Quentin,

 First thing, doe the dish have a clear view of the bird it's
 trying to see?  By clear view, I mean no trees, rooflines,
 houses, etc in the direct line of sight.

 Second, you need to have the elevation adjustment loose
 slightly.  Just enough that you can move the elevation by hand,
 but tight enough it doesn't fall out of place when not touched.

 Third, sweep the dish in a small arc very slowly.  The beamwidth
 of a dish is rather narrow, especially a small dish, so going
 slowly is the only way to know for sure if your hitting a peak
 or are passing it by without noticing it at all.

 So, the procedure would go as follows...

  Set the elevation for what it states is supposed to be correct,
  but don't tighten the adjustment totally because you'll want
  to be able to move the elevation soon if needed.

  Do you azimuth sweep slowly, making sure you cover enough of a
  arc to pick up the bird if it's there.

  If you don't get it on the first sweep, adjust the elevation
  slightly, and sweep again.    Doing this over and over a few
  times should yield the results you're after.

  I do have a couple of hints or gotchas you need to be aware of.

  a. If anyone else in your area has a dish/rcvr like yours, or
     if they have another system looking at the same bird, ask
     them what their signal strength is.  It may be that from
     where you're looking, you can't get the signal strength any
     higher.

  b. Also, with the receiver connected as it should be, unscrew
     the coax from the LNB at the dish, and with a DC voltmeter,
     measure the DC voltage on the line.  It could be that the
     LNB is not getting the correct amount of power.


     Hope this helps you out.

                                    Regards,

                                      Jim


On Tue, 04 January 2000, Quentin wrote:

>
> This is waaayyy OT, please reply privately. I am a newbie with this, see
> if you can help.
>
> I got hold of a secondhand KU band decoder and dish. The dish is a 24 "
> which needs to be manually adjusted. The decoder got a signal strength
> meter build in which it displays on screen. I need to tune it to PAS-4
> which is 63 degrees East at 24 degrees azimuth. I am using a dual band
> LNB. All equipment is correct as specified to be used with the decoder
> and area. The decoder is correctly set up as well.
>
> Is it easy to set up a dish manually? I've played with it a bit but no
> matter which way I point the thing, all I get is a 30% signal strength
> (I need +80%).
>
> Anybody got some tips for me? How do you set the LNB to the correct
> focal point and rotation?
> I would like to try and set it up myself before I have to fork out some
> bucks for somebody to do it for me.
>
> Thanks
> Quentin

jim@jpes.com