Umm am i doing something wrong?

[thetrixrabbit]

Hello all , im a total NOOB when it comes to Satellite FTA systems, i seen a book about setting them up and i did a few internet searches and liked the idea.. OK so i got a decent setup, got a 39 inch Dish with a GT Ku-band twin HD LNBF and a DVB S2 Full HD box. But ok .. I can hit about 7 or 8 satellites around me, so far, the problem im running in to is, i aimed my dish towards G19, and yeah my sat finder seems to hit G17 and 19 but when i run a Blind scan, i get like 6 channels and thats it, and one of them is english =/ so am i not setting somthing right or something? G19 is programmed in to the box already, every sat that i hit i only get like 1-12 channels on them all. Is there something is need to set up or something im overlooking? I can blind scan on any pre-installed satellite and get the same channels on all of them, so im a i wrong that its really a point, scan, see what ya get type thing?? the LNB says its able to pick up all FTA signals. The thing i am lost on is what should i set my LMB to on the box? right now i have it set to 9750/10750, ive changed this and re-scanned and got the same results. Im just a bit lost and frustrated right now about it all. It seems im doing things right but im not getting much out of it. Any help would be great if you could..

Thank you all!

 

[danristheman]

Sounds like your aimed at 95w what transponder comes up when you scan?

 

[thetrixrabbit]

it scans through multiple transponders

 

[thetrixrabbit]

i just moved my dish a lil bit and hit a payed sat with 200 some channels, i think it must be 99.2 direct tv 11 spaceway 2, its the only thing close to that area thats payed that i can see on dishpointer.com

 

[KE4EST]

to SatelliteGuys thetrixrabbit !!!
Sounds like you are off to a good start, most guys that come here new to the hobby are saying they get nothing at first.
To start off with tell us more about your set-up. What brand of receiver and model number are you using...there are hundreds of them out there, some good some bad.
Tell me more about that LNBF, not familar with GT. Lots of them also...most are pumped out of the same factory in Taiwan or China, just with a different label on them.
Also each time you move your dish you need to be changing your LNBF skew to match what dishpointer is telling you.

You are not hitting a Directv satellite, different encoding scheme. It is either Bell or Dish Net work.

 

[KE4EST]

What kind of sat finder are you using?
Are you able to see your TV while adjusting your dish?

 

[thetrixrabbit]

hi thanks for the replies guys !! well first off, i cant see my Tv wile adjusting my dish, im considering taking an old tv out side on the top of the shed wile i adjust the dish, my sat finder is a SF-95DR, my LNBF on the box just says GT Ku band Twin LNBF model GT222S, Input 11.7-12.75 Ghz , output 950 -2000mhz L.O 10.75 Ghz Noise 0.1dB and gain 60dB, the LNBF came with the dish i bought. The set topbox dont seem to be anything amazing, i originaly baught a really nice one on ebay and the seller backed out and decided not to sell, so i got this one, i wasnt about to pay 130 bucks on something i honestly didnt know if ide like or not, but all the box says is Settop box DVB-s2 i put in two pics, the LNBF is diffrent than mine but looks the same and same brand, the set box is the same one i got.

 

[thetrixrabbit]

my dish is on my roof, but yeah i wanted to mess with it and get it off that payed sat, so i climbed up an awkwardly placed ladder and just turned the dish a lil bit in the same direction as g19 still, but i hit a sat that i got 1 channel called MACYS 4, and a few radio stations, OC2 Core (payed) Macys core music, Macys latin core 9 (payed), Macys backstage, macys hawaii and macys contemporary music... any ideas what im pointed at ? i really cant get to the dish till tomm cause its night time and neighbors will prob call the police LOL, or trust me ide already be up there. one thing i do know tomm im remounting my dish a bit, b4 i got the equipment set up i seen sats are West and east, so i set up to look both ways but as it turns out according to dish pointer i wont get anything east so im going to move it so i can move it more, right now i cant get to a few sats cause the elevation and direction i get caught up on the leg on the dish, but ill fix that tomm. O yeah another thing i started talking to a guy that did fta for a few years and i asked him to pick me a dish and lnb, he said that one would be a great one for a beginner, hope he was right.

