| [Installer] Initial pointing How accurate is the pointing on this .74 m Ka system?
SQF at azimuth 1 position: 70 - SQF at azimuth 2 position: 75
SQF at elevation 1 position: 76 - SQF at elevation 2 position: 72
Max SQF during AP: 160
AP pass/fail flag: Pass
SQF Center1: 154
SQF at final position: 153 |
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| i'd qualify it as "satisfactory".
the Pass/Fail mark for that service is 140 sqf, so it's possible inclement weather could take you off the air slightly easier than a "well" pointed system which would have an sqf higher than 175 imo.
that said, your results will vary depending upon your location. |
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| id kinda have to agree, squints are all within tolerance, but overall sqf is somewhat sketchy. if this was an install i just did, assuming clear LOS, i would double back and check fittings, cable type/length, then move onto odu, lastly idu. ***however, if, like some "techs", you didnt use proper gps coords, this can/will, affect sqf and probing***
while training a newby recently, he accidentally punched in coords wrong, we had low sqf at 160 (wherein i knew it should have been much higher). probing failed multiple attempts. after replacing the odu, checking ifl, blah blah blah, i noticed coords were wrong. corrected coords, sqf jumped to 184, probing passed with flying colors. the coords originally entered were approx 7 miles straight south of our exact location.
ive seen it a few times on repairs from other companies as well. |
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| reply to Crazyhorse
I would agree completely with what the assessment of the others. While starting out with a signal level of 150 or 160 isn't likely to result in deteriorated performance most of the time, it doesn't give you a lot of room for rain fade protection. Also, it doesn't give you a lot of protection against the drop in signal level that may well occur over time as the dish is subjected to high winds, moisture, aging of components, etc.
For comparison, with the 9000 system that I had, my normal signal level during the summer was between about 175 and 185. With the spot beams being used with 9000 systems, Hughes has the ability to raise the level of the signal they are sending out to beams in locations where snow and ice might be likely to build up on the dish, and, thus, during the winter, my normal signal level was between 190 and 200+.
As has already been pointed out, the maximum signal level possible is going to vary by location, and the maximum possible is likely to be marginally lower the further you are from the center of the spot beam footprint. Regardless, however, while 153 might marginally pass Hughes' minimum installation standards, it is not likely that it would be what you would expect with an optimally-pointed dish. |
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| reply to Crazyhorse
The installation was done in bad, windy weather but the installer is coming back to tune it up. I was just wondering how bad it is since performance is a little erratic and any little shower of rain can raise the NPW to 55 or so. Anything more than a shower knocks it to no beacon status.
He said something in the software indicated an obstructed LOS but he figured it was clouds since the LOS is clear.
The coordinates entered for the install correspond very accurately to my GPS readings.
Thank you. |
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| said by Crazyhorse:The installation was done in bad, windy weather but the installer is coming back to tune it up.
Thank you.
What kind of signal levels and normalized power words are you getting now when the skies are clear? |
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| The lowest NPW I've seen is 37 and the highest SQF is 180. There is fluctuation between these numbers and 39/170 when the skies are clear and calm. |
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| said by Crazyhorse:The lowest NPW I've seen is 37 and the highest SQF is 180. There is fluctuation between these numbers and 39/170 when the skies are clear and calm.
While those might not be the best numbers I've ever seen, they are much more in line with what would be considered "normal". While fine tuning the pointing might well buy you a few more minutes of up time during a storm, I doubt that your current pointing is related to the erratic performance that you are seeing. That erratic performance is much more likely related to high traffic levels on your gateway. Performance differences between a signal level at 170 or 180 or 190 should not exist. Also, while your power word is toward the high end of what might be considered normal, it is still not out of line. When I first had my system installed, the power word was generally at 32. Over the course of a couple of years, it went up to 33 or 34, but anywhere in the mid 30s would be, I think, considered quite normal. |
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| 180 is normal in my neck of the woods, this time of year anyway. and pw from 36-38 has again been average lately.
technically.....if a system is commissioned in "nasty" weather, as i have had to do myself, squint values should be within 2 points, assuming squinting is done properly. according to hns, this will then keep return trips to a minimum.
personally, i have done this multiple times, wherein ive actually commissioned, activated, and demo'd to customer with sqf's as low as 138~ish. clearly thats not going to pass ovt. running ovt remotely after weather has passed, has then shown better than average results. again, when the squints were within 2.
one more, just an fyi, in our neck of the woods, i wouldnt expect powerwords that low until april-june (northeast). i think 36 would have to be the lowest ive seen in a few months now. |
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| reply to One More Too
Once the install is tweaked and we know I'm on a level playing field, I'll start looking for the real problem. The gateway thing is probably an excellent candidate for scrutiny. My Hughes speed test downloads have ranged between 322 kbps and 2554 kbps. My range for real download has run between 64 kbps and 2386 kbps.
Within the last two hours my Hughes download figures have ranged between 464 and 2103 kbps. That seems quite erratic to me. |
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