Receiving 12146/V/22000 but not 12177/V/23000

[Lunchmaker]

Hi there, I have a Fortec Star, Mercury-II receiver and have been having a very difficult time getting some of the channels now that the satellite has moved. I've spent alot of time aiming my dish, adjusting the LNBs both in-and-out and side-to-side. I have a strong signal strength (greater than 90%) but a weak signal quality (about 30%). I know that my quality level is low but I have trees on the other side of the valley that I can't do anything about and my receiver worked fine with the low signal quality before the satellite move. I can receive stations that are listed as 12146/V/22000 without any problem but the stations that are listed as 12177/V/23000 will not come in. I have two questions I hoped someone could answer for me:

I heard that there was a pre-amp or in-line amplifier available. Would this be a worthwhile investment and if there is one I would appreciate some ordering info.

Am I missing something in the receiver setup that would allow the 12177/V/23000 to be received?

Thanks in advance for any help you might be able to give me. I've spent alot of time reading posts on this site and there sure is a lot of knowledge out there. I hope you can help me.

[wescopc]

An in-line amplifier will help sometimes if you have low Signal strength but will not help with low Quality. Make sure your dish is perfectly flate - by pulling two strings tight across the face. One vertical and the other horizontal. They should just touch each other - if the are off more than 1/32 inch then you need to straighten the dish. Look at pages 35 & 36 of this manual:
http://satelliteav.com/portal/33/doc..._One%20Sat.pdf

to see how to do that.

By the way wescome to Satellite Guys!
Bob

[Glorystar1]

Welcome to the forum!

Signal level only indicates that the receiver is connected to a working LNBF. Reception of the satellite channels is all about Signal Quality readings.

Signal Amplifiers only help on EXTREMELY long cable runs 250 - 300+ feet. Otherwise inline amplifiers will usually degrade the satellite signal. Unless you are very far away from the dish or you cannot use good quality coax cables, avoid amplifiers.

Satellite signals do not pass through trees, limbs or buildings. I would suggest that the low signal is a result of a bent dish or other defect rather than distant trees. Have you performed a string test on the reflector to determine if the edges are PERFECTLY flat? Significant Signal Quality loss will occur even if the dish edge is 1/8" or more out of being flat!

How to determine if the trees are interfering: Sight up the bottom edge of the lower LNBF support arm. Does the arm clear the tops of the trees that are in line with the aiming to G19 satellite? If so, the trees are not blocking the satellite signal. Did you know that the dish is actually looking approximately 6 degrees higher than the LNBF arm is pointing or 26 degrees higher than the face of the dish is pointed?

The trees would need to be either very close or very tall to block your satellite signal. Example: In your area the G19 satellite is located approximately 36 degrees above the horizon. This means that a tree 100 feet away from the dish would need to be over 70 feet tall to block the satellite signal or 200 feet away, 145 feet tall!

Trigonometry Equation: Object Height = Distance to Object × tan (Elevation Angle)°.
72.65 feet Tall = 100 feet × tan (36)°

If transponder frequency 12146 maximum Signal Quality is 30%, then I wouldn't expect reception of 12177 as the 12177 transponder is slightly weaker than 12146 in most areas. 30% SQ is about minimum Signal Quality to receive any channel with the Fortec Star Mercury II. Let's see if we can help you find a solution....

[rv1pop]

From your post, I am guessing you are using the 2 LNBF setup. Unless you want something on AMC4/SES1 (101°) I suggest you find the single LNBF holder and try to bring it in with one Lnbf. As stated and restated, the dish needs to be flat - no warp at all. If it worked before, I am guessing trees are not the problem - in the winter!

1st suspect - warpped dish
2nd suspect - LNBF not hitting the sweet spot for the satellite on the dish, (dual LNBF bracket not in EXACT position.)
3rd suspect - but unlikely if it was good before - skew of LNBF.
4th suspect ---- dish does not have LNB arm braces installed and therefore a second cause of number 2. measure carefully from the bolt holes on the sides of the dish to the bolt holes in the LNBF bracket to be sure at least correct side to side..

POP

Been there: fixed all of the above!