From: W. eWatson on
On 7/8/2010 2:44 AM, Jasen Betts wrote:
> On 2010-07-07, W. eWatson<wolftracks(a)invalid.com> wrote:
>> On 7/7/2010 4:59 AM, Jasen Betts wrote:
>>> On 2010-07-06, W. eWatson<wolftracks(a)invalid.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>
>>>> I constructed the battery pack in the link above, but w/o the coil. I
>>>> plugged it into the 1004ifd and immediately got something of a single
>>>> note noise from the device. This seems wrong. Any ideas? I did not
>>>> connect to the LNB and disk.
>>>
>>> with the input open circuit unloaded and the output shorted it could be oscilating,
>>> or that could be the base level tone.
>>
>> Thanks. So I should put the choke in and connect the LNB? Yes, F.
>
> Yeah, the choke will probably help, for even better termination you could stick a 75 ohm
> resistor (82 is probably close enough) in parallel with the choke and a 100pF capacitor parallel
> with the battery. But that may not be needed,
>
> Pointing the LNB arm of the dish (which point in the approximate
> direction of the focus) somewhere in the general direction of the sun (during the
> day) and you should get a big peak on the meter.
>
> --- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: news(a)netfront.net ---
I hadn't realized that some years ago I had put a choke on the cable. I
happened to remove some of the deteriorating electrical tape.

Now I am at a loss. I hooked up the LNB on the dish, and still get the
squeal. Maybe that's OK. The CM sees a voltage of 10 on it's meter or 35
on signal strength. That corresponds to what I measure across the
battery pack with my volt meter. It looks like gain may jack up the
signal strength. It may change the pitch. Not sure. Things get louder.

I have a second (Aspen) LNB detached from the dish. The LNB on the dish
was part of the original equipment.

OK, I've got something going with the Aspen. If I point it at the
ground, the needle goes up. If I point at the sky, it goes to zero.
Pointing it near the sun doesn't change the sky reading, since I
probably need to use the disk and point it at the sun. I think the link
above gives some clues about pointing.

I'll be back shortly. I went to get my voltmeter, and when I came back
wasn't hearing much of anything. I checked the voltage at it's up around
9v. Interestingly, the sun was getting blocked by some clouds. Probably
not related. I hope the batteries aren't getting drained by this
exercise, AA. They were fresh.

I think some more fiddling is required.
From: W. eWatson on
On 7/8/2010 7:00 PM, W. eWatson wrote:
> On 7/8/2010 2:44 AM, Jasen Betts wrote:
>> On 2010-07-07, W. eWatson<wolftracks(a)invalid.com> wrote:
>>> On 7/7/2010 4:59 AM, Jasen Betts wrote:
>>>> On 2010-07-06, W. eWatson<wolftracks(a)invalid.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> I constructed the battery pack in the link above, but w/o the coil. I
>>>>> plugged it into the 1004ifd and immediately got something of a single
>>>>> note noise from the device. This seems wrong. Any ideas? I did not
>>>>> connect to the LNB and disk.
>>>>
>>>> with the input open circuit unloaded and the output shorted it could
>>>> be oscilating,
>>>> or that could be the base level tone.
>>>
>>> Thanks. So I should put the choke in and connect the LNB? Yes, F.
>>
>> Yeah, the choke will probably help, for even better termination you
>> could stick a 75 ohm
>> resistor (82 is probably close enough) in parallel with the choke and
>> a 100pF capacitor parallel
>> with the battery. But that may not be needed,
>>
>> Pointing the LNB arm of the dish (which point in the approximate
>> direction of the focus) somewhere in the general direction of the sun
>> (during the
>> day) and you should get a big peak on the meter.
>>
>> --- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: news(a)netfront.net ---
> I hadn't realized that some years ago I had put a choke on the cable. I
> happened to remove some of the deteriorating electrical tape.
>
> Now I am at a loss. I hooked up the LNB on the dish, and still get the
> squeal. Maybe that's OK. The CM sees a voltage of 10 on it's meter or 35
> on signal strength. That corresponds to what I measure across the
> battery pack with my volt meter. It looks like gain may jack up the
> signal strength. It may change the pitch. Not sure. Things get louder.
>
> I have a second (Aspen) LNB detached from the dish. The LNB on the dish
> was part of the original equipment.
>
> OK, I've got something going with the Aspen. If I point it at the
> ground, the needle goes up. If I point at the sky, it goes to zero.
> Pointing it near the sun doesn't change the sky reading, since I
> probably need to use the disk and point it at the sun. I think the link
> above gives some clues about pointing.
>
> I'll be back shortly. I went to get my voltmeter, and when I came back
> wasn't hearing much of anything. I checked the voltage at it's up around
> 9v. Interestingly, the sun was getting blocked by some clouds. Probably
> not related. I hope the batteries aren't getting drained by this
> exercise, AA. They were fresh.
>
> I think some more fiddling is required.
OK, here's the deal. With the Aspen I have the meter around 30 with it
lying on the table. When I point it to the sky it goes to 0. When I
point it at the ground it goes back up to around 30

With the DTV and dish, the dish is just point to the empty sky, and the
meter is reading 20. When I put my hand in front of the LNB and
immediate vicinity, the meter rises to higher values according to how
close I am to the LNB.

OK, time to read the material about pointing the dish.
From: W. eWatson on
Ah,I found someone outside the web that had good knowledge of the the
Itty Bitty Tele (IBT), and here's my problem. The voltage needs to be
kept about 12v, maybe 11v, but it's crucial to get this working.
Further, the choke is not needed. As it turns out, the Aspen LNB is very
good, but I should replace the dish with one that accommodates the
Aspen. The Aspen won't fit on the dish. No easy mechanical link.
Secondly, the dish is better in this app if it's circular. Well,things
to do ofter the next weeks.

Thanks for pitching in.