Home Satellite TV Antenna
(160-2508)                 Troubleshooting            Faxback Doc. # 31435

If you assemble the dish properly and make all the necessary alignments,
locating the satellites should be relatively easy.  Some amount of fine
tuning is always necessary to get optimum reception, but major
adjustments should not be necessary.

Listed below are some of the possible problems you could encounter and
the suggested solutions.  Please note that in some cases you might receive
one, two, or more satellites perfectly and still not track the complete
arc accurately.

*  Inclination Angle To Low - Adjust Turnbuckle 
*  Inclination Angle Too High - Adjust Turnbuckle 
*  Dish Aligned East of True South - Adjust Drive-Mount to the West 
*  Dish Aligned West of True South - Adjust Drive Mount to the East 
*  Inclination Angle Too High - Dish Aligned East of True South 
*  Declination Angle Too Low - Adjust Declination Alignment 

Before you make any major adjustments in the dish alignment be sure that 
the following settings are correct. 

*  Post Leveling - be sure your leveling gauge shows that the post is
   perfectly level at two points that are 90 degrees apart.  Readjust the
   tripod base if necessary.

*  Inclination Angle - when the dish is pointing true south (the arrow on
   the worm-gear cover points at the alignment mark on the rack-gear
   plate), the reading on the inclinometer should match the maximum look
   angle on your alignment data printout.  If you purchased your dish more
   than 50 miles from your installation site, be sure that the Radio Shack
   store supplied you with alignment data for the correct longitude and
   latitude.

*  Declination Angle - the setting on the declination gauge should match
   the setting listed on your alignment data printout.

*  Look-Angle Reading - when you are receiving a particular satellite, the
   reading on the inclinometer should match the look angle listed on the
   alignment data printout.  If you purchased your dish more than 50 miles
   from your installation site, be sure that the Radio Shack store supplied
   you with alignment data for the correct longitude and latitude.

OTHER COMMON PROBLEMS AND SOLUTION

Most problems you will encounter are simple and have simple solutions.
Here are a few examples of such problems and solutions.

You cannot adjust the dish to the listed maximum look angle.

*  You probably did not connect the upper end of the turnbuckle to the
   proper hole on the mount.  See Faxback Doc. #31428 , "Setting the
   Inclination Angle", and reconnect the turntable.

The dish-drive motor does not operate.

*  The connections of the motor wires (orange, green, blue, and brown) are 
   not correct.  See Faxback Doc. # 31429, "Installing The Motor" or
   Faxback Doc. # 31430, "Aligning The Dish."

*  Or, the receiver is not plugged into an AC outlet.  (We know this is
   silly, but sometimes you forget the most obvious things when you're
   excited about a new product.

The dish is properly aligned, but you can't find any satellites.

*  The feedboom is not properly aligned.  See Faxback Doc. # 31425,
   Feedboom, Feedhorn, and LNB." 
 
*  The LNB is not properly connected or is not receiving power.  Be sure
   you used the same coaxial cable at both ends of the satellite cable.
   Also, be sure the receiver is set for the proper type of satellite
   signals (C-band for the standard Radio Shack system).
 
*  If you have installed an in-line amplifier, be sure that you removed
   the DC-block.  The block prevents the LNB from receiving power.
 
*  Check for proper connection of the polarity-control wires (red, white,
   and black) at both ends of the satellite cable.  See Faxback Doc. #
   31425, Feedboom, Feedhorn, and LNB" or Faxback Doc. # 31430,
   "Aligning The Dish." 

USING THE DISH WITH NON-RADIO SHACK SYSTEMS 

If you are using the dish with a non-Radio Shack system, confirm the
following items.

*  The dish-drive controller provides 27 Volts RMS and is capable of
   delivering 0.5 Amps.

*  The dish-drive controller is compatible with a reed-switch position
   counter.

If you are using the Radio Shack LNB and Feedhorn with a non-Radio Shack
receiver, check these additional items.

*  The receiver is designed for use with 950-1450 MHz block down-
   conversion. 

*  The receiver provides power to the LNB through the coaxial cable
   attached to the LNB.

*  The polarity controller is compatible with a Polarotor-1 device.

*  Polarotor is a registered trademark of Chaparral Communications, Inc.


(CS 3/19/96)