find detailed an up to date info of channels, to compare an make sure I am on the right satellites?.. also is my attempts with the way I am going with my dish hopeless ?..

was trying to pinch off a couple of dollars for now till I have more to spend later, then I may upgrade to a better dish an a true feedhorn too.. for right now I am just trying to see if I can get this functional though.. I have stuggled on my own for a few days now (little over a week).. an this is where I am at still.. so any help an insight from the better knowing would be greatly appreciated..

if more info is needed just let me know an I shall try an dig out all I can to help anyone to assist me.. thanks in advance an I do enjoy the informative information I have been reading while searching here..

 

[PSB]

Hello and welcome to the SatelliteGus.US FTA Forum!

Your true south satellite is AMC 5 @ 79.0W

You are using a DBS LNB then the L.O. should be set at 11250

Of course 98% of FTA channels need a KU LNBF (L.O. 10750) and at least a 30" dish.

          Latitude 37° 18.000'N Longitude 79° 30.000'W

                         Sat Name Sat Lng Az(t) Az(m)   El  Skew
----------------------------------------------------------------
                       Telstar 12   15.0W 106.1 115.7 11.5 -49.8
                                 
                     Intelsat 901   18.0W 108.2 117.8 13.9 -49.1
                                 
                     Intelsat 603   20.0W 109.6 119.2 15.4 -48.5
                                 
                            NSS 7   22.0W 111.1 120.7 17.0 -47.9
                                 
                     Intelsat 905   24.5W 113.0 122.6 18.9 -47.1
                                 
                     Intelsat 907   27.5W 115.3 124.9 21.2 -46.0
                                 
                   Hispasat 1C/1D   30.0W 117.4 126.9 23.1 -44.9
                                 
                     Intelsat 801   31.5W 118.6 128.2 24.2 -44.3
                                 
                     Intelsat 903   34.5W 121.2 130.8 26.4 -42.9
                                 
              AMC 12 & Telstar 11   37.5W 123.9 133.5 28.6 -41.3
                                 
                          NSS 806   40.5W 126.8 136.4 30.7 -39.6
                                 
                        PAS 6B/3R   43.0W 129.3 138.9 32.4 -38.0
                                 
                           PAS 1R   45.0W 131.4 141.0 33.7 -36.6
                                 
                     Intelsat 705   50.0W 137.0 146.5 36.9 -32.9
                                 
                     Intelsat 707   53.0W 140.6 150.1 38.6 -30.4
                                 
                     Intelsat 805   55.5W 143.7 153.3 40.0 -28.1
                                 
                            PAS 9   58.0W 147.0 156.5 41.2 -25.7
                                 
                         Amazonas   61.0W 151.1 160.7 42.6 -22.6
                                 
           EchoStar 3 & Rainbow 1   61.5W 151.8 161.4 42.8 -22.1
                                 
                 Estrela do Sul 1   63.0W 154.0 163.5 43.4 -20.4
                                 
                     Brasilsat B2   65.0W 156.9 166.4 44.1 -18.2
                                 
                     Brasilsat B1   70.0W 164.6 174.1 45.6 -12.2
                                 
                 Nahuel 1 & AMC 6   72.0W 167.7 177.3 46.0  -9.7
                                 
                        DirecTV 5   72.5W 168.5 178.1 46.1  -9.1
                                 
                            SBS 6   74.0W 171.0 180.5 46.4  -7.2
                                 
                            AMC 5   79.0W 179.2 188.7 46.7  -0.7
                                 
                          Nimiq 2   82.0W 184.1 193.7 46.7   3.3
                                 
                            AMC 9   83.0W 185.8 195.3 46.6   4.6
                                 
                     Brasilsat B3   84.0W 187.4 197.0 46.5   5.9
                                 
                           AMC 16   85.0W 189.0 198.6 46.4   7.2
                                 
                            AMC 3   87.0W 192.3 201.8 46.0   9.7
                                 
              Intelsat Americas 8   89.0W 195.4 205.0 45.6  12.2
                                 
                 Galaxy 11/Nimiq1   91.0W 198.6 208.1 45.1  14.7
                                 
                     Brasilsat B4   92.0W 200.1 209.7 44.8  15.9
                                 
                        Telstar 6   93.0W 201.6 211.2 44.5  17.0
                                 
                        Galaxy 3C   95.0W 204.6 214.1 43.8  19.3
                                 
              Intelsat Americas 5   97.0W 207.5 217.0 43.0  21.5
                                 
                        Galaxy 4R   99.0W 210.3 219.9 42.1  23.7
                                 
                            AMC 4  101.0W 213.0 222.6 41.2  25.7
                                 
                            AMC 1  103.0W 215.7 225.2 40.2  27.6
                                 
                           AMC 15  105.0W 218.2 227.8 39.2  29.5
                                 
                          Anik F1  107.3W 221.0 230.6 37.9  31.5
                                 
