Help Correctly Aligning My 1.2M Channel Master Dish and moteck H-H180 motor

There are 244 replies in this Thread which was already clicked 9,789 times. The last Post () by supwiddiss.

    so drill holes like this? (found on satsuk)

    P1270279-1.jpg

    this quote was attached:


    "In the UK the extenders need to be at the top, which is why I needed to drill the 2 holes. I hope this makes it clearer."


    "I have altered aceb's photo to show you where I had to drill the holes.

    In aceb's photo he has switched the bottom bracket, with the top, so although the arrows are drawn on the top bracket, on my motor, and those shipped, this bracket is at the bottom, tha same as you currently have it set up."


    "The blue arrows are where the original holes are, the red are where I drilled new holes, in the silver bracket, about half way between the original and the front of the bracket. This solved all my problems as I could then fit the original, stronger, bolts, and the adapter plate fitted as it should.

    This motor seems to be for the American market and so the extension brackets, as used in America, would go on the bottom, and not the top, which means they would have no problem in the USA. In the UK the extenders need to be at the top, which is why I needed to drill the 2 holes.

    I hope this makes it clearer."


    from the post on satsuk


    Quote from jenseneverest

    supwiddiss


    Is that spring on your rig to take up freeplay ? I had thought about doing similar, but ultimately replaced the ram as found good deal on a super jack

    Yeah. It's a heavy one. 12' 'glass dish. Previously the actuator extension tube bolted more towards the inside. As you see I extended the mounts with angle iron. FYI that's an older pic. She's all painted and purdy now!
    I had the famous "dish flop" as the dish went over zenith. First were the extensions. It made it better and the motor controller "counts" were more linear.
    With the extension more towards the dish rim, "flop" went away.
    Example. 127 W to 123W would be like 180 counts. As it headed up to the top counts would decrease a lot per 2 degrees.
    Made predicting where the next sat would be when initially scanning for them. I have some 40 or so C & ku sats stored so far.
    The spring is on cables and only comes into play as the dish approaches the top. And tension continues to increase as it goes further.
    That pulls back on the actuator. So returning the dish is much easier it.
    All of my pivots have been replaced with pairs of pillow block bearings. There really is no slop at all.
    Oh yeah. Freeplay only happened when the dish was at the top. A little slop. The spring fixed that.

    STOP BEING RUDE!! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO STOP BEING SO RUDE!

    You have taken on a task that usually takes 2 men to complete. You are getting an awful lot of information some good lots bad. Configuring a big dish is not for the fainthearted and your particular set up is best left to a professional. If you had asked me from the outset what to get that you wanted to tackle single handedly I would told you to get a Gilbertini 1.25m dish and a superior dark motor. And I would have stressed the need for it to be on a flat base.


    I am amazed how you are getting that dish mounted, your earlier pics were more accurate, the one where someone told you to remove brackets was a mistake. You have the 2 manuals. I have installed systems in the past but would not touch a channel master.


    I don't know if you will ever get it back to look like the pics where red bits were shown on the bolts but if you can, then a simple option is to select 0.8WEST with a channel that is FTA and a strong signal Like Al Jazeera and Galaxy, one is Horizontal and the other is Vertical. You may already know this but when you select a channel on 0.8WEST you then move the whole rig, dish and motor until you get a signal, it takes a few seconds for the signal to hit the dish and get to meter/receiver so go really slow. You should also use a signal meter that will give you a picture of the channel so you know you are on the right satellite. I use a GT MEDIA 8 but may be superseded now. Once on 0.8W and you are east by the way, you tweak and tweak until you are happy. Tighten everything thing up and scan the skies. Here are 3 pics.


    Focal length for the LNB is very important and I don't know if the lnb you are using sits in the bracket at the correct focal length but what is means is that the tip of lnb must be precisely set from the face of the dish. If its wrong you may get some channels but not all, hence using a vertical channel and a horizontal to fine tune set up.

    For claihew:

    "I would told you to get a Gilbertini 1.25m dish and a superior dark motor. And I would have stressed the need for it to be on a flat base."

    The dish he has right now will work just fine once all of the variables are sorted out.

    Yes! A flat base....maybe for a fixed dish. Nothing less than a rigid mounting on a concrete base that is immovable.

