Channel master dish not following arc correctly

[catseye]

I have a channel master 1.2 meter dish with a c/m polar mount, jaegar 12 ins actuator & its fixed on a 3 ins dia pole/ ground mount

Previously was using it with jaegar 128 h-h motor & it followed the arc perfectly

Its been lined up to to bbc world @ thor 1 west & picks up 13 16 19 & 28 east & up to 11 west on other side

If i adjust it up/down- i then get the missing ones on the east side -******* hellasat & arbsat but not the west ones & vice versa. If i line up to 30 west it then misses the east sats

Ive been scratching my head on this one for weeks- i know its something simple but cant put my finger on it

Ive checked the pole from the ground mount & its straight according to the spirit level

Dish on ground mount is approx 2 foot off floor - previously it was on a scafford pole approx 5 foot off ground

Any advice would be most welcome

[satwyn]

if there is no obstruction trees ect you need to look at your dish probably you're alignment is off a little bit

[FBOY]

double check your 1W reference. It is very easy to be slightly off, mainly because it's not easy to line up two points 1cm apart.
I struggled for ages with a 1224 alignment, mainly because of judging half degree, and probably using the wrong eye !!

[tr8.]

Was the top of the pole flat so the mount is upright on the pole? It sounds out of level to me.
Set it to due south, place a level under the dish an measure down from each side arm at the dish mount, should be the same.
Or;
Is it centred on due south, only a small bit out will change the arc.

When i got mine dead right i drilled and pinned it to the pole, that was over 15yrs ago and its still perfect.

Dont forget you have 2 adjusters the top works with the back to adjust the arc,

[barjoh]

Hi there,
As a rule you need to find 1w with dish and mount at center.adjust everything till you are happy, then move hole thing by hand and standing behind dish to the east approx 3mm .That will turn out to be true south,all sats will come in ok.
as long as pole was erected virtical in the beginning.
hope this helps.

[Burnham]

If you are using a channel master polar mount you need to set the declination accurately. Don't rely on the markings on the mount as they are not accurate.

[chorleycat]

If you are using a channel master polar mount you need to set the declination accurately. Don't rely on the markings on the mount as they are not accurate.

i agree - with you about the markings on the mount


i would say the same as-- FBOY--- check referece sat -- sounds like north south axis could be out --

also pole needs to be 100 percent vertical from both -- a north - south and east- west point of view

good look
regards c.c.

[catseye]

cheers everyone -i will check the pole & settings etc & report back

last time i checked pole -i held the spirit level vertical against all sides of the mount -the bubble was where it should be

i will take the mount off & double check its level too

at the back of the channel master mount there's two nuts-one top & one bottom -i adjusted these to get optimum signal from thor but no success with lining up the other birds

i use bbc world to line it up -should i try another station instead?

my other option is to buy a larger pole -that will please the misses though as it will mean having to dig another hole again

[Burnham]

You don't mention the declination adjustment. What have you got it set to now?

[tr8.]

Here are a couple of pic of the top and back adjuster on my 1.2.
Yours will not be identical unless you are in suffolk but may give a start point.
Sorry not best quality can do more if you need

[catseye]

Cheers for the pics - the back adjust is the one ive been altering to fine tune BBC world on Thor -got to be honest havent touched the top one
Bottom one reads at approx 53 -top one i can hardly see it what it says
Looking at the top one it looks slightly different in the way the nuts are on the bolts

Im going to try & load some pictures of my set up-all opinions will be greatly received although ive got a feeling im gonna end up looking a right plonker

[catseye]

Can one of the mods give me permission to attach pictures of my set up or point me in right direction please

[catseye]

Pictures of set up should now be attached

[Burnham]

From your photo you have not tightened the declination bolt which means only the pivot bolt is holding the setting.

Attached is the setting from the manual, but don't get hung up about the markings on the mount as I don't think they are accurate. What we need is another photo from top on - the same view as the drawing - when your dish is pointing due south.

[catseye]

Ive loaded some more pictures showing the declination when the dish is parked at 1 West
Hopefully ive put the right pics on otherwise its the misses in the lake district

Feel free to comment

[tr8.]

There should not be a gap at the top mount between the bolt and the nut on the dish side.
this will allow the dish to move ( tilt ) and not give a true arc..
Move the dish full east then full west, does it move on the top between the bolt and nut?
If so thats the problem
Here is a pic of how the top should be from my spare 1.2m dish wich i got cheep incase any of my dishes got damaged.
This mount has not been set though but is correctly together.

[Burnham]

Once you tighten the bolt you still have to find the correct declination setting for you.

I suggest you try to line up the rear of the tab to 25°, I know that you are nowhere near 25° latitude, but as I said before, either the markings on the mount or the Channel Master instructions are wrong.

[catseye]

Cheers everyone for taking the trouble to have a look & respond

I will at the weekend & weather permiting have a go at putting it right

I will feed back on how it works out

to you all -its much appreciated!

[catseye]

Afternoon all
i'm please to advise its all working well
Getting almost all satbirds from 42 east to 31.5 west with good readings -average 60 to 70% using Technomate 9100

Only ones cant find are Nilesat & ExpressA3 which from memory are a pain due to low power -if im wrong on this statement please correct me!

But once again many thanks -wasnt the easiest of jobs today to do with the bloody winds

[satwyn]

Afternoon all
i'm please to advise its all working well
Getting almost all satbirds from 42 east to 31.5 west with good readings -average 60 to 70% using Technomate 9100

Only ones cant find are Nilesat & ExpressA3 which from memory are a pain due to low power -if im wrong on this statement please correct me!

But once again many thanks -wasnt the easiest of jobs today to do with the bloody winds

11w possible with 1.2m try nilesat early in the day v transponders