Now Align Dishes Without A Receiver!

[Pirate555]

ALIGN DISHES WITHOUT A RECEIVER !


OVERVIEW:

This handy box provides the required DC POWER for your budget "Satellite Meter" AND your LNB's!

* Now you can install and ALIGN your DISHES WITHOUT A FTA RECEIVER!

* Determine if you have a "GOOD" FTA Satellite DISH location ~ BEFORE you run the coax!

* Forget multiple trips up and down ladders setting your FTA Receiver power OFF or ON as you install, connect or test!

* This Power Supply is extremely dependable, EASY to build and a snap to use!

* Total Cost? UNDER $20



***CRITICAL! NEVER ATTACH OR DISCONNECT ANYTHING WITH THE POWER SWITCH ON !***

OPERATION:

Operation is simple. Make SURE your Power Supply is switched OFF!

Use a Coax Jumper to attach your Power Supply to your Satellite Meter "Receiver" connector. Connect a second Jumper from your Satellite Meter "LNB" connector to your LNB.

Point your DISH to the general location you expect to receive signal and switch your Power Supply ON.

PEAK your Dish for maximum Meter signal then lock your Dish down. Now test again to assure yourself that you still have maximum signal!

Switch the Power Supply OFF. Now disconnect your Power Supply and your Satellite Meter.

Now connect your DISH LNB to the coax feeding your FTA Receiver and turn your FTA Receiver ON. Assure yourself you are receiving the FTA Satellite signals you desire. If not, turn your FTA Receiver OFF and start the above again.

*Align your Dishes as quickly as possible to assure maximum signal (and Battery Life). I aligned mine completely in about 10 minutes using my Supply! This includes testing all 3 LNB's! You will require much less time if you are installing a single Dish and LNB. Together this Power Supply and Meter worked like a fine Swiss watch.

MORE:

Please note, This is a PROTOTYPE and my Power Supply is still a work in progress. If you think of ideas to improve yours, kindly post your ideas here for others.

I've included two photos so you can get a idea as to layout and approach. The layout is NOT written in stone so you may use any layout you wish. I used a box slightly larger than what I need for ease of assembly. My finished Supply will be in a metal box for added durability.

If you use a slightly smaller box, nothing stops you from using double back tape or hot glue gun to secure your supply to the back of your Satellite Meter!

Because we are so close to the Dish(s), use small jumpers of RG-59u between your Power Supply, Meter and Dish because the cable loss is minimal. The 'purest' will stay choose to stay with RG-6.

I used double-backed tape to secure the batteries in the case. IF you don't use your Supply often the double-back tape or a hot glue gun approach should serve you well. I added a square of foam to help keep the batteries in place between the top cover and the batteries.

If nothing is connected to your Power Supply and the Switch is accidentally switched ON, there is NO battery drain! Always remove the batteries if you plan to store your Power Supply for any extended length of time. It may be helpful if you mark the battery dates on a label inside or outside of the box so you know how to approximate battery life.

*Finally, I would highly recommend that you use DUARCELLS or some other type of dependable batteries! You will note that I used regular carbon batteries, but that was all that I had at hand and I was anxious to test.

PARS LIST:

* BOX
* SWITCH (don't use a spring-return switch)
* TWO 9-Volt Battery clips
* TWO 9-Volt DURACELL BATTERIES (or similar)
* Female "F" Connector, chassis mount.
* .1 uf Cap. (Use any value .01uf to .1uf).

CONSTRUCTION:

* Drill holes in box as required.

* Connect the two Battery Clips in series, that is: Red to Black. You should end up with ONE red wire and ONE black wire from the 2 Clips. You will see that connection to the LEFT of the green Cap.

* Solder the BLACK wire directly to the outer "shell" or body of your "F" Connector.

* Solder the RED wire from your battery clips to your Switch.

* Solder a small jumper wire from your Switch to the CENTER PIN of your "F" Connector.

* Solder your Cap as close to the "F" Connector as reasonably possible (as shown). One end to the "F" Connector Tip and the other to the "F" Connector shell or ground.

* I used a red 'twistie' as a wire harness (shown).

YOU ARE DONE!


TESTING:

TEST your Power Supply BEFORE you connect to your Satellite Meter using a DC Voltmeter. Turn your Supply ON. You should measure about 18 Volts DC at the "F" Connector. The CENTER PIN should be + or positive and the outer shell should be - or negative.


DON'T FORGET... always connect and disconnect your Power Supply with the SWITCH OFF!


Enjoy this FUN and extremely useful project!

Now RUM for all!
Pirate555

[No_PaRoLe]

Welcome to the site Pirate 555. I see with your first post you are trying to help out at the site....

[Sohrab]

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing. Keep it up.

[Pirate555]

*this is a copy of questions and answers from other Sites...