         DirecTV 6 & EchoStar 6/8  110.0W 224.2 233.7 36.3  33.7
                                 
                          Anik F2  111.1W 225.4 235.0 35.6  34.5
                                 
                    Solidaridad 2  113.0W 227.5 237.1 34.4  35.9
                                 
                         SatMex 5  116.8W 231.5 241.1 31.9  38.5
                                 
          EchoStar 7 & DirecTV 7S  119.0W 233.7 243.2 30.4  39.9
                                 
  EchoStar 9/Intelsat Americas 13  121.0W 235.6 245.1 29.0  41.0
                                 
                       Galaxy 10R  123.0W 237.4 247.0 27.5  42.1
                                 
                        Galaxy 12  125.0W 239.2 248.8 26.1  43.1
                                 
             Galaxy 13/Horizons 1  127.0W 241.0 250.5 24.6  44.1
                                 
 Intelsat Americas 7 & EchoStar 5  129.0W 242.6 252.2 23.1  44.9
                                 
                           AMC 11  131.0W 244.3 253.8 21.6  45.8
                                 
                        Galaxy 1R  133.0W 245.8 255.4 20.1  46.5
                                 
                           AMC 10  135.0W 247.4 256.9 18.5  47.3
                                 
                            AMC 7  137.0W 248.9 258.4 17.0  47.9
                                 
                            AMC 8  139.0W 250.4 259.9 15.4  48.5
                                 
                     EchoStar 1/2  148.0W 256.6 266.1  8.3  50.7

        Satellite Finder is (c) Copyright 2004, P. Lutus

 

[RAbbott]

an thank ya PSB for the rapid responce.. I am going to go an see if I can figure out how to better read a compass.. an will try an select that for my true south selection...

I was wondering any advice on a feedhorn lnb combo that would allow me to get the optimal signal an clearity when I step this up later?.. my old "BUD" was as top of the line as we could make it in the day.. been keeping the IRD up on it but not able to see anything for years since we let the subscriptions run out.. what I am asking is what is the best LNB setups an such an does it now combine C an Ku together in a single LNB?..

I appreciate the great an rapid responce..

 

[PSB]

This should give you some ideas and prices......

http://www.skyvision.com/

 

[RAbbott]

well needless to say I like the .3ku world system, but I already have my sg-2100 though.. an when pricing the dish an LNBF seperate is only about $9 more with the motor included... oh, and can you tell me if that particular LNBF will give me both the C an Ku feeds in one?.. who knows maybe someone on fleabay might give me the money I spent out on the one I have presently for the new one (since it will not show any signs of having been used).. an that way am not out but so much cash from hand.. but yes I will now use what I have seen that an price compare around though.. I use to get alot of my old LNB's for the "BUD" there in the past too so I know they are a great company.. an thank you again for all the great advice an quick responces.. if I ever meet you the first carton is on me ..

but now before I go up on the roof in all this wind alone at the house (storm blowing in).. not to doubt you of course, but we are all human .. I take it you are certain that with the longitude an latitudes I gave before that should be my true south satellite though?.. I am going to try an manually set it to it if I can an in hopes it till then track the rest via ASALS..

and as you might have gathered I am just flustered at having spent the last serveral days trying to figure this out an still basically at step one .. I just want to get this motor setup an locked down properly so later all I will need to do is swap out the dish an LNBF with the new one.. provided I can tweak it in now.. well other than a new blind search for a channel list that is .. I am learning as quick as I can here..

 

[TiminMb]

If you are using a dish that isn't large enough to get a good signal, you are stacking the odds against yourself. You will need to make sure you are tuned to an active transponder on AMC5. If its your true south satellite, I would simply move the motor on the pole to find, peak and lock down on that satellite. The compass will get you in the ballpark, after that, its a matter of swinging it back and forth manually until you find the bird. If the pole is perfectly plumb, you set the motor according to your lattitude. After that, the recommended dish angle may or may not be precisely what you are after. Once again, a little manual experimenting may be necessary. Have someone at the tv watching for signal quality while you talk to them on walkie talkies, cell phone or cordless phone.

 

[RAbbott]

I had forgotten to mention something else I have read I need to resolve an that is gonna cause issues later on if I don't now.. I am getting doubled channels on my blind scans.. I have the Dish dual LNBf (one head two outputs) an I have one leg on the DiSEqC line 1 an the other on line 2 an then from the switch to the motor an the to the receiver.. I know I wired it up correctly (from what I read).. but not sure why I am getting the doubled channels though.. if anyone can help me to clear that up then I think I can accomplish more here..

