StarBand StarBand Satellite System, Installation Manual

Page 1: ...M o b i l e I n t e r n e t S a t e l l i t e c o m StarBand Remote Installation September 2013 ...

Page 2: ... 2004 2013 MobileInternetSatellite com ...

Page 3: ...MobileInternetSatellite com StarBand Remote Installation Version 2 6 ...

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Page 5: ...the Stanley Keeper SK May Be Pre installed 14 Assembling the Hardware Set May Be Pre installed 15 Using Your Tripod 16 Orienting the Tripod and Checking for a Plumb Mast 17 Attaching the Bubble Level 18 Step 5 Putting the Dish Assembly Together 19 Modifying the Elevation Jack Screw Replacing the Nut and Bolt With Knobs 19 Modifying the Elevation Jack Screw 20 Putting the AZ EL Skew Cap Mount on th...

Page 6: ...ii Table of Contents 2004 2013 MobileInternetSatellite com ...

Page 7: ...B J C o n s u l 2004 2013 MobileInternetSatellite com MobileInternetSatellite com 1 MobileInternetSatellite com StarBand Remote Installation Guide ...

Page 8: ... 2 Get the pointing parameters and program the meter Step 3 If not done assemble the feed arm and set the polarity to horizontal Step 4 Set up the tripod offset and hardware set Step 5 Put the mount on the dish and the dish on the mast Set the skew and elevation Step 6 Attach feed arm to dish and attach the pigtail cables Step 7 Point the dish with a BirDog First Strike or SkyManage Step 8 Check y...

Page 9: ...2 3 The other end of the 50 length of coax is typically connected to a dual exterior coax connector 4 which is installed on the side of the RV Two 1 2 holes are drilled in the side of the RV for the installation 4 The short inside cables 5 are connected to the back of the dual exterior coax connector 4 at one end and to the modem 6 at the other end Although the above describes the most common inst...

Page 10: ...e meter or a BirDog meter There will be either a liquid filled lensatic or a Suunto tandem compass Special order or omitted items Obviously any additional items ordered or any items not wanted will affect the complete contents Here is the list of items StarBand Satellite System This includes the modem dish feed arm and dual coaxial cable Tripod Assembly Tripod offset adapter adapter hardware and b...

Page 11: ...ion of the satellite azimuth and its elevation will help you pick a good RV site Programming the Meter If you have a BirDog or First Strike satellite meter you will need to program it with the satellite profiles you will be using These two things will be described in more detail later BirDog Alternatives Pictured above are the BirDog and First Strike satellite meters Another alternative is to use ...

Page 12: ... 123 in the popup menu field where the satellite is selected Hit Enter Most assignments for mobile users will be on 121 W 2 Select and enter either the zip code or the longitude and latitude Hit Enter 3 Click Calculate Write down the values returned You will use this information to look for a good line of sight when you are setting up You will set up the tripod with one leg pointing in the magneti...

Page 13: ... the BirDog web site and select the satellites you want and then generate and download the configuration file Then you need to upload the file to your BirDog Full details about how to program and use your BirDog meter are in the document called BirDogSatelliteMeter pdf If you have a First Strike meter and it isn t already programmed for Echostar 9 at 121 W the following parameters need to be confi...

Page 14: ...ls are needed 1 4 nut driver or common screw driver 10 mm wrench Philips screwdriver Unpack the parts The empty arm is packed with the dish The feed horn assembly the LNB and the transmitter are usually boxed together Assembling the Feed Arm 1 FigureA shows the Feed Horn LNB assembly installed on the arm Note the two hex head sheet metal screws near the end of the arm at the top of this photo and ...

Page 15: ...re you are confident that they are gripping the casting 5 Bolt the radio to the radio flange using the 4 Phillips head screws packed in the box with the radio Critical The O ring Figure D is packed in the bag with the radio It must be in place If the O ring is damaged a hardware store should be able to provide the same size While the assembly will work without the O ring it may take on moisture an...

