Welcome to this new forum. Thanks very much to Don Bradner for setting this up and allowing us to discuss the tripod (and eventually other) systems here!
posted
Hi Dusty, and Thanks Don for getting this forum up and running for the rest of us. I would love to see the issues that had already been posted prior to going public if possible. Sidney
When the private forum became public, all the existing threads became invisiable. But because I was prepared for this, I previously copied all the text into a MS Word document. What I will do is repost the majority of the text into new threads, only editing out what may be irrelevant or obsolete.
Hi all, First setup today in Windsor, Ca.. Took 1 3/4 hours including visit with interested neighbor (15-20 minutes) who had met Scott in Quartzite this past winter. So we're up and running tonight....very pleased. First suggestion. Elevation is 34.5 degrees here and I had to raise the back of the tripod to get the dish clear of the attaching bracket (bottom of dish hitting top of bracket). Might need to cut the front of the bracket a bit more or maybe we just tip the tripod up...or did I miss something? Alignment system worked beautifully. Next time should be easier. Had forgotten some of the steps. Scott you've done a great job...you really went a long way to make this work easily. I'm sure we'll have plenty of suggestions but you've really thought this through. Happy camper, Ray
(edited note: all new systems now use a longer mast on the main bracket)
Scott Whitney replied:
The bracket issue is known to me and is being resolved with newer versions which are being fabricated now. The resolution is the pipe will extend taller, so the dish, at low elevations, will clear the angled pieces.
(obsolete text removed) -------------------- Scott Whitney
John Tomich replied:
Hello Testers and Scott
Yesterday, I had the good fortune to spend some time with Ray Felton at his camp site in Windsor, CA. He very graciously took the time to demonstrate the assembly and aiming procedures of his Dustyfoot Tripod and then took me inside his fine coach and showed me the sequence of steps required to lock on to the satellite. I was impressed. With a lot of practice, I can even imagine myself getting online. Thank you very much Ray.
I must admit, I don't know my azimuth from my elbow at this point, but after Ray's tutorial, I think it's all gonna work out. Scott's system appears to be solid, simple and very learnable. The new mounting pipe extension should allow one to travel to the far north and still make the altitude adjustment with all three feet on the floor. After his first few set-ups, Ray predicts getting it down to fifteen or twenty minutes by the time he hits Colorado. Now I'm anxious to get my hands on my own unit.
Thanks again Ray, that was very generous of you.
John Tomich
Russ & Earline replied:
Hi all, Russ and Earline Murray here. We are currently in Greely CO, about 50 miles north of Denver. We'll be leaving here Tuesday or Wednesday and going to Tyndal SD and then to Sioux Falls. We'll be setting up and tearing down a couple of times in the next week or so, hopefully all will go smooth. We found eithernet cards for our old laptops and had the desktop and laptop online at the same time, now we can both do our thing at the same time. The best part of it all no more connecting with a cell phone. Scott, I'll be working on the fine adjusters while in Siuox Falls.
Russ and Earline
Ray Felton replied:
Hi all, Set up today in Valley Springs (Calaveras County) Ca. and while the first setup took 1.5 hours, today took a little over 2 hours....this is not progress. I was a little too close to a tree and had to move and I also made some dumb mistakes, but that's part of the process. It's fun and something new. Certainly enjoyed meeting John Tomich yesterday. We had a good visit and hopefully with my vast experience of set up (my first time was the day before) I didn't make it worse for you, John. I think actually that seeing it set up is probably helpful. The beauty of this whole thing is that when you get locked on to the satellite it is a great feeling of accomplishment, but when you log on to the internet with your dish beside your RV, it is really luxurious to have that high speed connection. I bought a Linksys router and just plugged our two laptops in and both worked. I also got a wireless notebook adapter but haven't tried that yet. Scott, your fix on the elevation sounds like a really good one. Salt Lake next....midweek. Talk to you all soon, Ray
(obsolete text edited)
Ray Felton replied:
Hi all, Set up in Salt Lake City this afternoon...total time less than 40 minutes. That includes getting out my laptop and all of the unpacking and assembly. Aiming and cross pol didn't take much more than 5 minutes...I don't expect that part to go that fast everytime. So to cut down on the 40 minutes I need to be better organized and also will start looking at ways to streamline assembly. Appreciate any suggestions you might have. Ray
Russ & Earline replied:
On THe Road Again, we'll be leaving La Salle CO today and heading for Tyndal SD, it's a small town of about 1400, Earline is having a school re-union there we may or may not be able to install dish and be online. NO wally worlds or K-marts we'll probably be parking on the street. No place to set the tripod. I'm investigating some kind of temporary mount for these occasions maybe something attached to the front of the bus. C-YA when we're back online. Russ and Earline
(obsolete text edited)
Russ & Earline replied:
