Whether you’re using a free-standing or roof-mounted satellite dish, you’ll need to make sure you’re in a place free of trees or other impediments before you can align your system. Receiving a strong enough signal for trouble-free viewing requires a clear line of sight between the satellite and your dish.
The first step in setting up your dish is to point it south to southeast, which you can do with a compass or by looking at the position of the sun (B2022).
The satellite’s orbital position is 28.2 degrees East of South, but the actual compass bearing is slightly different. You’ll need to know the magnetic variation of the continent you’re on to figure out the correct compass bearing. The required variance for the United Kingdom is roughly 5 degrees, which means you’ll need to position your dish to a compass bearing of about 23 degrees east of south.
Now that you’ve got the dish roughly aligned with the compass bearing from left to right, The second step is to vertically position the dish. The correct dish elevation will vary depending on where you are in the world. The elevation for the majority of the UK is between 21 and 27 degrees. A ‘Zone Map’ is included with each Maxview satellite dish kit. The ‘Zone Map’ will give you a rough idea of what elevation you’ll need to place the dish to.
You should only need to fine-tune these settings to get an image now that the dish is roughly aligned with the compass bearing and elevation angle.
The employment of a ‘Sat-Finder’ (B5029) can also aid in the detection of satellite signals. As you move the dish, the ‘Sat-Finder’ will offer you an audio indicator of signal strength.
Using the “Signal Test menu” incorporated within the Sky Digital Decoder can also help with proper dish alignment, especially when it comes to finding the correct satellite. You must ‘push’ the “Services button on the Sky remote to reach this menu. After that, go to the “SERVICES menu and select “SYSTEM SETUP (number 4) then “SIGNAL TEST” (number 6).
Signal Strength, Signal Quality, Lock Indicator, Network ID, and Transport Stream are all indicators of how strong a signal is.
To get the digital meter in the satellite receiver to respond correctly, move the dish in slow discrete steps. For more information, reference the manufacturer’s instruction manual.
Alignment is crucial, and the dish must be aligned until at least a quarter of the ‘Signal quality’ bar is visible. When the signal quality is sufficient, the ‘Lock indicator’ will display ‘OK.’ The ‘Network ID’ for the Astra 2 satellite should be “0002,” with the ‘Transport Stream’ set to ’07d4.’ If the ‘Network ID’ displays any other information, you have locked onto the incorrect satellite and must re-align the satellite dish and reset your Sky decoder. When you get a clear signal, be careful not to alter the dish location when tightening the dish mounting bolts or clamps.
The Astra 2 satellite cluster’s programs are “beamed down” to form three “Footprints,” north, south, and UK. These “footprints” receive all of the Free-To-Air and Sky programs: The most up-to-date list of programs available on each footprint can be found at (WWW.ASTRA.LU)
What is the best way to orient my satellite?
- It’s crucial to get the azimuth angle right. You’ll never find the right vertical adjustment if you don’t make the right horizontal adjustment first.
- Communicate with your partner frequently and effectively.
- To acquire stable feedback on the TV or alignment tool, rotate or tilt the dish in a slow arc and pause.
- A protractor can be used to find elevation in the same way that a compass can be used to find azimuth angles.
What do you need for thealignment process?
After you’ve put up your satellite dish, you’ll need to position your DStv dish. It does not necessitate the use of any tools. All you have to do now is look at how your satellite dish is set up and make any necessary adjustments. By incorporating a small bracket on the satellite dish, Multichoice makes DStvalignment easier. It has the required 36.6 degrees written on it.
While altering the DStvalignment, you should also examine the angle of your smart LNB. It should be at a 53-degree angle to the satellite dish’s right. If you don’t have a meter, you can attain the proper angle at half-past four by using the face of your analog clock.
You should also make sure that the DStv dish is facing east before aligning it. This is something Multichoice recommends, and it will ensure that you get the best signal possible. This can also be done without the use of a tool. All you have to do is readjust it as the sun rises in the morning.
Observing those in your region can also help you determine the best location for your satellite dish. Things’s a wonderful pointer to utilize because you don’t have the tools these technicians did. It’ll make it easier.
Once the alignment is complete, you can use your DStv decoder to look for a signal. Perform a signal search while making minor changes to your dish until you get the best signal. As a result, the alignment can be completed without the use of any tools.
How do you align the azimuth of the dish?
To determine azimuth, follow these steps:
- Find the correct angle with a compass and adjust the plumb mast (the pole on which the dish is attached) until the dish is pointing at that angle.
