Archived from groups: alt.video.satellite.mpeg-dvb (More info?)

Hi all,

I'm a newb, so bear with me.

I'm located in London, ON (42.9391N, 81.3424W). I'm trying to receive
G10R using a 76cm dish with a 0.6DB LNB. From the Panamsat site, Galaxy
10r has an EIRP of about 49, which theoretically means I should be be
able to get it. I set it all up (Azimuth 238.7, Elevation 25.3, Pol.
Tilt 35.5) with no trees in my way and I get no signal.

Has anyone near me had any success with this bird? What sites do you
use to get your Azimuth? I used
http://www.emantechnology.com/lookangle.asp, but on another site it
claimed the satellite was below the horizon for me so I would not be
able to get it.

Anxiously awaiting your reply,
Greg

Archived from groups: alt.video.satellite.mpeg-dvb (More info?)

G10 is definately above the horizon in London Ontario. G10 is one of
the major cable satellites and it would be pretty useless if the cable
companies on the US east coast couldn't see it. When using the elevation
and azimuth figures you have calculated, I hope you realize that only
with prime-focus dishes (feedhorn dead-center in the middle like a
C-Band dish) do the elevation of the satellite and the elevation of the
dish match each other. Dishes with offset feeds like a typical ku-Band
system have the reflector pointing much lower that the calculated
elevation of the desired satellite. This is because with offset feeds
the satellite signal has to bounce off of the reflector and then
riccochet downward into the feedhorn. Strangely enough, with all the
experimenting I've done I've never bothered to note if it's an exact 90
degree bend or not, perhaps one of the others in the group can expand on
this point. If it is, you'd need to set the reflector angle at exactly
half the elevation of G10 for reception at your location. The calculated
azimuth bearing is the same regardless of whether the dish is
prime-focus or offset.

Coincidentally, I've have also experimented with G10 on a ku-only
dish, my choice was an old Star Choice reflector. I could barely get the
dish low enough in elevation due to the design of the mount. The mount
was at its lowest elevation setting when I finally found it, with the
elevation-adjustment bolts at the very end of their adjustment track. I
ended up tilting the pole forward (off of plumb) in order to give me
some room to fiddle. Since I'm farther west that you are, G10 is higher
in elevation for me than it is for you, so you'd need to get even lower.

Your calculations are fairly accurate, my software says that for
London Ontario, G10 is at an elevation of 25.3 and azimith 232.55
(rounding off the decimals) so with an offset feed, you're looking at an
reflector elevation of about 13 degrees, ballpark estimate.

The only usable transponders at my location with this particular dish
were 12114-V and an analog wildfeed that happened to be broadcasting
that morning. Those little dishes have a wide focus. I was getting Dish
Network's info card on 12074-V from neighbouring Echostar9 with no
problem when I was peaked on G10.

I've found a big differences in the signal strength of the Ku-band
sevices on G10, so you might have to be selective with the services
you're targeting on that satellite. It's quite common for Ku satellites
to "spot beam" their signals, and each transponder on the same satellite
can have different coverage. At my location at the junction of
Minnesota, Manitoba and Ontario, 12114-V (Fox and UPN in Arkansas) is
red hot - I've got close to 100% signal strength, whereas 11720-V
(Equity Mux) is unusable here. Equity's 11800-V is just fine. It could
be a simple matter of the strength of each transponder, but I suspect
it's an issue of the targeted coverage area of each transponder. I would
expect other locations in Canada and the U.S. to have completely
different signal strengths than mine. I use a 10 1/2 foot mesh with a
dual-band feed horn.

--

From the keyboard of Alan - VE3NNM (Kenora, ON, CANADA)
E-mail: ve3nnm AT lycos DOT com
http://mywebpage.netscape.com/kenoraradio




"the_wise_elder" <jeremy_l_slotsky@hotmail.com> wrote in
news:1124722723.992565.275760@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

> Hi all,
>
> I'm a newb, so bear with me.
>
> I'm located in London, ON (42.9391N, 81.3424W). I'm trying to receive
> G10R using a 76cm dish with a 0.6DB LNB. From the Panamsat site, Galaxy
> 10r has an EIRP of about 49, which theoretically means I should be be
> able to get it. I set it all up (Azimuth 238.7, Elevation 25.3, Pol.
> Tilt 35.5) with no trees in my way and I get no signal.
>
> Has anyone near me had any success with this bird? What sites do you
> use to get your Azimuth? I used
> http://www.emantechnology.com/lookangle.asp, but on another site it
> claimed the satellite was below the horizon for me so I would not be
> able to get it.
>
> Anxiously awaiting your reply,
> Greg
>
>

Archived from groups: alt.video.satellite.mpeg-dvb (More info?)

