RTN on AMC9 with Primestar Dish

**1ADAM12** · 11-08-2009 01:23 PM

With my 76 cm winegard I get 95+% reception.

With a Primestar 1m round, you should get good signal.

With a Primestar elliptical and a Conical Ku LNBF you will get no more then 70 cm dish.

With a Primestar elliptical and Primestar feedhorn you will get signal of 84cm dish for the P*E84.

For a 1mX70cm P* and original feed you will get 90 cm results. With Conical Ku lnbf you will get 70cm.

I don't agree with the above posted footprints and dish size, they are way off.

**vc2** · 11-08-2009 02:42 PM

My Primestar dish is Channel Master:
P/N 3040865
Mold 1x0.7-1

I did some tweeking and was able to increase the signal. The NBC News signal strength is 82, and the quality is 85. This is a strong signal, but still no RTN.

The charts that were posted suggest that this dish should work well in my area. The charts, however, do not reflect that fact that RTN signal is operating well below the full output power capability of the transponder. (probably an uplink problem)

RTN is not being detected with either Blind Scan or Transponder scan.

Is RTN one of the services that require a manual entry?

**Anole** · 11-08-2009 02:53 PM

If you have a 1.0 x 0.7 meter elliptical dish, then for best performance, you should have the original feedhorn.
Or at least one that matches an elliptical dish.

For many less critical applications regular replacement LNBF's with round feedhorns (pretty much all of them) should work fine.
What LNB+feedhorn, or LNBF do you have?

edit:
Is this dish marked with the "Primestar" logo?
... or could it have possibly been used for two-way satellite communications?
I'm wondering if it has a less common feed... ?

**Iceberg** · 11-08-2009 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by vc2

RTN is not being detected with either Blind Scan or Transponder scan.

Is RTN one of the services that require a manual entry?

no a manual/pid/advanced scan is not necessary. a transponder scan will work fine.

**vc2** · 11-08-2009 03:09 PM

Originally Posted by Anole

If you have a 1.0 x 0.7 meter elliptical dish, then for best performance, you should have the original feedhorn.
Or at least one that matches an elliptical dish.

For many less critical applications regular replacement LNBF's with round feedhorns (pretty much all of them) should work fine.
What LNB+feedhorn, or LNBF do you have?

edit:
Is this dish marked with the "Primestar" logo?
... or could it have possibly been used for two-way satellite communications?
I'm wondering if it has a less common feed... ?

The Dish has the Primestar Logo. The LNB is the original. I'm using the horizontal output. I had been using the dish on G18. With Equity gone, I'm trying to get RTN.

**vc2** · 11-08-2009 03:16 PM

I just checked, and the Lyngsat listing for RTN on AMC9 has been removed. The listing was there yesterday as posted by Neil Ardman.

The new listing for that transponder is dated Nov 5 2009 by Varoujan

**Iceberg** · 11-08-2009 03:18 PM

its still there...was off the air temporarily
http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air...gone-amc9.html (RTN Gone on AMC9?)

and my thoughts on that "update"

obviously the person who sent the info to Lyngsat isnt a satelliteguys member because if they were, they'd know it was an uplink issue

http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air...-amc9-83w.html (AMC9 83w)

**vc2** · 11-18-2009 03:44 PM

I relocated the Primestar to another spot in the yard. It turns out that I was shooting through some tree branches.

I'm now receiving the RTV feeds at a 50% - 60% quality level (NBC is banging in at 100% quality).

**turbosat** · 11-18-2009 04:22 PM

Congrats-sometimes its hard to judge whether a tree branch is in your way or not. If I can reach it I'll cut it, if not, then I move the pole too!

**B.J.** · 11-18-2009 06:47 PM

Originally Posted by turbosat

Congrats-sometimes its hard to judge whether a tree branch is in your way or not. If I can reach it I'll cut it, if not, then I move the pole too!

??? If you can REACH it??? Heck, for several years, I was cutting branches that were up a good 50' or more into a tree. During the solar outage periods, I'd locate just which branch was in the way, then, I have one of those rope saws that have sort of a chain saw chain with about 20' or rope on each end of the chain. I added another 50 or 60' of rope to reach higher. Then I got a sling-shot and a fishing rod, and use the sling shot to shoot the fishing line over the tree limb (this can sometimes take an hour to get it just right on a very tall limb). With the fishing line, I pull up a light nylon line, and then I use the nylon line to pull up the 50' or extra rope, and then the rope saw. Then you stand directly under the limb, and just pull the saw back and forth cutting through the limb. I at first tried to stand a bit to the side, since the limbs come down pretty fast when you finally cut through, and you have to run fast. However I soon learned that if you're off to one side, the saw will jam, because when off to the side, you're cutting UNDER the limb, and when it bends down, it jams the saw blade into the cut. When I once jammed a saw way up there, I was lucky to have a 2nd rope saw, which I used to get down the first one.

Anyway, for several years, I was cutting specific limbs off trees, trying to keep a view of the arc open. However I then learned that when you cut off limbs like this, the darn trees grow back bunches of small limbs that are even thicker in leaves, and being more numerous are harder to get rid of. I finally decided that cutting limbs was just a temporary solution, and that cutting the whole darn tree was best.

But anyway, those rope saws can let you cut limbs that are WAY higher than you can reach.