Catching Satellite Signal

PART 2 - Finding Satellite in Space

with respect to the place where you install the Dish
Plate on the surface of the Earth

“Don’t wanna miss a thing”

- This was taken in the middle of the jungle on high

mountanous area. Thanks to DTH, they enjoy their
time watching high quality DVB TV/Radio programs
and will get the Education and information from the
outside world.

Author :

FDM

m
(Electronic Hobbyist and Enthusiasts)

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(Shared for 1diycentre website

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Taglish Version R1.2)

1 d iyc
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website:
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www.1diycentre.com

1diyCENTRE R1.2
A GENERAL
A.1 SCOPE
This publication update and simplified for New User, DIYers, Hobbyists, Enthusiasts and Satellite freak, shared and contributed for 1diycenter website. It
discusses how to find the Satellite in Space with respect to your location on the face of the Earth, using Antenna Alignment software running on Personal Computer
both :
- Off line (no internet needed)
- On Line which requires to be connected into the Internet

which provide coordinates that can be read directly as pointed by the Compass.

This document is a primary requirement to Catch Satellite Signal described int he Document 1DC PX07.3.

Part 1 : Getting Satellite Information : described by Documents 1DC PX07.1

Part 2 : Finding Satellite in Space : described by Documents 1DC PX07.2
with respect to the place where you
install the Dish Plate on the surface of the Earth
Part 3 : Setting Antenna LNB Parameters : described by Documents 1DC PX07.3
Finding Satellite Signal
Scanning TV/Radio Channels

A.2 APPLICABLE MODELS / STB

It is applicable for finding Satellite in space in the Ku and C band. It is intensively discussed in finding the a Satellite and given an example of Catching
Satellite Signal using NSS 6 Ku band as an illustrative example. This documents may or may not be applied for Militaryapplications, thus, limited to DIYers,
hobbyists, enthusiasts and Satellite freak.

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A.3 REFERENCE DOCUMENTS
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A.3.1 Experienced and Research Knowledge

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A.4 RELEASED
A.4.1 Released and shared for 1diycentre (a knowledge base website : http://www.1diycentre.com) .

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B. Your Location on Earth Ma-access ang On-line Calculator na ito sa internet address na :

In Catching Satellite Signals, it is a primary requirement that you know the http://www.satlex.de/en/azel_calc.html
location of the Satellite so that you can orient or direct your Dish Plate in a
Line Of Sight (LOS) with respect to your location on the face of the Earth.

Isa sa pinaka-popular na Satellite sa Asia ay ang AGILA 2 na matatagpuan
sa kalawakan - sa location na 146O E (146 degrees East) o sa iba’ng paraan
ng pagbasa ay 214O W (214 Degrees West).
Ang isa pang Satellite na matatagpuan malapit sa AGILA 2 ay ang TELSTAR
18 na matatagpuan sa 138O E. Ang isa pang Satellite ay NSS 6 (95OE).
Kung gusto natin huliin ang signal na nanggagaling sa mga Satellite na ito,
saan ba natin itututok ang Antenna Dish Plate (iyong Dish Plate na assembled
ayon sa 1DC PX04 na documento)? Gagamitin ba ang Satellite location
katulad ng 146OE at babasahin mula doon sa Compass para mahuli ang
AGILA 2? Kung nabasa na ang 146OE sa compass, doon mo ba itutok ang
Satellite Antenna Dish Plate?
Mayroon pang isa (off line, ibig sabihin na hindi na kailangan pa na
naka-connect sa Internet) Satellite Antenna Aligner (SAA) na Shareware.
Ang software na ito ay ma-download sa http://www/al-soft.com/saa/
satinfo.shtml.
Ang dalawang software para sa calculation ng Azimuth at saka Eleva-
tion ng Dish Plate ay may kanya-kanyang advantage at saka disadvan-
tage. Maari natin gamitin dalawa base sa pangangailangan natin.
Let’s explore them - see how it can help you and frequent Satellite
Shooters.

