Thread: Frustrated by 97W

Hello folks,

I too am having a tough time getting this bird. I've moved to a different house and am now trying to set 97 up. Here is the nitty gritty:

SV-3000 reciever (tested, worked with 97 before)
Zimwell Standard linear LNB
36" Fortec dish (brand new)
All settings confirmed, Factory reset several times
Short RG6 cable, tested working

Here is the issue:

When I select 97 as my desired sat, I seem to be getting a S: 69 and Q: 0 regardless of where I am pointed! This makes it extremely difficult to figure out if I am really pointing at a weak signal or not. Fruthermore, the dish fails to lock on to ANY satellites hence I have no idea what bird I am pointed at. Based on trial & error and following DishPointer data, I have managed to hit several birds between 74W - 110W.

Basically as soon I see the signal moving up from 69 I know I am pointing at a bird so I do a blind scan to pull in any channels possible (although it shows Q:0 in the Dish Setup screen but after blindscan I usually get decent quality but still it does not identify the bird), then Google/Lyngsat the channel names or whatever else info I can garner off them to figure what bird I am actually pointing to.

So far I have confirmed 74W (Based on Ohio News Network), 89W or 103W (based on Pentagon Channel as it is broadcast on both) and at least another 2 birds that I cannot figure out what they are. I've also hit a bird with Dish Network programming and managed to tune in to an unscrambled channel that says: Congrats! You have a Dish 500 system. (is this the 77 or 110?) All the channels came in with EchoStar prefix followed by a number: EchoStar01, EchoStar02 and so on...

So questions I really hope someone can help me with:

1- Why is my receiver not identifying the bird I am aiming at even though it sucessfully pulls channels with a blindscan?
2- Why is my signal constantly at least 69 when I choose 97W in sat lists but drops to zero when I choose anything else?
3- Is 97W to the east or to the west of 74W? (It should be to the west of course but double checking as I am running out of options)

I've spent several frustrating evening without success, so any help would be highly appreciated.

Location is Ontario, Canada.

Have you double checked your lnb setting on the receiver?

You would have been receiving the Pentagon channel on 103, on 89 it's C-Band only so you won't be able to get it with a 36." The only thing I can suggest is to make sure you're looking for quality on an active transponder. When aiming for 97 I use 12152/H/20000. Start with the dish pointer data and then make small adjustments left/right up/down on your dish all while watching your quality readings - when it spikes you know you've got the satellite and you just have to peak.

Originally Posted by Long Hair

Have you double checked your lnb setting on the receiver?

Yes I've set it as STANDARD and it seems like that's what it should be based on my LNB specs:

Freq: 11.7 ~ 12.2 GHz
N/F: 0.3 dB
L.O.: 10.75 GHz

I've also checked the LNB mounting and the skew with a little help from Sadoun's website where it describes them with photos.

If you don't have a motor and can find 89 or 103 again, you could try moving the dish fractionally east or west toward your target, running blindscans as you go. Sometimes I have done that, skipping sat by sat until I hit the one I wanted. Pick out some active transponders on all the satellites in between 89 and 97, and try to "step satellite by satellite" until you get to 97.
Remember you will have to adjust the skew a little bit as you go, but less than 10degrees involved there, it wouldn't be much.

Originally Posted by Christopherve7alb

You would have been receiving the Pentagon channel on 103, on 89 it's C-Band only so you won't be able to get it with a 36." The only thing I can suggest is to make sure you're looking for quality on an active transponder. When aiming for 97 I use 12152/H/20000. Start with the dish pointer data and then make small adjustments left/right up/down on your dish all while watching your quality readings - when it spikes you know you've got the satellite and you just have to peak.

Thanks! I overlooked that little detail. So now at least I have two confirmed points of reference to go by. I am positive I've hit 97 but probably passed it because the signal coming off of it is probably aroung 70-71 and the fact my receiver is showing a constant 69-70 signal at all times (when not aimed at a bird) is not really helping...

Signal Strength is an indication that your LNBF is connected.

Signal Quality is what you are shooting for.

It is likely that your dish is not looking at 97W.

Try for 89W which has strong TP's for ABC.

Once you have that identified and peaked for Elevation and dish skew, you can swing the dish a little to the right, standing behind the dish.

If your receiver is set to Al Jeezera or Russia Today. You should be able to peak 97W.

Originally Posted by turbosat

If you don't have a motor and can find 89 or 103 again, you could try moving the dish fractionally east or west toward your target, running blindscans as you go. Sometimes I have done that, skipping sat by sat until I hit the one I wanted. Pick out some active transponders on all the satellites in between 89 and 97, and try to "step satellite by satellite" until you get to 97.
Remember you will have to adjust the skew a little bit as you go, but less than 10degrees involved there, it wouldn't be much.

Thank you. I think now that I know Pentagon channel was on 103 I can take that as my reference point and start blind scanning while I move the dish slightly. I just wish my SV-3000 would make it a little bit easier on me.

Funny thing is I tried my Nfusion Nova and I have the same dreaded problem of No Sat ID. They both refuse to lock on to any birds!

Originally Posted by Payam81

I too am having a tough time getting this bird.

Which transponder are you looking at while turning the dish? For 97W, 12177 V 23000 is really hot.

Let us know how you make out.