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carter69

Last reply Jan 29, 2008 · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

Distribute tuner 2 out plus antenna

I currently have tuner 2's output from a vip622 going to my upstairs into a 3 way splitter to 3 rooms on channel 75. That works great.

What I would like to do is to add an antenna to my attic. To minimize running new cable to the 3 tv's upstairs and the tv/vip622 antenna in downstairs I was wondering if I could utilize the exisitng cable that I am using right now from tuner #2.

What types of splitters or combiners might be needed ?

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garys

Jan 26, 2008

If you the line to the back of the 622, use a standard splitter with one side going into the OTA antanna input of the unit, then use another standard splitter in reverse to 'combine the second side of the ota coax to the rf output should do it. Make sure you the the receiver set to analog but you will have to change the tv setting to analog as well as change the channel number set on the 622 to match the two up as analog will not let use a channel number higher than 69.

ericha

Jan 26, 2008

garys said:
If you the line to the back of the 622, use a standard splitter with one side going into the OTA antanna input of the unit, then use another standard splitter in reverse to 'combine the second side of the ota coax to the rf output should do it. Make sure you the the receiver set to analog but you will have to change the tv setting to analog as well as change the channel number set on the 622 to match the two up as analog will not let use a channel number higher than 69.

This process makes you a mini-TV station, as you are coupling the TV2 output into the antenna. Yes the power level is pretty low, but it's both technically illegal & also can let your neigbors see what you are watching

.

You can fix this by either using a filter (that notches out the TV2 output frequency) or amplifier between the antenna and the splitter it's connected to (or an isolator, but those can be hard to find for TV frequencies). The amplifier works because it only has gain in one direction--in the opposite direction it has a large loss. If you use the amplifier, you need to be a bit careful that the output signal isn't so large that it overloads your TV inputs--this can be fixed with an attenuator (after the amplifier) if necessary.

vegassatellite

Jan 26, 2008

ericha said:
This process makes you a mini-TV station, as you are coupling the TV2 output into the antenna. Yes the power level is pretty low, but it's both technically illegal & also can let your neigbors see what you are watching.

You can fix this by either using a filter (that notches out the TV2 output frequency) or amplifier between the antenna and the splitter it's connected to (or an isolator, but those can be hard to find for TV frequencies). The amplifier works because it only has gain in one direction--in the opposite direction it has a large loss. If you use the amplifier, you need to be a bit careful that the output signal isn't so large that it overloads your TV inputs--this can be fixed with an attenuator (after the amplifier) if necessary.

You couldn't pick that signal up 3 feet away from the receiver with an antenna anyway. The neighbors aren't going to see anything.

ericha

Jan 27, 2008

vegassatellite said:
You couldn't pick that signal up 3 feet away from the receiver with an antenna anyway. The neighbors aren't going to see anything.

This is an interesting assertion. Have you every tried this? Let's take a look at the from a theoretical perspective, to see if this makes sense.

If you assume an output level from the DVR of 20 dBmV (or about -27 dBm), loss in the cable to the antenna of 10 dB, and loss in the splitters of about 10 dB, you get -47 dBm at the antenna.

If you then assume combined (transmit & receive) antenna gains of 6 dB, receiver sensitivity of -90 dBm (which requires a noise figure of about 17 dB--with a good preamp the sensitivity could ve -104 dBm or lower), and feedline loss at the neighbor of another 10 dB (but no feeline loss to the neighbor with the preamp), you could withstand 39 dB off loss to the neighbor (or 63 dB to a neighbor with a preamp).

The Free Space Loss Calculator (Free Space Loss Calculator) shows that at channel 3, 39 dB of loss is about 0.02 miles, or about 100 feet. For 63 dB of allowable loss, it's about 0.34 mile. At TV channel 60, the distances are 10 and 150 feet.

So if you are using TV channel 60, and your neighbors don't have preamps on their antennas, no one is going to see anything. Or if you all have directional antennas, and they are never pointed at one another, you might be okay (depending on the antenna patterns). But if your neighbors have good preamps, and you are using a signal at channel 3, people as far as 1/3 of a mile could see what you are watching (or somewhat less, depending on the antennas used, and how they are pointed).

kb7oeb

Jan 28, 2008

My experience has been the signal is greatly weakened going from one output to the other output on the splitter (IN to OUT or OUTS to IN are ok), but even so I can pick up a very weak signal on my portable tv.

cdh1000

Jan 28, 2008

carter,
i tried what you are suggesting, and i could not get the reciever to see any of the OTA channels. Too many splitters, too much signal loss.

i put a radio shack booster inline with the OTA input, and it worked. personally didn't like using that, so i just ran a separate cable from Antenna, which was its own pain in the arse.

my pic quality on TV2 is a bit degraded as well, i think because of the increased # of splits.

maxmoto

Jan 28, 2008

I combind the OTA and tv2 out into one cable then split it out to 2 tvs. Not the best quality, but it works. I have to save up for a second reciever.

Scott6760

Jan 29, 2008

ericha said:
This is an interesting assertion. Have you every tried this? Let's take a look at the from a theoretical perspective, to see if this makes sense.

If you assume an output level from the DVR of 20 dBmV (or about -27 dBm), loss in the cable to the antenna of 10 dB, and loss in the splitters of about 10 dB, you get -47 dBm at the antenna.

