FixedFixed Satellite Dish InstallationGuidelines

• Site Survey• Cable Runs• Cable Type Requirements per

Length• Pedestal Location• Pedestal Mounting Requirements• Initial Dish Assembly• Preliminary Settings• Typical Polarization Angles• Test Equipment Setup• Beacons and Identifying Satellites

by Carriers• Locating the Satellite• Zero Span Peaking• Cross-pole Procedures• Cross-pole Procedure using

LinkStar Modem (RCST)

Meter Box

Dish/Antenna

Collar

Elevation Adjuster

Azimuth Lockdown Bolts

Meter Box

Dish/Antenna

Collar

Elevation Adjuster

Azimuth Lockdown Bolts

Site Surveys• Site surveys are sometimes done before equipment is on site or prior to equipment

delivery to determine material requirements. Either way they must be done before the equipment is unpacked. Careful planning will assure that you will have a professional install that will reflect CapRock's Reliability to the Extreme motto, as well as assure customer confidence, and satisfaction.

• Site Surveys are performed to assure un-obstructed Satellite Line of Site, Cable Length, Pedestal Location, and Indoor Equipment Requirements, prior to Site installation.

• You must take moving objects such as Cranes, Vehicles, Equipment being stored, and Personnel into consideration when ascertaining Pedestal Locations

• Cable length should always be kept to a minimum whenever possible.• Building, Bulkhead, and Deck Penetrations as well as Method of Penetration and

Cable Run Routes need to be considered and noted in your Site Survey.• Indoor Equipment location also needs to be determined, usually you should explain to

the customer the size of area you need to deploy the equipment ask the customer where he would like the equipment to reside. You should also ask the customer about where he would like ancillary items such as his Phones, Fax, Data, and if there will be any 3rd party use requirements i.e. Mud Logger, Sperry Sun, etc.

• If there is a 3rd party requirement, determine cabling paths, and type of cable needed as well as termination points in the 3rd parties office.

Site Surveys(cont.)

• You must take Physical Obstructions into consideration when you are determining pedestal height on Jack Up Rigs. The hand rails are a main consideration when determining the height of a pedestal as you need clearance to swing the dish in Azimuth usually over the hand rail.

• You must consider the distance between the mounting collar and the bottom of the feed support arm when calculating Pedestal Height. You should always leave at least 4 inches clearance with the antenna at its lowest elevation.

• Be very specific when letting principals know what you need, if you are not sure call your Service Coordinator and ask questions before you go over the S.O.W. (Scope of Work) with the principal Rig Personnel.

• If they request that the SOW you prescribed be changed, i.e. Pedestal clamped and not welded (could cause antenna to be blown off the Sat during high winds or heavy Rig vibration), or be mounted in a location that would have potential interference such as Crane Blockages or difficulty locating the satellite after a Rig Move (only if rig will be used on multiple locations) you need to let your Coordinator know and note that the preferred installation method was not allowed on your service ticket. This will cover CapRock if another service call is required and allow us to bill for the service call.

Cable Runs• You must establish a route for the cabling between the Indoor equipment and the antenna.• This must comply with the regulations requirements of the principals on the Rig or location.• Understand that there are “Class “A” areas on most locations that will have Armored Cable

requirements. Try to avoid these areas whenever possible. (Class “A” areas are areas prone to explosions and need explosion proof equipment and cables, and for obvious reasons we would not want anything that could ignite a combustible gas) Class A areas are usually but not limited to the area around the Drilling Deck and Derrick. Please ask where the Class “A” Areas are before you run cables.

• You must run the cables neatly, do not have cables crossing over other cables when you make your runs. Cables runs should be straight and “combed out”, they also should have adequate Ty-Wraps to assure the stay this way.

• You must follow the Barge Engineers regulations regarding 5/8” Stainless Steel Ty-Wraps on permanent cable installations. Always ask where and what needs these type of Ty-Wraps.

