No West channels but ok to East ?

[David g]

Hi
i have set my solo2 up on 1m dish with dish mount bracket plumb and true . I get all channels from 0.8 w to 28.2 e . However it only seems to go to 4.8w before loosing signal ( certainly no where near 30w ) I have noticed a bit of play ( slack) in the arm of the motor . , this could be wear on cogs afecting alignment of arc ?
Would this effect west channels . Surely if bracket is true to east it must be to west

Thanks

Dave

 

[el bandido]

Backlash or slack in the motor arm is common, and the motor arm would break if there was not some slack.
Carefully check the dish/motor alignment. Bad alignment or using incorrect USALS coordinates will cause the problem you have described.

 

[David g]

usal are ok .Which part of dish/motor alignment do you mean please

 

[el bandido]

Looks like you are only getting satellites over a 30 degree spread. Which satellite is due South? The Southern satellite will be the center of your arc, and that is where you will need to start at.

 

[David g]

Thor 0.8w is my south satt . I get from 4.8w to 28.2e fine ( although 26 e is missing !!)

 

[Mick12334]

We need to know your general location, and more details, especially regarding which satellites you are getting, and the signal quality levels.
0.8W, 3E, 5E, 7E, 9E, 10E, 13E, 16E, 19.2E, 23.5E, 26E, 28.2E.
Check with dishpointer.com, for your actual latitude, and longitude, by putting in your location, or postcode, and zooming in on the map, moving the icon to where you have your dish sited.
Your longitude is your True South, - longitude values = West.

 

[David g]

My lat and long according to dishpointer is lat = 55.033 entered on rec as 055.033 w // long is -1.5572 entered as 001.000w

Figures for snr and agc on rec are :

satt snr agc
0.8 76 43
3e 78 47
4.8e 48 43
7e 68 47
9e 93 45
10e tune failed
13e 90 43
16e 90 45
19.2e 100 43
23.5e 88 45
26 e tune failed
28.2e 63 43

Looking at dish face on

left side shows motor bracket elevation = 30
dish bracket = 38

right side shows motor bracket lat = 53
dish bracket = 30

Why are dish figures different i.e is it twisted ??

Thanks

Dave

 

[Mick12334]

You have your latitude wrong, but probably just mis-typed, it should be North, not West, your longitude should be entered as 001.557 W.

When setting up a dish, using Usals, you first set up your dish, and motor, to zero, with no skew, rotation, on the LNB.
You then enter your correct Latitude, and Longitude, into the receiver, and use the receiver to send the dish to the chosen satellite, for setting it up, in your case 0.8W.
Once done you physically align the dish to get the maximum signal, from 0.8W, and carefully tighten everything up.
You then send the dish to your furthest East, and West, satellites, e.g. 42E then 30W, and check the signal levels.