If you then assume combined (transmit & receive) antenna gains of 6 dB, receiver sensitivity of -90 dBm (which requires a noise figure of about 17 dB--with a good preamp the sensitivity could ve -104 dBm or lower), and feedline loss at the neighbor of another 10 dB (but no feeline loss to the neighbor with the preamp), you could withstand 39 dB off loss to the neighbor (or 63 dB to a neighbor with a preamp).

The Free Space Loss Calculator (Free Space Loss Calculator) shows that at channel 3, 39 dB of loss is about 0.02 miles, or about 100 feet. For 63 dB of allowable loss, it's about 0.34 mile. At TV channel 60, the distances are 10 and 150 feet.

So if you are using TV channel 60, and your neighbors don't have preamps on their antennas, no one is going to see anything. Or if you all have directional antennas, and they are never pointed at one another, you might be okay (depending on the antenna patterns). But if your neighbors have good preamps, and you are using a signal at channel 3, people as far as 1/3 of a mile could see what you are watching (or somewhat less, depending on the antennas used, and how they are pointed).

If dish receivers were cable of broadcasting the TV2 signal over the air I wouldn't waste the time running RG6 through the house. I've tried it, it doesn't work.

harshness

Jan 29, 2008

ericha said:
If you then assume combined (transmit & receive) antenna gains of 6 dB, ...

It is fallacy to combine two unrelated factors to manufacture a new argument. Conventional rooftop TV antennas have very poor transmission properties.

Is there more leakage than acceptable? Probably, but you're not spewing broadband like a bad CATV connection does; just two channels that don't conflict with the existing OTA environment.

Is there a better way? I'd suggest putting a unidirectional amplifier on the antenna cable coming into the initial two-way splitter. In theory, this would substantially limit the backfeed and have a side benefit of providing more signal to work with.

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Bruce

Supporting Founder Lifetime Supporter

Last reply 2 minutes ago · posted in Internet Television (IPTV) Discussion Forum

How things have changed

I was reading this article

Cable TV ‘cord-cutters’ became the majority in 2022

The steady decline of cable and broadcast television, and the rise of streaming services, reached a sort of inflection point over the past year. Last summer, for the first time, streaming ser…

thehill.com

That said this-
Last summer, for the first time, streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime claimed the largest share of the television viewing audience, surpassing both cable and broadcast TV. Streaming captured 34.8 percent of July viewers, according to Nielsen data, compared to 34.4 percent for cable and 21.6 percent for broadcast.

And then, sometime in the second half of 2022, cord-cutters became the majority. The share of cable and satellite television subscribers dipped to 48 percent, according to a report from Samba TV, a television technology company.

Now I do not consider those with YTTV and the likes, Cord Cutters, but they still do not have Traditional Cable/Satellite delivered Live TV, so I decided to do the math.

There are, now, 129 Million Households in the United States.

In 2015, there were 100 Million Cable/Sat Subscribers , no streaming Live TV Service.

Today, there are 66 Million Live TV subscribers, including Cable, Satellite and Streaming.

Roughly, Streaming Live TV has 14 Million subs including all of them.

So that means, Cable/Satellite now has, roughly, 51 Million Households

So in just 8 years, lost 49% of their subscribers and by the end of this year, expected sub count to be, roughly, 45 million households.

That means a total loss of 55% since 2015 at the end of 2023.

But out of 129 Million households, 45 million will mean only 35% will get Cable/Satellite Delivered Live TV by the end of 2023.

Imagine what 2024 will be like.

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Bruce

Yesterday at 12:11 PM

Sony is discontinuing it's last 4K disc player, Panasonic has been rumored to be doing the same, the end of physical media is unfortunately, about to happen.

Bad News For Blu-ray Fans: Sony Has Stopped Making a Popular Player | Cord Cutters News

Sony has discontinued its final standalone UHD Blu-ray player, the UBP-X700/K, ending shipments of the device with no successor model announced. The move, first spotted by Japanese website Kunkoku.jp and confirmed through the status of the product on Sony’s own website, marks the company’s...

cordcuttersnews.com

Reactions: Howard Simmons, Foxbat, ncted and 1 other person

dishstaller

Yesterday at 2:54 PM

Bruce said:
Sony is discontinuing it's last 4K disc player, Panasonic has been rumored to be doing the same, the end of physical media is unfortunately, about to happen.

Hate to hear that. If you don't physically have something in your hand, you don't really own it.

Reactions: Howard Simmons and navychop

Bruce

Yesterday at 4:29 PM

dishstaller said:
Hate to hear that. If you don't physically have something in your hand, you don't really own it.

Even a physical disc purchase is considered a license, just extremely harder to pull access vs digital.

But once new players are no longer sold and older players quit working, that takes care of the access to your library.

See LaserDiscs for one example of that happening.

Reactions: Howard Simmons

ncted

Yesterday at 4:42 PM

Bruce said:
Sony is discontinuing it's last 4K disc player, Panasonic has been rumored to be doing the same, the end of physical media is unfortunately, about to happen.

