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(Use these tips for other
satellites too! Get the transponder information you need at
http://www.lyngsat.com/america.shtml )
1.
From your computer, download the satellite finder program from the Q&A page of our site at
http://www.americansatellitedistributors.com/main/qa.html . Look for ‘Satellite Finder Program Download’.
2. Open
the program after installing, and enter your zip code and then click COMPUTE. Your
coordinates for the major US satellites will appear on the right of the page. “Azimuth” refers
to the compass setting or direction the satellite dish needs to face to receive programming
from the satellite listed. “Elevation” is the angle the dish needs to be pointed toward the
sky. The elevation reading is on the side of the satellite dish mount. Move the dish mount
to the elevation required and then tighten. Do this before placing the satellite dish on the
satellite mast.
3.
Unpack your receiver and place near the television. Connect the cable from the satellite dish
to the connection on the satellite receiver that says “LNB in” or “Satellite In” or “Digital
In”. The cable from the receiver to the TV or VCR should come from the port marked “TV Out”,
or “Out to TV”.
Select
either channel 3 or 4 on the back of the receiver. Turn your TV to the channel you selected.
You should have an on-screen menu, and you may address it with your remote control.
4. Go
to DISH SETUP. The same category may be called ANTENNA SETTING in some receiver menus. For
the LNB type, if you are aiming for C-Band signals, use the C-Band offset LNBF (with scalar
ring). Make sure that your menu reflects the settings below:
Satellite Intelsat 805
Dish
Type Fixed (If you are installing a motor, change this
to DISEQC later.)
LNB
Type 'UNIVERSAL' if your LNBF has an upper limit other
than 12.2
'STANDARD' or 'NORMAL' if the LNBF
label lists an upper limit of 12.2
LO Freq 5150 if you are looking for
C-Band signals
22Khz OFF
DiSeqC
OFF
0/12V 0 or none
14/18V NONE
FTA
Only NO
LNB
Power ON
5. Go to TRANSPONDER
SETUP (might say TRANSPONDER SETTING or EDIT TRANSPONDER). Make sure you are looking at
Intelsat 805. If Intelsat 805 is not loaded into the receiver, you will have to load it.
There should be one transponder with the following settings:
FREQUENCY- 3742
SYMBOL
RATE- 4960
POLARITY- Vertical
*Scroll
through the list of transponders. If you don't see one with the settings listed above, add it
manually.
After
you have the transponder loaded, look for a signal meter (it may say 0% at this point) on the
screen. This is the meter you should use while aiming for the signal. If you don’t have a
signal meter, you can call on the telephone from the dish to someone who is sitting in front
of the TV watching the signal quality meter.
6.
Back to the dish! Make sure your dish is level. The only way your dish will be level (plum)
is to install the dish mast without the dish on it and make sure it is level.
Hold a
level vertically against the up-and-down portion of the mast (the little bubble in the level
should be in the middle between the lines). If you don't have a level, you will have a tough
time.
7. Set
the elevation adjustment on the side of the dish to the elevation you need for your area. Now
drop the dish on the mast that you just leveled. Hook up the cable line to the LNBF on the
end of the dish and run it directly to the receiver LNB IN (might say FROM LNB). Eliminate
all signal splitters and splices in the line for now. Run the cable through a window for now
if you must, but get your signal first. After you acquire the signal, then you can hook it to
the existing cable in your house. If your signal goes away, you know not to use your existing
cable, but don't waste hours and hours only to find out that you ran your line through some
old washed out cable or a splitter that was under the floor.
8.
Where are you aiming? Is your azimuth 180? 220? Do you know what the numbers mean? Do you
have a compass? If you do, try this method:
Put your
compass on the ground. Wait until the arrow stops. See the point on the arrow? It’s
pointing at ZERO, or true North. Now if true North is ZERO, it only makes sense that true
South is 180 degrees. It then follows that true East is 90 degrees and true West is 270. So
draw a visual line from the middle of the compass to the azimuth you have figured for the
satellite you are aiming for. That is your aiming vector. Simple, huh?