    Absolutely a pole in the ground deep enough to be below the frost line and filled with concrete.
    Certainly we have a "rigged" job here. Just the slightest movement of what he currently has and the alignment goes all to s**t.


    "I would told you to get a Gilbertini 1.25m dish and a superior dark motor"

    Obviously he does not. Read back and perhaps look at the many different brands of dishes that use these motors.
    The Channel Master, Raven dish. Same exact type made by many. Andrews.
    Perhaps they fare better with a true, robust polar or horizon to horizon mount. I'm pretty sure it weighs quite a bit.
    But they are Excellent dishes.


    "the one where someone told you to remove brackets was a mistake"

    In this case. Maybe not so much. If removing the brackets, moving them to the bottom (as I suspect is exactly what is needed), gets the required angles and geometry in line. It HAS to be done. If removing the brackets entirely and concentrating on exactly what is needed to get the angles correct. With a margin of adjutability.
    Somebody has to step up.


    "Getting"....."Understanding" the whole concept of getting preliminary geometry and angles setup is what the OP is not understanding.
    This is a big problem. A person familiar with steerable dishes would "get it" immediately.
    As inexpensive as they are. A digital angle gauge will allow to do an accurate setup. And keep track of miniscule changes throughout the process.
    Those miniscule tweaks will need to be done.
    An inclinometer just won't hack it for a nubie.


    "Focal length for the LNB is very important and I don't know if the lnb you are using sits in the bracket at the correct focal length"

    He had stated that he had a signal. Then lost it. Suspecting the LNBF position has not changed. But certainly Sharpie marks are made to return it to the last known place it was.


    Okay. Now.
    I'm not being rude. And. So you know. I'm not very good at trainees in my industry telling me anything at all.
    Somebody has a mental block. Every single effort is being given to help you out.
    Jenseneverest provided links that hopefully could steer you in the right direction. Perhaps they are full of tekkie jargon.
    I'm taking extensive effort to give you all of the information to get what you have at the very least aligned correctly.
    And all I keep getting back from you is bullshit.

    Remove. loosen, movethe brackets to the bottom of the mount.
    Use ratchet straps, boards to hold the reflector in place while you measure all of the angles needed.
    Maybe you'll have to drill a few holes. Maybe you'll have to cut the brackets. Or find a place you can get a few pieces of steel.
    Nothing matters until you can get your dish and motor angles precicely where they need.
    AND THEN I SEE WHERE YOU HAD NOT EVEN MOVED THE DECLINATION ADJUSTMENT TO THE 0 REFERENCE. YOU DIDN'T EVEN DO THAT ONE THING.

    Either you start comprehending all that is given you here. And being proactive and perform the steps needed.
    Or find an experienced installer. Who......will refuse because your dish is not mounted on the ground where it will not ever deviate.

    Motor set to 0

    Elevation

    Dish set on the mount to compensate for the offset

    Declination.


    That's ALL you need to do. And be a good photographer.

    Listen. And DO IT.

    Look at old Rusty here.

    We have elevation. Shown in red.
    We have declination. Shown in blue.
    The only thing missing is the 22.5 degree "drop" needed if I were to bolt your dish to my mount.
    As you see from the slotted adjustments where the blue angle is. It could be done.

    Get busy.

    FiberglassEl_Dec.jpg



    UPDATE:


    As you can see i have done this now, also set the Deinclination angle to 0 (but forgot to take a pic of it)


    just incase you dont know what i done today.... I Have set the faceplate to how you "told me to do it" and set the Deinclination to 0 and oh yeah the brackets WONT REACH While its like that, as you should be able to tell from my pictures IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY!!


    After.jpgFront.jpgSide.jpgflat.jpg


    im guessing im now going to need this? Varnished Cold-pressed steel Equal L-shaped Angle profile, (L)1m (W)27mm | DIY at B&Q


    oh and FYI IM A GREAT PHOTOGRAPHER & VIDEOGRAPHER!!


    Progress!!! Yay!!

