Dreambox Motor Setup

[Fano]

Hi Guys
Just setting up my 500s for my motorised dish.
Using a 500s with a Moteck 2100.
I am wondering how I configure the 500s to handle the motor.
At the "Please choose your Diseqc-Configuration" window I chose "No Diseqc" .
Is this correct ?
In "Satellite Configuration" I chose "Many satellites via Diseqc Rotor"
A big list of satellites came up then with sections for Sat/Position ,LNB,22khz and H/V.
I deleted some of the unwanted satellites,far East and Far West.
On the next page I entered my Longitude and Latitude and saved.
It seems to work the motor is moving the dish to the correct positions.
Have I set it up correctly ?

 

[psham]

usually you pick usals.. But if you are getting the satellites you want the way you set it up, i'd say leave it as it is..

 

[Fano]

usually you pick usals.. But if you are getting the satellites you want the way you set it up, i'd say leave it as it is..

How do I pick Usals ? I didnt see any option for it .
Gotoxx is the same as Usals isnt it ? Usals is a registered trademark of Stab as far as I am aware.
I used Gotoxx to enter my longitude and latitude.
I am in Ireland and my longitude is 8W so I am setting up on that satellite.
My pole is 100% vertical and I have aligned the dish and motor to where I think 8w is (Used Dishpointer ).
Its a 1m Gbertini on a Moteck 2100+ .
After setting up on Gotoxx the dish is moving to the approximate positions I select on the 500s .
I havent got a lock yet on any sat but I havent spent enough time finetuning the dish .
I understand I must tune in 8W first.
Would I be better off not using Gotoxx and try manual setup instead,is that better ?

 

[psham]

Gotoxx is the same as Usals i think..
Im In ireland aswell, but you need to setup on the thor satellite (1 degree west)
Steps to setting up.. After you have put in long and lat which you have already done..
1. Point dish due south.
2. Go to thor sat on your box, Pick BBc world channel.
3. Now go outside Move dish slightly left/right up/down and use a signal meter and some one inside to tell you when you get a picture.
4. when you get BBC world on your tv tighten everything up slightly.. Go inside and try to get 28.2 satellite using your 500s menu. Try a few other satellites. If you are getting all the sats you want go back outside and thigten all bolts securly..
That should be it..
Let me know how you get on..
If you want to PM me ill give you my number and can talk you through it if ya want..
Laters.

 

[digidude]

with usals you can actually use any satellite to setup your dish, people in the uk use 1W as its pretty close to true south for them, so the dish sits nearly straight, then when youre moving the dish, up is up and down is down, if using a satellite like sky then up would be at about the 10 oclock mark on the dish instead of the top of it

being in ireland you may be better off using atlantic bird 1 at 5W to setup your dish, as this will be stronger than thor, and will mean your dish is nearly straight when moving it

to setup using usals, first enter your lat/lon, then tell the dish to move to a satellite, then move the dish untill you get a signal/pictures

theres a tutorial in the satellite help link in my siggy below

 

[Fano]

Cheers Guys
I appreciate that info.
I have read a good few setup guides on how to physically setup the dish ;I was just a bit vague on the Dreambox setup options.
I understand it fully now so I'm going to tune the dish now.
I believe 8w is my true south satellite,my longitude is 8w.
My pole is attached to two T brackets about 16 inches apart (Couldnt find a K bracket )
Its a short 2 inch diameter pole ,2 feet long.Very sturdy.
The pole is perfectly vertical.
I notice that the brackets to attach the motor to the pole arent the best ,they seem to bend when I tighten them.I'd read that the U bolts were poor quality but it seems the bracket is the issue in my case.
The dish is attached to the motor but I notice there is a slight bit of movement on the motor arm,a slight wobble,is this normal ?
I'm going to head out now and see what I find .Will let ye know how I get on.

 

[Fano]

Update
I was at the dish for most of the day.
I have double and treble checked the pole and it is 100% vertical in both planes.
Rock solid.
I have set the angle on the motor as required ,it has a scale for latitude so I set it the same as my location ,52 degrees.
I set the angle of the dish at 30-7.5 (Declination)=22.5.
Skew was set at 0.
I rotated the motor and dish to where I thought 8w was (Dishpointer).I moved the whole motor/dish together (by loosening the u-bolts on the mounting pole)
Using Gotoxx,I entered my longitude and latitude and moved the dish to 8w (nearest southerly satellite).
It moved slightly but I didnt get a signal.
I changed the dish elevation to 28deg and I got a good signal of 86% on France 24 transponder (10972, V, 27500).
I tried a few more channels on 8W and they looked ok.
I then moved the dish via Gotoxx to 5w and checked the France 2 transponder (11591, V, 20000).95% signal .
Those 2 sats work perfectly.I am definitely looking at the correct sats.
I then tried a few Eastern sats,13e,19e and 28.2 but I didnt get a lock on any of them.
I am using the Jade 2 image btw,it seems a bit buggy ,wont move to 1w in tv channels at all,I have to move it there via Satfind.
Anyone have any ideas what might be off ,my setup looks good .