Alan Stevens wrote:
> G10 is definately above the horizon in London Ontario. G10 is one of
> the major cable satellites and it would be pretty useless if the cable
> companies on the US east coast couldn't see it. When using the elevation
> and azimuth figures you have calculated, I hope you realize that only
> with prime-focus dishes (feedhorn dead-center in the middle like a
> C-Band dish) do the elevation of the satellite and the elevation of the
> dish match each other. Dishes with offset feeds like a typical ku-Band
> system have the reflector pointing much lower that the calculated
> elevation of the desired satellite. This is because with offset feeds
> the satellite signal has to bounce off of the reflector and then
> riccochet downward into the feedhorn. Strangely enough, with all the
> experimenting I've done I've never bothered to note if it's an exact 90
> degree bend or not, perhaps one of the others in the group can expand on
> this point. If it is, you'd need to set the reflector angle at exactly
> half the elevation of G10 for reception at your location. The calculated
> azimuth bearing is the same regardless of whether the dish is
> prime-focus or offset.
>
> Coincidentally, I've have also experimented with G10 on a ku-only
> dish, my choice was an old Star Choice reflector. I could barely get the
> dish low enough in elevation due to the design of the mount. The mount
> was at its lowest elevation setting when I finally found it, with the
> elevation-adjustment bolts at the very end of their adjustment track. I
> ended up tilting the pole forward (off of plumb) in order to give me
> some room to fiddle. Since I'm farther west that you are, G10 is higher
> in elevation for me than it is for you, so you'd need to get even lower.
>
> Your calculations are fairly accurate, my software says that for
> London Ontario, G10 is at an elevation of 25.3 and azimith 232.55
> (rounding off the decimals) so with an offset feed, you're looking at an
> reflector elevation of about 13 degrees, ballpark estimate.
>
> The only usable transponders at my location with this particular dish
> were 12114-V and an analog wildfeed that happened to be broadcasting
> that morning. Those little dishes have a wide focus. I was getting Dish
> Network's info card on 12074-V from neighbouring Echostar9 with no
> problem when I was peaked on G10.
>
> I've found a big differences in the signal strength of the Ku-band
> sevices on G10, so you might have to be selective with the services
> you're targeting on that satellite. It's quite common for Ku satellites
> to "spot beam" their signals, and each transponder on the same satellite
> can have different coverage. At my location at the junction of
> Minnesota, Manitoba and Ontario, 12114-V (Fox and UPN in Arkansas) is
> red hot - I've got close to 100% signal strength, whereas 11720-V
> (Equity Mux) is unusable here. Equity's 11800-V is just fine. It could
> be a simple matter of the strength of each transponder, but I suspect
> it's an issue of the targeted coverage area of each transponder. I would
> expect other locations in Canada and the U.S. to have completely
> different signal strengths than mine. I use a 10 1/2 foot mesh with a
> dual-band feed horn.
>
> --
>
> From the keyboard of Alan - VE3NNM (Kenora, ON, CANADA)
> E-mail: ve3nnm AT lycos DOT com
> http://mywebpage.netscape.com/kenoraradio
>
>
>
>
> "the_wise_elder" <jeremy_l_slotsky@hotmail.com> wrote in
> news:1124722723.992565.275760@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:
>
> > Hi all,
> >
> > I'm a newb, so bear with me.
> >
> > I'm located in London, ON (42.9391N, 81.3424W). I'm trying to receive
> > G10R using a 76cm dish with a 0.6DB LNB. From the Panamsat site, Galaxy
> > 10r has an EIRP of about 49, which theoretically means I should be be
> > able to get it. I set it all up (Azimuth 238.7, Elevation 25.3, Pol.
> > Tilt 35.5) with no trees in my way and I get no signal.
> >
> > Has anyone near me had any success with this bird? What sites do you
> > use to get your Azimuth? I used
> > http://www.emantechnology.com/lookangle.asp, but on another site it
> > claimed the satellite was below the horizon for me so I would not be
> > able to get it.
> >
> > Anxiously awaiting your reply,
> > Greg
> >
> >

Wow...thanks for all the info Alan. I will get to work on the elevation
tonight.

Greg

Archived from groups: alt.video.satellite.mpeg-dvb (More info?)

I forgot that those elevation markings on the mini-dish mount take the
offset into consideration. I always use a separate angle finder because
the mount's markings aren't accurate enough for me. Also having two
different scales on some mounts for different size dishes is confusing.
I never pay attention to them so I forgot those markings were there.
You only need to compensate for the elevation offset if you use a
separate measuring tool like I do.

Sorry if I caused any confusion.



