New 36, Motor and Linear

[catthepatch]

Just picked up my new 36 inch dish and SG 2100 motor today at the post office. Box almost didn't want to fit in the car, good thing I have a hatchback. Got it home and into the garage where I put it together. Now I'll have to dig a hole for a mount tomorrow. This may take some time as it is minus 12 overnight. Oh well, got lots of time. One question, how to tie in my other 3 circular lnbs on 2 seperate dishes. As I only have a dual linear lnb for this dish. Would a diseque work between the motor and lnb using the stationary dishes?

[Terryl]

First off, welcome to the motorized dish club, enjoy the scanning.

Now for the tech stuff,

To properly control this motor you have to run from the receiver directly to the motor then any switch, you can run almost any type of switch after the motor, you can use a 4 in 1 out DiSEqC switch but the coax must run thru the motor first.

And when you do your mount be sure it’s as absolutely vertical as possible, if it’s off by a few degrees it won’t track the satellites correctly.

Also poring concrete in low temperatures is tricky, be sure to keep it from freezing for several days as it cures, you can use several inches of straw and burlap to act as an insulator till it cures.

[catthepatch]

At this time I'll be using a 4x4 8' treated post without the concrete till at least spring. I have lots of them and digging down 3' next to an unused garage foundation next to where my other dishes are mounted at almost ground level on top of the foundation, 6" to 10" above the ground. I don't have a metal mast at the moment. Movement of the mast will not be critical for now, til the ground thaws and it will probably need shoring up on 2 sides. I know this isn't the perfect setup but, should work for the moment. Was thinking of mounting to the side of the house but, the eaves are too low and not my building. Would send pics but, no camera. I know of the switch issues and will sooner or later get an ivacon quad when I can afford it. I will probably use my CS7K for this dish as i like the onboard memory for time shifting. At least til my Nano2 comes.

[Terryl]

Ahhhh, in that case use some bracing so the dish doesnt wobble when it moves, wood posts are OK for a fixed mount but for a steerable dish the wood post may warp over time.

[MadDogMc]

Ahhhh, in that case use some bracing so the dish doesnt wobble when it moves, wood posts are OK for a fixed mount but for a steerable dish the wood post may warp over time.

i agree.. with such a big dish you may want it on a pole, and out of the wind...i posted some pic's of my setup in a thread today its not the best but work great ...good luck&happy scanning

[seahappy]

I have found that the 4x4 will not work long term!!!! It will warp and move just enough the cause that it will not stay at peak signal ....lol

[Costactc]

My 36" is on a section of my roof out of the wind, my two big boys 10' and 6' are on poles that are 4.5' deep with about 250 lbs of concrete each.

[catthepatch]

Well, I got up this morning, had coffee and walked around the sheds. Found a 4x4 and brought it over. Just my luck the waste transfer station was open this morning and took a road trip. Got some old water pipe, a 10' section of 1.5" and 2 pieces of 2", 6 and 7'. Now the issue is how to dig a 3' hole in the frozen ground? Gave a few tries this morning and got only 6" down... Tried the tiger torch, axe, sledge and wedges and now have a heat gun running under a large wood box. Will give this an hour or so before I check it.

Beano's solution looks more and more enticing as I make this post. Means I will have to do some figuring and break out the pipe threader and find some fittings.

[Costactc]

You might give an auger a try.

[catthepatch]

Gave up the dig! Found an empty fence post hole real close and put it to use. So, I'm up and running with the motor. Took awhile to figure out some of the settings on my coolsat 7K but, got 93, 95, 97, 101, 103, 123 and 125 for starters. Sitting outside, was a nice day. Then moved inside and am now playing with 97 after a factory default. Couldn't get 62.5, 63 or 129, may have to do some fine tuning after I get the hang of things. Did get 82, 91, 110 and 119 with a circular LNB in place of the linear. Just lucky it wasn't at all windy today.

:yeaah:

[n3uspeed2]

A remind before you put the pole in the ground use Dishpointer and zero in on your location and make sure you have a clear line of site. That will save you the hassle of putting the pole down to find out you can lock on your birds... Another thing... the pole your going to use....you want to flatten the end of the pole that is going into the ground... when you pour the concrete that will hold the pole in place...if you dont flatten the end even if you pour concrete down your dish will still move...

[catthepatch]

No need for anything fancy at the moment, just a temporary spot. I have it jammed with pieces of wood and have filled the hole with water. It'll be rock solid by today. Til the ground thaws and I can dig the hole in the proper place there's not much else I can do. It's more of a toy at the moment til I get used to the settings and controls. I usually have to tear things down once or twice to do them right anyways. Pa always said to have a sleep on it before you go and make any big decisions...

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[starbud]

Its all over kill i just use a small pole in ground and wind snow rain does
not effect it and i move it all the time and its been there a year.
with the 40" dish theres nothing to miss, easy to get dial in.:tehe: