AMIKO New to Ku Band

[amosica]

Thanks in advance for all your help. This black hole near Fries, VA has nothing: no cell signal, no internet availability, no OTA TV…. nothing. Looking on YouTube for a miracle I ran across FTA satellite- this must be it for me; my prayers have been answered. I watched all I could find on YouTube (Robbie Strike, FarPoint Farms and Northcoaster Hobby- hat off to them; they are really doing a great job) and I decided to support the eBay small vendors and purchased a Amiko Mini 265 receiver along with a 39” SatMaximum (including the Universal LNB) dish.

Problem: no Level or Quality signal. Signal meters are not budging from 0 and 6% respectively. I spent over six hours trying- I could not make the meters show signal; not once. I changed three coax cables- same result. Could be the LNB? How can I check that?

My settings as I would be happy with any satellite on Ku band.

• I positioned the dish and LNB skew based on values for 97W- no result then tried 103W again, no success.
• I selected the satellites (97W Ku then 103W Ku) from the Satellite Menu
• LNB Type: Universal (9750/10600)
• I typed in the Ku Transponders found on lyngsat.com, as they were not showing as the satellites were selected from the list
• DiseqC 1.0: Disable, DiseqC 1.1: Disable, Positioner: OFF as this is a single LNB.
• 22K and 0/12V: both are OFF
• Polarity: Auto and LNB Power: ON

It behaves as no coax cable is connected to it at all. Could anyone help as this is more of a necessity than a hobby in my case. Thanks in advance.

 

[KE4EST]

to SatelliteGuys amosica!

Where did you get your values for 97W? I use dishpointer.com. Put in your exact address, zoom in to where your dish is, select 97W and use those numbers. No forget the skew.

First of all aiming a satellite dish is not like aiming a TV antenna. You know how you just try and get it in the general direction and if you are close enough it works. Well with a satellite dish you have to be spot on....not even a half inch off! :O
So, set you up a TV and receiver out at the dish and do the following:

Set your LNB type 10600 and turn on 22K.
Go to 97W Ku in the receiver and select transponder 12152 H 20000. Of course making sure your Dish is hooked to the receiver.
Make sure your pole is absolutely plumb! Going from dishpointer set your skew and elevation....and point the dish in the general direction(yes I know, just keep reading).
Now, nothing is perfect if it were at this point, you could get slowly rotate the dish and when the Quality meter gets peaked, lock it down.
But, in the real world....Making sure you have the above transponder selected, slowly move your dish left and right of where you think it should be. Go pretty slow, the meter and take a second to catch up. If you don't see the bars light up, drop or raise your elevation by a hair and do again.....nothing? Do again and again. Until you think you are way to low or high.
So, if nothing at this point, go back to where you started with elevation and go the other way either up or down moving the elevation in small steps and pan the dish. Unless you have bad coax or LNBF, you should at some point doing this hit a signal. When you do adjust left and right and elevation up and down and skew until you get the best signal on the quality meter. At this point you can hit the white button on the remote to do a blindscan and you should start seeing channels populate the list!

 

[mc6809e]

Might want to edit that TP to 12152 H 20000.

 

[Skyscanner]

Is your coax existing or new? If existing, are there any splitters in line? Seems to me your receiver showing your installation page on TV, ought to show at least SIGNAL (not quality) even if it isnt pointed correctly, so long as there is an uninterrupted connection between LNB to receiver and receiver to TV.
How's your line of sight? Clear view?

 

[Keith Brannen]

Is your coax existing or new? If existing, are there any splitters in line? Seems to me your receiver showing your installation page on TV, ought to show at least SIGNAL (not quality) even if it isnt pointed correctly, so long as there is an uninterrupted connection between LNB to receiver and receiver to TV.
How's your line of sight? Clear view?

Amiko Mini H265 always have a Signal Level of 0 and a Signal Quality of 6 when there is no signal available for the transponder you are attempting to receive (whether you are pointed at the satellite or not).

In addition to what KE4EST says above, after doing some adjustments, do a blind scan, as you may be pointed at another satellite. By checking what channels you receive you can figure out what satellite you are on (for example you find you are on 103) you can mark where you are on the dish with a pencil mark and know you have to move to the left (slowly) and make whatever other adjustments (up or down) to get to 97. Takes patience, small moves/adjustments, and some luck!

 

[amosica]

Could it be the LNB? I checked voltage out of the Amiko: 19VDC as expected. Also voltage was verified with the coax connected and at the LNB end: 19VDC. I've seen guys on TV simply moving the LNB around (not even connected to the dish) and being able to see some movement on the signal bar- I see none.

Thanks for all replies; I will try all suggested as I get from work tomorrow.

