MOSPEED ------------> I do my own 'pointing up' of my dish once-a-month ...just to keep my SS maxed out (at 97).  I'm using a .98m dish, but the method for zeroing in on a satellite is precisely the same no matter what dish size you have.  (Although it's easier with the .98m).

1.  You can only move your dish three ways: Up/Down (elevation) |Side-to-Side (azimuth) | Skew (rotation)  But first, take a level and ensure that your pole is sitting perfectly level.  If it isn't ...MAKE IT THAT WAY!  lol...

I use an indelible marker and draw marks around where the washers are so that I can always find my way back to where I started (something like having a backup ...heheh), then I loosen the nuts that allow up/down movement.  I start a bit higher than needs be, then slowly lower the dish in tiny increments while somebody watches the Signal Strength until I get/find the highest signal, then tighten the nuts back up.  Then I loosen the 'side to side' nuts and 'pan' slowly from left-to-right in small increments, (waiting a full three seconds at every 'stop'), until the highest possible signal is found then tighten THOSE nuts back up.  Finally, I loosen the 'skew' nuts and do the same as the first two (except you'll probably find that there is NO need to adjust the skew by more than a "hair" to the left or right (at most).  By the time you get to this point you'll find that you are getting a much higher signal than when you started.  The key to success is to pause at every stop for about three seconds to allow time for your signal to travel the 22,300 miles out there and back ...otherwise you will 'blow right by it'! 

If you LOSE your satellite, don't panic.  You can either just return everything back to where you marked with the ink pen, or you can 'scan' the sky in the same manner that a farmer would plow a field ...one row at a time (slowly) until you find your satellite.  If you get a suddenly get a signal of about 30 but can't get it any higher, it just means you found the wrong satellite, and yours will either be slightly to the right and higher up, or slighltly to the left and lower down.  (That's how the Clark-Allen belt is arranged, in steps, with satellites being low (to the left), and climbing in a stair-like fashion as you progress to the right).

Hey, it's better than waiting for someone to show up to do precisely the same thing, and since you already HAVE a signal, you know that getting a higher Signal Strength is just a matter of moving your dish "ever so slightly" until you discover which of the three "movements" are off.  Granted, it will void the warranty if you are using a .98m dish or DW6000 ...but who's going to say that you did it?  (Dishes 'lean' or get knocked off alignment all the time by the wind)!  One morning, I woke up to find NO signal.  I went outside and saw my brand new .98m dish pointed at the ground ...that's when I taught myself how to align my own dish!  lol ....  (Besides ....you'll take FAR longer finding the best possible Signal Strength ...chances are the guy that shows up will just bring you up by 10 or 20dB then split.  He won't put near the effort into it that you (or ANY owner) would do.  SImple!  So why NOT "DIY?" (Do It Yourself).

Late Entry:  Please bear in mind that when you are messing with the Skew, you will be affecting the "Cros-Pol" (Cross Polarity) of your dish ...which can make or break your connectivity ...so just use extremely tiny adjustments when 'skewing', and you'll avert a host of headaches!

Cheers!

*There are some other (somewhat rare) things that can happen to your dish to cause problems as well.  For instance, after a dish has set for a time, the "radio" (transducer) has a tendency to 'sag', and so it is no longer precisely level or pointed at the exact center of the dish (called the "sweet spot".  Sometimes, when all else fails, it may be a matter of having to 're-level' your "radio" before the SS comes back up.

ALSO:  REMEMBER THAT ANYTIME A DISH IS TRANSMITTING IT IS EMITTING ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION WHICH IS HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH.  So ..just make darn sure that you don't go messing around that dish when it may be transmitting!  (Or, at least be BEHIND the dish (safe zone) if you must be working on a 'hot' dish).  Behind it or at least 1.2 meters (four feet) away from the transducer/emitter/radio ....whatever you wish to call it. 

IMPORTANT:  A DW6000 dish is "cold" unless it is being used ...so there is little to no danger working on one.  However, a DW4000 is ALWAYS "HOT" ...so you MUST stay on the backside of the dish to afford yourself the greatest degree of protection.

*Some people say that grounding is terribly important. The truth is that on the newer dishes, like the .98m's, the grounding achieved through the coaxial cabling is all that is needed for a good ground.  The DW4000's MUST be grounded to prevent 'static' from building up on the dish and emitter ...which will not only slow you WAY down ...but can even "cook" your transducer ("radio").  Just use the standard 10-guage copper wire running down to a copper rod driven into the earth ....no different than what is used to ground your electrical service entrance.

I guess I should mention that it is illegal to install your own dish on a Commercial System (like mine) ...but there is NO law that states that you cannot "tweak" your own property!  (There's a difference)!   

Hmmm...I posted a reply to this already but it seems to have been misplaced.......brb!

TY for the pdf!!!! I forgot allllll about that one!  (better pics too for the smaller dishes)!

The Rev

just move some rocks up and down if it looks like this    http://testmy.net/forum/index.php?topic=1715.msg17489#msg17489

VanBuren

Rev- I don't know if you're still looking back in here, but THANKS!!!!!! 

Just what I was looking for.

Maybe you guys can help me here. I have a DW 4000 and am only able to get to certain sites. I cant get to my Banking accounts and sometimes not even my  hotmail or yahoo.

I am looking at a 93 signal aimed at SATmex 5 and am in Cancun.

I have an DW 6000 that was bought on Ebay and need to get it going here any solutions? I can aim them and set the Xpol with know problem

many thanks for the tweaking lessons will apply them as my signal dio just drop to a 73

Please email me  as I am sure we are not supposed to use our email addresses directly

Thanks,

Mike

Hey newbie DirecWay install here.

How do I find out 'signal strength'?


Download Speed is:: 136 kB/s
Tested From:: http://testmy.net (server2)
Test Time:: Tue Feb 7 19:08:00 EST 2006
Bottom Line:: 20X faster than 56K 1MB download in 7.53 sec
Diagnosis: Awesome! 20% + : 23.34 % faster than the average for host (direcpc.com)
Validation Link:: http://testmy.net/stats/id-2TWVBNUYL

::::::::::.. Upload Stats ..::::::::::
Connection is:: 158 Kbps about 0.2 Mbps (tested with 97 kB)
Upload Speed is:: 19 kB/s
Tested From:: http://testmy.net (server1)
Test Time:: Tue Feb 7 19:08:30 EST 2006
Bottom Line:: 3X faster than 56K 1MB upload in 53.89 sec
Diagnosis: Awesome! 20% + : 102.56 % faster than the average for host (direcpc.com)


Ping statistics for 216.109.117.206:
    Packets: Sent = 13, Received = 13, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 710ms, Maximum = 938ms, Average = 839ms

Cheers and TIA

Rat

Duh. never thought to hit the modem direct (using a DLink router reconfigured to 172.16.0.1 BTW).

How is signal strength of 77? Overcast evening here near JAX.

What are awesome, good, bad and ugly strengths?

Thanks a lot.