 

[Fano]

I was doing some more tuning tonight and I encountered some more issues.
When I selected "Drive to posn" for any satellite the motor just moved to 8w.
If I selected 8w ,it would move left then right and finish at the same position it started at.
Very bloody odd.
I've read on a few forums that gotoxx doesnt seem to work properly on a 500s.
I might try manual scanning tomorrow.
I'm losing my patience at this stage,feel like putting my boot through the dish.

 

[despdan]

Satellite Fano jumping ship already:Laugh: could you post some pics of your motor & dish we might spot something

 

[Fano]

Was at it again this evening,made some progress I think.
I figured out the software setup on the 500s was incorrect.A right bitch .
Instead of choosing "No Diseqc" I an now using "Complex Setup".
I also loaded Captains settings for channel listings,the dish is going where I want it to go now,it kept on going to 8w no matter what position I chose before.
Its setup using Gotoxx and I can now pick up 5w,8w,13e, and 19e.
28.2 seems to be at 23.5e oddly enough.
The bracket at the back of the bar attaching the motor to the pole is very poor quality,its bending when I tighten the nuts.
I must replace this.
Its slow bloody work but I'm getting there .
A buddy of mine has a proper satellite meter,I must get a loan of it off him tomorrow,it would make my job much easier.
That Gibertini dish is some bloody weight by the way.
I noticed something ,not sure if its normal.
My dish is setup at 8w,thats 0 on the motor scale.
However when I go to 19E,its at 32E on the motor,should it not be 27E ?
42E seems to be around 60E on the motor,not getting anything on it yet.
Taking a break now .

 

[psham]

well Fano..
You're nearly there.. Now that you are using the complex setup you should use usals and as Digi suggested use 5w to setup.
If i was you i would drive the motor using buttons on the motor to zero,point the dish due south.
Now use a pin to reset the motor using reset button.
Now using menu on 500 drive to 5w.. (dish should move west slightly..)
Now up the ladder adjust dish until you get a picture...
That should be it...
One thing i noticed when setting up on a dm800, you have to assign what setup you are using for each sat. ie. go to each sat in the software menu and change the setting to diseqc 1.2.
I had to do this for every satellite i wanted..
Hope this helps

 

[ek247]

I've been up the ladder over the weekend putting up my 88 cm dish, nearly done. what I suggest which may help is point your dish to 1 west and lock on to BBC world. I have clone this and get a reading of 91% on 1 west. but it then drops to 80% on east!

 

[Fano]

Thanks for the replies guys,appreciate it.
I was at it today and was at my wits end trying to get it to work.
I was confident my physical setup was correct.
I deduced it must have been a software prob.
I was using Usals setup and had entered my exact location correctly.
Could only pick up 2 bloody satellites,5w and 8w.
Decided I'd turn off usals and do it the manual way.
Started at 8w,then moved east until I hit 5w.
Then went to 13E and moved the dish slightly east in steps .
Hit 13e,16e,19e and 28.2.
All those 6 sats are strong >85% .
I have stored those 6 sats and I'm happy with them.
I'll go back and tune in the rest tomorrow.
As for that Usals,its a load of rubbish,doesnt work at all,it was driving the dish all over the place .

 

[psham]

pity you couldn't get usals working.. Its very simple to use if you get it right..
chat ya laters..

 

[Fano]

pity you couldn't get usals working.. Its very simple to use if you get it right..
chat ya laters..

It wasnt for the lack of trying I can tell you !
My true south sat is 8w as I'm in Cork.
I drove my dish to 0 deg and rotated my motor and dish to that position in the sky.
I entered my longitude and latitude into gotoxx .
I selected 8w ,the dish moved a tiny bit.
It was still at around 0 deg on the motor scale.
I then moved the motor slighly on the pole and adjusted the elevation of the dish .
I got a good signal so I tightened it up.
I think this is the correct procedure ?
When I selected 5W it picked up that sat correctly but none of the rest were correct.
Can i adjust the position slightly in usals and store it like the manual method I used ?
I've read that alot of people have had problems with Usals on the 500s .

 

[ek247]

im having the same problem. gonna try to adjust the dish and motor height tomorrow. ill let you know if that works

 

[psham]

you cant adjust position and store like the manual method in usals...(only change long and lat)
Don't know about 500 as i set mine up with dm800.. I presumed software/setup is the same..
Sounds like you've done everything correctly.. unless your setup is not completely vertical

 

[Fano]

Have tuned in a few more sats.
I now have 8W,5W,1W,5E,7E,9E,13E,16E,19E,23.5E,and 28E.
All very strong bar 10E but that's a weak sat anyway.
I guess my setup is good,it was that fecking Usals that scuppered me.
Very strange it didnt work,I got the exact location off dishpointer.

 

[Fano]

I've manually tuned in all the sats now,slow work but its done now.
30w,27.5w,24.5w,15w,8w,5w and 1w.
Eastwards then I have 5,7,9,10,13,16,19,23.5,28,39,40 and 42E
Thats most of them I think.
I've backed up the image,I wonder is there anyway to back up the sat positions separately ?
So my arc is spot on,that Usals was a disaster,I might have another go at it tomorrow and see why its off.

 

[Rumpelstiltskin.]

If done correctly Usals/GotoX has to work. Used ok on mine. No issues.