Bad News For Blu-ray Fans: Sony Has Stopped Making a Popular Player | Cord Cutters News

Sony has discontinued its final standalone UHD Blu-ray player, the UBP-X700/K, ending shipments of the device with no successor model announced. The move, first spotted by Japanese website Kunkoku.jp and confirmed through the status of the product on Sony’s own website, marks the company’s...

cordcuttersnews.com

I am so done with Sony on so many levels. This is just one small piece of it.

Jimbo

Yesterday at 8:50 PM

ncted said:
I am so done with Sony on so many levels. This is just one small piece of it.

I Love my Sony equipment

Reactions: Howard Simmons

dishstaller

Yesterday at 9:27 PM

Bruce said:
just extremely harder to pull access vs digital.

And dangerous if you get my drift.

navychop

Yesterday at 9:34 PM

Jimbo said:
I Love my Sony equipment

That's an odd name for it.

Reactions: Jimbo

Bruce

Today at 8:58 AM

And again, 15 months in a row, streaming wins-

Cable and Broadcast added together-36.4%

Streaming with a massive 49.6%, 13.2% higher than Broadcast/Streaming.

Reactions: Howard Simmons

Jimbo

2 minutes ago

Bruce said:
And again, 15 months in a row, streaming wins-

Cable and Broadcast added together-36.4%

Streaming with a massive 49.6%, 13.2% higher than Broadcast/Streaming.

View attachment 194983

Your Still Thrilled about all this ?

These numbers will Never be accurate as many people use Both still ...

You have services like Hulu Live and You Tube TV that do, what you call Cable, but they ARE Streaming, so Which is is ?

Does it get counted 2x as both Streaming and Cable ?

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Scott Greczkowski

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge

Last reply 42 minutes ago · posted in DIRECTV General Forum

New Gemini Box

The following is from Reddit. -
View: https://www.reddit.com/r/DirectvStream/s/orzHBkmqQW

There appears to be a new DIRECTV Gemini OTT box, the C81KW-650.

The FCC listing is partially available, and a Geekbench entry confirms it uses an Amlogic S905X5, a solid SoC for a set-top box.

I also see 4GB of RAM, and the manufacturer is SEI Robotics.

DIRECTV C81KW OTT Box - Android TV Guide

Ok found a picture of the Box too on Reddit:

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/DirectvStream/comments/1twlex0/comment/opzeqi1/

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GRB1959

Sep 23, 2026

A new Gemini box for DirecTV streaming possibly becoming available in January of 2027? That would be welcome news.

I have been exploring leaving Dish DBS ever since a software update around Aug. 10, version H711 and now H712, is causing problems with IR signals and the Dish Hopper 3. As a result my Sofabaton X2 universal remote no longer works perfectly as it did prior to the H711 and H712 Dish Hopper 3 firmware updates.

I have been a little leary of the current hardware available for DirecTV streaming as the Gemini Ospry box fits my needs, however they are getting a little long in the tooth and finding the 4GB RAM (SKU: 60233) Osprey box complete with remote and power cable is somewhat challenging. I see that the 2GB RAM Osprey boxes (SKU: 60164) can be found on Ebay and at Walmart online used, however a 4GB Osprey box is preferred.

Now I wonder if I should just wait it out until the new Gemini box for DirecTV streaming becomes available. I want a box with an Ethernet port and the Gemini Air is WiFi only. If the new Gemini box does become available in January of 2027 will it be lease only via DirecTV or will we be allowed to purchase them?

slow_poke_pete

Sep 23, 2026

GRB1959 said:
A new Gemini box for DirecTV streaming possibly becoming available in January of 2027? That would be welcome news.

I have been exploring leaving Dish DBS ever since a software update around Aug. 10, version H711 and now H712, is causing problems with IR signals and the Dish Hopper 3. As a result my Sofabaton X2 universal remote no longer works perfectly as it did prior to the H711 and H712 Dish Hopper 3 firmware updates.

I have been a little leary of the current hardware available for DirecTV streaming as the Gemini Ospry box fits my needs, however they are getting a little long in the tooth and finding the 4GB RAM (SKU: 60233) Osprey box complete with remote and power cable is somewhat challenging. I see that the 2GB RAM Osprey boxes (SKU: 60164) can be found on Ebay and at Walmart online used, however a 4GB Osprey box is preferred.

Now I wonder if I should just wait it out until the new Gemini box for DirecTV streaming becomes available. I want a box with an Ethernet port and the Gemini Air is WiFi only. If the new Gemini box does become available in January of 2027 will it be lease only via DirecTV or will we be allowed to purchase them?

there leased at 10.00 per box. unless you can find em at ebay or wally world where people have gotten em before. or you could get a roku apple tv firestick if you don't need the channel numbers

GRB1959

Sep 23, 2026

slow_poke_pete said:
there leased at 10.00 per box. unless you can find em at ebay or wally world where people have gotten em before. or you could get a roku apple tv firestick if you don't need the channel numbers

I appreciate the reply. My wife will be using this as well so a numeric keypad to change channels that actually works is a must and I want it to have a hardwired Ethernet port so that leaves the Gemini box as my only real choice.

slow_poke_pete

Sep 23, 2026

GRB1959 said:
I appreciate the reply. My wife will be using this as well so a numeric keypad to change channels that actually works is a must and I want it to have a hardwired Ethernet port so that leaves the Gemini box as my only real choice.

oh and channel master did make a numeric keypad for the apple t.v. i don't know if they still do and if that would work with dtv channel numbers!