Page 16: ...g the SkyEdge environment that StarBand uses The new transmitter is smaller in size than previous ODUs see figures above on the left It has a magnetic switch which is used to change its function from SkyEdge or other legacy Spacenet equipment to SkyEdge II This is indicated on the BUC as SE and SEII see the graphic on the right You must use the SE SkyEdge setting for StarBand Nova modems The switc...

Page 17: ...y You could receive either LNB model The TRF sits between the LNB and the feed horn assembly as shown on the right above On the left you can see an LNB with an internal TRF This LNB is longer than the LNB with an external TRF Why Is a TRF Needed The purpose of the TRF is to prevent the energy coming from the transmitter from interfering with the received signal that is down converted by the LNB Wi...

Page 18: ...e set for the correct polarity The larger photo above illustrates the polarity when set to vertical In the blowup you can see the V for vertical polarity lined up with the zero Changing the polarity is a two step process Step 1 Loosen the 4 Hex or Phillips screws using the T handled hex driver or a Phillips screw driver The two red arrows in the picture indicate 2 of the 4 screws Step 2 Rotate the...

Page 19: ...looks after rotating to the H position For a horizontal setting either of the H marks can be aligned with the zero Note that the LNB turns with the wave guide when setting polarity or when fine tuning for cross pol This can be seen in the photo on the right The LNB which was on top is now off to one side Set the feed assembly or feed arm aside for now ...

Page 20: ...on a flat work surface Step 2 Remove the extended hinge clamp differs from the other two hinge clamps If all three hinge clamps are the extended type see Figure A remove all three Step 3 If present remove the swing arm and bell housing plumb bob hook These parts can be discarded Step 4 Put the Stanley Keeper in place as shown in Figure A Step 5 Add a drop of Marine or Plumbing Goop to each corner ...

Page 21: ...eye bolt from below the tripod head Figures A and B Step 3 Use a slight upward pressure to hold the eye bolt in place with one hand Figure B Step 4 Make sure that there is about 3 4 1 of threads showing above the tripod head Figure B Step 5 Add an inside star lock washer and the thinner 1 2 hex nut skinny jam nut to the upper end of the eye bolt Figure C and finger tighten Note In most cases it is...

Page 22: ...ting downward pressure on the SK during this process Using Your Tripod Your attaching hardware is now ready for use There should be no reason to have to loosen these nuts again unless you want to change the length of threaded end that protrudes above the tripod head Some choose to also leave the last two steps below assembled Step 7 Add a shim of some kind A mylar disk show above is usually includ...

Page 23: ...t adapter will also be aligned with the azimuth but extending in the opposite direction midway between the two rear legs You should plumb the mast at this point Starting with a plumb mast generally results in a much easier pointing process If you are preparing to install a bubble level see next page it should be installed on as plumb a mast as possible You can plumb the mast with a mast level as s...

Page 24: ...ast of your offset adapter Step 2 Use Clear Liquid Nails or something similar to attach the bubble level to the center channel of the adapter as shown above Step 3 To calibrate the level build up the surface where the level attaches so that with your mast already plumb the bubble level shows Level in both directions Step 4 Allow this to dry overnight before continuing Note The T level may become o...

Page 25: ...elevation and the skew The front tripod leg should be pointed in the azimuth direction Modifying the Elevation Jack Screw Replacing the Nut and Bolt With Knobs If you are not assembling a new system but are repairing a broken elevation jack screw you should first remove the AZ EL Skew Cap Mount from the back of the dish In this case you will also need an 8 mm nylock nut Put the mount on a flat sur...

Page 26: ...t unusable for adjusting the elevation It is recommended that the following modification be done 1 Remove the two Phillips screws that hold the nylon ball retaining plate and remove the retaining plate 2 Remove the long jack screw and nylon ball assembly 3 Thread the 8 mm nylock nut onto the jack screw Thread all the way up to the nylon ball and reinstall it as it was removed 4 Apply small amount ...

Page 27: ...y will be added later Tighten the clamp bolts on the mount assembly as indicated in the center above Align the reflector AZ EL skew cap mount mast and the front tripod leg to the azimuth as illustrated in the graphic on the right The Phase III dish which comes with the Nova may have either the Phase II AZ EL skew cap mount or the Phase III design The newer design includes an azimuth fine tuning ad...

Page 28: ... Step 2 Loosen the pivot bolts a quarter turn The pivot bolts are also located on each side of the AZ EL Skew Cap Mount Step 3 Now turn the elevation adjustment bolt clockwise to decrease elevation Turn the bolt counterclockwise to increase elevation Step 4 Align the edge of the bracket with the appropriate elevation mark on the AZ EL housing Note Remember to add 1 to 2 degrees or more to the reco...

Page 29: ... to the figure above for the location of these adjustments Step 1 Loosen the four skew locking bolts until they are just finger tight These bolts are located on theAZ EL skew cap mount where the mount is attached to the antenna Step 2 Rotate the AZ EL skew cap mount to align the indicator mark with the correct number on the skew scale The scale is marked in two degree increments Step 3 Tighten the...

Page 30: ...ut the large bolt into the hole in the end of the arm Feed the bolt from behind the dish Step 2 Secure the feed arm to the dish with either a large knob or a nut Step 3 Attach the short pigtail cables to the feed arm The cable with blue tape is for the receive side and should be connected to the LNB The cable with red tape should be connected to the transmitter If you use a BirDog or First Strike ...

Page 31: ... watt transmitter which requires a GCD gain control device adapter The GCD adapter is just an extra item that goes inline between the transmitter and the modem as shown above Add it to your feed arm assembly as follows 1 Connect the short cable that is in the box with the BUC adapter to the transmitter and to the side of the BUC adapter that is labeled BUC This is circled in the photo of the BUC G...

Page 32: ...sembly through the azimuth starting way off to the west and rotating towards the east counter clockwise from behind the dish 2 If the StarBand satellite cannot be located increase or decrease the elevation by one degree and again move the antenna through the azimuth 3 Continue increasing or decreasing the elevation in one degree increments followed by a slow sweep through the azimuth until the sat...

Page 33: ...g The First Strike connector is not labeled but you should connect the pigtail cable to the connector on the right as you view the meter from the front Use a barrel connector as shown above If you have a BirDog meter when you point at the selected satellite you will be alerted by beeps and the display will change from Searching to Found You will then know you have located the satellite With the Fi...

Page 34: ... the modem is powered OFF before you connect or disconnect the coaxial cables Attach the Tx or transmit cable from the connector marked RF OUT on the modem to the Tx connection point on the Rx Tx feed assembly Attach the Rx or receive cable from the connector on the modem marked RF IN to the LNB Turn on the modem or reconnect the power cable There is no On Off switch on the Nova modem How to use S...

Page 35: ...ed Step 2 If necessary click on the Status link at the top of the SkyManage page and then click on Telemetry on the left Step 3 The dish can be adjusted while you monitor the Rx signal EbN0 display Some prefer to take their laptop out to the dish to monitor the received signal as they point the dish Others use Walkie Talkies one person watches the SkyManage display and relays the status red or gre...

Page 36: ...ture is shown in the figure above Option 3 is ONLY taken once to commission the modem Then you will use Option 2 shown in red above Main Menu Option 2 Alignment Menu Option 1 Alignment Check The co pol and cross pol alignment values will be recited along with an indication of whether or not they meet the criteria If any of the measured values do not meet the criteria the message will tell you whic...

Page 37: ... cables off both ends Use a single longer piece of cable from the dish to the modem going through a window or the door Note any change Next reverse the transmit and receive cables If there is no change in the symptoms cables are not the problem Polarity setting Make sure the transmit polarity is properly set to horizontal if you are assigned to Echostar 9 121 W Current assignments on Galaxy 18 123...

Page 38: ...h support to have them verify you should be taken out of the restricted group A linear transmitter needs a GCD and will only have 3 lights without it If the VSAT ID was used before it may be mapped to a different MAC address This prevents the modem from authenticating and it will not go online When this happens tech support needs to clear the MAC and reset the IP Note If the VSAT ID was just re as...