Installation
of motorised satellite dish - classic motor
Many
viewers saw, reading the special magazines about satellite
TV, that except programs form satellite that they watch
(our viewers usually receive programs from two most popular
European satellites - Astre 1 19.2°E and HotBirda
13°E), there’s many other programs which are
emited on other satellites which are emiting on other
positions. If he wants to be able to watch those programs
as well, the viewer will have to install as many dishs
as the number of satellites he wants to watch. Today that
isn’t very practical and what is more important
it’s to expenssive. Usually is recomended that on
satellite dish with diameter of 120 cm you can you can
put up to 4 LNBs and receive programs from four satellites
in 20° area for example from Astra on 19.2°E to
Thor on 1°W = 20°.
For
receiving programs from more satellites it’s recomended
to acquire motor and positioner. It enables moving your
satellite dish and off course with that you have access
to more satellite programs for watching, especially if
you have digital receiver.
The procedure of installation mitorised satellite dish
itself isn’t so big intervention concerning the
technical side in other words fixing the satellite dish.
Much bigger problem represents preciese directioning the
dish so that it can follow the orbit of all accessible
satellites. Namely, it must be directed so that during
moving it exactly follows the curve of geostationery orbit
of the satellite so called Clark’s belt (see the
scheme)
But let’s take one step at
the time.
For installation of the dish first you’ll need to
prepare required material: dish carrier – any kind
of wall carrier or pillar, satellite dish, receiver, LNB,
F – connectors, coacssial cable, cable with four
wires (or double two wired cable same lenght), positioner
and motor. Beside that you’ll need basic tool: power
drill and proper bores, spirit-level, meter, water color
marker for marking and TV for picture control if you don’t
have sat-meter and scart cable and connection for electricity
– you’ll need three connections.
Choosing the place for installation
Before the installation (even better before any kind of
shopping) of motorised dish you must choose the place
where you are going to install it. Usually it can happen
that people buy the whole complet first and then it turns
out that they can’t install it on the house. However
those kind of cases are pretty rare. Mostly even in most
hopeless cases you can do the installation. If you aren’t
sure that the choosed place is good enough for placing
the dish with motor call an expert for installation. The
expert will check all possibilities and help you with
advice if it’s neccesary.
If you want to go trough installation completely by yourself
you must have in mind next three things:
1. place for installation must be easely accessible
2. it has to have clear sight toward south
3. there can’t be any large buildings or vegetation
in front of it, which could shade incoming signal because
you couldn’t watch anything.
The
smalest distance from any object is 2 meters and the object
must be at least 1 meter above dish. When you’ve
determine that, you can fix dish holder. You can do that
on two different ways. Fixing it on the wall or on the
pillar.
For this kind of installation, especially if you do the
whole procedure by yourself, we recomend that you install
your dish on the pillar (if it’s possible in your
garden, private plot etc.). That kind of installed dish
is easely accessible and the manuverig with it and precise
adjusting is much easier. If you can’t install the
dish on this way then you only can install it on the wall
keeping in mind first quote – easely accessible.
Installation
of the pillar
For the pillar installation in your garden you’ll
need to, off course, dig a hole of specific size depending
on height of the pillar. The bigger dish, which is going
to be installed is the higher and stronger the pillar
and the hole are.
If we are talking here about dish which has in diameter
120 cm, then the dimension of the hole would have to be
minimaly 50x50x50 and the lenght of the pillar between
1,5-2 meters. When you moved out whole dirt from the hole,
on the bottom and along the hole stick 5-6 iron sticks
lenght between 20-30 cm. They’ll be used for better
adherence of the concrete and that the concrete mass itself
is more solid so that concrete lump just don’t overturn
one day. When you have done that adjust the pillar. Remeber
that it has to be 100% vertical, mesured from every side.
When you achive that fix the pillar verry well. Do not
forget to control verticality during the concrete and
correct the possible errors.