• Land based installations will require that you identify a way to run your cables where they will not be ran over by vehicles, walked on (Tripping Hazard) and need to be as short a distance as possible to the indoor equipment. You will also have to keep in mind that both the indoor equipment and the outdoor equipment will share the same grounding rod. This rod must be at least 6 feet into the ground, you usually use a T-Bar hammer to drive this into the ground. Do not cut the ground rod off with less than 6’ in the ground.

• On all installations ask if they will need Mud Logger Data, or phone, if this is the case be sure to use jelly filled burial cable for your outside runs. If you have to cross a driveway you must run the cable through pipe before you bury it.

Cable Type Requirements Per Length

• For L-Band systems such as LinkStar and Comtech 300L, you must adhere to the following cable lengths:

• RG-6 or RG-11 up to 150’• LMR-400 up to 350’• LDF4-75 up to 550’(please note that the DC voltage loss dictates

this as max length, not RF loss)

• For 70 MHz IF such as Codan based RF units you can use the following lengths:

• RG-11 to 450’• LDF4-75 up to 1100’

Pedestal LocationPedestal Location• Pedestal locations should be chosen based on whether this is a permanent

installation, or for just 1 job. If it is a permanent installation, you will most likely have 2 pedestals on a Semi Submersible or Jack Up Rig, if it is a Platform you will only have 1.

• From the 2 pedestal locations you must determine locations to where you will have no obstructions such as Cranes or portable buildings, and have 1st site compliment the 2nd site as far as Look Angle capabilities so that between the 2 sites you can cover 360 degrees of sky with any bow heading.

• Sometimes you will not be able to get 360 Degrees with 2 pedestals, you should do your best to get LOS (Line of Site) for 60 degrees each side of a due north and south bow heading, you also must make the principals on the rig as well as your service coordinator know that this is the case and be be sure and note this on your service ticketsure and note this on your service ticket

• When specifying a site for a one time location (unit will be stripped after this location) use the same guide lines for clean LOS without possible crane or other obstacles, and always try and find a site that will give you the most look angle for a due north heading, just in case the next customer wants to keep the system on board.

Pedestal Mounting RequirementsPedestal Mounting Requirements• Each different size of antenna has unique pedestal requirements to assure it

will function safely and properly.• Channel Master antennas have the following pole requirements:• 1.2 Meter 3” OD pipe for main Mount• 1.8 Meter 4.5” OD pipe for main Mount• 2.4 Meter 6” OD pipe for main Mount• Other brands may have different requirements, read the installation manual

to determine what size will be needed.• Antenna mounts need to be properly braced and gusseted to assure that

the antenna doesn’t move when it is experiencing high winds. It is up to you to test this after the pedestal has been welded in by rig personnel and the antenna is installed. Keep in mind that the antenna can gain a large mechanical advantage over its mount during high winds and you could have a dangerous situation if the unit is not properly braced. If you determine that the pedestal is not sufficiently braced please notify the principals involved and show them what the problem is. If they do not repair the problem be sure to note this on your service ticket

• Also assure that there is a place to put your J-Box near the antenna.

Initial Dish Assembly• There are some basic mechanical requirements to assembling a V-Sat antenna assembly, you

should familiarize yourself with before you attempt to build the unit. Take the time to read the assembly manual for all antennas you will be deploying, as there can and will be differences between antenna types.

• When assembling the hardware always assure that when you are installing a nut and bolt thru fiberglass, make sure there is a “Flat Washer” where the bolt head touches the fiberglass and where the nut touches the fiberglass, this will assure that the bolt doesn’t pull thru the hole and damage the reflector. There should also be a lock washer between the nut and the flat washer if “Ny-lock” nuts are not used.

• When installing the feed support arms and feed support, leave all bolts slightly loose until every item is installed, assure that nothing is in a bind and the feed support is in the correct position to assure proper focal point in relation to the reflector, then tighten the fasteners.

