No locals on oval phase 3 w D12-100

[harshness]

The 54166 is from Shawano - about 13 miles East. The zip I used is for Leopolis - only 1 mile away.

The magic of dishpointer.com is that you can enter in a location of "pinegrove campground, wi" and it will point you just east of the beach on Kroening Lake. From there you can drag the pointer to your dish location.

It does not look like the skew setting has anything to do with the 101 signal - no matter what the skew, I still get the same 101 strength ?

If changing the tilt doesn't change the reception, it is likely that you're seeing 101W through the 110W feed horn. With the Phase III, you start with 110W and then adjust the tilt to get 101W and 119W to come in.

You may benefit from the foil method of covering the easternmost feed horns with foil or a heavy rag to prevent signal from getting to them.

 

[dcavaiani]

I'm not TOTALLY giving up yet! I cut down 2 more trees. Now I get:

101
92 94 93 00 92 99 94 99
93 95 94 00 94 99 91 99
92 100 94 00 93 99 94 99
91 97 92 78 92 99 91 99

Still all zeroes for 119, but getting 110 now 23, 0, 28 !

I would guess the azi = around 213, the elev. is at 36 and the skew is at 70.

 

[dcavaiani]

Ok I tried dishpointer. Now, I have 3 different choices. Don't know which one to zero in on nor what the skew should be with any one of the 3 choices:

101 197 & 37
110 208 & 34
119 220 & 30

??

 

[texasbrit]

You are correct, it will, I had forgotten it was a Phase III. So getting the correct skew is important. So if the OP is changing the skew and that has no effect, that would be strange.....

 

[texasbrit]

Ok I tried dishpointer. Now, I have 3 different choices. Don't know which one to zero in on nor what the skew should be with any one of the 3 choices:

101 197 & 37
110 208 & 34
119 220 & 30

??

Select the multi LNB setup for DirecTV 3-lnb, not the individual satellites.....
Getting some signals on 110 when you cut the trees is a clear indication you have blockage in the line of sight.

 

[dcavaiani]

That's what I did. Now I'm confused because I've been told to simply get the highest 101 signal (which I've done), then the rest should fall in place??

Then, someone said I must do the 110 signal first then try the 101 and 119??

 

[dcavaiani]

The magic of dishpointer.com is that you can enter in a location of "pinegrove campground, wi" and it will point you just east of the beach on Kroening Lake. From there you can drag the pointer to your dish location.
If changing the tilt doesn't change the reception, it is likely that you're seeing 101W through the 110W feed horn. With the Phase III, you start with 110W and then adjust the tilt to get 101W and 119W to come in.

You may benefit from the foil method of covering the easternmost feed horns with foil or a heavy rag to prevent signal from getting to them.

If I cover the left and middle, then does that mean I am aiming at 119? Is it left to right 101, 110, 119? I thought I needed to get the 110 (middle) going first??

 

[harshness]

Some of the advice that you have been given was based on the erroneous assumption that you were working with a modern HD dish (either the Slimline or the AT-9) that is designed to provide maximum gain on the Ka slots at 99W and 103W.

The instructions recommend that you find 110W first. My foil suggestion was simply to confirm or deny that you're pointing the designated feed horn at the appropriate orbital slot.

Generally speaking, if you set the dish up with the dishpointer.com elevation and tilt, all you need to do is turn the dish on the mast until you get a signal. To insure that you're dialed in on 110W, cover the outer feed horns. Obscuring the feed horns makes sure that you're not shooting low or high and getting signal on the 101W or 119W feed horns. Once you've found signal and you're absolutely certain that the mast is plumb, remove the covers and you should be good to go.

Left and right isn't sufficient to insure we're on the same page; use of East and West precludes any frame of reference issues. The signal reflects off the dish so what you hope for is to get the westernmost orbital slot through the easternmost horn and the easternmost orbital slot though the westernmost horn.

 

[dcavaiani]

The 110 is is the middle lnb, cover the other 2. So, do I use the DirectTV generalized settings or the specific dishpointer setting for my location and the 110 satellite. Also - I have one of those small, simple signal meters - would that be the best visual/audio way to determine if I have a 110 signal?? Everyone here has been very detailed and very helpful!

 

[harshness]

The 110 is is the middle lnb, cover the other 2. So, do I use the DirectTV generalized settings or the specific dishpointer setting for my location and the 110 satellite.

Use dishpointer whenever possible. The Zip code lists are decidedly generalized and as you point out, the Zip for the campground isn't the best.

Also - I have one of those small, simple signal meters - would that be the best visual/audio way to determine if I have a 110 signal??

Simple meters won't tell you which satellite you're pointing at; only how accurately you're focused on whatever is in the gunsights. The advantage to the simple meters is that some of the better ones will give you an varying audible tone while the newest DIRECTV receivers may no longer have that feature.

SD is pretty easy so I wouldn't get too wound up. HD with DIRECTV is considerably more finicky.

Did I get my point across about the absolute imperative of making sure that the mast is plumb?

 

[dcavaiani]

Yes - I used the bubble plumb on top of the mast and had it just about 99% perfect.

 

[dcavaiani]

There are no HD expectations here, just trying to add in the local channels. Thank You!

 

[texasbrit]

As harshness says, the problem with the signal meters is that they do not tell you which satellite you are pointing at. Quite often they will lead people into thinking they are on the correct satellite when they are not. Even if you use a signal meter, you then need to check all the 101/110/119 signals using the receiver (all the transponders). In cases where things still don't look right, the patttern of signals can sometimes tell us if you are pointed at the wrong satellite.

 

[dcavaiani]

As harshness says, the problem with the signal meters is that they do not tell you which satellite you are pointing at. Quite often they will lead people into thinking they are on the correct satellite when they are not. Even if you use a signal meter, you then need to check all the 101/110/119 signals using the receiver (all the transponders). In cases where things still don't look right, the patttern of signals can sometimes tell us if you are pointed at the wrong satellite.

Yes, but if I put foil on the other lnb's then that would be a good test, right ?

 

[texasbrit]

It does not stop the 110 lnb picking up signals from 101 or 119 though.....

 

[raoul5788]

Put the foil on the two outside lnbs, then point the dish at 110. If you get only three transponders then you are pointed at 110. If you get 32, then you are pointed at 101.

 

[texasbrit]

yes, that's correct....

 

[dcavaiani]

Is it possible that the bare 12" trunk of a tall tree about 40 feet away from the dish could be blocking the signal?? Is it that sensitive, or must it take leaves and foliage to mess up the line of sight?

 

[raoul5788]

If the trunk is right in the line of sight, then it could be blocking the signal.

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[dcavaiani]

I give up! Covered ease/west and was able to get nothing. Reset settings and found that it is the west lnb which is getting the 101.