Need advice on using Acutrac III to align AU9

[hiker]

I have the Acutrac III and I am attempting to align AU9 Slimline. If you have used this specific meter I would appreciate some help. I originally wanted the Acutrac22 but solid signal was out of stock so they suggested the Acutrac III.

As you might know, the Acutrac III was developed primarily for the installation of the DirecTV 5 LNB dish. I was told that this meter can detect and identify specific satellite signals like the Birdog, which I have used. After reading the instruction manual, I think that it can't identify specific sats, contrary to what I was told.

I've read the meter instructions and the DTV AU9 align instructions. I tried to do a course alignment using the meter only and could not identify the sats. So I did the course alignment with the HR20's meter.

Am I wasting my time with the Acutrac III and should just wait until the Acutrac22 becomes available again? Or if you could give specific instructions on what Acutrac III settings I should be using I'll give it a shot.

[samrs]

I use an Acutrac III everyday, I also have a Birddog. You are correct in that it dosn't identify satellites, I was also "confused" when I purchased it online. When you turn it on it defaults to 13v 101 on the center graph and 99 above that. I peak the 101 az/el/az and pay close attention to the top graph. I then press the satellite select button an adjust the tilt on the 119 13v again the center graph. Then look at the bottom graph for the 103, you can try az/el/az again on the 103 but it probably won't make a difference.

Dont pay a lot of attention to the values displayed other than making sure they are peaked. Different LNB's/Brands of LNB's will give different numeric values. The position of the sun and the moon might also have an effect.:shrug:

[hiker]

So are you saying that you can tell you're on the 101 when you get a reading for the 99 on the top graph (when set to "Ka@99 Ku@101")?

Then you would push Satellite Select twice to get "Ka@103 Ku@119" and adjust tilt?

That would be course alignment. Then follow the DTV fine tuning method in the AU9 instructions?

[techrep]

I have the Acutrac III and I am attempting to align AU9 Slimline. If you have used this specific meter I would appreciate some help. I originally wanted the Acutrac22 but solid signal was out of stock so they suggested the Acutrac III.

As you might know, the Acutrac III was developed primarily for the installation of the DirecTV 5 LNB dish. I was told that this meter can detect and identify specific satellite signals like the Birdog, which I have used. After reading the instruction manual, I think that it can't identify specific sats, contrary to what I was told.

I've read the meter instructions and the DTV AU9 align instructions. I tried to do a course alignment using the meter only and could not identify the sats. So I did the course alignment with the HR20's meter.

Am I wasting my time with the Acutrac III and should just wait until the Acutrac22 becomes available again? Or if you could give specific instructions on what Acutrac III settings I should be using I'll give it a shot.

Arguments abound when it comes to meters. They are a convenient tool for rough and fine tuning but, even if I use a Birdog, I still fine tune to 103b via the receiver as the final step.

I use a Acutrac 22 for it's small size and portability until the battery runs down then go to the III model.

[samrs]

So are you saying that you can tell you're on the 101 when you get a reading for the 99 on the top graph (when set to "Ka@99 Ku@101")?

Then you would push Satellite Select twice to get "Ka@103 Ku@119" and adjust tilt?

That would be course alignment. Then follow the DTV fine tuning method in the AU9 instructions?

I can tell I'm on the 101 cause I do it everyday, I know to snug up the bolts on the back of the dish so I wont inadvertently line up on the 110 an drop the elevation a few degrees.

Select twice and adjust tilt yes.

I use the Acutrac III so I don't have to follow the AU9 fine tuning method. If I use my Birddog then I follow the instructions to the letter.

[slimline]

So are you saying that you can tell you're on the 101 when you get a reading for the 99 on the top graph (when set to "Ka@99 Ku@101")?

Then you would push Satellite Select twice to get "Ka@103 Ku@119" and adjust tilt?

That would be course alignment. Then follow the DTV fine tuning method in the AU9 instructions?

is this true man i dont think so , im so close to pitchin this p.o.s in traffic i hate the acutrac 3 plus ,, if im reading right he is saying that when looking for the 101 99 is on top graph and if it is peaking that means that
the 101 is also peaked than you would have it linged up by default,?? im i right??

[jhillestad]

I have an accutrac III and noticed it cannot ' detect ' what sat your looking at... you just set it to the sat you are peaking... but it will not confirm you are actually on that sat. I was pegging the 101 meter thinking I was getting a kick butt signal just to discover I must have been looking at some other sat because when I went to tilt on the 119 I couldnt get squat... but I do like the ka meters - I just tweak the dish until I see them in the ninety's - none of this turn dive by 2 stuff.... so its nice for that...

