View Full Version : Can anyone suggest an easy method and cheap tools for how to align a non-motorised satellite dish?
I'm getting dropped frames on Channel 4 HD so I need to check my dish is still aligned correctly to 28.2E. Can anyone please suggest some cheap or free tools to align my dish that will work 100% of the time and can you give some steps for how to align a dish or link to a guide please. There's lots of guides which are different from each other so it's quite confusing. Thanks
13mm spanner.
Thanks but that's only a tiny part of what I was asking for. Do you have any more info please? I'm really struggling here.
Not on the cheap. I have a 2000€ analyser for this job.
I don't know who to do then. I don't have that kind of money. I don't want to pay a satellite dish installer every 6 months to re-align my dish. Was hoping I could re-align it myself. I can spend £200 max.
There are lots of guides explaining how to do it. Without a proper analyser you will have to use the meter of the receiver but that only works if the tuner is already locked. You can access that using the enigma2 signal strength app on a mobile phone. The single most important thing is that the dish is situated somewhere you can access and adjust it without a ladder.
So signal app (free) and 13mm spanner.
Do you have a link to one of those guides please? What do you mean "if the tuner is locked"?
My dish is already on my wall where I need a ladder to reach it. Are you saying I need to put the dish on the floor to adjust it? Wouldn't that be pointless as I would need to adjust the alignment again when it's attached to my wall?
"locked" means tuned and receiving. If the tuner is not locked it will just show zero.
I've been aligning dishes professionally for 20 years and I have never seen a correctly adjusted motorised dish that needed to be adjusted from a ladder. How are you supposed to hold a meter, a spanner, and move the dish, and hold on to the ladder? Simple answer is you can't so you end up with a crap job that sort of works on some satellites but does not track the arc properly.
"locked" means tuned and receiving. If the tuner is not locked it will just show zero.
I've been aligning dishes professionally for 20 years and I have never seen a correctly adjusted motorised dish that needed to be adjusted from a ladder. How are you supposed to hold a meter, a spanner, and move the dish, and hold on to the ladder? Simple answer is you can't so you end up with a crap job that sort of works on some satellites but does not track the arc properly.
As per my original post, my dish isn't motorised. I've had satellite dish installers adjust the alignment of my dish before without taking the dish off the wall.
Is there a tutorial you can recommend please that will allow me to align my dish cheaply?
Ok so you don't need a tutorial. Just add Enigma Signal Meter app to your phone and then move the dish until you see the best signal on your phone display.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.krkadoni.app.signalmeter&hl=en&gl=US
It may be useful to use a special lnb with led signal indicators on it.
Search "LNB with Built in Signal Finder" on a search engine.
It may be useful to use a special lnb with led signal indicators on it. How does it know which satellite it is receiving?
It may be useful to use a special lnb with led signal indicators on it.
Search "LNB with Built in Signal Finder" on a search engine.
Which will be no better than the Enigma Signal Meter app.
As this is not a new install I assume that the dish is in the correct position and may only require a minor tweak - a very minor movement of the dish. Aligning a dish (assuming that you have already found the correct satellite) is just a matter of moving it and looking at the received signal - in this case the received signal on your enigma receiver - and then adjusting the dish for the highest SNR or perhaps the lowest AGC. The Enigma Signal Meter App acts like a remote control on your phone allowing you to change channels whilst up a ladder and to view the Enigma/Vix screen showing the signal SNR and AGC screen in (near) real time.
Haven't you complained of dropped frames on other channels before when using a third party utility (and its analysis of the data stream) when transferring a recording? I doubt if an occasional dropped frame is caused by a dish misalignment unless you are getting a regular visual breakup of the reception. What is the current reported BER (Bit Error Rate) when viewing CH4HD as reported in the same VIX utility that displays the SNR and AGC bars? It should be zero.
I have a cheap analyzer from 89 euro and does the job.Bit difficult to start with but works fine for only a few times you need it.
Yeah. There ARE a lot of guides out there. So far nobody has even given a stinkin' link.
I assume you have a USALS motor to move your dish. Satellite Guys has guides and hands on tips from users.
Skyfan has said that he is pointing at 28.2E and is complaining that the dish may be mis-aligned on that satellite because one channel has a occasional missing frame. If anything is wrong with the alignment it will only be a very minor tweak to the position or skew. The information for such a minor tweak in dish alignment has been given in this thread. This assumes that the problem is alignment and not a broadcast problem that has been complained about in other forums.
If the dish is shifting so frequently then a better bracket is essential. A 60 or 80cm dish should not shift unless the bracket is soft crap. A £5 analogue meter is good enough to re-align the dish if it is slightly out.
Might it be a good idea to have markings as a starting point before adjusting dish.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.