fitting a motor

[jclassic1]

I have a Technomate 3100D which receives the Premier channels on Astra 1 19.2e.I am going to fit a Technomate 2200 motor so I can also get Hotbird.
There are a number of helpfull posts on setting up a motorised dish but they all deal with the offset type of dish and I have an Attisat flat plate dish which has to be set up as a prime focus type.This should not be a problem as the only difference is the elevation angle.As my dish is presently aimed at Astra 1 and receives a good strong signal my idea of fitting the motor is this.I will set the motor dish mounting arm vertical the same as my mounting pole.I will set the motor to 20 degrees east and refit my dish to the motor without altering the elevation of the dish.
I can then use my meter to tune in astra 1 and fine tune the elevation with the meter. I did it this way back in the D2mac days with a 1mtr dish and it seemed to work ok.
Can anyone see a problem with this way of doing it as it has worked before but I thought I would check to see if anyone has set up a diseqc motor with a prime focus dish.
All the excellant guides for fitting a diseqc motor only give the fitting infomation for an offset dish.There must surely be somebody who can give some info on using a prime focus type of dish.
The only difference that I can see is in the elevation setting as the prime focus is much more steeply angled.


Thanks

John

[nvingo]

I see you haven't received a (forum) reply for almost three weeks.
From my little knowledge, I would suggest centering the dish, then set it up for Thor (almost due south - less than one degree anyway) and raising the elavation until you have signal. The remainder of the arc should need minimal tweaking then.

[jclassic1]

Hi NVINGO,
thanks for your advise.I am not sure if I will fit the motor yet.I am only interested in Astra 1 and Hotbird so I might just fit another dish and monoblock lnb.

John

[Robbo]

Sorry, I missed this thread, the forum got very busy a few weeks back.

The setting up of a motor with a prime focus dish instead of an offset would make no difference/ The main concern would be having enough space to get the dish elevation setting correct.

[kerrywez]

As with Robbo I missed this one also, can't think how we both missed it, having just looked at the date of posting and that was when all hell broke out with the cable guys, they lost their channels and were in a blind panic and swamped the forums with silly question, most of them the same thing.

As Robbo says you need to have the room to allow the dish the room it needs for lying back, elevation. If you get into bother please get back to us and we will try and talk you through it.

Sorry for the delay in replying, but your post some how slipped through us.

Very best regards Wez

[jclassic1]

Thanks for the replies,my main concern was not so much the setting up of the flat plate dish as I have done this a number of times.My main reason for contacting the forum was to find out if when I set my dish up I plan to set it up on Astra 1 19e instead of Thor 1w.I can not see any difference in useing this satellite instead of 1w.If my motor is set to 19e(or 20e will be easier)and fine tune the elevation and skew to get the maximum signal and then use the goto x.x comand to find Hotbird.Having the motor set to the 19.2e should also have the motor centre pointing to South.
As I have said I am only interested in these 2 satellites as my dish may be a bit small for some others.

Thanks

John

[nvingo]

That should be fine, I re-read the setup manual for my positioner today, and that basically said to set it first for one, then two and finally three arbitrary satellites, tweaking for best signal each time.

The fact that its direct facing rather than offset plays no part in that the graduations on the mount define the aim.

[Robbo]

Originally Posted by jclassic1

Thanks for the replies,my main concern was not so much the setting up of the flat plate dish as I have done this a number of times.My main reason for contacting the forum was to find out if when I set my dish up I plan to set it up on Astra 1 19e instead of Thor 1w.I can not see any difference in useing this satellite instead of 1w.If my motor is set to 19e(or 20e will be easier)and fine tune the elevation and skew to get the maximum signal and then use the goto x.x comand to find Hotbird.Having the motor set to the 19.2e should also have the motor centre pointing to South.
As I have said I am only interested in these 2 satellites as my dish may be a bit small for some others.

Thanks

John

Yes, if using USALS ( or GotoX) it is possible but not optimal to setup on a satellite that is not at the peak of the arc. Just GotoX for 19.2E, adjust the dish (antenna) elevation and swivel the motor round the pole for max signal, and then you should be roughly setup for the other sats too, no more adjustments should be needed.If you only want 13E and 19E it will work fine.

Robbo