Is there any new firmware updates to it ? I see it advertised on solidsignal saying that it supports DishTv as well but the manual doesn't have any info on this and when I select sats they are all 101,110,119,99.103 - would these setting work for Dish Network ?

I do like the meter but I do wish it confirmed the sat I am looking at - when in doubt turn on the receiver and make sure it sees 101 on its meter ... at least it knows if your on the right sat but for the price it should verify for me.... Is it worth the hundred more than the 22 ? I think so because of the ka visual you get - it really takes the guess work out of that turn the dial and divide by two business....

[slimline]

I have an accutrac III and noticed it cannot ' detect ' what sat your looking at... you just set it to the sat you are peaking... but it will not confirm you are actually on that sat. I was pegging the 101 meter thinking I was getting a kick butt signal just to discover I must have been looking at some other sat because when I went to tilt on the 119 I couldnt get squat... but I do like the ka meters - I just tweak the dish until I see them in the ninety's - none of this turn dive by 2 stuff.... so its nice for that...

Is there any new firmware updates to it ? I see it advertised on solidsignal saying that it supports DishTv as well but the manual doesn't have any info on this and when I select sats they are all 101,110,119,99.103 - would these setting work for Dish Network ?

I do like the meter but I do wish it confirmed the sat I am looking at - when in doubt turn on the receiver and make sure it sees 101 on its meter ... at least it knows if your on the right sat but for the price it should verify for me.... Is it worth the hundred more than the 22 ? I think so because of the ka visual you get - it really takes the guess work out of that turn the dial and divide by two business....


it has do be in multi mode for dish, is it worth 100 more clams for the ka i say no.

i dont think there is any more firmware udates as of yet.:nono:

[TriggerDeems]

Is there any new firmware updates to it ?

From the manual:

it says it is upgradeable, but also says there are no plans to upgrade it as of the publishing of the manual

[Walter Clark]

I struggled all afternoon yesterday trying to get my new AU9 pointed at the 101 bird with my new Acutrac III+.

For my location, outside Boston, the calculated direction for 101 is 237M and 33 elevation.

When I set the initial Azmuth and Elevations per the calculations, I get strength on the meters middle bar of the 1st "DTV Mode Satellite Select" window in the 20-30 range. I can rotate the antenna slightly (2-3 degrees) and I see no real peak. Instead I see a gradual decrease going south and a similar but more dramatic increase going right - eventually reading into the 80's on the meter - as I rotate further clockwise (north) about 10 degrees. It increases further as I decrease elevation. If I look at my HR20 set to view the 101 when the antenna is set here I get only 3 transponder signal strengths - which are in the mid 90s. Both the change from calculated azmuth and the # of transponders shown on the HR20suggest to me that I am locking onto the DTV 110 bird. Just for the heck of it I aldo left the antenna set just based on the calculated azmuth, elevation and tilt and the HR20 sees nothing.

One more data point. When I switch to the 119 bird with the anenna pointed at what I think must be the 110, I can get a good signal but only if I increase the tilt by another 15 degrees or so from calculated. The RH20 sees nothing for the119 at this point so I assume this is some other satellite and not the DTV 119.

I am having trouble believing the 101 is that hard to find. What Acutrac III strengths do others see when aligned to the 101?

I am not real familiar with how the LNB's are selected but I assume I must be selecting the right LNB for the 101 when I have the III+ set at 13V no 22KHz. So If I am getting a strong signal on it when directed at the 110, that LNB must be working right?

By the way, I am replacing a 3 LNB oval dish that was used with my old RCA DTV HD receiver as well as theHR20 forthe last coupleweeks and putting the AU9 in the same location. I had no problem setting the Phase III antenna, and didnt even have the Acutrac to do it.

Anyone have suggestions, opinions or tips for me? Thanks.

[jhillestad]

When you say replacing the dish do you mean the pole as well ? Or is it next to the phase3 dish ? I had trouble with the 101 initially because the accutac3 was seeing something other than dtv's 101 - I moved the dish a little further back from where my phase 3 was and I could see the proper 101... I believe my old phase3 was literally bouncing a signal into my au9... so make sure your phase3 is out of the way.

Some other points to check are: is your pole plumb ? When your looking for 101 make sure you support the weight of the dish with your hand because it will start to slip if the bolts are not tight - try to stiffen the dish so only a good deal of force will move it up or down and still keep your hand on it while looking at the meter.