• When installing the OMT (Feed) and mount, assure that it is located in the proper place on the feed support arm, on Channel Master antennas in service right now the OMT and feed mount are the same from the 1.2 thru 2.4 meter units and mount in the same spot on the feed support arm, in the holes at the end of the support arm in the mounting holes that are closest to the dish. If you mount the feed in any other mounting holes, you will not be able to X-pole the antenna, and the RX & TX will be way down on signal strength.

• Also please note where the main feed support arm is in relation to the rear backplane where it bolts to, the very back of the support arm (Behind the 2 mounting bolts behind the reflector) should be even with the back plane if the unit is set up correctly. There is a spot it the center of the rear of the reflector at the bottom on the lip where there is a hole, that you can drop a 1.5 to 2 inch ¼” bolt through, and this bolt should go through the reflector and through the slotted hole in the main feed support arm when the arm is properly in place. Do not put a nut on the end of the bolt and tighten it, just use it to line the feed arm up, this sets the focal point.

• On antennas that will be repositioned frequently, the mount should be greased before it is placed on the pedestal. This will make it easier to sweep in azimuth.

Preliminary Settings• You need to figure out the Satellite’s Azimuth (AZ). Elevation (EL), and

Polarization (POL), for the Latitude (LAT) and Longitude (LONG) your site is located at, there are a couple of different calculators on the intranet site, and you can call the NOC for this if necessary, although you should have this information or be able to calculate it yourself.

• Once you know your Elevation you need to subtract 22.5 degrees from the number you have due to the 22.5 degree offset on the Channel Master dishes (the dish is pointed at 22.5 degrees when it is pointed straight up and down looking at the horizon) you can then put a protractor on the backplane of the reflector and set it at a preliminary elevation angle that is 22.5 degrees less than the actual elevation. Note: always set it a little higher than what you calculate, as it is easier to lower the EL while you are sweeping in AZ, than it is to raise the EL.

• You will need to get the polarization close also, there are some pictures in the polarization section of this file that will show you typical polarization settings for the Houston area. These settings will not be very far from these pictures for anywhere in or around the Gulf of Mexico area, so use these examples as a starting point to assure that you will be able to find the satellite, and you can fine tune the X-Pole once you have the dish peaked.

Polarization Examples

Typical

Typical IA6 (LinkStar) Polarization Typical Telstar 14 Polarization

Test Equipment Setup

• You will need to “T” into your LNB circuit before you set up the Spec-An. Make sure that you determine whether the Spec-An you are using will require a “DC” Blocking device before you terminate the cable from the “T” to it. Typically the HP 22 GHz units will require this, and it is usually written somewhere near the input termination port on your Spec-An what, if any DC voltage the unit will handle. The typical DC voltage on the LNB input is between 12 and 24 Volts DC. Failure to use a DC block where required will burn the first mixer section of the Spec-An disabling it and causing costly repairs.

• To find the Satellite it is important to get your Spectrum Analyzer set up correctly.• You need to determine what carrier or carriers you will use to locate the Satellite. (See Beacons and Identifying Satellites

by Carriers Section of this guide)• Once you know the frequency of the carrier you will be locating, you will enter it in as the Center Frequency on the Spec-

An. • You will also need to know how wide the carrier is to determine the Span setting you will use, this setting is typically at

least twice the bandwidth allocated for the carrier you are using to find the satellite.• You will need to set your Amplitude to show 3 Db per division or log of 3, this will make sure that your trace will deflect

a large amount once the satellite is found. This setting is usually set at 10 Db per division when you turn the Spec An on, with this setting you will barely be able to see that your trace has moved, and makes it difficult to see when you have targeted the satellite, so it is very important to make sure that this is 3 Db. Note: after changing this to a Log of 3 Db, you will have to change your amplitude reference level to be able to see your noise floor, try and get your noise floor to the bottom of the grid lines on your Spec-An.

• You will also need to assure that the Sweep Time is set for around 250 ms, as this will make sure the trace will draw you a picture of the carrier as you locate your target carrier, if this setting is higher, you might just see the trace go up than back down as you sweep in AZ.