Reactions: GRB1959

KyL416

Sep 23, 2026

The DTV app doesn't respond to channel number inputs on 3rd party devices.

Reactions: slow_poke_pete and GRB1959

slow_poke_pete

Sep 23, 2026

KyL416 said:
The DTV app doesn't respond to channel number inputs on 3rd party devices.

This is good to know!!!

Tom Speer

Today at 9:19 AM

PUBLIC INFORMATION SUMMARY: DIRECTV's New Streaming‑Only Device (Model C81KW‑650)

I asked ChatGPT to summarize what is publicly known about DirecTV's new Streaming box. Here is what it said:

DIRECTV has a new streaming‑only device undergoing testing, publicly identified as model C81KW‑650.FCC filings and Reddit posts show it uses an Amlogic S905X5 chipset with 4 GB RAM, 64 GB storage, Wi‑Fi 6, Ethernet, and support for modern codecs including AV1 and H.266.It runs Android TV 14 and is manufactured by SEI Robotics.

Performance is significantly improved over the Osprey‑based Gemini and Gemini Air, with a faster CPU, stronger GPU, double the RAM, modern codec support, and better connectivity.

The FCC lists it as an OTT device, and all public information indicates it is intended for streaming service only.No official release date has been announced.

Making it also function as a Genie client would only be a matter of software, but that would not be able to use all the advanced codecs built into this device. That is clearly not a near term priority for DirecTV, if they ever do it at all.

b4pjoe

42 minutes ago

Here is what Google Gemini says about it:

The DIRECTV New Streaming‑Only Device (Model C81KW-650) is the successor set-top box to DIRECTV's original Gemini hardware (C71KW). Manufactured by SEI Robotics, details about the device emerged through FCC filings and hardware benchmarks.

It represents a significant performance upgrade over previous DIRECTV hardware.

Hardware & Performance Upgrades

Processor (SoC): Powered by the Amlogic S905X5 chipset featuring a quad-core ARM Cortex-A510 CPU (2.0 GHz). This offers roughly a 35–40% performance increase over the older Broadcom chipsets, resulting in much faster app load times and UI responsiveness.

Graphics: Upgraded to an ARM Mali-G310 GPU.

Memory & Storage: Equipped with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage—a substantial jump from previous models that allows smoother multitasking and plenty of space for third-party streaming apps.

Software & Connectivity

Operating System: Runs Android TV 14 out of the box.

Wi-Fi Upgrade: Includes Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) support, replacing the older Wi-Fi 5 standard for more stable wireless 4K video streaming.

Expanded Codec Support: Supports 4K Ultra HD with AV1, VP9, H.264, HEVC/H.265, and support for future-proof VVC/H.266 video playback.

HDR & Audio: Supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+.

Core Ecosystem Features

DIRECTV Experience: Retains full integration with DIRECTV's unified interface—combining live satellite or internet channel guides with third-party streaming apps downloaded via the Google Play Store.

Voice & Smart Controls: Built-in Google Assistant voice navigation and Google Cast support.

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dishstaller

Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter

Today at 9:37 AM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

We're less than 4 weeks away from Voyager 1 reaching a distance of one light day from Earth

I've always been super interested in things space related so this is a pretty cool event coming up. Nov 18, 2026 early in the morning, Voyager 1 will reach the distance of one full light day from Earth. Took almost 50 yrs. I was 13 when it launched.

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gjHK3clOwIw?feature=share

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SatZach

Today at 9:30 AM · posted in General Home Theater Equipment

Remote feeds.

Hey everyone,
I got the all important spousal buy-in to get all my equipment back out for Sat, Terrestrial reception. The catch is that I can't add any more equipment to our main house and everything will stay in the out building ~250 feet from our house. My idea is to use the server I already have to encode the feeds from multiple sources into streams that I can then watch via plex in the main house. Has anyone done this or know of any decent turn key solutions?

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TvMind

Last reply Today at 9:06 AM · posted in C-BAND Satellite Discussion

SES 1 101° W Horizontal "Issues" a.k.a "I want my M(e)TV"

Howdy folks long time no write.

Issue(s): Horizontal transponders (esp. Weigel mux) breakup/mosaic/sputtering audio, JTV less so (but received perfectly up until a month or so ago.
Vertical is fine (Daystar). Up until recently couldn't even get any signal on Weigel Mux but JTV was perfect.

What I did to improve things: A slight westward move improved reception but only slightly (approx 72 on the micro HD, sorry no dB to post). I removed the 3-way C-Band splitter and used a 2-way to get a 1-2 db signal gain ( the power port goes to the Startrak - the micro HD doesn't have enough juice ! (1st clue) even after swapping the switching power supply it came with with a heftier linear 12 V supply (less RFI too !).
I have had issues with the uHD before signal breaking up that a reboot would clear up (clue #2 = dying tuner?) - FYI, I reinforced the IF input and removed all flux from the pcb completely with a Flux Removal Pen (MG Chemicals Cat No. 4140-P) which definitely makes a huge difference.