Hindi. Iba’t ibang lugar ay mag-iiba ang direction kung saan mo itutok ang
Dish Plate, kahit na pareho ang Satellite. Para malaman kung anong coor-
dinate ( minsan tinatawag din na - bearing, direction o azimuth & elevation),
gamitin natin ang mga Satellite Alignment Calculator o Azimuth/Elevation
Calculators, a software that calculate Azimuth and Elevation running on PC.
C. Dish Plate Azimuth/Elevation
Ang Dish Plate na iyo’ng i-install ay may orientation na tinatawag na Azimuth
(Left-Right panning) at saka Elevation (up-down panning) sa paghuli ng
Satellite Signal. Ang mga value na ito ay malalaman natin sa pamamagitan

m
ng software AZ/EL Calculator.

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B1 Satellite Alinment Calculators SHOPPING FOR IN-
FORMATION C1 SATLEX AZ/EL Calculator
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Gamit ang Satlex AZ/EL Calculator (sa computer na mayroon connec-
With the biggest library accessible on the internet, there is a popular
one-stop shop for Satellite Alignment Calculators which calculate
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tion sa Internet). I-type ang address na ito sa Windows Explorer.

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Azimuth and Elevations of Dish Plate based on your location on Earth http://www.satlex.de/en/azel_calc.html

2
(kung saan mo i-install ang iyong Dish Plate)
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 Mamili ng SATELLITE
Ang calculator Window ay lalabas PC monitor. Bago mo magamit ito, (TELSTAR 18)
kailangan na ibigay mo ang iyong Location kung saan mo balak magtayo
TELSTAR 18
ng Satellite Antenna - (Site Location), kung anong Satellite ang gusto
(para malaman kung anong TV/
mong huliin ang Signal. Example, nasa HK (Hong Kong) ka at gusto
Radio program ang transmit ng
mo’ng mag-install ng Ku band Antenna (Dish Plate) para huliin ang
Satellite na ito, please refer to
TELSTAR 18 na Satellite. Sundin ang mga illustrations :
other document :
1DC PX07.1 - Get Infomation
Ang Satellite na iyong or visit www.lyngsat.com
huhuliin ang Signal (Ex.
TELSTAR 18 138OE)

Anong City (sa China)

Ex. Hong Kong o HK

Anong Bansa (country)

Ex. China

China HK

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Correct Entries of : Satellite, Country and City
Mamili ng CITY
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Mamili ng COUNTRY
(China (cn)) HongKong

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 Ang Hong Kong, China ay
matatagpuan sa
Latitude = 22.28ON
Longtitude = 114.15OE
Ito ang 130O na directly na
mababasa sa compass
(approximate na reading
ng 130.62O mula sa calcu-
lations, kasi hindi mo
mababasa ang 130.62O sa
compass)

Makikita din dito sa

Quadrant na ang
TELSTAR 18 ay nasa South
Pindutin ang CALCULATE at
quadrant ng East-South.
makikita ang calculated values
ng : Itong Location na
ito ay Hong Kong,
AZIMUTH = 130. 62O China. Hindi po ito
ELEVATION = 52.56O ang direction kung
saan mo itutok ang
Dish Plate

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Ang AZIMUTH na 130. 62O
East
ay ang direction ng Satel-
lite Antenna Dish Plate mo
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iyc
sa Hong Kong. Nababasa
po ang direction na ito sa
Compass.
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Ang angular displacement na ito ay 130.62O mula sa North o maba-

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basa na 130.62OE.

Finding Satellite in Space Doc. No : 1DC PX07.2 1diy CENTRE : Technical Team
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 TELSTAR 18
(138OE) Ito ang Elevation illustration
ng AZ/EL Calculator. Ang ex-
pected na Elevation ay 52O
(approximate ng 52.56O)

LNB boom Holder

Dish Plate
130O

Ang 130 degrees ay ang azi- C2 Satellite Antenna Alignment (SAA) Calculator
muth o direction ng Dish Plate Gamitin ang isa pang Satellite Antenna Alignment Calculator.
EAST mula sa Hong Kong, China.
150 O
(90O) Kung na-install na sa PC, i
double click mula sa desktop

NORTH SOUTH Note:

(0O) (180O) Ante Software na SAA ay SHAREWARE at
hindi muna kailangan pa ang connectivity sa
(360O)
Internet para gumana.

