Freesat evaluation

In article ,
Bill Wright wrote:
"Tom E" wrote in message
...
the 25 deg elevation is probably the hardest to set by eye because the
dish appears almost vertical through its plane, point at the horizon.

Draw a 25deg angle on a piece of card. Use a spirit level to orient the
card. Look along the top of it towards the satellite.

But which part of the dish is the reference? The LNB mounting arm?

--
*If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Bill Wright" wrote in message
...

"Tom E" wrote in message
...
the 25 deg elevation is probably the hardest to set by eye because the
dish appears almost vertical through its plane, point at the horizon.

Draw a 25deg angle on a piece of card. Use a spirit level to orient the
card. Look along the top of it towards the satellite.

Bill



http://www.daj.fseltd.btinternet.co.uk/SatDish.htm

rather odd markings on the dish bracket, the 70 deg mark is vertical with
the pivot bolts and the lock up bolt is at the 45 deg mark.....this equates
to 25 deg from the vertical, meaning the sat is 25 degrees up. Or am I
missing something. The wall mount bracket tube is plumb vertical.

Perhaps someone can explain further

On Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:17:58 +0100, "Tom E" wrote:

"Bill Wright" wrote in message
...

Draw a 25deg angle on a piece of card. Use a spirit level to orient the
card. Look along the top of it towards the satellite.

I don't know whether Bill got that from my site, or he too has had to
invent 'fixes' for when the dish has no scale, but BTAIM, the method
is explained in more detail here, under "There Is No Scale On The
Dish":
http://tinyurl.com/cdue2b
.... standing in for ...
http://www.macfh.co.uk/JavaJive/Audi...teGeneral.html

However #1, for an offset dish, you need to know the offset to use
this method, and unlike a conventional offset dish, I'm not aware of a
formula that gives the offset of a mini-dish such as yours from its
dimensions. If it's not given in the instructions, then perhaps you'd
do better to use the sat-finder method.

However #2, your dish has a scale, though admittedly a rather
confusing one ...

http://www.daj.fseltd.btinternet.co.uk/SatDish.htm

rather odd markings on the dish bracket, the 70 deg mark is vertical with
the pivot bolts and the lock up bolt is at the 45 deg mark.....this equates
to 25 deg from the vertical, meaning the sat is 25 degrees up. Or am I
missing something. The wall mount bracket tube is plumb vertical.

Perhaps someone can explain further

As explained on my webpage linked above, and in more detail in ...
http://tinyurl.com/5uqngj
.... standing in for ...
http://www.macfh.co.uk/JavaJive/Audi...sSettings.html
.... offest dishes usually have scales that compensate for the offset,
so that all that is required is to set the sat's elevation directly on
the scale. To check this, when the dish is pointing at the horizon,
if the scale reads zero, it doesn't compensate, if it reads about 20
to 30 degrees (the offset), then it does.

With your scale, what's it supposed to be set against? The adjusting
bolt? The pencil mark that I think I can see, if that is highlighting
a stamped mark on the mounting? I think we should assume the
adjusting bolt, because then the scale would read about 20 when the
dish is horizontal, thus it compensates for the offset.

However, that would mean you've set it the levation to about 45
degrees, which seem excessive for the UK! The 25 degrees figure that
you gave, is that the sat's actual elevation or what you think the
scale should be set to?

You can determine the correct elevation for your site using my
satellite alignment calculator, the page following the General Intro
linked above.

Please always reply to news group as the email address in
this post's header does not exist. Alternatively, use the
contact address at:
http://www.macfh.co.uk/JavaJive/JavaJive.html

On 25 Apr, 15:17, "Tom E" wrote:
"Bill Wright" wrote in message

...



"Tom E" wrote in message
...
the 25 deg elevation is probably the hardest to set by eye because the
dish appears almost vertical through its plane, point at the horizon.

Draw a 25deg angle on a piece of card. Use a spirit level to orient the
card. Look along the top of it towards the satellite.