- Check the strength of your signal: anything above 40 is considered good.
- All hardware should be tightened.
What level of precision does a satellite dish require?
This part is still about arranging your satellite dish alignment, but it’s more relevant now that you’re ready to accomplish it. Rather than simply determining coordinates, which you should have done before now.
Dishpointer AppHelp Identify The Satellite Arc
There are many free and premium satellite alignment apps available. I believe the Dishpointer App costs roughly $10, but when calibrated correctly, it will allow you to hold your phone up to the satellites and, using the camera and your geographic coordinates, it will map out where the satellites appear in the sky on the horizon on your screen. This is critical to get right when installing motorized satellite dishes since it can help you visualize where the satellites are and identify any line-of-sight concerns, such as clearance of a nearby obstruction. Just keep in mind that if you’re matching your satellite elevation, the vast majority of the time you won’t be physically angling the satellite back reflector (the big round portion) to this, as most of the dishes fitted are offset satellite dishes. The satellite signals are shot down at whatever angle they are in your location, and then reflected back at a different angle to the LNB that sits beneath. This is done so that the LNB does not obstruct the signal, and it is why Sky mini-dishes do not appear to be pointing to the Sky at all. There are satellite dishes known as primefocus satellite dishes that have the LNB installed in the center; these are often significantly larger because the LNB blocks a portion of the signal and the entire dish must be tilted up towards the satellite. Satellite dishes of this type become increasingly prevalent as you get closer to the equator, when the satellites are much higher in the sky.
I wouldn’t put your faith in the results it provides because they can be hit or miss. Instead, I would recommend utilizing a compass and inclometer, but not everyone has one sitting around as they have a Smartphone.
Compass/ Inclometer
There’s nothing like a good old compass and inclometer to easily detect a satellite angle, and I much prefer using one of them. One of the advantages of utilizing one of these is that it can be pulled out quickly and does not require any electricity or a WIFI or mobile internet signal. My compass/imclometer cost about $50, but it has saved me countless hours of testing satellite signal directions. The disadvantage of using a compass to find your azimuth angle (east/west) is that it will direct you to magnetic south rather than due south. Although these are often the same, the magnetic field around the earth changes and there can be as much as a few degrees difference, which can be disastrous when aligning satellite dishes. I even saw a video lately that said that in the not-too-distant future, the entire earth’s magnetic field could totally spin, causing compasses to point north. However, I’m not sure if they’ll still be putting up satellite dishes when that happens!
I recommend going to this website to discover the current magnetic south/ due south comparison so you know how many degrees to account for while positioning your satellite dish.
Satellite Dish Alignment ToolTV Spectrum Analyser
I’ve already mentioned that the field meter I use for satellitedish alignments cost me a few thousand pounds, although there are extremely nice satellite-only ones available for only a few hundred pounds. If you have the money, I would buy one, but you must align satellite dishes on a semi-regular basis; otherwise, you might as well hire an aerial and satellite firm to do it for you, which we can do if you live in Sussex or South Kent.
My meter, among other things, will allow me to see the signals and transponders in near realtime as I move the satellite dish about to find the one I want. When you do this frequently enough, you’ll eventually learn what they look like on your screen based on the frequencies that the transponders appear on. For example, I can determine what Astra 2, Astra 1, and Hotbird look like without knowing anything else about them, but if I were looking for another satellite, I’d need more information. I look in the region identified by Dishpointer or my compass, and when I locate something, I may scan one of the channels automatically, and my metre will tell me what satellite my satellite dish is oriented to with an azimuth angle, using the information I’ve already obtained from Kingofsat. I could then determine whether my dish should be directed east or west based on this information. For example, if I located Astra 2 at 28.2 and wanted to find Astra 3 at 23.5, I’d know that I needed to angle my satellite dish 4.7 degrees farther west, as well as slightly raise the elevation as we get closer todue south. If you’re going in the opposite direction, the situation is reversed. My meter shows me everything I need to know about signal strength and dependability once I’ve discovered the satellite. Demodulation allows me to display a TV picture on my screen even if I find an unencrypted service. This is useful for showing consumers that the satellite dish is operating when there is no other satellite equipment available, but it is not required if you comprehend dB, MER, C/N, and Bit Error Ratio measurements. These can be used to determine whether the satellite dish is operational (BER) and how reliable the signal is (typically expressed as a Carrier to Noise ratio (C/N), but for digital satellite TV broadcasts, a Modulation Error Ratio reading is preferable.