WEST
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(270O)

t
Pero bago mo ito magamit, kailangan na i-install mo muna sa PC na mayroon

n
Windows operating systems. Hindi ko nasubukan kung gumagana ito sa
e
iyc
COMPASS Linux operating Systems o MAC PC.

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 Control Panel ng Satellite Pagka-lagay mo ng coordinate
Antenna Alignment (Longtitude saka Latitude) ng lugar,
(SAA) Software. kailangan na i-save mo itom, gaya
halimbawa ng HongKong, na-i-save
Mayroon itong messege ito na ang pangalan ay China-HK.
na i-register ito’ng soft-
ware kung ito ay (Ang location data base na makikita
gagamitin sa Regular dito ay aking ginawa, manually po na
commerical Use. nag-enter ako, hindi po automatic).

Kung mayroon ka ng data base ng

mga lugar, i-double click mo lang ito
kung gagamitin mo
I-double click ang TELSTAR 138, makikita
doon sa Satellite Location na ang napili na
Pindutin ang Close Satellite ay TELSTAR 18 na matatagpuan sa
138O.
Ang Software na ito ay kailangan na
i-lagay ang Numerical value ng Lati-
tude at Longtitude kung - saan ka
magtatayo ng Dish Plate (Site Loca-
tion)

Sa ating Example, Ang HongKong,

China ay mayroon :

Latitude = 22.28ON
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Ang calculated Azimuth at saka

re.
Longtitude = 114.15OE Elevation

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in terms of degree, minute at seconds AZIMUTH = 130. 616O
ELEVATION = 52.535O
Latitude = 22O 16’ 48’’
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Longtitude = 114O 9’ 0’’ Note:
Approximately the same numerical result as the AZ/EL Calculator (Satlex).

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 Dito sa Table, makikita Site Location:
kaagad ang direction ng Manila, Philippines
iba’t iba’ng Satellite hindi
lang ang TELSTAR 18, Latitude : 14.6ON (14O 35’ 59’’)
pati na ang AGILA 2. Longtitude : 120.98OE (120O 58’ 48’’)

Ipinapakita na ang Azi-

muth ng AGILA 2 sa
Hong Kong China ay Satellite Antenna Dish Plate - Manila
121.395OE. Location AZIMUTH ELEVATION

TELSTAR 18

Elevation
Azimuth
AGILA 2

Halimbawa,

Kung gusto mong malaman ang Azimuth

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at elevation ng Dish Plate para Huliin ang
TESLTAR 18 sa Manila, Philippines, i
double click lang ang Phil - Manila para
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iyc
magbago ang Site Location (kung saan
ka mag-tatayo ng Antenna Dish Plate).

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 TABLE 1 : Azimuth / Elevation of AGILA 2 Vs Location
C3 Result of Satellite Antenna ALigner No Location Azimuth Elevation
Ang Satlex, AZ/EL Calculator at ang SAA Calculator software ay parehas
na nagbibigay ng Azimuth at saka elevation. Philippines (Manila) 118 O 56 O
1 Cebu 113 O 61 O
Ang Satlex calculator ay may database ng Country at saka City (Site
Location), at presetted na sa mga popular na lugar. Kahit na hindi mo Zamboanga 105 O 60 O
alam ang longtitude at saka latitude ng lugar na pagkakabitan ng Dish
Plate ay ma-compute mo ang Azimuth at saka Elevation. Mayroon din China (Hong Kong) 121 O 34 O
User defined, kung sakali na ang iyong lugar ay wala sa database. Iyon 2 Beijing 138 O 34 O
nga lang, kailangan na naka-online ka sa Internet para magamit mo
ang Software. Shenyang 148 O 36 O
3 Thailand (Chang Mai) 106 O 32 O
Ang SAA calculator Shareware version ay kailangan na mag-input ka
ng Latitude at saka Longtitude ng lugar kung saan ikakabit ang Dish 4 Bangladesh (Dhaka) 105 O 23 O
Plate (Site Location), kung hindi mo alam ang mga parameter value,
hindi mo magagamit. Ang kagandahan naman nito ay, hindi muna 5 Mongolia 140 O 27 O
kailangan pang gumamit ng Intenrnet para lang maka-compute ka ng
Azimuth at saka Elevation. Kaya, ang primary na requirement nito ay,
dapat makagawa ka ng Site Location database.
Ito ang nababasa mo doon sa Ito ang expected na
118O Azimuth para mahuli
Compass. Halimbawa, ang
Note:
lugar mo ay nasa Manila, ang signal mula sa
Base sa Satlex, hanggang Angeles City lang ang mayroon City sa North
tingnan doon sa compass AGILA 2
Philippines, bakit kaya wala Baguio, Vigan o Laoag City? I assume
kung nasaan ang 118 O
that norther part of Philippine is the same geographical location as An-
geles City [Pampanga po iyan, hindi Los Angeles City California,
Note:

m
hehehe], which is the approximately the same azimuth and elevation

o
as in Manila. North Philippines like Baguio, Vigan,
Laoag, Cagayan Valley, Isabela

re. c
t
C4 Sample Azimuth and Elevation Computation should follow Manila Azimuth and
Makikita sa Table 1 ang sample computation ng Azimuth at Elevation Elevation. In most case, the Azi-
e n
iyc
na gagamitin upang ma-i-align ang Dish Plate para huliin ang signal muth is playing around 118O to 120O.
mula sa AGILA 2 Satellite, base sa ibat ibang lugar sa Asia.

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If you know the latitude and longi-
tude of your place, you can use the

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Ang mga nakuha na values po ay naka-rounded off sa nearest whole USER DEFINED Locations.

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number para simple.
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 LNB
LNB boom
Azimuth
D. Azimuth/Elevation Implementation Hairline Sight
Direction

Ok, alam na natin kung paano makuha ang Azimuth at saka Elevation Ito’ng compass na ito ay mag-iiba ang
sa pamamagitan ng PC software, pero paano i-implement ito sa Satellite direction kung ilalapag sa concrete ce-
Antenna Dish plate? ment (iikot ng mga 10~15 degrees clock-
wise), kaya ang remedy ay hawakan ang
compass parallel sa ground - hintayin
D1 Compass for Elevation maging stable, ang cover nito at ang
Ang Compass ay ginagamit para ituro ang direction ng Azimuth. Ito “sighting hairline” dapat naka-aligned sa
ang experimented DIY procedure namin sa Ku Band - (Hindi absolute LNB boom.
at saka perfect na mahuhuli mo kaagad ang Signal na di na kailangan
pa ang trial and error)

LNB boom Base sa Azimuth value, i-aligned ang magnifying arm para
nakatutok doon sa direction ng azimuth, hintayin maging Azimuth
stable ang direction. I-aligned ang LNB boom para mag- Direction
Compass kasing direction sila ng magnifying arm ng Compass.

CAUTION :
Ang Dish Plate at
If your compass changes direction
saka ang cover ng
while putting on the ground, like
compass ay naka
going clockwise or counterclock-
parallel
wise, please do not put into the
ground. This compass is sensitive
with respect to the ground (concrete

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cement, hard soil, etc.

Kapag ang Compass ay iikot

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pakaliwa o pakanan kung ilalapag

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ito sa ground, huwag ilagay sa
Note: ground).
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THIS MAY NOT APPLICABLE TO YOUR ANTENNA SYSTEMS OF DIFFER-
ENT CONSTRUCTION, HOWEVER, THE IDEA SHOULD BE THE SAME

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 To set the INITIAL ELEVATION of 56 degrees (AGILA 2 elevation in Ma-
nila - see Table 1), gamit ang “Protractor”, kumuha ng straight edge (ruler)
D2 Protractor for Elevation at i-project ito sa approximate na 56O. I-adjust ang elevation ng Dish Plate
Sa gamit namin Antenna para sa frequenct DIY-shooting ng ibat ibang hanggang ang LNB boom ay maging “parallel” doon sa ruler na naka-
Satellite sa Asia (Telstar 18, NSS6, NSS11, AGILA 2, etc), ang Eleva- inclined ng 56O mula sa horizontal.
tion ay hindi rin absolute value or absolute direction (gaya ng Azimuth).
Ang Elevation angle ay INITIAL SETTING lang namin. Ang Final Value
ng Elevation ay kung saan ang Maximum level na QUALITY : com-
promise between Azimuth, elevation and LNB Skewing. The Antenna LNB boom and
the ruler are very close in
Let’s see how it work with respect to the Antenna Systems we are us- angular displacement with
ing. respect to the horizontal

