Recent content by Machman

That might work but then it wouldn't get the FP channels anymore, right? I'm pretty sure that only the commercial receivers retain the fixed key across a reset.

The system configuration screen is meant to be hidden. That's why there's no menu item for it. At the "change system settings" screen type 778 and it will appear like magic. You can also go to the advanced status screen by hitting zero instead of 778, from which you can get lots of (cryptic)...

Glad to hear you got it working! What sort of quality numbers are you getting? On the weakest transponder I'm getting numbers that are halfway between the lower threshold of receivability and 100%. That's pretty lousy for that satellite, but the tree branches are partially responsible for that.

I think the key is to use whichever one makes you aim the dish higher. On a dish skewed 90 degrees that would be the topmost socket. That should minimize ground noise. I hope you won't be disappointed when EchoStar 5 takes over that orbital slot. At least you'll know whether you've got good...

An 18" dish should even work for 148W. The first picture is of such a dish, and as you can see it was partially obscured by trees (I took that during a solar outage, which you might be able to deduce from the LNB's shadow). That dish worked fine last summer, but this year after the leaves came...

I voted "no" because when I shop at satellite stores (online), I always go in with the intent of buying every reasonably-priced item that I might need in the foreseeable future. Then I come to my senses and drop a few items from the cart to get the total down to something sane. :)

I think a Pico Macom SPI-14/18-2150 power inserter would cover the second two requirements. Does that sound right?

I'm getting a solid signal on a Fortec 90cm with a prime focus scalar and a cheesy little homemade LNB bracket. I originally put the dish up a few weeks ago thinking I might be able to get NASA TV at 137W, but as you're aware that never had a snowball's chance in L.A. of working :D Have you...

I'm watching SportsTime Ohio SD right now at 121W. It's so strong that even a 75cm dish could probably get it. Lyngsat has it right: 3707H, 5.632Msps. If you move it back to the last satellite that it was working on, does it still work? That would narrow down the possible problems a whole lot...

I have a 410, in good condition with intact Unit ID. Wanna trade? I don't have the remote but I think your 905 remote will work (someone correct me if I'm wrong). PM me if interested.

A Dish 500 works pretty well on a tripod. I got the tripod for $18 off eBay, and used half of a fence post for the pole. It's actually pretty stable even with nothing weighing it down, although in windy areas I would recommend putting heavy bricks or cinder blocks on each of the feet. I...

Aren't there are really only 3 points difference between a quality of 70 and 88 on a Coolsat 5000/6000? Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but as the quality increases the meter goes 69...70...86...87...88 (this is also evidenced by the quality numbers you reported above: there is none between 69...

Yep, that's the one! I think gillham is right about its purpose: the two big dishes look like they're pointed at 95W.

Not exactly FTA, but have you seen the dish farm at the intersection of Via Oro Ave. and Hughes Way (right next to the 710/405 interchange)? I think it's one of the uplinks for 123W. Among other things they have a 25m toroidal with 15 or so LNBs on it. It's right next to the street so it should...

76cm is probably the practical lower limit, but 120cm will give you a narrower beamwidth and almost three times the gain. I can't tell you how many additional channels that translates to, but I'd guess between 2 and 4 times as many. So, it's really more a question of how *big* you're willing and...