For your reference, a minimum signal strength of at least 52dB and a MER or C/Nreading of more than 12dB at the receiver end are required for reliable satellite reception.
If you’re going to buy a satellite alignment tool, make sure it offers the following features:
Bit error ratio readings to ensure that it’s operating; if you grasp this, it’ll tell you a lot more than just the TV picture.
Recognize satellites This will assist you make sure you’re pointing the dish in the right direction.
DVBS-2Compatibility
This is a more efficient compression technique that is commonly used for HD broadcasts; as more broadcasts migrate to the DVB-S2 standard, your satellite alignment will last significantly longer.
Satellite Receiver Bleeper
Most satellite receivers will provide signal strength values, which will normally include a signal dependability or signalquality reading, similar to what you’d see on conventional Sky and Freesat boxes. Although the bars or percentage readings don’t represent anything, I mean that there is no such thing as a 100 percent satellite signal reading, as many people claim. Signals aren’t read in that manner. It can be used as an approximate indicator of whether you have a strong or weak signal.
If you’re trying to align a satellite dish with these readings, I recommend moving the dish at small intervals and giving the satellite receiver 10 seconds or so to see if it can lock on the signal. There is, however, a bleeper or squawk setting on most generic satellite receivers in the UK, which will give an audible beep when the signal is at its strongest. You can use this to get your dish online if you can position it, perhaps with a window open so you can hear the beeps or highest pitch tones.
Once again, you must have your satellite dish pointed roughly in the right direction, so use the compass to determine your roughdirection first, otherwise you risk locking onto the wrong satellites, which will not provide you with the channels you desire. We utilize this strategy while building satellite broadband dishes because we can’t connect our analysers to the appropriate dishes because they’re incompatible, despite the fact that the dish itself would emit the audible tone instead of the satellite receiver.
What is the meaning of LNB skew?
An article aimed at assisting those who are just getting started with satellite TV installation. We’ll discuss the topic of accurately skewing an LNBf as a group. Most of us must have heard things like “tweak the LNBf to 3.0clock, 9.0clock, 5.0.clock, or anything along those lines.” The basics of modifying an LNBf to suit a specific satellite orbital position are covered in this article.
What is LNBf Skewing?
The rotational position of the LNB installed on a satellite dish is known as LNB skew. To reduce the number of mistakes received on both vertically and horizontally polarised transponders, it must be set within defined limitations.
Why isn’t my satellite dish transmitting a signal?
This problem is frequently caused by a slightly off-kilter satellite dish, broken or malfunctioning equipment, bad weather, or something blocking the dish’s view of the sky. Your signal strength may limit the delivery of live programs, but you can still watch recorded content if you have a DVR.
What is the best way to set up my DStv signal at home?
- Connect the LNB (the device that goes on the dish’s “arm” to receive the signal) to the receiver.
- Connect the coaxial line to the LNB of your dish and, if not previously done, to the decoder’s “LNB In port.
- Now, using your DStv remote, go to “menu” (not TV remote).
- Go to the “general information” section.
- You’ll find “signal quality and strength” in the information bar’s drop down menu.
- For each, you should aim for a percentage of up to 85%.
- Move the dish up and down and from side to side to receive the optimum signal. Adjust as needed while keeping an eye on the decoder readout. Lock it in place when it reaches the highest reading.
That concludes the dstv satellite dish installation; enjoy your new entertainment experience. Also, if you want to be a DStv installer, keep reading this page until you’ve mastered all of the stages. Paying for Cable TV Subscriptions Is Simple With Cashback (Gotv, Dstv)
How do I increase the intensity of my DStv signal?
Here are a few simple things you can take to fix your DStv signal strength if you’re getting a no signal found error. These options, however, are only applicable to domestic satellite dish setups.
Examine F-type connectors.
Examine the LNB and the rear of the decoder for poorly connected F-type connectors.
Align the LNB correctly.
Align your LNB at a skew angle to the polarity of the signal, your current location, and the satellite you’ve chosen.
Adjust the satellite dish’s position.
Adjust the horizontal and elevation angles of your satellite dish to ensure optimal alignment.
- A defective LNB should be replaced.
- Change the location of your satellite dish
If your satellite dish is located where there are signal obstructions, such as trees and buildings, relocate it.
Trees that may hinder the signal should be cut down or pruned.
If you are unable to resolve the issue on your own, you should seek the assistance of a professional DStv installer in your region.