Bill

http://www.daj.fseltd.btinternet.co.uk/SatDish.htm

rather odd markings on the dish bracket, the 70 deg mark is vertical with
the pivot bolts and the lock up bolt is at the 45 deg mark.....this equates
to 25 deg from the vertical, meaning the sat is 25 degrees up. Or am I
missing something. The wall mount bracket tube is plumb vertical.

Perhaps someone can explain further


It's some time since I used an actual zone 2 dish, so maybe the design
has changed, but as I recall there used to be a plastic bush where the
LNB arm passes through the dish. If this is missing the arm could be
at the wrong angle, causing the whole dish to be misaligned with
consequent lack of signal.

Allan

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Bill Wright wrote:
"Tom E" wrote in message
...
the 25 deg elevation is probably the hardest to set by eye because the
dish appears almost vertical through its plane, point at the horizon.

Draw a 25deg angle on a piece of card. Use a spirit level to orient the
card. Look along the top of it towards the satellite.

But which part of the dish is the reference? The LNB mounting arm?

It's nothing to do with the dish, really. It just says whether or not the
location (or the observer) has LOS to the satellite, when taken together
with the asimuth (bearing).

In the very early days of satellite it was necessary to check this very
carefully for all possible satellites because dishes were 1.8m, and needed a
concrete base. Best not to put a square of concrete in the wrong place on
the customer's lawn. I made a gadget that had an adjustable angle-thing to
sight through, a baseplate with two spirit levels built in, a tripod bush,
and an azumuth swivelly thing.

Bill

"Java Jive" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:17:58 +0100, "Tom E" wrote:

"Bill Wright" wrote in message
...

Draw a 25deg angle on a piece of card. Use a spirit level to orient the
card. Look along the top of it towards the satellite.

I don't know whether Bill got that from my site, or he too has had to
invent 'fixes' for when the dish has no scale, but BTAIM, the method
is explained in more detail here, under "There Is No Scale On The
Dish":
http://tinyurl.com/cdue2b
... standing in for ...
http://www.macfh.co.uk/JavaJive/Audi...teGeneral.html

However #1, for an offset dish, you need to know the offset to use
this method, and unlike a conventional offset dish, I'm not aware of a
formula that gives the offset of a mini-dish such as yours from its
dimensions. If it's not given in the instructions, then perhaps you'd
do better to use the sat-finder method.

However #2, your dish has a scale, though admittedly a rather
confusing one ...

http://www.daj.fseltd.btinternet.co.uk/SatDish.htm

rather odd markings on the dish bracket, the 70 deg mark is vertical with
the pivot bolts and the lock up bolt is at the 45 deg mark.....this
equates
to 25 deg from the vertical, meaning the sat is 25 degrees up. Or am I
missing something. The wall mount bracket tube is plumb vertical.

Perhaps someone can explain further

As explained on my webpage linked above, and in more detail in ...
http://tinyurl.com/5uqngj
... standing in for ...
http://www.macfh.co.uk/JavaJive/Audi...sSettings.html
... offest dishes usually have scales that compensate for the offset,
so that all that is required is to set the sat's elevation directly on
the scale. To check this, when the dish is pointing at the horizon,
if the scale reads zero, it doesn't compensate, if it reads about 20
to 30 degrees (the offset), then it does.

With your scale, what's it supposed to be set against? The adjusting
bolt? The pencil mark that I think I can see, if that is highlighting
a stamped mark on the mounting? I think we should assume the
adjusting bolt, because then the scale would read about 20 when the
dish is horizontal, thus it compensates for the offset.

However, that would mean you've set it the levation to about 45
degrees, which seem excessive for the UK! The 25 degrees figure that
you gave, is that the sat's actual elevation or what you think the
scale should be set to?

You can determine the correct elevation for your site using my
satellite alignment calculator, the page following the General Intro
linked above.