After you’ve concrete the stick leve it few
days until concrete is dry and then you can start installation.
Installation on the pillar you can do on other way also.
You can dig up a hole on the same way like in previous
case, put it some iron for fixing and concrete without
the stick. Later you can fix the stick for the base but
don’t forget that final base of the concrete must
be 100% horizontal because then the stick will stand verticaly
100%
Installation on the wall
For installation on the wall use wall holders as circumstances
require. For their installation procedure look up in the
manual for one satellite installation. pay attention that
vertical stick of the carrier, where you’ll fix
dish, is 100% vertical from each side. When you installed
the pillar you are continueing with the instalation.
Installation
If you don’t have sat-meter, then you have to put
your satellite receiver, positioner (if it’s not
allready installed in the receiver) and TV on reachable
place so that you can control if you’ve find the
satellite and control picture quality. Connect all three
components with scart cable. Don’t plug in the components
into the electricity before you connect with coaxial LNB
onto the satellite receiver.
Then you install motor on the dish carrier. Fix
the screw just a little bit for later fine adjusting.
Remeber that motor must be in north-south position. By
us that position overlaps vith position of Eutelsat W2
satellite on 16OE. If motor isn’t adjusted by the
manufacturer on the 0O mark then you’ll have to
do it so that you connect two wires on the motor and positioner
and manualy, helping yourself with the motor, turn motor
so it shows 0O.
Every motor usually has two embossments which look
like an aim which is used for adjusting the north-south
direction of the dish. You can easely claculate the north-south
direction since it overlaps with position of Eutelsat
W2 satellite. Beside that you can calculate it trough
time of sunrise and sunset in your town. Sum those two
values and divide it with 2 if it’s summer time
in question. Then you have to subract 1 hour from the
result. The final value you get is the time in which you
have to, helping yourself with stick or something else,
mark the shadow of the sun. You can get data about sunrise
and sunset from radio or meteorological stations. You
must pay attention that data which you will be using are
for that day when you’re going to make measurements.
If, for example, sun comes up at 5.23am. and sets down
at 7.20pm the sum is 5.23 + 19.20 = 24.43/2 = 12. 22.
If the summer time is in question you have to subratct
1 hour from the result (by winter time you don’t
have to correct the result). So, the result is 11.22 and
it means that if you measure the shadow for that day you’ll
get the correct north-south direction. All you have to
do now is to adjust the motor, with help of the aim, in
precise north-south direction.
For installation of the dish you’ll have to know
geographic latitude of you place and declination. That’s
the angle between polar axis of the motor and plane of
the satelitte dish (see the table for declination). Declination
is inclination of the earth and depends on geographic
latitude. Then you’ll have to incline motor
for determined angle or elevation and you’ll do
it easely because all motor have engraved scale in degrees
and it’s equal to your latitude and that’s
the angle between polar axis and horizont.
For Eutelsat W2 in our country, it’s arround 38O.
However to that result you have to add the amount of declination
which in our country is 7O so that final result is 44O.
Thats the value which shows you how much you need to incline
your motor.
After that install the motor on the satellite dish with
LNB and fix tight all screws. The dish must be completely
parallel with dish’s carrier and, in this case,
it doesn’t incline like in installation for one
or more satellites. Don’t forget to connect LNB
with satellite receiver. However with all this actions
the dish isn’t still directed exactly to the satellites.
Geographic latitude and declination angles.
Latitude°
Declination °
26
3.81
27
3.95
28
4.08
29
4.21
30
4.34
31
4.47
32
4.60
33
4.72
34
4.85
35
4.97
36
5.09
37
5.21
38
5.33
39
5.45
40
4.56
41
5.68
42
5.79
43
5.90
44
6.00
45
6.11
46
6.21
47
6.31
48
6.41
49
6.51
50
6.61
Now
connect motor to the positioner with the wire cable. Connect
motor’s mark + and – on the motor with the
same one on the positioner. Then you connect marked connectors
for sensor and GND – earthing. Watch out that you
accidentally don’t connect outputs for the motor
from the positioner on the sensor mark on the motor because
that will destroy sensor an motor emediatelly which then
can’t be used iwthout expensive repair (if it’s
even possible to perform the repair).