I went outside and pushed and pulled reflector slightly and no improvement. Pole (actually tower in yard - the neighbours love me..NOT) is plumb, checked with carpenters level. Dish was last peaked in 2017 or so, after overhauling 24" Von Weise, new Acme, fresh grease, etc. Focal length, f/d ratio etc meticulously adjusted. One panel has a tear so planning to repair that this weekend when my cousin comes over ( to help me out (old guy here) forecast calls for sunshine.

What has changed: My utility company has installed new high tension line poles (one smack dab in the middle of 101°W target! But they put it in last year and reception (of JTV (HOR) at least) was fine, BUT when they came out to transfer the wires over this year from the old (sawed in half) pole that's about when the troubles started (coincidence?), but again Daystar (VER) was fine. I always had this pole in the light of sight of 101° before with no issues. (fyi my zenith sat 74° is unobstucted, but can't test)

In the meantime Weigel mux is trying to break in MOSTLY in LATE at night (less cell usage?) (audio not video except for a frame here or there) so don't know what has changed with this mux which suddenly "woke up". I have never had to fuss with dish moves on this satellite ( the slightest move +/- motor clicks loses lock, wheres normally on C-band I can go significantly wider east or west and still have a strong signal ( have these gone "spot beam" or narrower somehow and what is the slight difference in Az listed on Lyngsat to 100.9° affect things ( isn't that the declination i.e. requiring a tweak of declination?).

Long story short (too late, ha), if I had another DVB-S2 box to try and / or a newer more stable PLL lnb ( I have been meaning to upgrade many a time but never got arround to it) I could determine if it's my antiquated receiving equipment, or my dish/feed alignment ( doubtful as it tracks everything from 55 °W to 133 ° W nicely.) or the dreaded 5G! (BUT only on HOR and not VER?).
I read another post where the OP (with his smaller 7.5 footer) played around with the illumination to peak desired transponder and reduce qrm on interfering/ stronger xpndrs (even on 103° W). So will play with that too - and cut away the RG-6 a and pull up a fresh section with new PPC and coax Seal. Open the throat cap see if any cobwebs are there and check servo operation (also changed in last maintence 10 years ago).

Finally, this will probably be the last chance I get to play with the BUD from the looks of it (providers leaving, auctioning off rest of spectrum imminent above 4.0 Ghz, and to keep the peace with neighbours so it would be nice to have that mux back for the long, cold and dark winters to comfort this old man before I call it quits and buy a VHF/UHF/FM Yagi and get MeTV, H&I from my Vermont local stations (checked at a friends today and they come in nicely - except ABC) .
Only one guy in town (Montreal) I may be able to get a receiver or PLL lnb from to try (RPS Sat) so hopefully with elimnate that as a possible culprit. Be nice to pick up a cheap or used PLL lnb to try w/o 5G BPF (money is tight )

Like others I couldn't care less about "tv" (well maybe just a liitle or a lot) it's the challenge that excites me , I can get MeTV other ways OTA (no pirate crap).

So what do you guys (and gals) think ?. p.s. I don't have a spectrum analyzer and there are def/ cell towers nearby (half a Km or so away).
Oh and time permitting will hammer out dings too and wire damaged mesh on one section for an extra dB or two. Hesitate to touch Declination, Elevation and pole mount but will play around with those a little too... Why is this mux for finicky suddenly ?(8psk, 5/6 fec, beamwidthetc.. man wish they went back to VER I think everthing would be fine! For the engineers out here does 5G QRM affect one poliarization (HOR) more than another (VER)? I understand the strong interference swamps out the input mixer/local oscilator in the hapless old C-band lnb (I think it at time affect KU too esp. LPB on 101°W KU - incidentally thos were weak or "gone' but are back almost at the time MeTV improved..hmm Terrestrial interference?

Any thoughts or suggestions ( cheap or free solutions please) greatly appreciated. Cheers.

p.p.s. Micro HD can't display Decades and Toons but records them fine so I can watch on another box/media player (Ali chip set issue). Another reason to upgrade.

Anybody interested in a nice C/KU system free ? (for next Spring/Summer 2027)

[Sami 10' mesh, Corotor II+, Eagle Aspen (very old) C-band lnb, Norsat Ku lnb, Channel Master C/Ku (H/V) switch, Startrak 400 Analog receiver w/ motor control, Geosat uHD DVD-S2, CW600S for Mpeg-2]

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brownsfan1

Monday at 9:22 PM

TvMind said:
Howdy folks long time no write.

Issue(s): Horizontal transponders (esp. Weigel mux) breakup/mosaic/sputtering audio, JTV less so (but received perfectly up until a month or so ago.
Vertical is fine (Daystar). Up until recently couldn't even get any signal on Weigel Mux but JTV was perfect.

What I did to improve things: A slight westward move improved reception but only slightly (approx 72 on the micro HD, sorry no dB to post). I removed the 3-way C-Band splitter and used a 2-way to get a 1-2 db signal gain ( the power port goes to the Startrak - the micro HD doesn't have enough juice ! (1st clue) even after swapping the switching power supply it came with with a heftier linear 12 V supply (less RFI too !).
I have had issues with the uHD before signal breaking up that a reboot would clear up (clue #2 = dying tuner?) - FYI, I reinforced the IF input and removed all flux from the pcb completely with a Flux Removal Pen (MG Chemicals Cat No. 4140-P) which definitely makes a huge difference.