Hey gang, we made it to Tyndal SD, and managed to get everything set up. Had trouble getting pointed and online. My fault, attribute it to bad memory. When we left CO it took Earline and I 25 minutes to teardown and pack the dish. We managed to set up the tripod and dish in about 20 minutes. If I had not forgot a couple of vital steps we would have been pointed and online in another 10 minutes. We did however manage to lock onto the wrong satelite in less that 10 minutes, after calling Scott we discovered someone fatfingered the mouse on my computer and set the parameters wrong wich in turn gave us the wrong Azmuth. Once we corrected this problem we were online in less than 10 minutes. We'll be moving to Yankton SD on Tuesday hopefully we won't have the memory problem again and will get an accurate time for setting up and locking on. Happy travels to all,
Russ and Earline
(obsolete text edited)
Russ & Earline replied
Hey gang, we left Tyndal SD today 20 minutes to teardown and pack all the goodies. When we arrived at Yankton SD we set up the dish and had the preliminary adjustments made in about 25 minutes. All was going smooth until we tried to do the cross pol test. The problem was not with the dish or with us. The problem was waiting for the server, we kept getting stuck in a Que. When it would go to testing it would only stay for a few seconds and then whip us back into the Que. So I would make a small adjustment and wait for the next test, (kinda like driving by brail) after 25 minutes or so we managed to get the skew corect and a passing score on the Automatic test. We have decided that late afternoon or evening is not the time to set up and align the dish. Anyway we obviously made it online. Scott thanks for the Install procedures, as I said I'll edit them for you. I'll e-mail any changes I make to you. We also have started using a different method of securing the dish instead of the water can. when in grass or dirt we're using a screw anchor for the awning. Its neater and easier to use. I,ll send you a pic of it later. You could slao use one that is made for tyeing out your dog. Till next time Russ and Earline
Ray Felton replied:
Hi all, Had the same results yesterday here at home as Russ and Earline did in Yankton. I was getting queued at #14 to 18 and sometimes when I got to #1 it would put me back in the queue instead of giving me any signal. I also finally got tested and online. I haven't seen that before (and I've tested a couple of times in the afternoon before) so I'm hoping it was a glitch or a bad day. Try again the end of the week in Colorado. Scott, I second the thanks for the procedures. I have gone to regular hex nuts and a 1/2" Gear Wrench (instead of the wing nuts). It works a little easier for me. The Gear Wrench is one of those reversible ratcheting box end wrenches. Have a great 4th, everybody. Ray
Russ & Earline replied:
Ray I've done the same thing with the nuts. My fingers don't work so well and I've swapped out all the wing nuts for hex. I used nylon bearinged lock nuts so that they won't vibrate off during transit. russ
Scott Whitney replied:
There were problems at the NOC yesterday and apparently they continue today. Here are some of the notices:
We are currently experiencing G11 ACP degradation . Some customer may experience a problem completing registration. ETR unknown. 06/29/04 @15:28.
We are currently experiencing a problem on G11 ACP. Customers trying to use that ACP may have a problem. 6/30/2004 4:37PM
We are currently experiencing a problem on G11 ACP. Customers trying to use that ACP may have a problem. We will update as information becomes available. Please refer to Case ID 709681. 06/30/04 17:20 EST
So you guys witnessed what happens when trying to point when there are Hughes issues. The hard part, in the middle of it all, is trying to figure out if the problem is local or on the Hughes side! In this case, both of your issues were most likely nothing that you could have done anything about, except keep trying, or come back later.
-------------------- Scott Whitney
Don Bradner replied:
I'm on G-11 with my Datastorm, and had occsion to move my coach today (I'm at home, but I needed to wash it). Experienced the problem fairly severely when I re-deployed - each manual test was queued anywhere from 3 to 9, and tests would shut themselves down and restart back up the queue frequently. Eventually worked.
Typical Hughes screwups, but it is the sort of thing you guys with a manual system will likely get a ribbing about from Datastorm users - I could just walk away and let it deal with it
-------------------- Don Bradner Safari Zanzibar w/Hyundai Santa Fe 91/1350 4020 Wireless <http://www.datastormusers.com/all_wireless.cfm> See where we are <http://www.datastormusers.com/showmaplocal.cfm?user=1>
Russ & Earline replied:
Well we're on our way to Hartford SD which is just west of Sioux Falls. It's only 77 miles but will take us two days to get there. We drive pretty slow , actually we'll be making a couple of stops to visit. But, we won't be putting up the dish so we'll be back online Sunday. BTW I epoxy'd the wedge nut into the back of the dish. We'll see if it holds or not. I'm always droppingg the nut while installing it, so now it should stay put (forever). Cheers Russ and Earline
Scott Whitney replied:
I opted not to epoxy it in there for fear that it might be harder to line the threads up. Sean had a good idea today and that was to put a little set screw behind it to hold it from falling out, but gave it enough wiggle room to get the threads started easily. Please, let me know how the epoxy goes, so I can determine whether better to fix it solid or give it room to wiggle a bit.
Thx.
-------------------- Scott Whitney
Sean Franklin replied:
Hello all, I'm the newest beta-tester. I have a Datastorm on my coach, and got the Dustyfoot to give me internet access for my trailer, which we use as a sales booth at motorcycle events.