Now, one last adjustment: If your azimuth is around 180, your LNB should be set straight up
and down. If your azimuth is a number higher than 180, your LNB should be tilted slightly
counterclockwise in the collar (looking at the front of the dish). Only slightly, unless your
azimuth is more to the west. If so, you might turn your LNB to 11 o’clock or even 10 o’clock
to get better signal quality. (Why are there two meters on the on-screen menu?) One is for
signal strength and one is for signal quality. Strength may be high, but if your quality
reading is less than 55 or so, you will not scan any channels into memory when you search. If
you have a high signal strength number, you may still be aiming at another satellite. Only
when you see the quality reading rise, do you know when you are aiming at the satellite that
you are looking for.)
Conversely, if your azimuth is less than 180, the LNB should be tilted clockwise. See the
diagrams below.
9. Move
the dish slowly from far left to right. SLOWLY! Either use a satellite finder or use a cell
phone to call a buddy who is patiently sitting in your living room looking at the transponder
signal screen. (If you never get ANY signal quality, adjust your elevation up or down a
degree or two and try again. Remember, SLOWLY!)
10.
When you get high signal strength AND quality readings, scan the transponder. You will need
to do it twice to get the receiver to recognize ALL of the transponders (channel bunches).
The second time around, change the scan mode from 'SCAN 1 TP' to 'SCAN 1 SAT' or 'ALL
SAT'. If you think you are missing one, go to
http://www.lyngsat.com/america.shtml and click on and scroll down to see if all of the
transponders loaded for you automatically. If not, manually add the ones that were missed.
At lyngsat.com, the transponder frequency is located in the first column, along with the
polarization. A little ‘V’ underneath the frequency means Vertical. A little ‘H’ stands for
Horizontal. The symbol rate is located in the sixth column. The symbol rate is always given
in the top row of each transponder listing. It’s usually 5 digits, but sometimes it’s only 4.
11. If
you don't get signal, here are the problems in order of popularity:
a. Dish
is not level (no amount of faking it will work here)
b.
Cabling is compromised somehow by a splice, signal splitter or bad connector
c.
Aiming at wrong place because of lack of compass (should have purchased an install kit)
d. A
tree or roof overhang is blocking the path (the dish receives signal from a higher angle than
you think)
e.
Satellite receiver on-screen menu settings are incorrect (see above hints)
f. No
voltage from the receiver through the cable leading to the dish (may be checked, see below)
g. LNB
is bad (may have been dropped creating shock-loss)
h. Dish
is assembled incorrectly
*-Checking voltage- A
voltmeter is $6-$10 for a low-end unit at Home Depot or Lowes. Unscrew the cable from the LNB.
Take one lead (black) and hold it against the outside of the cable connector. Take the other
lead (red) and touch it against the center wire of the cable. Make sure these leads do not
touch each other, as it will ground out your circuit. (Make sure the voltmeter is turned two
clicks to the left from the off position. There should be a reading of 13V or 18V. If so,
the receiver is sending voltage and the unit is probably OK. If you can't find the voltage,
try all of the voltmeter settings before giving up. Your voltmeter may be set up
differently. If you ever see 13V or 18V, your voltage is OK.
After
checking all of these items, you might need to consider a professional installer.
*Suggestion- Finish the installation of your satellite system. Tidy up before the installer
comes, as he is likely to charge you only for a service call if he thinks that most of the
work has been done. We can refer you to an installer in your area should you need one.
E-mail us at
technical@americansatellitedistributors.com to make a request for a local installer.
If at
any time, the installer or yourself determines that the receiver or LNBF is faulty, send an
e-mail to technical support and tell them you would like a replacement and detail your
findings. You will be issued an RMA (return merchandise authorization). All returned items
must have the RMA number inside the box and written on the outside of the box.
Send the
item to us in its original box. Make sure to track it, either with UPS, FEDEX or US Post
Office. Send another e-mail to
technical@americansatellitedistributors.com stating the cost of the shipping. If our bench test
determines that the unit is faulty, you will not be charged for shipping of the replacement.
Should our bench test determine that the unit is functional, your shipping charges will not be
eligible for refund. A charge of $15 plus shipping will be assessed for all items that are
found functional and then returned to the customer
If you
return an item that is not faulty you will possibly be charged a restocking fee if the item is
not in perfect condition.
Thanks
for your patronage. Happy channel surfing!
American Satellite Distributors
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