If your still getting nothing... try putting the meter in the 110/119 combo signal and move the dish around and see if you get anything - if it raises then you must be near the sat cluster then go back to 101 and peak it .

But if there is another dish anywhere near that dish loosen it and turn it away to be sure its not messing up the au9's lnb.

[carl6]

I am not real familiar with how the LNB's are selected but I assume I must be selecting the right LNB for the 101 when I have the III+ set at 13V no 22KHz. So If I am getting a strong signal on it when directed at the 110, that LNB must be working right?

By the way, I am replacing a 3 LNB oval dish

1. Yes, 13V no tone gives you 101.
2. The 5-LNB dish is aimed about 8-12 degrees EAST of where the 3-LNB dish was aimed. If you point the same direction, you won't find 101.

Carl

[slimline]

I struggled all afternoon yesterday trying to get my new AU9 pointed at the 101 bird with my new Acutrac III+.

For my location, outside Boston, the calculated direction for 101 is 237M and 33 elevation.

When I set the initial Azmuth and Elevations per the calculations, I get strength on the meters middle bar of the 1st "DTV Mode Satellite Select" window in the 20-30 range. I can rotate the antenna slightly (2-3 degrees) and I see no real peak. Instead I see a gradual decrease going south and a similar but more dramatic increase going right - eventually reading into the 80's on the meter - as I rotate further clockwise (north) about 10 degrees. It increases further as I decrease elevation. If I look at my HR20 set to view the 101 when the antenna is set here I get only 3 transponder signal strengths - which are in the mid 90s. Both the change from calculated azmuth and the # of transponders shown on the HR20suggest to me that I am locking onto the DTV 110 bird. Just for the heck of it I aldo left the antenna set just based on the calculated azmuth, elevation and tilt and the HR20 sees nothing.

One more data point. When I switch to the 119 bird with the anenna pointed at what I think must be the 110, I can get a good signal but only if I increase the tilt by another 15 degrees or so from calculated. The RH20 sees nothing for the119 at this point so I assume this is some other satellite and not the DTV 119.

I am having trouble believing the 101 is that hard to find. What Acutrac III strengths do others see when aligned to the 101?

I am not real familiar with how the LNB's are selected but I assume I must be selecting the right LNB for the 101 when I have the III+ set at 13V no 22KHz. So If I am getting a strong signal on it when directed at the 110, that LNB must be working right?

By the way, I am replacing a 3 LNB oval dish that was used with my old RCA DTV HD receiver as well as theHR20 forthe last coupleweeks and putting the AU9 in the same location. I had no problem setting the Phase III antenna, and didnt even have the Acutrac to do it.

Anyone have suggestions, opinions or tips for me? Thanks.


here me out here when the meter turns on its looking for 101 13v ok at the top of that graph is the 99 right ka . thats 2deg between the 101 and the 99
so if you have the top graph peaked (-----------99 and the center one 101 ku
you should have it right just a thought.... any input?

[glennb]

I used the HR20 to aim the dish.

Worked fine.

In the alignment procedure that came with the dish it said to use a meter but alternately listed the satellite and transponder to tune to peak the dish.

[slimline]

something else i have noticed with this meter i use it 3 + times a day the meter
will show signal in the 40s and the ird will show in the 90+ range

[samrs]

Use the mast base that came with the dish, two monopoles and lots of lag bolts or a 2" OD pole and lots of concrete. Whatever you use make sure its plumb, don't trust that POS free bubble level that came with the dish. Snug up the bolts on the dish before you try aligning. From the 110 you can add five to your elevation and go left 10. If your triple sat is still up and aligned hook your meter to it to get an idea of what to look for. Mine generally shows around a 70ish signal on 13v 101, 18v will be higher. Once your on the right sat just peak the numbers out don't sweet the values.

Don't screw with the tilt till your sure your on the right sats.

[Walter Clark]

Once the outside temps went back above freezing I went back up the ladder and started over with the alignment.

First, in response to a question, The Phase 3 was removed. It was on a 8' piece of metal conduit held about 2' out the side of a huge old pine tree using triangulated 1.5" slotted angle iron about a foot from the top and 2' from the bottom of the conduit. To install the AU9, I lowered the top of the conduit to where it is only a couple inches above the upper triangular bracing. Then I cut and attached a 10" square piece of 12 ga steel to the top braces creating a very solid mounting point for the J-mount supplied with the AU9. I mounted and plumbed the J-pole to the plate. This pine is a huge gnarly old soldier, not one of these fast growing things you see around. It is a free standing tree and has withstood lightning strikes, hurricanes, ice storms and all sorts of mayhem. It has been a rock solid platform for the Phase III and OTA bowtie.