• You will need to adjust your Video Bandwidth, and Resolution Bandwidth to “Clean Up” your trace. These settings are relative to the Bandwidth of the carrier you are trying to locate, and your sweep settings so you will have to get a feel for what works here.

• When your setup is correct and you are ready to start sweeping the sky for the Satellite, put your hand over the feed horn, and observe the noise floor on your Spec-An, you should see the floor raise a division or 2 when your hand is over the feed horn. If you do not see deflection, you will not be able to find the Satellite. You will need to go back and check your Spec-An settings, make sure that the Satellite Modem is supplying the LNB with it’s DC voltage, and if all else fails replace the LNB.

Beacons and Identifying Satellites by Carriers

• To determine assure that the Satellite you are on is the correct one, you need some way of identifying it. Some Satellites have beacons to use and some you will need know the location and size of a couple of pre-existing carriers on the Satellite.

• We use a Beacon on IA6 to give the Seatel units a signal to track off of, its frequency is: 1182.6 L-Band, and 66.6 MHz IF. This Beacon is 64K wide so you can set your span for 128K to find it.

• On Telstar 14 we have some SCPC Carriers you can use to identify the Satellite. You can find them with the following link: http://cscw/company/departments/networkops.htm Pick a couple of active carriers originating from the Hub Earth Station and use them to ascertain that you are on the correct Satellite.

• By knowing what is on the Satellite you are trying to locate, you can avoid the problems associated with being on the wrong bird, and get your antenna peaked, poled, and ready to pass traffic more effectively.

Locating the Satellite• Now that you have your Dish built, your Beacon Carriers identified, and

your Test Equipment set properly, you can now start sweeping the dish to locate the Satellite.

• Begin by determining your correct direction to point the antenna to satisfy your expected AZ requirements.

• Sweep 30 to 40 degrees each side of your expected AZ.• If the Satellite is not located during a sweep in Azimuth, lower your elevation

nut 1 turn and sweep again. Do this until you see your Beacon Carrier come up on your Spec-An.

• Once you have located the Sat, peek the AZ as much as you can by moving the antenna back and forth until you are sure you are close to being peaked.

• Tighten the Coarse Azimuth bolts on the back of the pedestal collar. Try to tighten them a little at a time until you have them all tight.

• During the tightening of the coarse AZ bolts, you will see your carrier drop down, this is caused by the antenna being raised slightly when the bolts are tightened. Correct this by adjusting your elevation down until you see the Signal reach peak.

Zero Span Peaking• Zero Span Peaking is a procedure designed to make it simple for you to see the peaks and dips

when you are peaking and end up with the best possible peak.• When you are finished with your coarse pointing, change the Span on your Spec-An to 0 MHz,

and change your Sweep Time to 30 seconds.• What you should see is a trace that looks like a line being drawn across your Spec-An screen

that takes 30 seconds before it restarts on the left side of your screen. Use your Ref Amplitude to move this line until it is in the center of the screen vertically.

• You can now loosen the bolts on the backplane that allow fine Azimuth adjustments, these are located on the plate right below the Elevation Rod. (it is normal to loose a little signal strength, shown on your screen by the line being drawn to drop a little as you loosen these. This is caused by the elevation dropping a little when these are loose.)

• Loosen the one of the nuts on the Fine AZ Adjuster, and start tightening the other one against the stop, while observing the line that is being drawn on the Spec-An screen, when the line moves in an upward direction you are getting more signal and moving the antenna towards its peak AZ, if the line goes down, you are moving away from peak. You need to see the line go up until it reaches peak then start on its way back down from peak as you move the Fine AZ Adjuster. If the initial direction you choose to go shows the signal going down, tighten that nut up and go the other way. It is important that you note where the peak is as you go through it so you can go back the other direction until that point is again met. Once this has been accomplished, tighten the two nuts up on the adjuster and tighten the nuts on the AZ plate to lock it down.