I met up with Scott at a Wal-Mart near Tulsa this morning, and the storms cleared just in time to allow us to set up the system once for a test.
We had a couple of minor glitches. The OPI Scott had brought was apparently dead so had to do without that. Also we found that the cables from the transmitter and LNB to the block on the tripod pipe were both a little short; as it happened we were set up on a parking lot that sloped down to the South requiring the dish to be tilted back more than normal and that stressed the cables. Once that was resolved, we were on-line in pretty short order.
I'm not sure when my first deployment will be. We're at the Wing Ding in Dallas, and we'll be set up indoors so no dish at the booth. However, we'll be at a campground starting tomorrow night (Camping World tonight waiting for a morning appointment), and if the Datastorm is treed out at the campground I'll set up the Dustyfoot. Either way, I'll have a couple of other opportunities to set it up over the next 3 weeks.
I'm very interested in what methods other users find to store the components during travel. Scott provided a big Rubbermaid tub that holds everything but the reflector, and I had room for that in my coach's basement. The reflector is lashed to the wall in my trailer at the moment, but I may put together some sort of mount on the roof for it (I have ladder racks on the roof to hold awning pipe, etc.)
-------------------- Sean Franklin <http://www.CycleGadgets.com>
END OF RE-POSTED TEXTS
So that is the bulk of the text from the beta forum reposted to the public version. Sorry for inundating the board with so many new posts today.
posted
I'm surprised to hear that it's taking some people an hour or more to set up and get a signal! We've been setting up in 15 to 20 minutes. That includes me booting up my laptop with the 6000 modem attached to find the coordinates. While I'm doing this, my husband is setting up all the equipment. I hand him the coordinates, and he dials in all 3 on the tripod we have. When I go back to my laptop and check the signal strength, at that point we usually have some type of signal. It just takes some tweaking to get a strong enough signal to pass the Cross-Pol test.
I'm sending this from a forest service campground between Buffalo and Ten Sleep, WY -- we lucked out and got a spot with an opening between the trees!
Posts: 27 | From: Sioux Falls, SD | Registered: Apr 2004
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I think the posts you read about taking an hour or so were the person's very first set-ups. I reposted text from the beta tester forum, but didn't included the date information on those old posts. I think after the first couple set-ups, most people have it down to the 20-30 minute or less time frame.
posted
You're right Scott, our site survey usually takes longer than the set-up. Dish up and ready to aligh is about 10 minutes. Alignment takes 5 to 15 depending on difficulty. This last time took 15 minutes because the dish was 140feet from the bus and I don't walk so fast. I'm using a military style compass and a camera tripod to do my site survets. This compass not only gives accurate azmuth readings I can also set it so I can visually see the correct elevation path. It's not complicated with the right compass. If any one is interested I can work up some procedures with pictures of the compass. C-YA Russ
posted
{Posted by Russ: This compass not only gives accurate azmuth readings I can also set it so I can visually see the correct elevation path. It's not complicated with the right compass.}
Russ
I want a compass like that. Sounds like it actually reads out degrees of elevation.
I wonder what make it is and where I can get one?
Thanks
Andy
Posts: 13 | From: TX | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Most lens-style compasses will do elevation, like this $15.00 compass from Amazon. Basically you use it sideways and sight through the glass. This one only goes to 35-deg elevation, though, so maybe not the best choice in the south.
posted
I also offer the Alignasite (alignasite.com) for the DirecWAY system. It uses a cross-haired sighting piece and when set to the correct azimuth, elevation and skew as shown in the pointing screens, it allows you to sight through a lens and see exactly what the dish will see in the potential spot. That way you can confirm 100% if the location will have line-of-sight to the bird before you even set anything up.
posted
Stavros and Andy, the compass is a one used by the Militery it's nomenclature is "COMPASS, M2" I purchased ours at Cabelas. It's the same type I used in the AF when setting up wideband communications antennas. The price was around $200.00. I know thats a little expensive but the compass is very rugged and water proof. To check the elevation path, you set a small movable dial in the bottom compass to the correct elevation, This dial also has a small level on it. Turn the compass on it's side adjust it until the bubble is level then site through the built in peep sites. You'll see if the path is clear. HTH Russ
posted
On Checking "Show your location", there is no icon/provision for Tripod Mtd Dishes. Is the location map exclusively for the use of Motosat owners?
posted
Originally posted by Stavros: On Checking "Show your location", there is no icon/provision for Tripod Mtd Dishes. Is the location map exclusively for the use of Motosat owners?
The map is for members of this forum. I have no way, or desire, to determine the accuracy of anything that anyone puts there, or limit it to a class of membership. I've noticed that some of the newer tripod members have been using the "no-dish" icon, and probably others are using the .74 meter dish icon (which is the correct size for most/all tripod users).
I have no problem adding an icon for tripods, and it might be a good idea if people don't have a problem listing themselves that way. It is true that the map is used by people who want to see what a Datastorm looks like, or to find fellow Datastorm users, and it may well be that tripod users would like to find other tripod users.
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