Newbie has question about my new setup

[trclayton58]

I'm new to FTA and want to verify that I've got things setup correctly. I got my dish installed but ran out of daylight and had to get off the roof, so I didn't get to finish alignment. I eyeballed it to south, but probably missed a bit.

On a lark I decided to connect to the receiver & see if I could get anything. I have verified the dish moves (in the right direction I think). So far, no reception yet, so I though I'd see if you folks can answer a question or two.

Here's my setup:
Invacom SNH-031 Universal Single 0.3 dB LNB
STAB HH90 Motor (installed for USALS)
80cm Offset Dish
CONAXSAT CNX-V1 Receiver

The CNX-V1 (v 4.17) has 2 settings for Universal LNB (UNIVERSAL 1 or UNIVERSAL 2).

Anyone know which I should select for the Invacom SNH-031 ?

Thanks for the help. --- Terry

[FTA Michael]

The trick is to check the LNBF's Local Oscillator Frequency, or LO. As you can see in this PDF (http://www.invacom.com/products/documents/Single.pdf), that LNBF's LO is 9.75 GHz to 10.6 GHz. So you should pick whichever universal setting matches that LO. On my Fortec Mercury II, it's shown as "Univ LNB(9750,10600)".

And oh yes, welcome to DBSTalk!:welcome_s

[trclayton58]

Thanks for the reply and the welcome.

I had figured out the LO issue, problem is the receiver doesn't list the freqs after the UNIVERSAL 1 or UNIVERSAL 2.

I got up on the roof for a few minutes before work this morning (got some looks from the morning walkers) and attached my Super Buddy meter (Applied Instruments) and got the antenna aligned (after first using the receiver to point at a near south bird, 79W). I was close on AZ but EL was too low. The LNB works fine attached to the Super Buddy (needed 22khz turned on to select the higher LO). Got a decent signal level and locked on to the bird.

Went back inside and still couldn't get the receiver to lock on anything for UNIVERSAL 1 or UNIVERSAL 2. I've got a feeling that the receiver isn't turning on the 22khz. Guess I need to study some more.

I've been working DirecTV setups for years, but FTA is new to me. I'm wondering if I made a bad choice in the combo of the receiver and LNB (picked the Invacom cause I liked the low noise figure).

By the way, the Super Buddy is really sweet. Don't want to ever try to align another dish without it.

- - - Terry

[FTA Michael]

A lot of receivers allow a user-configurable LNBF type, or allow users to edit existing LNBFs. You might check to see whether that's available. Or you might have to start calling your vendor to see if they have an idea.

Another tactic would be to grab one of the standard linear-polarity LNBFs that go for about $10 + shipping on eBay. That would let you aim the dish perfectly, then swap in the universal, then try settings on the receiver until one of them works.

You mentioned the 22khz. On my system, I just tried to add a 22-khz switch over the weekend, only to notice that it seems to be incompatible with that LNBF; the On/Off option was greyed out for that type only. And of course, I noticed that after I hooked it up. :D