Satellite installation - no signal

In article , (Bill Wright) wrote:

I can align a dish in seconds using my test equipment, but without
it I can't do it at all.

Having used one of the links in the thread, I took a ladder and a spanner to my
dish last night. I now have 75% signal and 80% quality according to my Amstrad box.

--
Paul Cummins - Always a NetHead
Wasting Bandwidth since 1981

Get a signal meter that works?
Seriously though, maybe its the signal meter, but equally it could b a duff
lnb putting out crap.
Brian

--
Brian Gaff -
Note:- In order to reduce spam, any email without 'Brian Gaff'
in the display name may be lost.
Blind user, so no pictures please!
"Rob" wrote in message
b.com...
I've just bought a Humax Freesat HDR box and dish/quad LNB kit. Installed
everything according to the instructions, but get zero signal reported by
the box.

I phoned Humax and they said zero signal highly unusual and to return the
box. Tested box at a friend's and it works fine.

Tested the satellite with a signal strength meter that came with the kit,
and that's fine. However, the signal meter gives the same reading wherever
the dish is pointed so I'm not sure what's going on there.

Assuming (dangerously) that I've done everything at least approximately
right, is there anything else I could check before getting someone out to
look at it?

Thanks, Rob

On 24/06/2011 17:32, Ron Lowe wrote:
On 24/06/2011 17:21, Rob wrote:
I've just bought a Humax Freesat HDR box and dish/quad LNB kit.
Installed everything according to the instructions, but get zero signal
reported by the box.

I phoned Humax and they said zero signal highly unusual and to return
the box. Tested box at a friend's and it works fine.

Tested the satellite with a signal strength meter that came with the
kit, and that's fine. However, the signal meter gives the same reading
wherever the dish is pointed so I'm not sure what's going on there.

Assuming (dangerously) that I've done everything at least approximately
right, is there anything else I could check before getting someone out
to look at it?

Thanks, Rob

Sounds like the dish is mis-aligned. That's why the box shows no signal.


Aye - quite probably. I've set it at what seems to be the correct
elevation/azimuth, and it looks to be the same as the previous tenant's,
crudely by eye.

The Humax man said it'd pick up something even it's a fair way off - but
this picks up nothing, and box's meter shows 0% signal.

When you say the meter gives the 'same reading' wherever it's pointing,
what is that reading: high or low? There is usually a sensitivity knob
on them. Start with it set sensitive, then turn it down to fine-tune.


The meter has an adjustable sensitivity, from 0 to 6, and a strength
range from 0 to 10. The instructions say to set it at 5 to start, adjust
the dish approximately, and take it from there, gradually reducing the
sensitivity. The strength is 100% at sensitivity 4 to 6, and drops off
to 20% at 3, and nothing at 2. But it makes no difference where the dish
points - it's the same even pointing at the ground!

You do realise that a dish positioning is *way* more critical that a TV
aerial, which can often just be waved in the general direction?


Yes, so perhaps I'd better get someone in, but continue to fiddle first.

If you're just pointing the dish randomly around the sky, then that
won't work.


Not quite. I've set the elevation and LNB offset accurately I think.
Azimuth is by eye using google maps aligned to the Astra satellite. The
only compass I have is on my phone, and that doesn't seem too accurate.

Look at where other peoples dishes are pointing ( look very carefully! )
and start from there. Once you find a signal, sweep the dish back and
forth to find the strongest point. Then repeat vertically. I'm talking
tiny, tiny adjustments.


Yep, will do, thanks.

If the signal shows strong on the meter, but the box still shows
nothing, then you are on the wrong bird. Move the dish a bit more.


Lost some faith in the meter - could its behaviour indicate a faulty LNB
do you think?

Thanks for the ideas, Rob

Rob wrote:

it looks to be the same as the previous tenant's,
crudely by eye.

Adjustment is a lot finer than by-eye, eventually adjusting the edge of
the dish up/down or left/right by a couple of mm at a time ...

Yes, so perhaps I'd better get someone in, but continue to fiddle first.

It's eminently do-able, a compass will help, and if the brackets don't
have proper angle measurements then measure the dish height/width to
calculate the offset from vertical.

I don't recall which sites you've tried, but this one got me up and running

http://www.macfh.co.uk/JavaJive/Audi...Calculator.php

Lost some faith in the meter - could its behaviour indicate a faulty LNB
do you think?

It's possible, but not the most likely cause at this stage I'd suggest,
did you try a different outlet on the LNB?

Point the dish *far* too high, connect the meter, reduce the sensitivity
until it's only *just* making any beeps, then slowly scan up/down
left/right at approximately the correct position, the meter should start
to beep, a which point, tighten the bolts up a little, turn the meter
down until it's *barely* beeping again, and repeat the positioning with
smaller steps this time ...