 

[Keith Brannen]

Could it be the LNB? I checked voltage out of the Amiko: 19VDC as expected. Also voltage was verified with the coax connected and at the LNB end: 19VDC. I've seen guys on TV simply moving the LNB around (not even connected to the dish) and being able to see some movement on the signal bar- I see none.

Thanks for all replies; I will try all suggested as I get from work tomorrow.

Your LNB is more than likely fine. As I said above, your Amiko receiver, which I also have, will always show 0 and 6 until you actually point directly at the active transponder. You will not see any movement of those levels until the receiver gets some signal from the transponder. Other receivers are different.

 

[KE4EST]

Might want to edit that TP to 12152 H 20000.

Thanks!

 

[Captain Midnight]

I'd try 87w from VA. Much closer to true south than 97w. And better content unless you want the international/religious channels specifically.

 

[amosica]

Still no luck...tried 87W as well. For the life of me I cannot get a bip out of that receiver...still stuck on 0/6. The 22K option is not editable if a Universal LNB is selected...it will skip right over it. I found that it can be turned on if first one selects the Standard LNB, turns on the 22K then goes back and selects the Universal LNB option. The 22K will stay on at this point. In my case it still did not help. Not sure what I'm doing wrong....as difficult as it may be, I expected at least a slight reaction out of the signal annunciator. I've seen YouTube guys holding the LNB on their hand and the signal strength reacted slightly...
I am in Kernersville, NC..is there anybody near by willing to help me?
Thanks.

 

[a33]

When you do not have a (cheap) satbeeper, I would first try to find the correct azimuth, using the so-called "sun method".

See here (and the linked internet pages!): OTHER - New to fta have a few questions

Good luck!

Maybe a picture of your dish, seen from the side, might be helpful to see if anything seems wrong to us?
Also mention to what satellite you are aiming, at the photo.

greetz,
A33

 

[Captain Midnight]

Still no luck...tried 87W as well. For the life of me I cannot get a bip out of that receiver...still stuck on 0/6. The 22K option is not editable if a Universal LNB is selected...it will skip right over it. I found that it can be turned on if first one selects the Standard LNB, turns on the 22K then goes back and selects the Universal LNB option. The 22K will stay on at this point. In my case it still did not help. Not sure what I'm doing wrong....as difficult as it may be, I expected at least a slight reaction out of the signal annunciator. I've seen YouTube guys holding the LNB on their hand and the signal strength reacted slightly...
I am in Kernersville, NC..is there anybody near by willing to help me?
Thanks.

As ridiculous as it may sound, I found my first ku signal by holding the dish by hand and getting a rough idea of where to point it.

 

[Cham]

Maybe double check what KE4EST wrote above:
"Set your LNB type 10600 and turn on 22K"
In order to do that you would have to select "standard" instead of "universal", and input the 10600 LO setting manually (or choose from a pull-down menu). That should allow you to select 22K.
Also as requested above send us a picture of your dish with the LNB installed. Could be a bracket isn't set right or not assembled properly.
Another thing... is your LNBF a linear or circular antenna? Must be linear to receive FTA. "Should" say on the label.

Will be a great feeling to pick up your first satellite signal! We're hoping to hear success!

 

[migold]

Still no luck...tried 87W as well. For the life of me I cannot get a bip out of that receiver...still stuck on 0/6. The 22K option is not editable if a Universal LNB is selected...it will skip right over it. I found that it can be turned on if first one selects the Standard LNB, turns on the 22K then goes back and selects the Universal LNB option. The 22K will stay on at this point. In my case it still did not help. Not sure what I'm doing wrong....as difficult as it may be, I expected at least a slight reaction out of the signal annunciator. I've seen YouTube guys holding the LNB on their hand and the signal strength reacted slightly...
I am in Kernersville, NC..is there anybody near by willing to help me?
Thanks.

Are you in Fries, Va. or Kernersville, NC.?

 

[iBoston]

I kinda envy you.. It was so new and exciting when i first grabbed my first signal. I don't pay for TV. Never have. I am very happy with what i can get via FTA.... But, it can be addictive. I went from one KU pizza box dish to now over 13 dishes. I really wanted the instant channel change which can only happen with fixed dishes, hence the high number of dishes. - But to this day, i still remember the very first transponder i locked.

Be patient. It's more about understanding the concept. Once you truly understand the concept, and gained the experience, i can take a new dish, lock a TP and lock it down within 30 minutes. Then it takes me another hour or so to deal with all the wiring / switching...

I remember when i first attempted to align my first Cband. That took me weeks. That was before the internet, so i didn't have the resources we have now. So, don't loose hope!