I set the AMC 5 as my true south sat an then got brave an tried to load the 97.0w "IA-5" an it found a pile of channels and again doubled up.. but I don't think I am on the right sat though because of the names of the channels an the website I am looking on to find the channel listings doesn't show what I am seeing.. is suppose to be a bunch of christian channels an also international feeds too but don't see those in the channels it pulled up .. guess I am off it seems :O.. now to try an figure out how far an so forth I guess.. is raining now so cant climb up an move it will have to figure it out here an adjust with my longitude an latitude settings.. or need to select a different true south sat one.. I am now trying to do the math manually to try an decrypt why I have this happening..

oh I am presently seeing WGN an WTBS an WPIX VnBuy an TVLAND an serveral TOON channels listed.. an trying to track down where this is at though..

is why I posted in the thread tiltle I am a FTA newbie .. cause I know I will fit the bill.. an hope everyone is patient with me.. I am also trying to keep all my posts into one thread so I am not loading the forum up .. but I am going to finish reading more now an try a few other things here I guess..

 

[W_Tracy_Parnell]

Here is a link to a walkthrough that may help since you have a Coolsat and a 2100:

http://www.pbase.com/wtracyparnell/coolsat_4000_prosg2100

 

[RAbbott]

an "Tracy" I owe you a carton too due to it being your link that made me realize I needed to get my butt in here an seek further help .. an yes it is very informative.. I had pretty much done alot of it but was confused an certain part though.. an was due to the mention of doubled channels on it as to how I knew I needed to ask for my tips there too.. not sure what causes it to pick up doubles when doing a blind scan on a satellite.. an to a degree I guess with basically a home made sat dish is a wonder I even get it this far I think.. an yes mentioned it to the "bill balancer" of the soon needed dish an LNB.. so that is a subject being yelled about for a while before I get it anyway ..

I feel lucky to have so many very knowledgeable folks around here to help get this newbie off the ground.. I am seeing I need the better dish an LNB already with my quality levels.. but am trying to get it going well enough to make the others quiet till I can get it .. think we all know how that one goes.. but yes I am very thankful to all though... an yes still searching an reading more to as I can..

 

[TiminMb]

I had forgotten to mention something else I have read I need to resolve an that is gonna cause issues later on if I don't now.. I am getting doubled channels on my blind scans.. I have the Dish dual LNBf (one head two outputs) an I have one leg on the DiSEqC line 1 an the other on line 2 an then from the switch to the motor an the to the receiver.. I know I wired it up correctly (from what I read).. but not sure why I am getting the doubled channels though.. if anyone can help me to clear that up then I think I can accomplish more here..

I set the AMC 5 as my true south sat an then got brave an tried to load the 97.0w "IA-5" an it found a pile of channels and again doubled up.. but I don't think I am on the right sat though because of the names of the channels an the website I am looking on to find the channel listings doesn't show what I am seeing.. is suppose to be a bunch of christian channels an also international feeds too but don't see those in the channels it pulled up .. guess I am off it seems :O.. now to try an figure out how far an so forth I guess.. is raining now so cant climb up an move it will have to figure it out here an adjust with my longitude an latitude settings.. or need to select a different true south sat one.. I am now trying to do the math manually to try an decrypt why I have this happening..

oh I am presently seeing WGN an WTBS an WPIX VnBuy an TVLAND an serveral TOON channels listed.. an trying to track down where this is at though..

is why I posted in the thread tiltle I am a FTA newbie .. cause I know I will fit the bill.. an hope everyone is patient with me.. I am also trying to keep all my posts into one thread so I am not loading the forum up .. but I am going to finish reading more now an try a few other things here I guess..

Which satellite has toon channels?

 

[RAbbott]

well to be honest I am not sure I am only seeing scrambled channel listed on all but about 2 or 3 channels an one of those is mentioning about a NFL game coming up later an has a bell express view logo in the top right corner of it.. I get audio on some of the channels like a radio audio.. but I am unsure what it is or where it is so I can try to figure out how far off I am now though .. as I also mentioned in my first post I am having fun tryin to track down the actual sats I am seeing while I scan them in an such.. an from what I am seeing the only place that has the "sextv" channel is bell express view.. anyone know if there is one of thier birds near 97.0w or not?.. I ask this cause that is one of the channels also in my list I got when I tried to move to IA-5 (97.0w)..

yeah like I said a newbie ..

 

[Mr Tony]

you are Nimiq1, which is at 91 degrees

 

[RAbbott]

ty Iceberg.. guess I need to shift my motor some so I keep my arc right..

