Missing some satellites after moving house

[taximonkey]

Hi, I have recently moved house and set up my motorised dish yesterday but I am missing some satellites that used to be available at the old property and was looking for some help to tune them. I have a technomate 2600 motor on a 80cm dish and am trying to tune VU+ Ultimo 4K box running OpenVix 5.4.016 and I’m in the north east uk. The satellites I can still get are Thor 0.8w, Hotbird 13.0e, 19.2e, and 28.2e and they all have a good signal but I am unable to scan Turksat 31.0e, 23.5e, 16.0e, 9.0e, and Hispasat 30.0w. I have tried using the normal scanning methods but the missing satellites don’t show up and for some reason Blind Scan on this image doesn’t do anything after I press Scan Channels. I was wondering if there was a way of manually scanning the satellites into my box. I have had USALS turned on and off but to be honest I have never really understood the procedure for that. Usals is off right now for every satellite and had it turned off when I tuned in the sats I’ve got. Any help appreciated. Thanks

[Huevos]

Ultimo4k FBC tuners are not blindscan capable.

[Huevos]

Who set the dish up at the new property?

If it has been done correct you should be able to use USALS for all satellites.

[taximonkey]

Myself and a friend did it. We aren’t experts but got it somewhere near, I am unable to get hold of a satellite installer to adjust it every one I have tried say they don’t do it anymore. I am getting around 84-85 percent signal strength on the satellites I can get. Would someone be able to explain the procedure to use USALS as I have never actually seen it explained anywhere clearly what you need to do. I have enabled it before on each individual sat I’m tuning in but it doesn’t make any difference apart from I’m not given the option to store a channel position when USALS is enabled. Thanks

[taximonkey]

Ultimo4k FBC tuners are not blindscan capable.

Ah that explains that part �� Thank you

[Huevos]

You don't store positions when USALS is enabled.

Set it up like the attached image. Make sure the coordinates are correct.

Make sure the motor is facing 100% due south.

If you are in the UK select a channel on 1.0W or 5.0W. The motor should turn and stop.

Now adjust the dish clamp east/west until you are receiving maximum signal.

When you select another satellite the dish will automatically move to it.

[taximonkey]

When I select the Single / positioner setting my box won’t tune to any of my channel / satellite locations. When I select a different satellite the dish turns as if going to the satellite but then stops and there is no signal received. We set the dish up at Thor 0.8w originally and then I was able to find the other 3 extra satellites I mentioned but USALS was turned off. I can only receive my channels if I have USALS off and the tuner setting is set to advanced. I have 2 tuners connected to the lnb, I had tuner 1 set to advanced and tuner 2 set to Second cable of motorised LNB. Just to be clear does USALS have to be turned on in each satellite setting in Advanced before I go to the Single / Positioner setting?
Thanks

[abu baniaz]

Best to start again and do it right.

In my experience, biggest mistake people do when aligning a motorised dish is to scan. Do as mentioned above, configure tuner correctly, select a service near center of arc then align dish. Select another service east and align dish. Slect another service on west, then align dish. You will then be able to select any service on a satellite in between east/west and if you are in reception area, you will receive it.

[taximonkey]

Could you please elaborate on Configure tuner correctly. Do I have to have USALS set to ‘on’ in every satellite’s settings yes/no?
Ok so if I start again I know I can get Thor, I select that first and I get 84 percent signal, the only satellite west of that is Hispasat 30w I am unable to receive it. Going east I can get 13.0, 19.2 then 28.0. The missing sats are in between those locations but don’t show up as I search and Turksat doesn’t show up at all. Dishpointer shows I should be able to receive them ?
Is there any way I can tweak settings in the box to be able to find the channels?
Thanks

[abu baniaz]

It has been described in post 6. Here is another picture. It is from 2016, so allow for slight wording changes. Make sure you are not in advanced. You must be in simple mode.

[taximonkey]

I have seen it described in post 6. What I am asking is Do I have to have USALS turned on in each individual satellite settings that I am trying to tune before I do the procedure described in post 6?

[abu baniaz]

The sats are not missing, you just cannot tune into them because your dish is not aligned properly. You can fudge your co-ordinates to improve reception. But you really need to do it right.

