Dish TV SF95 Meter Alignment Manual

Dish  TV  Technologies  Ltd www.dishtv.co.nz Dish  TV  Technologies  Ltd New  Zealand’s  Leading  Supplier  of  Digital  Television  Equipment Basic  DIY  Dish  Alignment  Guide  Using  the  SF95  Meter This  guide  is  only  a  basic  outline  of  the  steps  required.  If  you  feel  the  aligning  of  your  satellite  dish  requires  a  skilled professional  please  contact  your  local  installer. Whilst  much  of  what  is  written  here  applies  also  to  C  Band  dish  installation,  C  Band  dishes  are  much  harder  to  install correctly  and  this  brief  guide  is  not  specifically  for  C  Band  installations.  Primarily  this  guide  covers  aligning  a  newly  installed dish  for  Freeview.  It  will  also  be  useful  if  your  dish  has  moved  in  the  wind  and  needs  realigning. 1. This  step  begins  after  you  have  installed  your  satellite  dish  and  fitted  the  LNB.  Set  the  LNB  so  the  F  connector  faces the  8  o’clock  position  if  you  were  looking  into  the  dish  like  a  clock  face.  This  means  you  are  looking  at  the  back  of  the LNB  with  the  F  connector  (where  the  cable  connects)  at  8  o’clock.  Tighten  the  LNB  holder. Make  a  rough  adjustment  of  the  dish  by  using  a  compass  to  align  it  to  the  compass  setting  required  for  your  area. Also  set  the  elevation  using  the  scale  on  the  dish  or  using  an  inclinometer.  The  compass  setting  and  elevation  for  the satellite  Freeview  uses  is  in  the  table  on  page  2.  Just  use  your  nearest  town. 2. The  SF95  meter  comes  with  a  short  length  of  coax  cable  with  F  connectors  fitted.  Connect  this  cable  between  the LNB  and  the  ‘LNB’  connection  on  the  SF95  meter. 3. Make  sure  your  satellite  receiver  is  turned  off,  and  then  connect  the  cable  from  your  satellite  receiver  to  the  ‘REC’ connection  on  the  SF95  meter.  You  now  have  your  SF95  meter  beside  your  dish,  connected  in  the  cable  line  between the  dish  and  your  receiver.  Turn  your  satellite  receiver  on  and  choose  a  channel  that  you  know  is  on  the  satellite  you wish  to  receive.  For  example  if  you  are  aligning  your  dish  for  Freeview  select  TVOne. Please  note  that  using  the  SF95  meter  for  dish  alignment  requires  that  your  satellite  receiver  is  already  tuned  to  the service  you  wish  to  receive.  If  your  receiver  is  new  and  untuned,  simply  take  it  to  your  friend  or  neighbour,  connect  it up  and  tune  it  in,  before  completing  your  installation.

Dish  TV  Technologies  Ltd www.dishtv.co.nz 4. Set  the  dB  control  knob  on  the  SF95  meter  so  that  the  meter  reads  about  halfway.  The  scale  on  the  meter  does  not directly  refer  to  any  professional  dB  level  reading.  The  SF95  meter  is  a  peak  meter,  allowing  you  to  find  the  strongest signal  with  your  dish.  This  is  sufficient  to  set  your  dish  up  correctly.  Stay  to  one  side  of  or  behind  your  dish  so  as  not to  block  the  signal,  just  reach  your  arm  out  to  adjust  the  meter  when  needed. 5. Make  fine  adjustments  of  your  dish  from  side  to  side  to  find  the  peak  of  signal.  You  will  not  need  to  move  it  much  as you  have  already  aligned  it  with  your  compass.  Keep  the  bolts  of  the  dish  finger  tight  to  stop  the  dish  moving  by  its own  weight.  Remember  that  a  tiny  movement  of  the  dish  is  big  movement  of  the  arm  that  the  LNB  is  on.  Also  make slight  adjustments  up  and  down  to  peak  the  signal. 6. Once  you  have  a  signal  peak,  have  someone  check  on  your  TV  to  see  if  you  have  the  correct  satellite.  You  should have  the  channel  that  you  selected.  If  you  do,  turn  the  dB  knob  down  until  the  meter  reads  halfway  again  and  redo your  adjustments,  very  carefully  and  finely,  to  ensure  you  have  the  strongest  signal.  Then  tighten  up  all  the  bolts. 7. If  you  are  having  trouble  finding  the  satellite  at  all  it  is  often  best  to  start  fresh  and  reset  the  dish  using  the  compass and  elevation  as  in  step  1. 8. Once  you  have  a  good  signal  peak  on  the  correct  satellite  you  now  need  to  fine  tune  the  LNB.  As  per  step  one  you have  already  set  your  LNB  to  the  8  o’clock  position.  Now  loosen  the  LNB  holder  screw  just  enough  so  you  can  rotate the  LNB.  Adjust  your  meter  to  read  halfway  on  the  scale.  Now  rotate  the  LNB  anti-­‐clockwise  until  the  meter  drops. Now  rotate  it  clockwise  until  the  signal  drops.  Find  the  middle  peak  and  tighten  up  the  screw. 9. Check  that  you  have  good  signal  on  your  satellite  receiver.  Turn  it  off.  Double  check  that  all  the  dish  bolts  are  tight. Disconnect  the  SF95  meter  and  cable.  Connect  the  cable  from  your  satellite  receiver  directly  to  the  LNB. If  you  are  replacing  a  faulty  LNB  on  your  satellite  dish  you  will  only  need  to  follow  steps  2,  3,  8  and  9.  Do  not  adjust  the  dish itself  as  it  will  still  be  correctly  aligned. Area Compass Elevation Area Compass Elevation Kaitaia 319.3 46.8 Picton 317.4 40.2 Whangarei 317.6 45.8 Blenheim 317.5 39.9 Auckland 316.9 44.4 Westport 321.0 40.3 Thames 315.6 43.9 Arthur’s  Pass 320.5 39.1 Hamilton 316.0 43.4 Christchurch 318.8 38.2 Rotorua 314.5 42.7 Timaru 319.9 37.5 Gisborne 311.8 41.4 Oamaru 320.7 36.9 Hastings 313.5 40.9 Dunedin 321.0 36.2 Palmerston  North 315.2 40.6 Invercargill 323.9 36.0 Lower  Hutt 316.1 40.0 Bluff 323.8 35.7 Wellington 316.3 39.9 Stewart  Island 324.1 35.4