    Could you do us a favor?
    Put the elevation for the motor set to your latitude angle?
    Then.....
    Using pieces of wire or whatever......
    Twist them in the upper slotted dish mounting plate holes.
    Then tilt the entire dish back until....
    The flat plate is the 22.5 degrees more than the elevation angle?
    The dish would be tilting a little bit more towards the ground. But of course not at the ground.
    Twist the wire around the bolts where your slotted mounting brackets are still attached to the motor
    Then please turn one of the slotted brackets towards the slotted holes on the dish mount where they were bolted to.
    And send a photo or photos showing the angles you have everything set to at that point

    Maybe we can get somewhere.

    when i was replying lastnight it was -1, dark and cold here so couldn't go back outside to do anything to it, so i did it this afternoon after work just like i said i would!!


    ==============================================================================================================================


    Progress!!! Yay!! < THANKS IT TOOK AWHILE BUT I JUST WORKED IT OUT AND WENT FOR IT IN THE END <

    Could you do us a favor? < OK <

    Put the elevation for the motor set to your latitude angle? < Screw A (AKA THE LONG SCREW ON THE OTHERSIDE) is already at 52 degrees <

    Then.....

    Using pieces of wire or whatever......

    Twist them in the upper slotted dish mounting plate holes.

    Then tilt the entire dish back until....

    The flat plate is the 22.5 degrees more than the elevation angle? < possibly be able to do that but would it not make sense to get something like this: Varnished Cold-pressed steel Equal L-shaped Angle profile, (L)1m (W)27mm ? but smaller? (i can cut it if needed) <

    The dish would be tilting a little bit more towards the ground. But of course not at the ground. <ok that's good i guess?...<

    Twist the wire around the bolts where your slotted mounting brackets are still attached to the motor <ok that's good i guess?...<

    Then please turn one of the slotted brackets towards the slotted holes on the dish mount where they were bolted to. <ok that's good i guess?...<

    And send a photo or photos showing the angles you have everything set to at that point <ok i will try to do it tomorrow (weather and temp depending) of course.....!!<

    Maybe we can get somewhere. <WELL I HOPE SO YOU KNOW!! :)<


    Fast Replying but with My Quotes in RED NOW and yours in WHITE! < makes it easier to understand when i read all this info back !!

    Lookee here. Easy as pie.
    I have edited your photo so that the pole everything is mounted to is vertical.



    Orange line.

    Your latitude angle. 56.2 degrees?

    The scale closest to the motor. Set it to that.

    And the motor shaft. Where the whole mount rotates when you apply power to it.
    An imaginary line right through the center of the shaft. It will also equal 56.2 degrees from horizontal.


    Yellow line.

    The back of the flat dish mounting plate.

    That is your latitude. Minus the dish offset of 22.5 degrees.
    So orange line + yellow line will be 75.1 degrees.

    Put the plate at that angle.


    Tie the dish exactly there with wire like I asked you to.
    Then turn the slotted bracket at the motor towards the dish mount where you did unbolt it
    Send photos.
    Ba-da-bing.
    No more, no less. For now.

    I really am not interested in any fancy stuff right now.
    You and I have a mission. Make it work and then make it pretty.
    Get some rusty steel bar stock. Some flat iron. Sand it. Paint it.
    Drill holes in it so you can get your dish setup and get a satellite signal.
    Patience is wearing thin. Don't put the cart in front of the horse. Certainly don't count your chickens before the eggs hatch.
    What if I don't want to wait for tomorrow? I might have more things to do.....think about that. It's cold and snowing and snotty here too.


    More_Angles.jpg

    i dont have chickens, or a horse, lol


    well im affraid tomorrow will have to do as its dark, cold and frosty here right now and i wont be able to do anything out there tonight!!


    i will post pics and updates tomorrow when i can!

    rain is on the way but milder!! Here is a pic of your type motor attached to your CM dish. Look closely and see if you can achieve the same but I still cant fathom how you are managing to manouvre that dish so hats off to you. Note the supporting bars go in inside of the dish attachment. I dont know how ood pic is but looks pretty similar to your rig.

    Quote from claihew

    rain is on the way but milder!! Here is a pic of your type motor attached to your CM dish. Look closely and see if you can achieve the same but I still cant fathom how you are managing to manouvre that dish so hats off to you. Note the supporting bars go in inside of the dish attachment. I dont know how ood pic is but looks pretty similar to your rig.

    thanks already tried tht also, still doesnt reach how it is now, where is that pic from?

    Here was my previous install, same dish, same motor, worked for 3 years with zero problems before i took it down. my latitude is 53, practically the same as yours. You can see where my settings were on the motor bracket. Hope you find them useful.

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