Thread: Only getting 3 of 10 Channels on AMC-21

Originally Posted by jaco

My favorite satellite has become AMC-21 at 125W--ever since the Galaxy 18 offerings at 123W shrunk down to nothing. The problem is that I am only getting 3 channels on AMC-21. According to the list at
FTAList.com - AMC 21 Channel List

I should be getting the following:

Create TV 12180-V 30000 193 196 PBSC
Montana Legislature 11959-H 2532 33 38
Montana PBS 12103-V 4340 33 38 KUFM
PBS 12180-V 30000 177 180 PBS-X
PBS HD 12140-V 30000 49 52 PBSEHD
PBS HD 2 12140-V 30000 65 68 PBSDT-W
PBS HD 3 12179-V 30000 49 52
PBS World 12180-V 30000 225 228 WGBXDT2
WSEE CBS Erie PA 12004-H 4691 308 256 WSEE
V-Me 12180-V 30000 209 212 V-ME

I do pick up

Create TV (PBSC)
V-Me
PBS World

without any trouble. They come in clearly. I also get two more that don't seem to be on this list and are always off the air:

PBS NOC HD01 12180-V 30000
PBS NOC SD01 12180-V 30000

Sometimes I have picked up

Montana PBS (KUFM)

I don't seem to be able to pick up the other six:

Montana Legislature
PBS (PBS-X)
PBS HD (PBSEHD)
PBS HD 2 (PBSDT-W)
PBS HD 3
WSEE CBS Erie, Pa.

ever. Is this normal? My motorized FTA system does fine with other satellites from my location in W.Va. I have read conflicting reports about this satellite. Some say it is really at 124.9W. Others say the dish must be nudged west a little. I should add that there is a tree to the right of the line-of-sight that looks like it partially blocks the signal. Can I rule it out though since I can pick up White Springs TV at 129W?

Thanks in advance.

Jaco

First off, they don't really call ANY of the channels on AMC-21 PBS-X. What you listed above as " PBS 12180-V 30000 177 180 PBS-X " doesn't exist on AMC-21, and hasn't for nearly a year. Second, the transponder you're listing as 12179V is really 12180.... same thing.
The channels on that are the HD03, SD01, Create, V-Me, and World. You are getting them fine. {Create, V-Me and World are calle SD02, SD03, and SD04}

It looks like the things you are NOT picking up are the 12140 HD01 and HD02 (which you are calling PBS-E-HD and PBSDT-W), the Montanna stations, Erie station, and the SD5, SD06, SD07, and HD04 on 12163, 12169, 12175, 12150 horizontal. Anyway, I just wanted to clear up that several of the stations you had listed were named wrong and you were really picking them up.

THat being said, however, I to have suddenly started having trouble with SEVERAL of the AMC-21 channels. Last night I had the HD01 12140V channel tuned in, and I started recording it, however it got weaker and weaker, and finally went away completely. I switched to a C-band feed to record my program.
Today, I checked, and I'm still missing 12140V.... can't get a lock. I'm barely able to lock 12150H, and am only getting one of the 3 SCPC SD feeds.

I'm using a fixed primestar dish, which hasn't been touched, and I've been getting EVERYTHING that anyone has reported on this sat for months, including the 2 DVB S2 transponders (Lousianna, and the data channel).

So I don't know if something is up with that sat, or if something bumped my dish.


EDIT: Wierd..... now everything seems to be back again?"@#$^%&$*

I'm starting to think it was my DiseqC switch acting up.

Strange though.

BJ I wonder if it has to do with location?

