Teacher
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17 Messages
RV with SLdish model: AU9-SL3
I have Slimline 3 (AU9-SL3) that does not require the power insertion. It feeds an HD DVR and a HD receiver. Using the B Band converters. It is on a heavy duty tripod. I have set this sucker up a dozen times with no hassle at all in other locales. My bride, of several decades, yells the sig strength at me. I make sure the tripos is level; I check direction, az and tilt from the screen and my Droid Dish Pointer App. I try and find the 101 bird with the tilt at 90 deg and once that is locked in, I adjust the tilt to the locale (61 deg here at Camp Lejeune NC). This works over and over again.
Today it has been a total failure:
When the tilt is at 90deg I get signal strengths of 95 on the 101, 103CA, and 103CB. The instal check program on the receivers says ok except red x's on the 99 bird..
When I tilt to 61deg everything goes bad and I only get a 81% on 101 and a 22 on 103CA. Everything else zero and all red X's.
Am I getting the wrong bird to start with (i.e., 101)? There is a telephone pole in the general direction but I have moved the dish on all sides of it. Otherwise, it is a wide open seaside landscape. Are there voltages I can check with a VOM to make sure the LNB is ok?
Thanks all! Steve
Suggestions? (Again, I have done this a lot with no problems...I know the normal setup.
irishntn
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535 Messages
13 years ago
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dcd
Expert
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20.7K Messages
13 years ago
Not sure where you got the idea of setting the tilt to 90 then re setting it after you align the azimuth. The proper procedure is to set the elevation and tilt to the recommended settings initially, then rotate the azimuth to maximize the 101 signals, lock down the main bolts, then use the fine tuning screws to maximize the HD satellites, I use the 99c.
The tilt adjustment is what places the dish reflector in the correct position in space so that the satellites, which are seen as an arc in the sky, are each reflected onto the appropriate LNB. This is the reason that the mast must be plumb for all signals to be seen.
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belgique
Teacher
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17 Messages
13 years ago
Thanks both of you. I'll try again in a little bit. Re the 90deg. several RV articles and the instructions for my tripod suggest this as being easier to find the 101 with the expensive meter DYV folks use. In the past, it has worked perfect. I'll try it your way. Thanks all! Steve
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belgique
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17 Messages
13 years ago
After action report. I always like to report back so that others can learn from my errors. I think I had 2 things wrong. One was that I had failed to replace one bolt on the LNB arm when I replaced the RG6 so maybe it was not in true in alignment. Things started getting more normal after that. I also moved the tripod a few feet in an attempt to avoid a pole. I think that helped. I did start with tilt at 90 deg and it made it easier to "point" the LNB arm in the right direction. When I got a 90% signal on the 101 I adjusted the tilt to 61 and got a 30% signal on the 99c. I tweaked it a little and got it up to 55% (I think the telephone pole is still playing. I got the Red X Death Screen but, as advised, ignored it and voila: all channels come in very nice and solid HD. If we were going to stay a lot longer I'd play with it more but this is fine.
So, thanks much! The tips on the 99 bird and ignoring the Death Screen made my day. Steve
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irishntn
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535 Messages
13 years ago
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belgique
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17 Messages
13 years ago
While I have you, and it relates. I've read the DTV instructions for set up. What I don't understand that it says leave the lock down bolts loose and fine tune with the knobs. If I leave my bolts loose (esp on elevation), the dish flops. Is there something wrong? Thanks, steve
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peds48
Expert
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32K Messages
13 years ago
the fine tune knob holds the dish while allowing fine tune adjustments. in other words, the elevation adjustment consists of three bolts. two on the outside and on on the inside the AZ/EL assembly. you would only loosen the two outside nuts, while making sure that the inside is tight. same goes for the azimuth fine tune bolts.
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irishntn
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535 Messages
13 years ago
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belgique
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17 Messages
13 years ago
Thanks all! Great counsel. I'm reluctant to fix something that isn't broken right now but this info will make it much easier the next set up. But then, I might get bold and mess with it sooner, esp if adverse weather causes us to lose signal because the current config is on the edge. I will report back.
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