I went outside and pushed and pulled reflector slightly and no improvement. Pole (actually tower in yard - the neighbours love me..NOT) is plumb, checked with carpenters level. Dish was last peaked in 2017 or so, after overhauling 24" Von Weise, new Acme, fresh grease, etc. Focal length, f/d ratio etc meticulously adjusted. One panel has a tear so planning to repair that this weekend when my cousin comes over ( to help me out (old guy here) forecast calls for sunshine.

What has changed: My utility company has installed new high tension line poles (one smack dab in the middle of 101°W target! But they put it in last year and reception (of JTV (HOR) at least) was fine, BUT when they came out to transfer the wires over this year from the old (sawed in half) pole that's about when the troubles started (coincidence?), but again Daystar (VER) was fine. I always had this pole in the light of sight of 101° before with no issues. (fyi my zenith sat 74° is unobstucted, but can't test)

In the meantime Weigel mux is trying to break in MOSTLY in LATE at night (less cell usage?) (audio not video except for a frame here or there) so don't know what has changed with this mux which suddenly "woke up". I have never had to fuss with dish moves on this satellite ( the slightest move +/- motor clicks loses lock, wheres normally on C-band I can go significantly wider east or west and still have a strong signal ( have these gone "spot beam" or narrower somehow and what is the slight difference in Az listed on Lyngsat to 100.9° affect things ( isn't that the declination i.e. requiring a tweak of declination?).

Long story short (too late, ha), if I had another DVB-S2 box to try and / or a newer more stable PLL lnb ( I have been meaning to upgrade many a time but never got arround to it) I could determine if it's my antiquated receiving equipment, or my dish/feed alignment ( doubtful as it tracks everything from 55 °W to 133 ° W nicely.) or the dreaded 5G! (BUT only on HOR and not VER?).
I read another post where the OP (with his smaller 7.5 footer) played around with the illumination to peak desired transponder and reduce qrm on interfering/ stronger xpndrs (even on 103° W). So will play with that too - and cut away the RG-6 a and pull up a fresh section with new PPC and coax Seal. Open the throat cap see if any cobwebs are there and check servo operation (also changed in last maintence 10 years ago).

Finally, this will probably be the last chance I get to play with the BUD from the looks of it (providers leaving, auctioning off rest of spectrum imminent above 4.0 Ghz, and to keep the peace with neighbours so it would be nice to have that mux back for the long, cold and dark winters to comfort this old man before I call it quits and buy a VHF/UHF/FM Yagi and get MeTV, H&I from my Vermont local stations (checked at a friends today and they come in nicely - except ABC) .
Only one guy in town (Montreal) I may be able to get a receiver or PLL lnb from to try (RPS Sat) so hopefully with elimnate that as a possible culprit. Be nice to pick up a cheap or used PLL lnb to try w/o 5G BPF (money is tight )

Like others I couldn't care less about "tv" (well maybe just a liitle or a lot) it's the challenge that excites me , I can get MeTV other ways OTA (no pirate crap).

So what do you guys (and gals) think ?. p.s. I don't have a spectrum analyzer and there are def/ cell towers nearby (half a Km or so away).
Oh and time permitting will hammer out dings too and wire damaged mesh on one section for an extra dB or two. Hesitate to touch Declination, Elevation and pole mount but will play around with those a little too... Why is this mux for finicky suddenly ?(8psk, 5/6 fec, beamwidthetc.. man wish they went back to VER I think everthing would be fine! For the engineers out here does 5G QRM affect one poliarization (HOR) more than another (VER)? I understand the strong interference swamps out the input mixer/local oscilator in the hapless old C-band lnb (I think it at time affect KU too esp. LPB on 101°W KU - incidentally thos were weak or "gone' but are back almost at the time MeTV improved..hmm Terrestrial interference?

Any thoughts or suggestions ( cheap or free solutions please) greatly appreciated. Cheers.

p.p.s. Micro HD can't display Decades and Toons but records them fine so I can watch on another box/media player (Ali chip set issue). Another reason to upgrade.

Anybody interested in a nice C/KU system free ? (for next Spring/Summer 2027)

[Sami 10' mesh, Corotor II+, Eagle Aspen (very old) C-band lnb, Norsat Ku lnb, Channel Master C/Ku (H/V) switch, Startrak 400 Analog receiver w/ motor control, Geosat uHD DVD-S2, CW600S for Mpeg-2]

I had the EXACT same problem happen to me with 101w, MeTV mux (Weigel). Working great when about 3 weeks ago I started to get the pixelating, especially at night. Sometimes Jewelry TV would also do it, sometimes not. Tweaked my dish. I have a Titanium 240 feed with the 5G filter 4.0-4.2 band pass. Every other satellite is working fine. Something on their end for sure. Power reduction? My signal seems fine like always. Running a Winegard 8.5 ft dish using a GT Media UHD V8. I'm sure my receiver isn't maybe sensitive enough for lower signal levels. Frustrating here too. I'm in the Canton, Ohio area. Thanks!

arlo

Tuesday at 10:22 AM

To me it looks like all of the intelligent things to diagnose the problem 'on the cheap' are being done.
I have my own thoughts of lnbf's using an external filter between the feed and coax. It would be cool to see what Brian could add.
Do his units have the filter before the actual LNA chip in the circuit? In other words, signal is focused at the lnbf throat. The probes for h & v polarity send the signal to.......filtering......then to the lna IC......
Or probes, lna, then filtering. Makes sense to trap the bad stuff before amplification to me.