• Now move the elevation up and down until you have it peaked, and tighten the nuts down.• Be sure to tighten all bolts and particularly the Elevation pivot bolt in the center of the Pedestal

after all peaking is complete.

Cross-Pole Procedures• Cross-poling an antenna assures that you are getting the maximum performance from your V-Sat antenna and

keeps you from interfering with other communications on the opposite polarization on the same Satellite Transponder.

• With most Satellite Bandwidth providers this is a prerequisite and a requirement prior to transmitting with your V-Sat terminal.

• You must have the antenna Zero Span Peaked prior to calling the NOC of the particular Satellite you are working with.

• Some NOC’s have other specific requirements prior to scheduling of a V-Sat commissioning call that you must adhere to. (some NOC’s require a certain time period of advance notice)

• SCPC (Single Channel Per Carrier) will usually require that a Link Budget is done and that you have a specific Carrier ID.

• Assure that you have the antenna polarized close to your expected polarization. You can use the examples in the Typical Polarization section of this document to get you close anywhere near the Gulf of Mexico

• Find out what frequency the NOC would like you to come up with a “Pure Carrier”• They will then likely get you to adjust your power until they have enough level to do the commisioning. • They will then have you move your feed in one direction a small amount, then they will look at the opposite pole

and see if they see your carrier poking through the noise floor. They will continue to have you move your feed until they no longer see your carrier on the opposite pole and have between 30 and 32 Db of Cross-Pole Isolation.

• Please note that you will have to make very small movements to achieve the Carrier Null they are looking for, and it is real easy to move the feed to far and go through the null.

• They will then ask you to take your carrier down and come up Pure or Un-Modulated Carrier in your intended Carrier slot. They will then assure that you are capable of transmitting on the correct frequency allotted to your V-Sat terminal. They will then have you come up Modulated and set your power levels per the Link Budget.

• Assure that you tighten the entire assembly after the commisioning is over, and call the CapRock NOC and check the system out.

Cross-pole Procedure using LinkStar Modem (RCST)

• Turn off the RCST.• Remove external power supply for the BUC from the RCST • Turn on the RCST and allow the RCST to go through its boot sequence.• After the boot sequence, the RCST should now have the Sat light fast

blinking.• Telnet to the RCST using the IP address entered during the initial setup

(under the “boot command” in the parent folder for the RCST you are using).

• Reconnect the external power supply for the BUC.• Enter the command “disable termexec”.• The Sat light on the RCST should go out.• Enter the pure carrier command “cacsetcw – p -20 –f 1196.300 –t

10000” then enter. • The pure carrier signal should be up until you do a hw or the time you set

expires.• You can now call the Intellsat NOC and commission the V-Sat terminal

Fixed Antenna Pointing

• Finding Elevation Starting Point for each Satellite.

• Coarse Polarization for each Satellite• Determining viability of V-Sat for receiving

Satellite signal• Description of fixed Antenna adjustment

points, and preliminary antenna setup.• Fine AZ Adjustment with Zero Span.• 1.8 Meter focal point adjustment.

The following Information is covered in this Training Guide:

IA-6 LinkStar You should Start 10 Degrees higher than this (around 45 degrees), then loosen the EL Nut 1 Turn at a time, while sweeping 30 degrees each side of your expected Azimuth

IA-6 LinkStar This is your “Raw Polarization setting for IA-6, You will not find the Sat without your feed orientated this way. Your LNB should be pointed slightly past 12 O'clock 3 to 5 degrees.

TelStar 14 You should Start 10 Degrees higher than this (around 60 Degrees), then loosen the EL Nut 1 Turn at a time, while sweeping 30 degrees each side of your expected Azimuth.

TelStar 14This is your “Raw Polarization setting for TelStar 14, You will not find the Sat without your feed orientated this way. Your LNB should be pointed slightly past 10 O'clock.

