Dish, lost sat #72 and 77, 61.5 still good

Retlaw

Member
Original poster
Feb 16, 2017
12
6
Pa
Hi guys, first post. Found some great suggestions in another thread but would like to specify my situation.
Had Dish for over 15 years, presently have 211k receiver and roof mount dish. Flex pack programming.
It's performed very well with only occasional signal loss in extreme weather.

Last weekend was very windy and even had a brief power outage. Since then , I can't receive most of my channels except for NASA and a few others.
Getting either a 'partial signal loss' or 'complete signal loss' message with codes like 31-11-45, 31-11-45, and 11-11-11. ' 015a' or '002' code in the corner.

Signal strength on sat 61.5 is about 55%, only 3-5% on 72 and 77.
I went up on the roof and tried to tweak position using the onscreen signal strength meter and an outside speaker. Wasn't able to improve the 61.5 signal any more, did not try the 72 and 77.

Then did the switch test, 77 on port 1, 72 on port 2 and 61.5 on port 3.
Trans ok on 1,2,3
Device 1k.4 (model of antenna?)
Status: verified
Switch DPP 1k.4
Test results says I lost two sats.

Tried the unplug/resets many times.

What is my likely problem? Should I try to tweak the aiming for sats 72 and 77, or could there be an equipment problem such as a bad LNB?

I did call customer service, they were fairly helpfull but their next step would be to send a tech out which will cost either $90 or a $9 monthly service contract. I'm pretty good at fixing stuff, so I'd like to give it a go before paying someone.

Suggestions for a signal meter, if necessary, appreciated!
Thanks!
Walt
 
With 72 in the center, it sounds like I should optimize aim for it, then skew to bring 61.5 and 77 in.... sound right?
I think I read 72/77 might have as high signal strength as 61.5. True? If 61.5 is 55%, what is considered good for 72/77?
I'm in eastern Pa BTW.
 
With 72 in the center, it sounds like I should optimize aim for it, then skew to bring 61.5 and 77 in.... sound right?

Yes. IIRC, the instructions say to optimize for 72, and then rotate the skew until your 61.5 is also optimized. Once you do that, 77 will automatically be optimized. The transponders in use on 61.5 are mostly spotbeams for locals, and those may be hot compared to the others.
 
Fixed!
Re-aimed using sat 72.7 for max signal (it was at 8%, improved to 65%). That caused 61.5 to drop out, so skew was adjusted to bring that back in.
Main cause for failure appears to be the mount is leaning some (out of plumb).
Signal strength is 65-68 for 72.7 and 77, 55 for 62.5.

I wish Dish customer service would have been more helpful in diagnosing the problem, especially for those of us that are more tech savy than the typical homeowner. In the future, I'll skip them and come here first! Thanks for your help!
 
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Fixed!
Re-aimed using sat 72.7 for max signal (it was at 8%, improved to 65%). That caused 61.5 to drop out, so skew was adjusted to bring that back in.
Main cause for failure appears to be the mount is leaning some (out of plumb).
Signal strength is 65-68 for 72.7 and 77, 55 for 62.5.

I wish Dish customer service would have been more helpful in diagnosing the problem, especially for those of us that are more tech savy than the typical homeowner. In the future, I'll skip them and come here first! Thanks for your help!

Coming here first is definitely the best way to go. :)
 
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Reactions: Tampa8
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