On the cheap sometimes leaves questions. Enosat and El Bandido both use dvb-s pci cards and TBS USB receivers.
With those, and software. Signal analysis becomes sort of easy. Or tapping into your coax with a dc pass splitter, decoupling capacitor, and using a spectrum analyzer. Tuning across the LO band. Finding signal spikes. Digging deep.

Still making my decision on a (most probably) TBS PCIe tuner card. But I have tapped into my coax with my ancient but quite impressive HP spectrum analyzer and tinysa.
I don't have 5G interference so far that I know of. But have my suspects because I'm only able to snag signal from 131W in the winter when the leaves drop. But out of curiosity do scan it in the fall. And seem to be getting a signal that 'shouldn't' be there and a scan shows no channels. Far as I got.

An idea pops up to rig up an LNBF on a stick. Along with the tinysa and power supply and do some rogue signal searches. War Driving, of sorts. But. I wouldn't think that a chinabox, firmware based receiver would be of much help.
From what I see scanning across the frequency band. 5G cell transmission is always on and is very wide spectrum.
Whether anyone is actually using talking, texting, watching stupid human tricks on YouTube Makes no difference. The RF is there. So why would a C Band setup come and go? And what if you dumped the corotor and went modern voltage controlled polarity?

Another thought. Since you've learned the optimal position to place the scalar to illuminate out to the dish rim. And peaked the feed. There's most of a roll of aluminum flashing out in my garage that would most definitely wrap around my dish perimeter. That and a bag of large binder clips from the office supply. wally world. Ideas?

brownsfan1

Yesterday at 8:23 PM

arlo said:
To me it looks like all of the intelligent things to diagnose the problem 'on the cheap' are being done.
I have my own thoughts of lnbf's using an external filter between the feed and coax. It would be cool to see what Brian could add.
Do his units have the filter before the actual LNA chip in the circuit? In other words, signal is focused at the lnbf throat. The probes for h & v polarity send the signal to.......filtering......then to the lna IC......
Or probes, lna, then filtering. Makes sense to trap the bad stuff before amplification to me.

On the cheap sometimes leaves questions. Enosat and El Bandido both use dvb-s pci cards and TBS USB receivers.
With those, and software. Signal analysis becomes sort of easy. Or tapping into your coax with a dc pass splitter, decoupling capacitor, and using a spectrum analyzer. Tuning across the LO band. Finding signal spikes. Digging deep.

Still making my decision on a (most probably) TBS PCIe tuner card. But I have tapped into my coax with my ancient but quite impressive HP spectrum analyzer and tinysa.
I don't have 5G interference so far that I know of. But have my suspects because I'm only able to snag signal from 131W in the winter when the leaves drop. But out of curiosity do scan it in the fall. And seem to be getting a signal that 'shouldn't' be there and a scan shows no channels. Far as I got.

An idea pops up to rig up an LNBF on a stick. Along with the tinysa and power supply and do some rogue signal searches. War Driving, of sorts. But. I wouldn't think that a chinabox, firmware based receiver would be of much help.
From what I see scanning across the frequency band. 5G cell transmission is always on and is very wide spectrum.
Whether anyone is actually using talking, texting, watching stupid human tricks on YouTube Makes no difference. The RF is there. So why would a C Band setup come and go? And what if you dumped the corotor and went modern voltage controlled polarity?

Another thought. Since you've learned the optimal position to place the scalar to illuminate out to the dish rim. And peaked the feed. There's most of a roll of aluminum flashing out in my garage that would most definitely wrap around my dish perimeter. That and a bag of large binder clips from the office supply. wally world. Ideas?

I did some more investigating and found I got the MeTV mux in the early hours, until about 6am then the pixelating starts. Gets worse until around 8am its totally gone. I suspect my local cell tower is ramping up traffic as the morning goes on. My Titanium feed does a super job and most everything is clear that wasn't before but this mux is aggravating! I seem to just be over the signal threshold to work until the 5G total overwhelms my system. I'm using an old 9 foot spun aluminum dish and was wondering if I went to a 12 ft dish this would solve the problem? I know bigger is better in most satellite dish related signal problems. If this is true I will be searching for a bigger dish. I like your idea of flashing put around the dish perimeter. I have some I need to dig out and try before I start ripping out my dish. Anybody have any ideas if the bigger dish would do better? Any help would be appreciated!

SDA_FL_USA

Yesterday at 9:13 PM

brownsfan1 said:
I did some more investigating and found I got the MeTV mux in the early hours, until about 6am then the pixelating starts. Gets worse until around 8am its totally gone. I suspect my local cell tower is ramping up traffic as the morning goes on. My Titanium feed does a super job and most everything is clear that wasn't before but this mux is aggravating! I seem to just be over the signal threshold to work until the 5G total overwhelms my system. I'm using an old 9 foot spun aluminum dish and was wondering if I went to a 12 ft dish this would solve the problem? I know bigger is better in most satellite dish related signal problems. If this is true I will be searching for a bigger dish. I like your idea of flashing put around the dish perimeter. I have some I need to dig out and try before I start ripping out my dish. Anybody have any ideas if the bigger dish would do better? Any help would be appreciated!