 

[spongella]

Welcome to the hobby. Keep at it. When I first started in the hobby 12 years ago it took me 3 months to find my first satellite. But, I was working completely on my own and in the dark. One thing I found out pretty quick was that the location of your dish will affect reception. Moving the dish a few feet can make a difference so I used a dish mounted on a wooden pallet weighed down with bricks and tried different areas of my 3/4 acre property. See photo - note that a liquid level is attached to the mounting hardware to assure the mount is plumb. That is important.

Also, I found that a compass is very helpful for aiming your dish in the general direction of the satellite. Use a lookup table (found on-line) to determine the azimuth of the satellite from your location, then use your compass to point in that direction. Note that lookup tables give you a choice of true- vs. magnetic azimuth. It's easier to use the magnetic azimuth IMHO for pointing your dish. I use an old liquid-in-glass compass (see pic) attached to a stick for pointing. I've also used digital compasses and they work fine but have to be calibrated prior to use.

Hope this helps.

 

[amosica]

I live in Kernersville, NC but I plan to use the dish in Fries, VA where my camping spot is. I wanted to play with it at the house before I go in the wilderness and set it up there. Thanks for all replies.

 

[amosica]

Update- Got my first signal...very exciting. Still confused about the proper order of things but at least I got something to work with. Here's what I did:
1. Set the AMIKO to 97W
2. Had a SF-95DR Satellite Finder between the Amiko and the LNB and started to adjust the dish. Eventually got some signal on the Finder but nothing on the Amiko. Removed the Finder from the line and connected directly into the Amiko: nothing (my old 0/6%'s). For some reason, the Amiko refuses to show the signal/quality strength.
3. Heck...I decided to do a Blind Scan....for my amazement some channels started to appear on the list. Now, once I select to view a channel, the Quality/Strength signal bars decide the show %'s. I thought this is supposed to happened the other way around- the purpose of the Amiko was to CONFIRM the signal THEN perform a Blind Scan to find channels. Don't really understand it but at least I got something going.
4. Channels found are all US channels...I was expecting international channels on 97W. Found LPB PBS, DC channel, Newsourc, MSC2 and the Patient Channel; all transponders automatically populated under 97W...looking at Lyngsat, channels/transponders seems to be out of 87W. This is also the other way around than I was expecting: I thought that I select the satellite from the menu, the pre-loaded transponders ASSOCIATED WITH MY SATELLITE SELECTION populate the screen as I perform a Blind scan. That did not happened - my 97W satellite selection got populated with the transponders that belong to, I think, 87W satellite. In fact, selecting any satellite on the list and performing a Blind Scan will populate the same transponders under it. It seems I have 87W even if the transponders listed does not exactly match what listed under Lyngsat, only the channels names do. Can one confirm these channels are on 87W?
5. Cleaned up the transponder list under the 97W satellite and kept the list under 87W.

Does any of this makes any sense? Thanks for your replies.

 

[mc6809e]

LPB PBS is on 87W. The receiver does not know what satellite you're actually aimed at, only what you selected. When a blind scan is performed, it assigns the received signals to the satellite you've told it you were aimed at.

 

[FTA4PA]

Update- Got my first signal...very exciting. Still confused about the proper order of things but at least I got something to work with. Here's what I did:
1. Set the AMIKO to 97W
2. Had a SF-95DR Satellite Finder between the Amiko and the LNB and started to adjust the dish. Eventually got some signal on the Finder but nothing on the Amiko. Removed the Finder from the line and connected directly into the Amiko: nothing (my old 0/6%'s). For some reason, the Amiko refuses to show the signal/quality strength.
3. Heck...I decided to do a Blind Scan....for my amazement some channels started to appear on the list. Now, once I select to view a channel, the Quality/Strength signal bars decide the show %'s. I thought this is supposed to happened the other way around- the purpose of the Amiko was to CONFIRM the signal THEN perform a Blind Scan to find channels. Don't really understand it but at least I got something going.
4. Channels found are all US channels...I was expecting international channels on 97W. Found LPB PBS, DC channel, Newsourc, MSC2 and the Patient Channel; all transponders automatically populated under 97W...looking at Lyngsat, channels/transponders seems to be out of 87W. This is also the other way around than I was expecting: I thought that I select the satellite from the menu, the pre-loaded transponders ASSOCIATED WITH MY SATELLITE SELECTION populate the screen as I perform a Blind scan. That did not happened - my 97W satellite selection got populated with the transponders that belong to, I think, 87W satellite. In fact, selecting any satellite on the list and performing a Blind Scan will populate the same transponders under it. It seems I have 87W even if the transponders listed does not exactly match what listed under Lyngsat, only the channels names do. Can one confirm these channels are on 87W?
5. Cleaned up the transponder list under the 97W satellite and kept the list under 87W.

Does any of this makes any sense? Thanks for your replies.

Yep, you are aimed at 87W. Congratulations on getting your first signal!