Rob wrote:
The meter has an adjustable sensitivity, from 0 to 6, and a strength
range from 0 to 10. The instructions say to set it at 5 to start, adjust
the dish approximately, and take it from there, gradually reducing the
sensitivity. The strength is 100% at sensitivity 4 to 6, and drops off
to 20% at 3, and nothing at 2. But it makes no difference where the dish
points - it's the same even pointing at the ground!

Usually, if an LNB and meter are working correctly, you'll get a big
difference in "signal" depending on whether the LNB is pointing at the
sky or at the ground. This is caused by the difference in background
radiation. If you're really getting the same reading regardless of
whether the LNB is looking at the sky or ground then this suggests to me
that the meter and/or LNB are faulty.

In message m, Rob
wrote
On 24/06/2011 17:32, Ron Lowe wrote:


Aye - quite probably. I've set it at what seems to be the correct
elevation/azimuth, and it looks to be the same as the previous
tenant's, crudely by eye.

As a general guide the arm that holds the LNB will be close to
horizontal and not pointing up or down. This is a good starting point.


The Humax man said it'd pick up something even it's a fair way off -
but this picks up nothing, and box's meter shows 0% signal.

You will need the meter to adjust for both elevation and azimuth but you
have to be close to a reasonable starting point first.


--
Alan
news2009 {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

Rob wrote:
I've set the elevation and LNB offset accurately I think.
Azimuth is by eye using google maps aligned to the Astra satellite. The
only compass I have is on my phone, and that doesn't seem too accurate.

This could point to another problem. Using 28.2 E with Google maps
won't give you the direction of the Astra 28.2 E satellites - unless you
are living at the north pole... The correct bearing depends on your
latitude. Here in the south, wwww.dishpointer.com gives me a bearing of
145 degrees, which is 35 degrees east of due south.

Cross post to alt.satellite.tv.europe

"Rob" wrote in message
b.com...
I've just bought a Humax Freesat HDR box and dish/quad LNB kit. Installed
everything according to the instructions, but get zero signal reported by
the box.

I phoned Humax and they said zero signal highly unusual and to return the
box. Tested box at a friend's and it works fine.

Tested the satellite with a signal strength meter that came with the kit,
and that's fine. However, the signal meter gives the same reading wherever
the dish is pointed so I'm not sure what's going on there.

Assuming (dangerously) that I've done everything at least approximately
right, is there anything else I could check before getting someone out to
look at it?


Cross posted to the satellite news group which also covers this on a regular
basis :-)


--
No plan survives contact with the enemy.
[Not even bunny]

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

"Alan" wrote in message
...
In message m, Rob
wrote

Tested the satellite with a signal strength meter that came with the kit,
and that's fine. However, the signal meter gives the same reading wherever
the dish is pointed so I'm not sure what's going on there.

Video on using the meter at
http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/satmeter.htm

Your dish is probably not pointing at a satellite (or at te wrong
satellite)


Umm...don't think the meter cares which satellite it points at - when I was
setting up my dish I was about a degree out and picked up the wrong
satellite on the meter.
Took me a while to work out I was on the wrong satellite and re-position the
dish.

--
No plan survives contact with the enemy.
[Not even bunny]

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

On 25/06/2011 16:48, John Legon wrote:
Rob wrote:
I've set the elevation and LNB offset accurately I think. Azimuth is
by eye using google maps aligned to the Astra satellite. The only
compass I have is on my phone, and that doesn't seem too accurate.

This could point to another problem. Using 28.2 E with Google maps won't
give you the direction of the Astra 28.2 E satellites - unless you are
living at the north pole... The correct bearing depends on your
latitude. Here in the south, wwww.dishpointer.com gives me a bearing of
145 degrees, which is 35 degrees east of due south.


I say 'google maps' - it's an overlay from one of the satellite finding
sites. I set the direction (azimuth) by prominent building line of
sight. That was my first problem. 10 degrees west lies another Astra
satellite, and my more thorough testing managed to lock me onto that
one. The channel list told me which satellite it was - so from there
adjusting to the correct satellite was relatively easy.

Fine tuning was easier once I'd figured out the meter. It works a lot
better using the lowest sensitivity possible (2 out of 6 on the scale)
to find the satellite, and bumping up a low signal strength using fine
adjustment. After about 20 minutes the box is reporting 90% strength,
100% quality.

Very impressed with the box - easy to use, looks OK with a decent LED
display, quite quiet, superb picture. I do feel that everything is one
button press (at least) than it needs to be, and of course there's very
little worth watching. Enjoyed Glastonbury in HD though.

Thanks very much everyone. The ideas here kept me at it.

Rob