SatSig topic:

Satellite Finders?

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Jun 25^th, 2008 at 11:04pm

I have lost my satellite signal and was looking into purchasing a Winegard Satellite Finder,
Model: SF1000. The range given is 900MHz through 2150 MHz I think. Anyway, when I questioned the tech people at the provider they said it wouldn’t locate the satellite because the frequency is 11726.

However, when looking at the their screen I see that the 11726 MHz is the Transponder frequency. The Tuner frequency is set at 976 Mhz. The satellite is AMC6.

Will this unit locate this satellite? Does the 900-2159 range refer to the Transponder or the Tuner Frequenscy MHz?

Jun 26^th, 2008 at 12:08am

Quote:

Will this unit locate this satellite? Does the 900-2159 range refer to the Transponder or the Tuner Frequenscy MHz?

The technical people at your provider are idiots. The 11726 frequency is coming FROM the satellite. That is, it's the frequency that goes INTO the LNB. Your Winegard looks at the signal after it comes OUT of the LNB. What the LNB does is convert the satellite signal from Ku-band to L-band so it will travel on the coaxial cable. The 900-2100MHz Winegard range is L-band.

Even at that, it's a signal finder - NOT a satellite finder. You have to first find the satellite by orienting the dish with the proper pointing angles. You watch the Winegard needle while you're doing this, watching for the needle to jump. From there, you fine tune the antenna pointing by peaking the meter at progressively reduced sensitivity levels. The instruction manual probably explains it better.

Short version, it won't actually identify if you're on the RIGHT satellite. But it will help you fine tune the dish once you actually get pointed AT a satellite.

//greg//