09 Okay, I have my equipment. How do I get my TVRO satellite systeminstalled?
Description
This article is from the TeleVision Receive Only Satellite-TV FAQ, by TVRO Hobbyists drlev@hotmail.com with numerous contributions by others.
09 Okay, I have my equipment. How do I get my TVRO satellite systeminstalled?
Easy. Have someone else do it. Pay them lots of money, sit back and
when the job is done, watch lots of TV! All kidding aside, many people
DO choose to have a professional installation done to avoid the hassle
of the installation job. But if you DO do it yourself, you can save a
considerable amount of money in parts and labor.
http://www.geo-orbit.org/sizepgs/tuningp2.html is a valuable resource
discussing polar mount installation.
The first step in the installation is to do a site survey. You need to
have a clear view to the south in order to properly track the
satellite arc. If you are in a thick cover of trees, this will likely
affect your reception in some manner. Deciduous (leafy) trees are more
problematic in the spring and summer months; conifers (evergreen) can
be a problem year round. Even if you plan to do the actual
installation yourself, a professional site survey is still
recommended. In some instances, a roof mount of some type may be
required to get a clear view of the required portion of the satellite
arc above any stand of trees.
If an acceptable location for dish installation is found, it's time to
really get those hands dirty! A simple list of installation hardware
and supplies will include a schedule 40 steel pole, several bags of
quick-dry concrete (or you can mix some of the regular stuff yourself,
if you REALLY want to...), a stepladder, tie wraps, a good set of
screwdrivers, wrenches, and other such tools. It is also HIGHLY
recommended that you have *something* for testing signal strength of
the satellite signal, such as a dedicated signal strength meter or
even an oscilloscope. You should also have an inclinometer when
setting declination and offset angles.
The most commonly required pole size is 3.5 inches in diameter on the
outside. Before you buy one, read the instructions or measure the
mount to be sure to get the right diameter. A good rule of thumb is
for every foot in diameter of the dish, there should be a
corresponding foot in length of the pole. For example, a ten foot dish
should have a ten foot pole. Note that part of the pole needs to
*actually be in the concrete*; three feet of pole in the concrete base
should work great. Before putting the pipe into the concrete,
something needs to be affixed to the bottom of the pipe so that it
cannot be twisted by wind load on the dish. Either weld some kind of
protrusion to the pipe, or drill a hole through it and stick a bolt or
piece of steel rod through.
It is highly recommended that PVC pipe be used for cable conduit so
that the cabling is protected from the elements, gophers, moles, and
any other "varmints" living below the ground. The PVC in the concrete
needs to be angled at 90 degrees and only needs to be just inches into
the concrete base as the conduit ditch to the system owner's home will
only be a few inches deep. 1 inch diameter PVC pipe will suffice, but
1 1/4" or 1 1/2" will make life easier to run long ribbons
through. Some hobbyists have an aversion to the PVC technique unless
holes are drilled into in the PVC to allow water to drain
out. Otherwise, the PVC will fill up with water, and it also makes it
more likely that water will seep into the cable at some nick.
Before any serious installing can occur, a good *hole* in the ground
needs to be dug for the concrete base. Once dug, it's time to set the
metal pole into it. Next, pour the concrete mix into the hole. While
the concrete is still wet, insert the PVC pipe to be used for cable
conduit, and use a level to make sure the pole is plumb on at least
three sides. It will take at least 24 hours for the concrete to
completely dry and harden, so don't get into a hurry to finish the
dish part of the installation!
While the concrete is hardening, unless you did it at the same time
you dug the hole for the pole, a shallow trench needs to be dug for
the underground cabling; this includes the PVC conduit pipe if
used. Lay the cable until it enters the house; make sure to seal entry
holes with caulk or other sealer to keep creepy pests and water
out. It may be best to adhere to the requirements of your local
electrical code when choosing a grounding technique.