I have a 76cm Winegard (like the OP) here in Minnesota and yes 12140 TP goes down a little bit I never lose signal on it. It is weaker than the others on that sat but it works fine. I noticed the OP is on the East coast and BJ I know you're in New England

Here is another thought....and it has to do with our dish size

Just ran a test of signals depending on which TP I peaked 125 on. The issue we have is 2 signals on 125 have another TP of same info (or close) next door
PBS HD (12140 V 30000) has a data TP with the same info at 127W
WSEE (12004 H) there is a TP that is strong on 12005 H next door on 123W

Since my dish was peaked on WSEE almost all the PBS stations didnt even lock a signal. The only ones I locked were
Montana PBS
Montana Leg (TVMT)
Main PBS TP (12180)
WSEE (12004)

none of the rest I could lock. So I moved the dish a little east which dropped WSEE down but the rest came up. Here is what I showed on the azbox
12072 LPB (DVB-S2) 52
12180 PBS 83
12095 PBS feed 57
12104 Montana 76
12140 PBS HD 56
12150 PBS HD Feed 54
12163 PBS feed 58
12169 PBS feed 63
12175 PBS feed 53

now if I peaked the dish on the 12140 TP then I get the following results
12072 LPB (DVB-S2) 52
12180 PBS 83
12095 PBS feed 63
12104 Montana 76
12140 PBS HD 58
12150 PBS HD Feed 49
12163 PBS feed 53
12169 PBS feed 59
12175 PBS feed 51

This is all on a 76cm Winegard dish/Sadoun dual .4 LNB

If I had a bigger dish I could get better results. Later on I'll try the 36" dish I have. The key thing is with the PBS HD feed you need to reject the signal from next door at 127W. Bigger dish will help with that. I know when I had my 1.2m dish at 125W all the signals were very strong. All were maxed but 12140 which was at 75-80 quality on the Pansat 1500. Conversely right now 12140 on that Pansat reads at 55

You have to remember PBS has their affiliates use probably 15 foot dishes so they can reject the adjacent sats just fine (and they probably dont care about WSEE either)

Another point from another thread.

Both the OP and I are in the Caribbean beam which may make a difference.

I believe my dish is larger than the OP and I'm currently getting 14 channels from 125W - I'm not getting interference from neighboring satellites but from Virginia or West Virginia 125W is just a hair away from 123W or 127W (see earlier post)


http://www.ses-worldskies.com/worlds.../amc_21_v1.pdf

Originally Posted by brentb636

If it were me, I'd set my tp to 12140 V 30000 and bump the dish in Diseqc 1.2 mode to try to get some quality. If you get that tp in, the others should be just fine.

That TP wasted a lot of my time. There's a strong one on 127°W as Ice said. I was pointed there as luck would have it when I repointed my 90cm dish over there I was on 12140V.

Originally Posted by chapelrun

Another point from another thread.

Both the OP and I are in the Caribbean beam which may make a difference.

I believe my dish is larger than the OP and I'm currently getting 14 channels from 125W - I'm not getting interference from neighboring satellites but from Virginia or West Virginia 125W is just a hair away from 123W or 127W (see earlier post)


http://www.ses-worldskies.com/worlds.../amc_21_v1.pdf

You may be located in the Caribbean, but the Caribbean beam usually refers to transponders that are aimed at the Caribbean. I think that all the transponders mentioned above use North American beams. It might be an issue for you though, depending upon whether AMC21's NA beam makes it down to the caribbean better than the adjacent sats.

I've never seen any suggestion of which if any AMC21 transponders actually use the Caribbean beam. It looks like the first 4 or so vertical transponders, and maybe 7 and 9 and 17 on the horizontal side are a bit weaker, so maybe those are Caribbean beams???

In Puerto Rico my readings are in a 4.5'
Tp 12104 pbs montana signal 80 q 50
12007 CBS 80s 50q

nel
what about the other TP's??

Ever since I started receiving signals from AMC 21, 12140 has given me issues since day one. Iceburg is right, that damn Hughesnet transponder is the source of all our problems. I have a 36" Prodelin with Zinwell LNB, and I still have issues with it now. I had a Fortec 36" before it which gave me nothing but problems, especially with 12140V. Now with this Prodelin, it comes in nice and strong, but others are much stronger. I should have gotten a 1.2m Prodelin instead.

I have the dish on an old picket fence, and have to push or pull on the fence on occasion to get the dish aligned and peak it with my meter. It'll go off every now and then with the ground settling.

Iceburg, I'm so glad you said that, because now I realize that's the source of all our problems. PBS affiliates use 6 or 7m dishes, and will never have those problems. I wish I could use a 6 or 7m dish. :P