Please always reply to news group as the email address in
this post's header does not exist. Alternatively, use the
contact address at:
http://www.macfh.co.uk/JavaJive/JavaJive.html


The instruction diagram that came with the dish was poor. In fact it did not
show the scale just the outline of the bracket. The bracket is up the right
way and as shown by the instruction. If it were in any other position the
dish would be either horizontal or upside down :-)

The pencil marks were done by me when checking the elevation. The dish was
originally set using a meter. I wanted to check the setting against my
Humax's bar meters so I marked it prior to moving it. They both ended up at
the same pencil marked position. If I lower the dish so the bolt is at the
end of the slot, thus at the 25 deg mark, there is no signal. I am therefore
forgetting these markings and assuming my meter and the Humax to have found
the correct elevation......after all I have an 85/90% strength at that
point.

I believe the dish is set at 25 degrees to the horizontal but is showing 45
on the scale for some unknown reason. Both the links you provide do not
work....for me that is.

"Allan Mac" wrote in message
...
On 25 Apr, 15:17, "Tom E" wrote:
It's some time since I used an actual zone 2 dish, so maybe the design
has changed, but as I recall there used to be a plastic bush where the
LNB arm passes through the dish. If this is missing the arm could be
at the wrong angle, causing the whole dish to be misaligned with
consequent lack of signal.

One make of analogue Sky dish dish had an arm that could be fitted the wrong
way round. This put the LNB well away from the focal point, but the thing
still worked, albeit with much reduced gain. Many were installed like that.

There were at one time two makes of minidish that had physically
interchangeable arms, but the geometry was different so the wrong arm
wouldn't work. One arm was longer than the other by a fair bit. I went to
one where the wrong arm had been used. The guy had been really really
unlucky. He'd bought the thing from a satellite stockist and fitted it
himself, and tried for days to make it work. Rung me in total exasperation.
Clever bloke actually, but I guess no-one would be clever enough to figure
that out! I was lucky enough to see it straight away, because we were using
both makes and had got ourselves in a pickle with it!

Bill

All four links, the full and the tinyurl versions, work for me, though
I can understand that, in some newsreaders, the full versions might be
broken up into two lines and will require reassembling before they
will work.

There is no reason why any of these pages should fail to load in any
browser, there is no questionable content on any of them, nor, I
believe, on the site. The calculator page won't work without
Javascript enabled, but I did not directly link to that.

As I seem to recall your saying this before, I think you need to check
out either your firewall, router, or ISP.

On Sat, 25 Apr 2009 19:26:08 +0100, "Tom E" wrote:

Both the links you provide do not
work....for me that is.

Please always reply to news group as the email address in
this post's header does not exist. Alternatively, use the
contact address at:
http://www.macfh.co.uk/JavaJive/JavaJive.html

On 25 Apr, 15:17, "Tom E" wrote:
"Bill Wright" wrote in message

...



"Tom E" wrote in message
...
the 25 deg elevation is probably the hardest to set by eye because the
dish appears almost vertical through its plane, point at the horizon.

Draw a 25deg angle on a piece of card. Use a spirit level to orient the
card. Look along the top of it towards the satellite.

Bill

http://www.daj.fseltd.btinternet.co.uk/SatDish.htm

rather odd markings on the dish bracket, the 70 deg mark is vertical with
the pivot bolts and the lock up bolt is at the 45 deg mark.....this equates
to 25 deg from the vertical, meaning the sat is 25 degrees up. Or am I
missing something. The wall mount bracket tube is plumb vertical.

Perhaps someone can explain further

When were the photos taken? The sun seems far too high in the sky to
have been taken this year - see especially the last picture.

"Tom E" wrote in message
...
the 25 deg elevation is probably the hardest to set by eye because the
dish appears almost vertical through its plane, point at the horizon.

Draw a 25deg angle on a piece of card. Use a spirit level to orient the
card. Look along the top of it towards the satellite.

Bill

http://www.daj.fseltd.btinternet.co.uk/SatDish.htm

rather odd markings on the dish bracket, the 70 deg mark is vertical with
the pivot bolts and the lock up bolt is at the 45 deg mark.....this
equates
to 25 deg from the vertical, meaning the sat is 25 degrees up. Or am I
missing something. The wall mount bracket tube is plumb vertical.

Perhaps someone can explain further

When were the photos taken? The sun seems far too high in the sky to
have been taken this year - see especially the last picture.

You need to ask?
25 April 2009 at 12:06 with a Nikon E5700

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%