It is highly unlikely that your dish is tracking the satellite arc correctly, at this stage, and requires some minor adjustments, to the brackets, if you are getting maximum signal, on 42E, and 30W, then you have been very lucky.
Usually you have to send the dish back to 0.8W, adjust the brackets, then again send it to 42E, and 30W, to see if you have improved the tracking, you keep doing this until you have the best signal possible.
There are several lists, from other enthusiasts, for the strongest transponders, on various satellites, for the UK.
Here's one from William 1, a well respected satellite enthusiast, that you might find useful:
Strongest TV Transponders Dec 23rd 2014
104cm Gibertini dish + Inverto 0.2 Black Ultra as received in the East of England,
This guide is for setting up either a fixed or Motorised dish system for all active satellites 47.5 east to 45 west
DVB-S unless stated, $ = encrypted
Intelsat-10 @ 47.5 east 11501 H 3750 S2 Stan Sports $
AzerSpace-1 @ 46 east 10974 V 30000 MIR tv
Intelsat-12 @ 45 east 11523 V 5787 Prima tv
TurkSat 3A @ 42 east 11472 H 23450 GDS TV
Hellas Sat-2 @ 39 east 12524 H 30000 The Voice
Eutelsat 36B @ 36 east 12521 H 4340 Lider tv
Eutelsat 33B @ 33.2 east 12722 V 16728 S2 Polsat Sport $
Astra 5B @ 31.5 east 11933 V 30000 Pro tv Int
Eutelsat 31A @ 30.8 east 11637 H 2222 Turksat Tanitim
Eutelsat 28A @ 28.5 east 11260 V 27500 Africa Channel
Astra 2F @ 28.2 east 10964 H 22000 Channel 5
Badr-4 @ 26 east 12130 V 27500 Dubai Sports 1
Astra 3B @ 23.5 east 12168 V 27500 Ocko TV
Eutelsat 21B @ 21.5 east 11678 V 2850 Al Arabiya Al Hadath
Astra 1L @ 19.2 east 12226 H 27500 Euronews
Eutelsat 16A @ 16 east 11345 H 30000 S2 Carli tv
HotBird 13D @ 13 east 11137 H 27500 Bloomberg Europe
Eutelsat 10A @ 10 east 10756 V 2480 TV Zimbo
Eutelsat 9A @ 9 east 12054 H 27500 S2 Real Madrid tv
Eutelsat 7A @ 7 east 10721 H 22000 BBC Persian
Astra 4A @ 4.8 east 11766 H 27500 TET
Eutelsat 3B @ 3.1 east 11498 V 11852 Hispan TV
Thor-6 @ 0.8 west 12418 V 28000 Al Jazeera English
Intelsat 10-02 @ 1 west 12562 V 27500 Speranta TV
Amos-2 @ 4 west 10759 H 30000 News 24
Eutelsat 5WestA @ 5 west 11591 V 20000 France 2
Nilesat 102 @ 7 west 11938 V 27500 MBC Action
Eutelsat 7WestA @ 7.3 west 11430 V 27500 Palestine live
Eutelsat 8WestA @ 8 west 12533 H 5000 Mediasat feed $
Express AM44 @ 11 west 11565 H 8000 S2 Rete Capri
Eutelsat 12WestA @ 12.5 west 11407 V 27500 KTO
Telstar 12 @ 15 west 11032 V 2130 Kirkuk tv
Intelsat 901 @ 18 west 11606 H 12000 (Data Stream)
NSS-7 @ 20 west 12733 H 1500 DVB-S2 Nabaa TV
SES-4 @ 22 west 11128 H 14300 S2 Reuters tv
Intelsat 905 @ 24.5 west 11513 H 27500 TV Record
Intelsat 907 @ 27.5 west 11495 V 44100 S2 BBC News $
Hispasat 1E @ 30 west 12092 V 27500 Cubavision
Intelsat 903 @ 34.5 west 11028 V 5000 DVB-S2 (Data Stream)
Telstar 11N @ 37.5 west 11679 V 4090 DVB-S2 (Data Stream)
Intelsat 14 @ 45 west 11608 H 1852 RASD tv

 

[David g]

Thanks Mick
Yes typo error . What do you think about bracket settings , are they ok

 

[Mick12334]

I generally ignore the bracket settings, as they are only a guide, depending on the dish, instead I set up as described above, using the nearest True South satellite, which is based on your longitude, using Usals helps you align more accurately.

 

[David g]

I have tried this today . Got 95% signal on 0.8 w then would not pick up 28.2 e without altering elevation . took it to 30w from 0.8 w again had to alter elevation of dish . So now i have had to get about 50% on 0.8 w with gives me about 45 % on 28.2 e but still no 30w ???

Thanks

 

[Mick12334]

You should get some signal on 28.2E, and 30W, if everything is set up correctly, just not the maximum signal.
You might have to start from the beginning, ensuring your pole is plumb, and strong enough for your dish/motor.
Ensure everything is correctly assembled, at zero, on your motor, prior to moving your dish, to 0.8W, using your receiver, after entering the correct latitude, and longitude. If your longitude is -1.557 then the dishmotor should move slightly East, to get to 0.8W from 1.557W.
Once the motor dish have been moved, by your receiver, you physically align it, by manually moving the dish motor, on your pole, to get 0.8W, ensuring it hasn't moved when tightening all the bolts.

 

[David g]

Gents

Thought i would let you know now sorted
As Mick suggested went back to basics , checked pole it was perfect , however noticed the arm of motor was not in centre line of dish .. Straightened and now have all satts
Thanks for your help