Now you can turn on whole equipment and the satellite
receiver. The first thing what you’ll have to do
is to adjust so called motor limit. That’s programed
the very last western and eastern position on which dish
stops. It’s used to stop the motor to spining to
much if it’s nor neccesary, and if there are some
obstacles on the dishs path. To avoid them, in other word
that dish wont even come to them we will determine the
limit (see the picture). First adjust eastern limit. In
receiver’s menu with positioner or positioner itself
go to the option called limit adjusting and confirm your
choice. Positioner will now ask you to turn the dish toward
east to desired position. When you’ve reached it
confirm that new value and then the eastern limit is memorised.
Repeat the same procedure for western limit.
Then adjust on one of the programs on Eutelsat W2 satellite
on 16OE, in our case near south. Try to move the dish
very slowly first right and then left with the motor or
positioner and you should have to have picture on your
screen. When you get the picture memorise the position
under some number like for example 5. After that turn
the dish with motor toward west aal the way until you
find some satellite from which you can watch his programs.
You can use Telecom satellite on 8OW even thou he’s
not the satellite who’s most to the west. When you
turn your dish you’ll have to have programs from
this satellite. When the picture shows memorise the position.
Now turn back the dish on the W2 position. The picture
must be the same as it was before. Then turn the dish
toward Astra’s position on 19.2OE. The picture should
have show to you on your TV screen.
Now you should be able to see all programs which
are emited from satellites whos position is between this
which are memorised. When you find the new satellite memorise
it like teh position with specific number. The most practicle
would be if you’ll memorise the positions (increasing
the numbers) from east to west. You can memorise Astra
on position 1, Eutelsat W2 on position 2, HotBird on 3
and so on until you get to the satellite that you can
watch, and which is on the western limit. If you can see
the satellites which are more to the east from Astra then
those numbers will be surely a bit different.
By this installation the biggest and the most common problems
are related to precise directioning the dish so that it
can perfectly follow the satellites in Clark’s belt.
Usually it happens that you can see programs from two
or three positions but when the motor is moved a little
bit more the rest of the satellites and programs on them
are unwatchable and the cause for that is wrong directioning
of the dish. Check if you have do whole procedure right
and that you’ve adjusted elevation and declination
correctly.
If some of the positions that you have are watchable but
with interferences, release the screws which allows moving
up and down the satellite dish, elevation by installation
one or more satellites. Do not release other screws. Now
easely move the dish up and down until you get clear picture.
Watch out during that procedure because those moves must
be in small steps almost micrometric or you’ll completely
disorder all that what you’ve allready adjusted
and you’ll have to do installation again from the
begining.
If you have and use the sat-meter then it will lighten
your installation. Sat-meter shows with a pointer the
strenght of received signal from the satellite. The more
the pointer to the left is the better the signal is.
This is the most complicated satellite dish installation
and it requires a certain level of expercy and off course
skilfull hands. If you’re not certain what and how
to do something the best solution would be to call installation
master who will do it quickly and with highest quality.
Sat-meter is a device used for checking the right adjustment
of the dish for each satellite that’s avaliable.
On it you have to connect coaxial cable from LNB. It has
it’s own power suplly and pointer whos declination
is related to the strenght of the received signal. The
better devices have even more avaliable options: possibility
to show the right frequency, quality of the signal on
specific frequencies and some of them have built in a
little screen which can show picture and have oscilloscope
which indicates the level and characteristics of the signal.
Sheme
for connecting manual control motor
Sheme
for connecting automatic positioner control
Sheme for connectiong
automatic positioner control throug remote control