Please install a channel list and forget scanning for now. That advice was given to you on another forum by a very experienced member across various satellite forums. You will go around in circles if you persist in "scanning".

[abu baniaz]

I have seen it described in post 6. What I am asking is Do I have to have USALS turned on in each individual satellite settings that I am trying to tune before I do the procedure described in post 6?
Send a screenshot of what you are seeing. Don't waste your time by being in advanced mode. You would not be asking those questions if you are following advice correctly.

Post 10 says:
Make sure you are not in advanced. You must be in simple mode.

See here if you need it for screenshots:
https://www.world-of-satellite.com/showthread.php?44054-How-to-take-screen-shots-How-to-attach-files

[taximonkey]

I followed the advice given on the other forum and replied to it that the channel list I downloaded did not work. It is late now I will take screenshots and post tomorrow
Thanks

[abu baniaz]

It wont work, meaning that you are not locking onto satellites. This is indication that your dish is not aligned correctly. Maybe just a minor error.

This is the way I think works best

Make sure pole/mounts are level.

Setup USALS on receiver. Making sure you do not mix up east/west values and how you enter them.
Load/install/transfer a channel list
Send dish/motor to "0"
Select a channel of your choice
Adjust assembly so you can view the channel
Select another channel and tweak again


This is fruitballs guide. Have a read to double check your steps. But please get out of advanced mode.
https://www.world-of-satellite.com/showthread.php?18087-Fruitballs-Motorised-Installtion-Guide

Sweet dreams

[Huevos]

When I select the Single / positioner setting my box won’t tune to any of my channel / satellite locations. When I select a different satellite the dish turns as if going to the satellite but then stops and there is no signal received. We set the dish up at Thor 0.8w originally and then I was able to find the other 3 extra satellites I mentioned but USALS was turned off. I can only receive my channels if I have USALS off and the tuner setting is set to advanced. I have 2 tuners connected to the lnb, I had tuner 1 set to advanced and tuner 2 set to Second cable of motorised LNB. Just to be clear does USALS have to be turned on in each satellite setting in Advanced before I go to the Single / Positioner setting?
Thanks
USALS has to be enabled before you start setting the dish up. This is not something you can add later.

[taximonkey]

Ok I have followed advice and downloaded a channel list including all the satellites I wish to receive. And I have set the motor to zero and enabled simple positioner mode. Then I had to search for Thor 0.8w I found it then fine tuned it to get the best signal 85 percent. Then when I exit the positioner setup menu and select a channel in Thor 0.8 west the dish moves off to a different position where there is no signal. I know Thor is correct because when I did set it up manually before in Advanced mode I scanned for channels and got them all. The same for 13.0 19.2 and 28.0. I want to make it clear I am now using Simple Positioner mode only. Is there a way to save the first instance of Thor as the first satellite and then let USALS take care of the rest? Positioner setup will not let me save a setting as USALS is enabled.
I know I will probably need to re align the dish at some point but that would be in a week or 2 when I could get a friend to help.
Thanks

[abu baniaz]

You need to adjust your co-ordinates in tuner configuration. USALS will then do the rest.

[taximonkey]

In tuner configuration settings Simple/ Positioner my settings are set to my coordinates I have double and triple checked they are correct.

[abu baniaz]

Because your dish was aligned incorrectly, you have to set incorrect co-ordinates to compensate.

[Huevos]

Set USALS.

Point the motor physically south and tighten the clamp on the mast.

Make sure elevation setting on motor clamp is correct for your location.

Go in satfinder and select a transponder on 1 west. The motor should move a fraction.

Now adjust the dish around the motor stub for good signal on this transponder. Once adjusted it should work on all satellites.

[taximonkey]

Ok I don’t think I’m going to get any further with this until I can get back up at the dish and realign everything again. This will when friend brings long ladders and gives me a hand. Sorry if I’ve been a pain but I didn’t have to do this last time I tuned everything in manually with UsALS turned off but this wasn’t possible this time round. Thanks for your help guys I’ll give you all a shout when the dish has been adjusted �� lol