Mates!

One of the most difficult tasks of setting up for FTA is the Dish installation and the accurate calibration of your Dishes.

This Power Supply is for clean/fresh installs
or "TWEAK" your Existing Dish Installations with ease.

This project is GREAT for campers, truckers or old Pros!

Determine IF you have a good and clear Dish location BEFORE you run your coax and DO so in record time.

It's a GREAT project for newbies who want to explore "new" satellites ~ Align to and PEAK to your new Satellites with speed and ease!

During the Power Supply construction one of my prime goals was to keep the battery load to a minimum at all times to assure the longest battery life possible. You will note that there isn't even a "Power ON" LED. You can add one if you like but it will demand more battery current.

Someone asked for switches and circuits to support "Switching" BUT, the internal 'switching' components AND the external Dish Switch(es) would then require even more current demand from the batteries... not good. And the truth is that Switches are simply not needed or desired at this point of your installation(s).

Someone else recommended a regulator and additional switch to select between 12 and 18 Volts, but the regulator demands battery current too and my goal was to keep that to a minimum. Also, if one forgets and leaves the Power Supply ON with nothing connected, the regulator would drain the batteries dry within two days. It also departs from my desire to keep the project easy enough for anyone to build.

Another asked: "But tell me again; what does this scenario get me over connecting the signal meter directly to the switch which has power anyways."

Sure one CAN power-up Dishes from new/old receivers, BUT FIRST you need to run coax BEFORE you can begin any testing at all. And THEN you will need multiple trips up and down the roof to power on and off as you install, test and align. That's not fun for me and this is the prime reason why the Power Supply was built and tested.

If you had no coax installed, how long would it take to setup the receiver, run the coax? Now add connector(s) installation time and NOW you are finally ready to do the same tests I have already completed!

Want to count the trips up and down the ladder too? Don't forget that each trip up or down a ladder adds to the possibility of a accident, not to mention the wear and tear on the roof.

Also, after you did all of the above and began testing ~ what happens if you then discovered that you didn't have a good Dish location? Whoops, your coax is already cut to length and that bracket is secured down. With the Power Supply one can steady the base of the Dish by hand on the roof (no screws yet) and test away!

Even if you knew you had a 'clear-view', this Power Supply STILL saves you significant install time when one thinks of all the extra steps it saves (pun intended). AND again, NO Receiver/IRD or coax (other than 2 jumpers) was required UNTIL AFTER I installed and aligned the Dish!

AFTER I was assured of my dish placement and that all three LNB's were working, I ran my coax and added my Switch. Really, adding the coax and Switch almost felt like a reward. IF there were any problems (assumes the IRD is working properly) I would then suspect a faulty switch!

Sure there are other things that may go wrong, but I don't want to quibble with anyone about them because they become off-topic in no time.

Another person recommended adding a wall charger, but that takes more parts and maybe a circuit board? But more important, rechargeable batteries are very temperamental and demand different charge rates between models. Also, most times ONE over-charge and your batteries are crippled forever. Because there are TWO batteries, finding the proper smart charger would be difficult because now we are dealing with 18+ Volts instead of just 9.

If one really wanted to use rechargeable batteries I would recommend two external battery chargers. Use 2 Chargers to assure equal charge times... or recharge one at a time and set a timer. Add 2 battery holders inside your Power Supply. Remove 4 screws, the batteries and recharge away!

If you discovered dead batteries and you are away from your charger, buy two DURACELLS and be back online in no time! Recharge your originals later... keep the DURACELLS for spares. In fact, pack two spares in your bag so you will always be ready for action.

As is, I suspect DURACELLS should be able accomplish up to 30 dish installations if you kept your alignment time to a minimum.


CONCLUSION:

Ya know, many of us live in the city (or country) where we are not sure about trees, hills, bushes or that "2 story house next door" ~ and just think of the many other scenarios of possible obstacles!

And heck, I haven't tried it, but I'll bet if one held the dish steady in their arms and pointed to a proper place, one could quickly see if one had signal or hot spot? AGAIN, I HAVE NOT TRIED THIS ~ but I will in the AM ~ WHY? Because my Power Supply makes TRYING THIS quick and dirty test a snap! No kidding, I will be done in less than 2 minutes after I connect.

UPDATE:

YES! It works... Holding my Dish in my arms I was able to see if I had a 'hot spot' and did so in LESS THAN 1 MINUTE (after connecting the 2 coax jumpers)! Again, this was for quick easy 'hot spot' testing and not a final installation.

Mates, TRY this easy Power Supply ~ until you do you will never know what you are missing.

Very respectfully,
Pirate55

[Pirate555]

Welcome to the site Pirate 555. I see with your first post you are trying to help out at the site....

Thanks for the kind words! It's great encouragement.

Pirate555