SatMex 5 Tr 17You should Start 10 Degrees higher than this (around 55 Degrees), then loosen the EL Nut 1 Turn at a time, while sweeping 30 degrees each side of your expected Azimuth.

SatMex 5 Tr 17This is your “Raw Polarization setting for SatMex 5 Tr 17, You will not find the Sat without your feed orientated this way. Your LNB should be pointed slightly past 10 O'clock.

SatMex 5 Tr 18You should Start 10 Degrees higher than this (around 55 Degrees), then loosen the EL Nut 1 Turn at a time, while sweeping 30 degrees each side of your expected Azimuth.

SatMex 5 Tr 18This is your “Raw Polarization setting for SatMex 5 Tr 18, You will not find the Sat without your feed orientated this way. Your LNB should be pointed slightly past 2 O'clock.

Initial testing to determine that V-Sat is capable of finding Satellite

Place your hand over the Feed (Assure TX is off) while looking at the noise floor on the Spec-An, you should see the noise floor raise 1 to 2 divisions when your hand is placed over the feed. This is done with amplitude set for 2 Db per division. If you do not see a raise in the noise floor, the antenna will not locate the Sat, as you have receive problems.

Antenna Adjustment PointsThese are the places where adjustments are made to facilitate Antenna Peaking

Fine AZ Adjustment

After Coarse Azimuth has been adjusted for maximum signal, tighten the Coarse Azimuth lock down Bolts on the AZ Collar a little each at a time so as to tighten the collar evenly on the pedestal. loosen the 3 (1.2 Meter) or 4 (1.8 Meter) Fine azimuth locking bolds at the top of the Azimuth Collar. Note: that these should be set for their center position before you adjusted the Coarse AZ. Note: you will typically lose a large amount of your “coarse peaked” signal strength when you loosen the fine AZ locking bolts as this will cause the antenna to lean forward effectively dropping your elevation slightly. You can adjust the EL up for more signal before you adjust the fine AZ to assure an accurate AZ Peak. Set your Spec An for it’s “Zero Span” setting and use the Fine AZ adjustment bolt to move the antenna small amounts of Azimuth while watching the Spec An “Draw” a Peak Line across the Screen. You will have to go past the peak to find Max Signal Strength, then go back in AZ to Max Signal. Once this is complete Tighten the Fine AZ lock bolts ( Please note: that this will cause the EL to change as you are lifting the EL when you tighten these. Now adjust the EL for Max Signal using Zero Span on the Spec AN. Once peaking is complete tighten all Bolts including the EL Pivot bolt. You can now call to Commission the V-Sat system, and X-pole.

Coarse AZ Bolts

Fine AZ Lock bolts

Fine AZ Adjustment

Antenna Adjustment PointsThis is the Elevation “Pivot” Bolt, this must be tightened after final Elevation peaking to assure antenna doesn’t sway when it is wind loaded.

Elevation “Pivot” Bolt

Antenna Adjustment Points 1.8 Meter SpecificThis is Shows the Focal Point alignment bolt for the 1.8 meter Channel Master Antenna. The bolt should drop through the bottom of the antenna reflector into a slotted hole in the feed support arm to assure proper focal point is achieved between the Feed and the reflector. Failure to observe this procedure will result in an antenna that will not pass X-Pole during commissioning. Note: this bolt is at least 1.5 to 2 inches long and doesn’t get tightened to the dish or feed support arm, it is just used to locate the arm then removed.

Elevation “Pivot” BoltFocal point alignment bolt

Antenna Adjustment Points 1.8 Meter SpecificLook at the rear of the Feed Arm in relation to the dish Backplane on this improperly aligned feed support arm. You will notice that the back of the Feed support is uneven in relation to the Backplane, when properly adjusted this should be even as shown in the next slide.

Antenna Adjustment Points 1.8 Meter SpecificThis is Shows the Focal Point alignment that is correct, notice how no part of the Feed Support protrudes past the Antenna Backplane, and it is even with the Backplane. This is a good visual check for alignment.