Anyway, after checking and resetting everything to the calculated positions I climbed down from the ladder and took a sight with my compass from the ground to see what feature to the SW I should be aiming toward and how the antenna was oriented then. I should note here that it is impossible to put a ladder up to the rear of the location so I have been working from below and to the front of the antenna. That can make the azmuth pre-set a little sketchy I think, which is why I decided to take a look from the ground (to see which way I was actually pointing it). From the ground it was evident I had been pointing the antenna to a feature 5 or more degrees too far north compared with what I identified a correct with my compass from the ground. When I then pointed it to that feature I actually found the 101 immediately. It peaked just slightly away from that azmuth and it peaked exactly at the calculated elevation. The 119 also peaked nicely with the tilt at the predicted value and the other satellites came in nicely. I pulled out the compass again while at the antenna and found it was indeed pointing to a different feature than what I identified from the ground...DOH! I am always within a couple feet of the steel structure I have up there when I am on the ladder and using the compass (queue sound of me smacking my forehead).

So once I corrected the compass problem the antenna was preset within a degree in each axis. I did immediately see the 101 bird and it peaked nicely (in the 80's on the meter) and the 119 and rest fell in just like in the videos.

I hope my oversite, resulting problem and correction helps someone else avoid the same simple mistake.

Thanks everyone, for the suggestions.

[slimline]

nice i have noticed that you cant just aim around untill you find it you need to know the location it neets to be 5 deg makes alot of difference. hmmmm i knew a nickname hiker from another forum from years ago

[Ext 721]

Once the outside temps went back above freezing I went back up the ladder and started over with the alignment.

First, in response to a question, The Phase 3 was removed. It was on a 8' piece of metal conduit held about 2' out the side of a huge old pine tree using triangulated 1.5" slotted angle iron about a foot from the top and 2' from the bottom of the conduit. To install the AU9, I lowered the top of the conduit to where it is only a couple inches above the upper triangular bracing. Then I cut and attached a 10" square piece of 12 ga steel to the top braces creating a very solid mounting point for the J-mount supplied with the AU9. I mounted and plumbed the J-pole to the plate. This pine is a huge gnarly old soldier, not one of these fast growing things you see around. It is a free standing tree and has withstood lightning strikes, hurricanes, ice storms and all sorts of mayhem. It has been a rock solid platform for the Phase III and OTA bowtie.

Anyway, after checking and resetting everything to the calculated positions I climbed down from the ladder and took a sight with my compass from the ground to see what feature to the SW I should be aiming toward and how the antenna was oriented then. I should note here that it is impossible to put a ladder up to the rear of the location so I have been working from below and to the front of the antenna. That can make the azmuth pre-set a little sketchy I think, which is why I decided to take a look from the ground (to see which way I was actually pointing it). From the ground it was evident I had been pointing the antenna to a feature 5 or more degrees too far north compared with what I identified a correct with my compass from the ground. When I then pointed it to that feature I actually found the 101 immediately. It peaked just slightly away from that azmuth and it peaked exactly at the calculated elevation. The 119 also peaked nicely with the tilt at the predicted value and the other satellites came in nicely. I pulled out the compass again while at the antenna and found it was indeed pointing to a different feature than what I identified from the ground...DOH! I am always within a couple feet of the steel structure I have up there when I am on the ladder and using the compass (queue sound of me smacking my forehead).

So once I corrected the compass problem the antenna was preset within a degree in each axis. I did immediately see the 101 bird and it peaked nicely (in the 80's on the meter) and the 119 and rest fell in just like in the videos.

I hope my oversite, resulting problem and correction helps someone else avoid the same simple mistake.

Thanks everyone, for the suggestions.


made the same mistake once on a pro install. Went up on a 1st story ledge on a 2 story building...took a compass reading used the inclinometer... YAY! I can use the ledge for my dish!

Installed the whole thing...tried to peak it...no dice. HuH?

Well, i have no idea what was behind that wall, but probably a huge steel pipe (old-style stinkpipe?) or some pretty big electrical wire.

Thoroughly embarassed, i put it on the roof and finished up.

Don't feel so bad.