 

[Mr Tony]

correct

 

[RAbbott]

this should prove to be fun trying to fine tune while home alone today.. hehehe.. an I am already going to have to run a tap on my top u-strap as it is.. so using my bottom to help hold me steady now till I can get my motor position so I can mark it to the pole for that trick.. I think I over tightened the top one during my earlier tests it seems .. the nuts are to tight when loosening an tightening now.. a typical newbie mistake.. but I am glad to see the signal levels I am getting even to have this pieced together dish I am on now an being off track to, that is a plus I feel so boosted my spirits some..

oh I almost forgot how can I clear up this double channel issue short of manually deleting them?.. they load when I run the blind scan, an I have read that is a sign of a bad setup too..

 

[RAbbott]

oh, an could anyone tell me of the 4 little transponders on AMC 5 which one I should try an see if I can peak in on?.. I did forget to ask an havent been lucky so far as we all see .. I am now on a different sat again than the IA-5 an it isnt the sameone I was on before.. this one now has a pile of VuHD* channels a few VuFD channels a FAIR FAIRM FAIRW an such too.. and yes all the channels are still doubling up on me..

 

[RAbbott]

well well a new issue it seems.. I was trying to retune this thing again an noticing that the receiver isnt operating the motor now when on USLAS or manually when in 1.2 setting.. but I can go on the roof an the signal meter is still whining an the green light is lit an steady an I can manually control it at the motor.. an needless to say I have tried powering down, going to factory defaults an anything I can come up with but it isnt working again yet.. ANY ideas as to what the blazes has gone on here now?..

all I had done today was tried to move it the little bit I was off an tried to again see if I could hit the true IA-5 an then when I was off again was surfing the net to see if I could find out what dish I was on.. I then decided to hay with it an was gonna redo it all over again an told the motor to center an it kept showing signal as being locked in.. I then tried to manually move the dish with the remote, signal still said green.. I then held the button till it should have hit the limit an walked out an looked an the dish looked centered only.. so I then climbed up an looked an it was centered, so figured the receiver had hung up an come down an done a factory default setting deal on it.. I then tried again a few times still nothing.. so I then powered it down with the power switch for about a minute an powered it back up still wouldnt move.. I then climbed back up the roof an could hear the meter as I was nearing the dish an looked at the light that is suppose to tell me if it is powered or not an such it was green an steady as I said.. so I then wondered if I had a faulty gear box an hit the manual button at the motor an it would go to either limits without a problem.. so I am now wondering what in the world I have had happen here.. so yes any tips on this craziness would be great.. lol.. please..

 

[sharris]

try reseting the motor. Its a little hole that a toothpick can fit into. If you stick a toothpick in you should feel a little switch that can move in and out. Hold the toothpick in until the light flashes orange a few times then release. Make sure the motor is zero'd, it just makes it easier when you reset the positions or use USALS. When you use diseq 1.2 and set a bunch of positions (they can only usually hold 60 positions) they can lock up sometimes when you hit that limit. These motors can be tempermental at times and sometimes a good reset does the trick.

 

[RAbbott]

ok will do an will edit back in this post if it works out for me then.. was about the only thing I didnt do yet.. hehehe..

well I had to re-edit my other post cause of mess up on my setup I wasnt getting the darn thing to work here .. typo on my USALS setup was causing that to not work.. but yes thankfully the motor reset did clear up the issue of it not taking commands from the receiver..

now to just get the things peaked on though .. an late an cold as the devil out here now too..

an yes thanks so much I am also looking over fleabay to see if I can get me a proper dish an LNBF too cheaper.. getting a little fed up with this iffy signal stuff an also been told an read many places I am fighting a loosing battle with this little setup I am tryin here..

 

[RAbbott]

well I normally dont do this.. but, anyone know of someone in the south western part of Va. that install FTA dishes?.. yes I am that sick now.. I figure 6 days ot throwing wrenches an dropping them down the chimney an such is more than enough.. an still havent hit the first satellite right yet.. that is udderly crazy.. I have been known to have had 4 C/Ku dishes up an 10 stationary ones by now.. so I hate to throw in the towel of finding these myself but figure it is that to throw the dish itself .. granted is nice watching oversized frizbees, but I do want to get this things working.. an my primary hang up now is this darn dish setup.. stationary I was fine tried to get fancy n go motorized an it all went nuts.. I know it is nuts when I have it set as true south as I can get an then tell it to find 110 or 119 (which is still the way my old starband is beamed) an it is aiming what looks like 15 to 25 degrees west from that.. lordy me now there is no way even in the dark I am seeing things that bad off, unless I am just in that bad a need of professional help..lol.. either my eyes or the dish one ... but yes I am gonna try this again tomorrow I guess one last time, but if that doesnt pan out better I am ripping the pages out of the yellow book an the internet to find someone that is willing to cut me a price to peak this thing in at least.. will see you gents then though..

an is by chance anyone sees this post before then an knows let me know if there is 1 of those 4 transponders on AMC 5 that give a signal at all to be peaked on..