 

[KE4EST]

Ok that LNBF is a universal type so set your LO in your receiver for 10600 and turn on 22khz.
Yes, I am sure your receiver has a universal setting, but the lower frequencies are mostly not needed in North America, and it will just slow down your Blind scan time.
That satellite finder meter will light up if pointed at most anything electric/electronic, power pole, air plane. At least you know you are on the arc or close enough.
What you need to do it take a tv and receiver out to the dish and set it up.
One thing that you don't know for sure is if the transponders that came programmed in are even the right ones.
Also transponders can change from time to time, so you need to find where to manually enter a transponder and enter a known good transponder for G19.
A couple are 12115 V 22425 or 12152 H 20000.
I assume you have a perfectly plumb mast or pole. So set your dish close to the numbers given by dishpointer, and don't forget LNBF skew.
Then slowly move your dish back and forth up and down, leave the skew alone, until you see the quality bar light up for one of the transponders above. Peak for the best signal...and
Then lock it down and make a mark on the pole and dish. Hit blind scan and you should see a couple hundred channels scan in.
Then after you get over that giddy feeling and your heart slows back to normal you can start hunting other birds, moving one at a time from G19.

You are on 105 my guess is your were on 110 if you didn't move it very far.

 

[thetrixrabbit]

"Then after you get over that giddy feeling and your heart slows back to normal" rofl yeah that will deff happen!! thank you so much ! 22 khz if off right now and my mast is as level as i could get it, im considering moving the dish to a place it will be a lil easier to get to, but really if i can start getting hits on some real channels ill leave it where it is. i have to look on my box for LO dont recall seeing that.

 

[KE4EST]

"Then after you get over that giddy feeling and your heart slows back to normal" rofl yeah that will deff happen!! thank you so much ! 22 khz if off right now and my mast is as level as i could get it, im considering moving the dish to a place it will be a lil easier to get to, but really if i can start getting hits on some real channels ill leave it where it is. i have to look on my box for LO dont recall seeing that.

LO is the Local Oscillator setting(without going into further detail). You should have a choice of something like 9750/10600, 10600, 10750, etc.
if you set it to universal 9750/10600 it will automatically turn on/off the 22khz at the right time for you.
Like I said before though it will be scanning a bunch of frequencies that will have nothing on them in NA. So just set it to 10600 and 22k on.
Disclaimer: This assumes that your universal LNBF is 9750/10600. I could not make out the numbers on the LNBF in your picture.

 

[Titanium]

Based on your description of the LNBF....

Correction. The LNBF is a Standard, not a Universal type. Set the LNB type to Standard (or Single) with LO frequency 10750. 22KHz will be set to OFF. All other information is correct.

Definitely take a TV out to the dish so you can see the Signal Quality meter.


Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys mobile app

 

[thetrixrabbit]

the Lnb in the picture IS NOT the same as mine its a diffrent model, but it looks the same, tomm i can get a pic of it ...actually maybe right now since the ladder is close enough for me to touch the dish ..ill see what i can do

 

[KE4EST]

I stand corrected Brian, I see it now in the numbers the OP posted. I googled the GT TC40.
Yes, lets see a picture of that LNBF.

 

[thetrixrabbit]

here is my LNBF but ..yeah everything i wrote from the box is all it says lol, also should the lnb be the way i have it or push it all the way in ?

 

[KE4EST]

Ok yes it is for sure a standard, so yeah LO on to 10.750 and 22k off.
I have found it varies by LNBF and dish as far as in and out. Another thing to experiment with, however do that after you lock a signal, it will not be enough of a difference to not lock either way.

 

[thetrixrabbit]

cool thank you for the info !! i cant mess with much until tomm hopefully the weather will be ok and i can take an old tv outside and try that method.

 

[thetrixrabbit]

two questions do all the FTA sats have lots of channels? or do some only have a few ? the LNB skew, will the dish still pick up everything with out that set? or will it only get a few channels? maybe thats what im doing wrong, ive been leaving my lmb in the center, cause i read that the skew was to fine tune it, figured it would work with out that set till i got it to find stuff..

 

[KE4EST]

The skew is very important. Also thinking back about it, I said to leave the skew alone once set. Of course you will be going by the rough marks on the lnbf, so I would try to tweak it also after you hit a signal.
Anyway yes it needs to be pretty much spot on, or you will only get the strongest transponders.

Some sats have 0 fta channels and some have a lot. G19 has the most for NA. Some have more free radio channels than TV.

 

[thetrixrabbit]

actually since im here, one confusing thing is the transponders, what exactly are those? what if you only have like 3 trans codes will you still receive everything?