Eastern arc

[cheito]

I live in Florida and have a 722K hd DVD I see that it can be programmed to either western or easterned orbits what is the difference and what's the best one for my area I called dish and there is a program which I can't remember that they can not authorize whith the eastern arc it has to be on the western, is the western better then the east ?? Let me know thanks

 

[TimberWolf]

the arc you need to be pointed at is determined by which sat your hd locals are on

 

[boba]

I live in Florida and have a 722K hd DVD I see that it can be programmed to either western or easterned orbits what is the difference and what's the best one for my area I called dish and there is a program which I can't remember that they can not authorize whith the eastern arc it has to be on the western, is the western better then the east ?? Let me know thanks

Sorry USA isn't a good enough location to even attempt to answer your question. Cities in FL may receive local broadcast channels from both arcs some are broadcast only on EA and some are on WA and some receive from both arcs.

 

[cheito]

Ok so how about Jax. Fl?? For the locals And on the eastern arc are there more hd ???? Then on the western arc ???

 

[TheKrell]

Looks like Jacksonville, FL HD locals are about to go onto 61.5. They are currently on 77. Both locations are part of Eastern Arc.

 

[Tampa8]

It doesn't work the way you think it does. With but perhaps the most minor of differences any HD you would subscribe to is on either arc. The real difference is where your locals in HD are and which arc you can see. If the choice exists, in Florida you want the Western Arc it has less rain fade. If you are talking about international programming that's something totally different.

 

[boba]

Ok so how about Jax. Fl?? For the locals And on the eastern arc are there more hd ???? Then on the western arc ???

There are probably more HD channels on EA than on WA simply because there are more local channels in HD but they are on spotbeams so you can't see more than the locals for your city.

 

[TechWriter]

If the choice exists, in Florida you want the Western Arc it has less rain fade. If you are talking about international programming that's something totally different.

Is Eastern Arc rain fade just a Florida thing?

 

[TheForce]

In Jacksonville, FL you want 72,77,61.5

I had great difficulty in aligning the 1000.4 dish for good signal on all 3 angles. My solution was to use a 28" wing dish for 61.5 and connect it into connector #4 on the 1000.4 LNB switch. Then I covered the far right LNB horn that gets 61.5 with aluminum foil. Now align just the 72 and 77 for good signal and align the wing dish on it's own. I still get rain fade on heavy downpour but light rain is fine.

If you have a rooftop antenna, getting locals via an OTA tuner will yield a superior image quality signal, dolby digital, and additional stations as well as all the sub channels. The 722K is capable of 2 OTA tuners which is even better than the Hopper.

 

[Tampa8]

That isn't really the case, starting soon. Jacksonville locals in HD will be on 61.5, there will be no need for 77. If that really is the locals he wants then the EA is his only choice, but he may get a better signal using the new dish that has 61.5 and 72 only.

Is Eastern Arc rain fade just a Florida thing?

Yes, and no. lol

No it's just in Florida, I get less rain fade in Ct. on the WA as well. But the reason some areas such as the Tampa area actually changed from routinely installing the EA to to the WA is because Florida gets sub tropical downpours. So in Ct. with more normal rain, I might lose the signal for a little, once in awhile, on the EA, (And rarely for and sometimes seconds on the WA) in Fl I would lose the signal more and longer on the WA, less and shorter on the EA. It just shows up more in Florida than it might in some places.

 

[TheForce]

but he may get a better signal using the new dish that has 61.5 and 72 only.

I was thinking about that. The question would be what channels does one need the 77 for? My thought was to optimize my 1000.4 dish for 72 since I already have the 61.5 on that bigger dia dish and it has excellent signal.

Rain fade. Not sure how much experience you have living in FL over the years but our rain here is by the clock and calendar. From June to September it rains every afternoon for about an hour really hard, sometimes dropping 4 inches with lots of wind and lightning. We may get a few days break but mostly it rains like that between 2PM and 7PM for about an hour. Other parts of the year we get rain during the fronts and often might have no rain at all for 60 to 75 days at a time especially between November and May. Unless there is a hurricane or tropical storm in the Gulf, Rain follows the afternoon clock. When there is a storm in the Gulf, we get 24-7 rain for 3-4 days, sometimes 12 inches per day. My 28" dish for 61.5 has helped greatly for rain fade on those channels. But even the 61.5 big dish suffers during the heaviest rain.

 

[Tampa8]

Ya, have lived in the Tampa area of Florida since 1988 both for prolonged periods of time, and Winter months. (And in Ct lifetime) EA had more rain fade no question about it in both places but more pronounced in Fl, much better when I switched to the WA. I do not have experience with the two sat EA dish, but I would bet there is less rain fade. How much less who knows, and in the summer afternoon downpours in Fl maybe no difference.

 

[TheForce]

I would question is the root cause for the observation that EA 3 LNB dishes have more rain fade is because it is much more difficult to aim and achieve strong signals as opposed to a single or even a 2 LNB dish. I recall spending a half day tweaking my 1000.4 and finally gave up, deciding to take the two dish ( wing dish ) approach. It seemed when I would get the 72 /77 to peak above 50 that the 61.5 would drop to 20. When I could get the 61.5 to go above 50, the 72/77 would drop to 25. With the wing dish on 61.5, I can keep that to 75-80 and park the 72/77 above 50. With this I seem to experience much less rain fade overall.

