SatSig topic:

Tooway installation - can I do it myself ?

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Jun 11^th, 2008 at 1:23pm

I'm contemplating installing the Tooway system myself, to save a 300 Euro installation charge, but am a complete novice at this sort of thing... reading the blurb that came with the dish and modem, I see that the satellite needs to be aligned via compass & a marked scale on the dish, which seems straightforward. A signal strengh meter is required, which seems to be available locally for 15 Euro, however, the installation manual refers to the (very important) need to set polarity & I have no idea of how to do this, or indeed what it is (!) I read the post re Tooway installation in the UK, which hasn't put me off (!) but was puzzled by the 3.5 degree correction required.
I guess my main questions are: will a 15 Euro meter work for this sort of installation - how to set the polarity ? & this 3.5 degree thing ..
Any help appreciated ..

Jun 11^th, 2008 at 6:46pm

Yes, you can do the installation yourself. It may take several days, possibly over 2-3 weeks.

We don't know if the Hotbird 6 Ka band beams have thair polarisation aligned with the earth's equator and axis. Earlier Eutelsat satellites had their polarisation offset 3.5 deg clockwise.

Regarding polarisation. The starting position (for the BW service) is with the feed arm at the bottom. The scale behind the dish reads 90. For a positive adjustment rotate the entire dish clockwise, as viewed while facing towards the satellite. If you are east of 10 deg east longitude, a plus +8 deg adjustment will result in a scale reading of 82. If you are west of 10 deg east longitude, a minus -8 deg adjustment will result in a scale reading of 98. It is the direction and amount of adjustment movement that matters; not the actual numbers on the polarisation scale.

To find your pointing angle use one of these according to your country:
https://www.satsig.net/maps/satellite-tv-dish-pointing-uk-ireland.htm
https://www.satsig.net/maps/pointage-plat-television-satellites-france.htm
https://www.satsig.net/maps/lat-long-buscado-spanish.htm
https://www.satsig.net/maps/breite-lange-sucher.htm
https://www.satsig.net/maps/satellite-tv-dish-pointing-italia.htm
wxw
When setting the elevation make sure the pole is accurately vertical and that the azimuth hold down is sufficiently tight so the head unit does not sag down, while still allowing the azimuth to be adjusted. Otherwise an elevation reading of 30 deg might only achieve a beam elevation of 27 deg and you will miss the satellite.

Best regards, Eric.

Jun 12^th, 2008 at 2:07pm

I believe you probably could, but it would be wise to have a back-up installer available just in case.

I did have problems initially which were described in this forum but there were four reasons which I believe contributed.

1). I had zero experience of installing two way satellite systems and very little existing knowledge. TV. only type installations were all I had completed.

2). I chose a less than optimum site which caused extra problems. My justification was that my house is stone built, 200yrs. old and situated in an AONB. and the optimum site was right in the middle of the front wall. An aesthetic compromise was needed but has required "improvements" to help the signal.

3). I spent much time initially trying to use the modem indicator lights for alignment, not satisfactory, the lights are very pale green, 12mm.long x 2mm. wide and almost impossible to see in bright light. There is also a long delay before the modem reacts to changes in signal so it is possible to pass through the correct setting without seeing it.

4). I did not know initially if the polarisation required the extra 3.5deg. tilt and so spent time trying the wrong angle setting. I now believe it does.

If you make certain that the mounting pole is vertical in both planes, that makes adjustments easier and PLEASE DO use some form of RF. meter to set it up, it is so much easier.

I received tremendously valuable, expert help from Eric here and good support from James at Bently Walker. This enabled me to learn as I went along and eventually set the system up correctly and activate it first time - a great thrill!

My TooWay is now working brilliantly and is excellent value for money in my view especially as I have just been informed by BW. that my Bronze package download speed has increased from up 600Kb/s to 2084Kb/s and upload from up to100Kb/s to 156Kb/s.

If a retired OAP like me, passed my "best before date" can do it ------!

Hope this helps.

Tony

Jul 2^nd, 2008 at 7:11am

Well I have it working

Took a leaf from your book and got it working first off the wall - which made everything much easier. First impressions are very positive. The Web browsing response times are in fact sometimes better than the ADSL implementations I've seen working locally - the ADSL here, where its available, seems to be very overloaded. I live hard up against the Pyrenees in SW France, and the mountains provoke extreme weather at times - I've had no issues with connectivity as yet, but have experienced only moderate rain so far. I highly recommend the service to anyone contemplating it. It obviously does not compare with 10Mbs Cable (I had this in London before moving here) but its a solid, workable solution for home or small office use.

Sep 30^th, 2009 at 5:19pm

Hi I am trying to install tooway myself and I tried the link on this thread to the installation manual but its not working can anyone help me please.

regards

steve