Elevation Approximately
Angle adjust- 56O from the horizontal
ment
Elevation Angle
referring from the horizontal
LNB Boom

Approximately
56O
horizontal

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Note:
I-adjust ito para ang
LNB boom ay mag-
iyc e
THIS MAY NOT APPLICABLE TO YOUR ANTENNA
SYSTEMS OF DIFFERENT CONSTRUCTION, HOW-
parallel doon sa ruler
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na naka inclided ng
EVER, THE IDEA SHOULD BE THE SAME
56O.

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 Initial setup:

E. Sample DIY Alignment 1) Elevation : 56O referring from hori

zontal to the LNB boom
Here is an example of catching Satellite Signal using the Technical Know
How described in this publication. Our point of interest is to Catch Signal
from NSS 6, a satellite located in space at 95OE.

E1 NSS6 Azimuth and Elevation

Data :

Site Location : Manila 2) Azimuth : start from 242O

Latitude : 14.6 ON (14O 35, 59’’)
Longtitude : 120.98OE (120O 58’ 48’’) Note: If your compass is sensitive to
concrete cement, do not place on the
Antenna Dish Plate Direction (azimuth) : 242.65O, aprox. 242O surface or ground

Elevation : 55.56O, approx. 56O approximatley

220O 242O

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Location of NSS 6 : South-West
Quadrant, that is 242.65O East
Elevation of NSS 6 : 55.56O from
the vertical (based on this illus-
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tration)

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 Solar Power for
TV

E2 Trial And Error Finding the Signal TV & IRD

Even with the Given Azimuth and Elevation, I did not get the signal at myFavorite drinks
once. I need to do a Trial and Error, as follows :
compass 1 & 2
move the dish to move the dish to Antenna Systems
the left the right
The Systems used in catching
the NSS6. I used 2nd Genera-
tion IRD Bolt630s which is avail- Fixed Satellite An-
Demonstration
able at that time. (Take note that tenna : directed to
on how to catch
The movement is little by the LNB is about 3:30 PM) approx. 119 O for
NSS 6 Satellite
little, if I cannot get any AGILA 2 viewing
signal (95 O E),
Quality at one movement FTA channels
the dish plate is
(by observing the Quality directed to 242O.
bar), I move the plate up/
down, then continue
searching in the expected
location. NSS 6 FTA TV Program :
Name : CGNTV

Once I get a small

Quality, I stop there,
take note of the posi-
tion, then try to maxi-
mized the Quality. If

m
Quality goes worst, I
re-start from the posi-
c o
re.
tion where i can get
small Quality and try
again. In some
e n t
iyc
NSS 6 FTA TV Program :
cases, I need to re- Name : PENTAGON
orient the LNB (Skew)

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into the direction of
Maximum Quality

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E. Summary
1diycentre
This document “Finding Satellite in Space - with respect to the place where
you install the Dish Plate on the surface of the Earth“ shows one possible
procedure for a hobbyist to effectively orient the Antenna Systems to catch Study
Satellite signal transmission.

There maybe other ways, simpler and better. I wish you can share it. Explore

This document is only limited to the discussion of Ku band Antenna Systems Learn
and the technique to orient based on Elevation of common Offset Type An-
tenna (where the Antenna boom is orient from horizontal plane and not from
the vertical plane). I wish others can share their experienced with C-band Expedite
Antenna.

The discussion also center in finding the correct Azimuth and Elevation of Improve
the 2 software presented AZ/EL Calculator by Satlex and SAA Calculator.
There are other features of the software which are not discussed. Please
find sometimes to discover them. Thanks to Satlex and SAA softwares. Adventure

If you have query, clarifications, comment or you want to add or point out an
Participate &
error, please contact me at :

odcenter@gmail.com Share
Thank you for sharing......... and you are more than welcome to SHARE more.
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