"the_wise_elder" <jeremy_l_slotsky@hotmail.com> wrote in
news:1124739954.598069.4750@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

>
> Alan Stevens wrote:
>> G10 is definately above the horizon in London Ontario. G10 is one of
>> the major cable satellites and it would be pretty useless if the cable
>> companies on the US east coast couldn't see it. When using the elevation
>> and azimuth figures you have calculated, I hope you realize that only
>> with prime-focus dishes (feedhorn dead-center in the middle like a
>> C-Band dish) do the elevation of the satellite and the elevation of the
>> dish match each other. Dishes with offset feeds like a typical ku-Band
>> system have the reflector pointing much lower that the calculated
>> elevation of the desired satellite. This is because with offset feeds
>> the satellite signal has to bounce off of the reflector and then
>> riccochet downward into the feedhorn. Strangely enough, with all the
>> experimenting I've done I've never bothered to note if it's an exact 90
>> degree bend or not, perhaps one of the others in the group can expand on
>> this point. If it is, you'd need to set the reflector angle at exactly
>> half the elevation of G10 for reception at your location. The calculated
>> azimuth bearing is the same regardless of whether the dish is
>> prime-focus or offset.
>>
>> Coincidentally, I've have also experimented with G10 on a ku-only
>> dish, my choice was an old Star Choice reflector. I could barely get the
>> dish low enough in elevation due to the design of the mount. The mount
>> was at its lowest elevation setting when I finally found it, with the
>> elevation-adjustment bolts at the very end of their adjustment track. I
>> ended up tilting the pole forward (off of plumb) in order to give me
>> some room to fiddle. Since I'm farther west that you are, G10 is higher
>> in elevation for me than it is for you, so you'd need to get even lower.
>>
>> Your calculations are fairly accurate, my software says that for
>> London Ontario, G10 is at an elevation of 25.3 and azimith 232.55
>> (rounding off the decimals) so with an offset feed, you're looking at an
>> reflector elevation of about 13 degrees, ballpark estimate.
>>
>> The only usable transponders at my location with this particular dish
>> were 12114-V and an analog wildfeed that happened to be broadcasting
>> that morning. Those little dishes have a wide focus. I was getting Dish
>> Network's info card on 12074-V from neighbouring Echostar9 with no
>> problem when I was peaked on G10.
>>
>> I've found a big differences in the signal strength of the Ku-band
>> sevices on G10, so you might have to be selective with the services
>> you're targeting on that satellite. It's quite common for Ku satellites
>> to "spot beam" their signals, and each transponder on the same satellite
>> can have different coverage. At my location at the junction of
>> Minnesota, Manitoba and Ontario, 12114-V (Fox and UPN in Arkansas) is
>> red hot - I've got close to 100% signal strength, whereas 11720-V
>> (Equity Mux) is unusable here. Equity's 11800-V is just fine. It could
>> be a simple matter of the strength of each transponder, but I suspect
>> it's an issue of the targeted coverage area of each transponder. I would
>> expect other locations in Canada and the U.S. to have completely
>> different signal strengths than mine. I use a 10 1/2 foot mesh with a
>> dual-band feed horn.
>>
>> --
>>
>> From the keyboard of Alan - VE3NNM (Kenora, ON, CANADA)
>> E-mail: ve3nnm AT lycos DOT com
>> http://mywebpage.netscape.com/kenoraradio
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> "the_wise_elder" <jeremy_l_slotsky@hotmail.com> wrote in
>> news:1124722723.992565.275760@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:
>>
>> > Hi all,
>> >
>> > I'm a newb, so bear with me.
>> >
>> > I'm located in London, ON (42.9391N, 81.3424W). I'm trying to receive
>> > G10R using a 76cm dish with a 0.6DB LNB. From the Panamsat site, Galaxy
>> > 10r has an EIRP of about 49, which theoretically means I should be be
>> > able to get it. I set it all up (Azimuth 238.7, Elevation 25.3, Pol.
>> > Tilt 35.5) with no trees in my way and I get no signal.
>> >
>> > Has anyone near me had any success with this bird? What sites do you
>> > use to get your Azimuth? I used
>> > http://www.emantechnology.com/lookangle.asp, but on another site it
>> > claimed the satellite was below the horizon for me so I would not be
>> > able to get it.
>> >
>> > Anxiously awaiting your reply,
>> > Greg
>> >
>> >
>
> Wow...thanks for all the info Alan. I will get to work on the elevation
> tonight.
>
> Greg
>
>

Archived from groups: alt.video.satellite.mpeg-dvb (More info?)

