preparation before calling Satellite operator

Hello Samu,

I believe you have a VSAT station, i.e. a small antenna (lets say up to 3.8m dish) with one modem and etc.

Regarding what kind of tests and procedures will you have to do with the satellite operator - it depends on the satellite, the polarity....and the service provider and also the engineer with whom you will work.

Basically, at this stage your part is more passive, and you will have to follow the instructions you will receive from the service provider. You will be requested to transmit in CW mode and then make sure your dish is aligned properly to the satellite. For service using circular polarity, it means to move the dish slightly over the azimuth and elevation axis, to make sure the pointing is optimal. For service using linear polarity, you will have to rotate the feed as well in order to optimize the cross-pol level. Some operators will try to do this when the satellite is in "center of box", but this is not always necessary.

Then, maybe you will check the performance of the BUC, by checking the compression point of the BUC. It means that you will need to increase the power of your transmission following the instructions you will receive, and then lower it again.

If everything is going well, you will be requested to switch into normal carrier mode, then either the site will be commissioned or some more tests will be carried out - like ping tests, traceroute and etc.

Sometimes more complicated tests are required, like side-lobes pattern, G/T performance and even SWR at different points. But those are carried out at more complicated system rather than at a simple VSAT station.