FYI- My time living in SE NY area was in the 70's so I don't have any experience with satellite TV performance but I do recall heavy downpour rain like we get here in the summer months was very rare in NY. Don't know about Tampa, but in Jacksonville, our heavy rain times are mostly late afternoon, not during prime time evenings so at least we have that advantage.

 

[TheKrell]

I never had a 1000.2, but I was mixed-arc for years and I had much more trouble here in VA with WA than EA. I claim it's the lower elevation to the WA out here that causes this. (Greater slant range through the atmosphere.)

 

[patmurphey]

EA should have less rain fade in Florida due to the much higher elevation, but depending on locality the local geographical storm patterns might make the opposite true.

 

[Tampa8]

No, not true at all. Has nothing or very little to do with elevation, it's the strength of the signal, higher on the WA most wherever you are in the continental US if you have a line of sight. It's true in Ct. and in Fl. I have repeatable proof. In Ct, I have both the EA (61.5 and 72) and 119/118. (And 110 - I have to change cables if I want 110)

ESPN on the WA is about 60 on the signal meter. ESPN on the EA is about 48. HBO (300) is about 62 on the WA, and about 48 on the EA. It has always been that way with very careful aiming. I had the WA for years and years in Ct, very little rain fade which holds true today. The EA does get more, very noteceable when you have channels off the WA during heavy rain but not from the EA. (Though even on the EA it doesn't last long)

In addition, in Tampa it used to be the EA that was installed, but again, because the WA has less rain fade, it was switched by Dish to installing the WA when possible. When I found that out I switched to the WA and found the locals in particular had much less rain fade.

 

[dare2be]

No, not true at all. Has nothing or very little to do with elevation, it's the strength of the signal, higher on the WA wherever you are. It's true in Ct. and in Fl. I have repeatable proof. In Ct, I have both the EA (61.5 and 72) and 119/118. (And 110 - I have to change cables if I want 110)

ESPN on the WA is about 60 on the signal meter. ESPN on the EA is about 48. HBO (300) is about 62 on the WA, and about 48 on the EA. It has always been that way with very careful aiming. I had the WA for years and years, very little rain fade which holds true today. The EA does get more, very noteceable when you have channels off the WA during heavy rain but not from the EA. (Though even on the EA it doesn't last long)

In addition, in Tampa it used to be the EA that was installed, but again, because the WA has less rain fade, it was switched by Dish to installing the WA when possible.

Yet, it is my understanding that signal number comparisons between Arcs is useless since they are on different scales due to the 8SPK/QSPK modulation differences.

 

[Tampa8]

There's no question, at both homes the EA will fade before and longer than the WA and often only the EA will in Ct. It loses the signal quicker because there is less signal there.
I forgot, though the WA dish rarely gets snow accumulated, the few times it has it lost the signal once I can remember during the most snow we have ever had in Ct, where the EA accumulates snow all the time and I always have to brush it off.

 

[TheKrell]

Tampa is on the western edge of Florida, so your WA dish is looking out over the Gulf, rather than over land as it is for most of us. I can tell you my D500 dish had much worse rain fade than my D500 pointed at 61.5. I almost never lost signal from 61.5 unless a thunderstorm came directly over the house, whereas I was losing 110 or 119 when any thunderstorm passed anywhere to the west of me. Thunderstorms to the west are a much more frequent occurrence than a thunderstorm directly over the house.

Agree with you regarding the snow issue. That's worse for EA. I have no idea why your CT house is the same as your Tampa house.

 

[Tampa8]

Here's some numbers to support what I am saying. These are AVG readings for an aligned Dish. (Dish threshold readings)

Tampa - 119 Transponders 14, 15, 16, 21[TABLE="width: 196"]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]71[/TD]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]82[/TD]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]81[/TD]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]83 [/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Tampa - 61.5 Transponders 10, 14, 29, 31
[TABLE="width: 196"]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]60[/TD]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]64[/TD]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]67[/TD]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]61[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Hartford - 119 Transponders 14, 15, 16, 21
[TABLE="width: 196"]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]66[/TD]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]77[/TD]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]77[/TD]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]78[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Hartford 61.5 Transponders 10, 14, 29, 31
[TABLE="width: 196"]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]45[/TD]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]49[/TD]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]62[/TD]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]46[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News 119 Transponders 14, 15, 16, 21
[TABLE="width: 196"]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]71[/TD]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]81[/TD]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]80[/TD]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]74[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News 61.5 Transponders 10, 14, 29, 31
[TABLE="width: 196"]
[TR]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]49[/TD]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]53[/TD]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]58[/TD]
[TD="class: xl77, width: 49"]51[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


Those numbers for 119 are virtually exactly what I get in Fl. and Ct. The numbers on 61.5 are by a very small amount either a little higher on a transponder or a little lower in Ct, but very close. I no longer have 61.5 in Tampa, but they were low, the reason I went to the WA as Dish is now suggesting. It''s easy to see why rain fade would happen sooner on the EA.