Alan Stevens wrote:
> I forgot that those elevation markings on the mini-dish mount take the
> offset into consideration. I always use a separate angle finder because
> the mount's markings aren't accurate enough for me. Also having two
> different scales on some mounts for different size dishes is confusing.
> I never pay attention to them so I forgot those markings were there.
> You only need to compensate for the elevation offset if you use a
> separate measuring tool like I do.
>
> Sorry if I caused any confusion.
>
>
>
> "the_wise_elder" <jeremy_l_slotsky@hotmail.com> wrote in
> news:1124739954.598069.4750@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:
>
> >
> > Alan Stevens wrote:
> >> G10 is definately above the horizon in London Ontario. G10 is one of
> >> the major cable satellites and it would be pretty useless if the cable
> >> companies on the US east coast couldn't see it. When using the elevation
> >> and azimuth figures you have calculated, I hope you realize that only
> >> with prime-focus dishes (feedhorn dead-center in the middle like a
> >> C-Band dish) do the elevation of the satellite and the elevation of the
> >> dish match each other. Dishes with offset feeds like a typical ku-Band
> >> system have the reflector pointing much lower that the calculated
> >> elevation of the desired satellite. This is because with offset feeds
> >> the satellite signal has to bounce off of the reflector and then
> >> riccochet downward into the feedhorn. Strangely enough, with all the
> >> experimenting I've done I've never bothered to note if it's an exact 90
> >> degree bend or not, perhaps one of the others in the group can expand on
> >> this point. If it is, you'd need to set the reflector angle at exactly
> >> half the elevation of G10 for reception at your location. The calculated
> >> azimuth bearing is the same regardless of whether the dish is
> >> prime-focus or offset.
> >>
> >> Coincidentally, I've have also experimented with G10 on a ku-only
> >> dish, my choice was an old Star Choice reflector. I could barely get the
> >> dish low enough in elevation due to the design of the mount. The mount
> >> was at its lowest elevation setting when I finally found it, with the
> >> elevation-adjustment bolts at the very end of their adjustment track. I
> >> ended up tilting the pole forward (off of plumb) in order to give me
> >> some room to fiddle. Since I'm farther west that you are, G10 is higher
> >> in elevation for me than it is for you, so you'd need to get even lower.
> >>
> >> Your calculations are fairly accurate, my software says that for
> >> London Ontario, G10 is at an elevation of 25.3 and azimith 232.55
> >> (rounding off the decimals) so with an offset feed, you're looking at an
> >> reflector elevation of about 13 degrees, ballpark estimate.
> >>
> >> The only usable transponders at my location with this particular dish
> >> were 12114-V and an analog wildfeed that happened to be broadcasting
> >> that morning. Those little dishes have a wide focus. I was getting Dish
> >> Network's info card on 12074-V from neighbouring Echostar9 with no
> >> problem when I was peaked on G10.
> >>
> >> I've found a big differences in the signal strength of the Ku-band
> >> sevices on G10, so you might have to be selective with the services
> >> you're targeting on that satellite. It's quite common for Ku satellites
> >> to "spot beam" their signals, and each transponder on the same satellite
> >> can have different coverage. At my location at the junction of
> >> Minnesota, Manitoba and Ontario, 12114-V (Fox and UPN in Arkansas) is
> >> red hot - I've got close to 100% signal strength, whereas 11720-V
> >> (Equity Mux) is unusable here. Equity's 11800-V is just fine. It could
> >> be a simple matter of the strength of each transponder, but I suspect
> >> it's an issue of the targeted coverage area of each transponder. I would
> >> expect other locations in Canada and the U.S. to have completely
> >> different signal strengths than mine. I use a 10 1/2 foot mesh with a
> >> dual-band feed horn.
> >>
> >> --
> >>
> >> From the keyboard of Alan - VE3NNM (Kenora, ON, CANADA)
> >> E-mail: ve3nnm AT lycos DOT com
> >> http://mywebpage.netscape.com/kenoraradio
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> "the_wise_elder" <jeremy_l_slotsky@hotmail.com> wrote in
> >> news:1124722723.992565.275760@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:
> >>
> >> > Hi all,
> >> >
> >> > I'm a newb, so bear with me.
> >> >
> >> > I'm located in London, ON (42.9391N, 81.3424W). I'm trying to receive
> >> > G10R using a 76cm dish with a 0.6DB LNB. From the Panamsat site, Galaxy
> >> > 10r has an EIRP of about 49, which theoretically means I should be be
> >> > able to get it. I set it all up (Azimuth 238.7, Elevation 25.3, Pol.
> >> > Tilt 35.5) with no trees in my way and I get no signal.
> >> >
> >> > Has anyone near me had any success with this bird? What sites do you
> >> > use to get your Azimuth? I used
> >> > http://www.emantechnology.com/lookangle.asp, but on another site it
> >> > claimed the satellite was below the horizon for me so I would not be
> >> > able to get it.
> >> >
> >> > Anxiously awaiting your reply,
> >> > Greg
> >> >
> >> >
> >
> > Wow...thanks for all the info Alan. I will get to work on the elevation
> > tonight.
> >
> > Greg
> >
> >
I finally found G10R about a week after posting. Turns out that my
elevation according to the guide on the dish actually had to be set to
35!!

For some pics, you can look here:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=85101