Help...plz...newbie

[kn924]

:confused: i just bought a dish 500 with a single dss lbn used from a dealer , my scenario is everything is installed , mounted plumb, elevation, azimuth set to required for my location in tx , im trying to get skyangel satellite 61.5W.L ...in the installation screen under ANGLES it show's input for zip code and also wether it's a 301 dish 500 dish e.t.c ...i choose 500 dish of course and put in 76539 for zip code ..nothing shows up next to elevation , azimuth , e.tc fields ..my question is there something wrong with the hardware ...i have no signal at all

[SimpleSimon]

While you can use a D500 for a wing bird (61.5), you have to adjust your numbers manually.

The D500 is actually pointed in between the 2 birds it is normally used for. This is throwing you off - quite understandably.

Here's what to do - check your numbers for D500 110/119, then look at the numbers for D300 110 & 119 separately. You'll see the 500 splits the difference - the azimuth is gonna be about 4.5 degrees off. Ahh! says kn924. ;)

SO, start with the D300 numbers for 61.5, and adjust by the difference you discovered in the first step.

Your next question is "which way?" The answer depends on whether you're using the 119 side of the arm, or the 110 side. Truth is, it's easier for you to just go git-r-done than to think it out.

Now, if you've never aimed a dish before, you need to know that the numbers are a starting point, not an ending point. Your receiver needs to be on the point dish screen so that you can hear the tone. If it's too far away, try a pair of cheap walkie-talkies with the PTT locked in, or a baby monitor. Do NOT try to have someone yelling numbers to you. There is already "too much" delay between you nudging the dish and the receiver's response - adding a person in the middle will just cause frustration on everybody's part.

[Pepper]

If you have a dish500, dish makes an "I-bracket" to mount a single LNBF. That, plus a skew of zero, provides much better signal strength than an 18 inch dish. Plus then you can actually point it in the "correct" direction.

Claude has these at www.dishstore.net.