After the concrete base is good and hard the dish is ready to be
mounted onto the pole. If the dish reflector hasn't been assembled,
now might be a good time to do this; refer to the dish's instruction
manual (if there is one) for assembly instructions. Some designs
provide for the mount to be installed on the pole before the reflector
is assembled. This is also a good time to connect the feed assembly
and LNB(s) to the feed mount. Gently set the mount and/or dish/mount
assembly onto the pole. Depending on the size and weight of the dish,
and the height of the pole protruding from the ground, this might
require three or more people. Point it as close to directly south as
possible. After this is done, connect the coaxial portion(s) of your
satellite ribbon cable to the LNB(s), connect the servo wires if your
feed has a servo motor, and secure the cabling to the dish itself
using tie wraps. Connect the actuator arm to the dish and make sure
its in the proper orientation.
The "hard labor" part of the installation is now done and the system
is almost ready to be calibrated to track the satellite arc. But
first, the receiver needs to be connected to the proper cables and
wires so it can communicate with the dish. No two satellite receivers
are exactly alike, but there are some connections that are required by
all modern receivers for proper connection to the rest of the
satellite system. Here is a list of them:
1. C-Band/Horizontal LNB coaxial input - C-Band or horizontal
LNB coaxial cable connects here
2. Ku-Band/Vertical LNB coaxial input - Ku-Band or vertical
LNB coaxial connects here
3. Actuator: (red) - Connects to actuator (large red) wire
4. Actuator: (black or white) - Connects to actuator (large
white or black) wire
5. Actuator [Sensor]: +5V DC (yellow) (optional, probably not
needed)
6. Actuator [Sensor]: Sensor (blue) Connects to actuator
(small green or blue) wire
7. Actuator [Sensor]: Shield (gray) Connects to actuator
(small brown, tan, or gray) wire
8. Ground: (black) - Connects to polarizer (small black) wire
9. Pulse: (white) - Connects to polarizer (small white or
gray) wire
10. +5V, 150mA (red) - Connects to polarizer (small red) wire
11. RF OUT (coaxial) - Coaxial cable out to TV connects here
Note that each receiver is different and color-coding may vary.
The actuator and polarizer wiring colors also may vary somewhat.
Whew! That was a bit tricky! Now connect the receiver to the
television and..don't forget to plug in the receiver's power
cord!
The receiver should now be powered on. Now it's time to calibrate
the dish for tracking the satellite arc. This often is the
trickiest part of the entire installation. Make sure your
satellite dish mount is pointed *exactly* to the south. Next you
must check to see that the west button drives the dish west, and
the east button drives the dish east. If the direction is
backwards, you'll need to swap the two heavy motor wires, either
on the receiver, or on your actuator motor. Next, if your
receiver will let you, use your receiver controls to then find
the satellite nearest to due south at your location. More
commonly the receiver will require you to first set east and west
limits.
There should be some sort of programming mode on the receiver;
this will show up on the television screen as text. If the
receiver is brand new, this will probably come up automatically
when you first turn it on. If your receiver is used, you'll want
to note the satellite name showing when first turned on. If it is
the same as the one due south of your location, reprogramming
might be very simple. Also if used, the mount might be pointing
considerably away from due south, but if that deviance appears to
be the same location as the satellite that came up when you
powered up the receiver, then also you might have most of your
work done already (after ever so slightly loosening the mount on
the pole, simply rotating the dish a bit east or west might pop
up a picture). If not, most likely you should clear all memory on
the receiver before attempting anything else. The following
sequence will vary slightly depending on the
receiver make and model:
1. Selecting LNB types - Select C/Ku-Band and proper LNB voltage.
2. Setting East/West limits - This tells the receiver the extreme
limits of how far the actuator is to move the dish. These MUST be
set properly or your dish or mover can be damaged! East limit
might be required to be set first, then west. Refer to the
receiver manual on the exact procedure for finding the satellite
arc.
3. Satellite Programming - Once the arc has been tracked,
satellites can be programmed in. In most cases this must be done
manually. With some receivers, you need find only two, and then
the receiver can find the rest automatically.
It may take several hours or more to fine tune the satellite
system, particularly for Ku-Band. Just be patient and eventually
you will be the proud new owner of a working TVRO satellite
system! Congratulations!
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