8 1/2 Foot mesh here with the c140 lnbf and a verizon 5g tower nearby. Got no issue with the Metv transponder. Are you sure you have the lnbf setup correct? When I set my c140 up I noticed it was about 1/4 to 1/2 inch pushed in closer to the dish, sticking out of the scaler ring than my old lnbf was. Thought I may have trouble with that but my signal readings are higher than they had ever been.

brownsfan1

Today at 9:06 AM

SDA_FL_USA said:
8 1/2 Foot mesh here with the c140 lnbf and a verizon 5g tower nearby. Got no issue with the Metv transponder. Are you sure you have the lnbf setup correct? When I set my c140 up I noticed it was about 1/4 to 1/2 inch pushed in closer to the dish, sticking out of the scaler ring than my old lnbf was. Thought I may have trouble with that but my signal readings are higher than they had ever been.

Thanks for the info. I'll do a detailed feed alignment this weekend. I have to be on a ladder to tweak this 101w satellite with the MeTV mux. Luckily I've got a V8 Finder so I'll put that to use. Funny, I got the MeTV mux fine this Friday morning. Jewelry TV was completely garbled though. I'm wondering if I'm having 2 degree spacing problems more than the cell tower affecting me. Seems strange some days I'm fine and others MeTV is completely destroyed. In the old days I could just move the dish to 99w and see what's there adjacent to MeTV. Maybe if I optimize my feed I can eliminate my problem either way. I have a 9 foot spun aluminum dish that may not have the best two degree isolation. Some of these were crudely made with a poor parabolic shape. I'll keep you posted and thanks to all for the advice!

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Booredatwork.com

Today at 8:52 AM · posted in BooredAtWork.COM

Revenge of the Folds

Time for another AWESOME video from BoredAtWork!

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bxVEVr0PymU

Direct YouTube Link - Revenge of the Folds
Booredatwork.com Website
Booredatwork on Facebook

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TRG

Pub Member / Supporter

Last reply Today at 8:44 AM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Prescription drug costs

Now that I'm retired, obviously I have different health care insurance. I take 2 prescriptions. With my old insurance I didn't have to pay for either of them, now I do. It's not a huge amount but it led me to dig a little into the cost of prescription medications. I have been using Walgreens for the longest time. But what I found was that Walgreens price is 4.8 times more for one of my prescriptions and the other is 2.3 percent more compared to the lowest price pharmacy. If you pay for prescription medications you might want to have a look at trumprx and see if you can get a lower price.

https://trumprx.gov/

Screenshot from 2026-10-22 15-43-53.webp

Screenshot from 2026-10-22 15-23-34.webp

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comfortably_numb

Yesterday at 6:09 PM

I run them through several different providers to see who has the lowest cost

Usually it's Walmart or Sam's + GoodRx

Also...

Homepage of Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs

Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug homepage. Provides safe, affordable medicine or medication with transparent low prices.

www.costplusdrugs.com

You can also price them through the CareCard and WellRx apps.

Sometimes Amazon Pharmacy is cheapest.

Reactions: TRG

dishstaller

Yesterday at 9:39 PM

comfortably_numb said:
Usually it's Walmart or Sam's + GoodRx

I'm fortunate and don't take any medications. A couple years ago I had to take some antibiotics and used the GoodRx app. Went to Walmart and the person behind the desk knew me and told me to just buy them outright....the GoodRx price was a LOT higher. She said they aren't supposed to tell customers when they see they are being screwed.

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navychop

Yesterday at 9:49 PM

That's ok. I probably take enough for the two of us.

God knows what Bobby takes. Maybe so much they count as a meal?

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Bobby

Yesterday at 10:06 PM

navychop said:
That's ok. I probably take enough for the two of us.

God knows what Bobby takes. Maybe so much they count as a meal?

Actually I take just 2 prescriptions, Atorvastatin and Lisinopril. They cost me $6 each for 100 pills. Next year that will be nothing.

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klang

Today at 7:41 AM

Bobby said:
Actually I take just 2 prescriptions, Atorvastatin and Lisinopril. They cost me $6 each for 100 pills. Next year that will be nothing.

Those are two of the three I take.

comfortably_numb

Today at 8:44 AM

dishstaller said:
Went to Walmart and the person behind the desk knew me and told me to just buy them outright....the GoodRx price was a LOT higher

Walmart and Sam's pharmacies have "zero rated" prescriptions lists where generics are $4 (or less). If yours are on that list, then of course GoodRx isn't going to help. Also, GoodRx isn't always the cheapest discount program. For me, the cheapest is usually Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs.

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TFLEV

Today at 7:12 AM · posted in TFLEV

The 2027 Ford Mustang Mach-E Trail Is An Off-Road EV for $10K Less Expensive Than the Rally!

Time for another AWESOME video from TFL Electric Vehicles!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArA3QJefNsY

Direct YouTube Link - The 2027 Ford Mustang Mach-E Trail Is An Off-Road EV for $10K Less Expensive Than the Rally!

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Scott Greczkowski

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge

Last reply Today at 6:13 AM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Song Name Game Part 3!

Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne

Get it?

An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....

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long_time_Dish

Yesterday at 8:45 PM

Find A Way To My Heart - Phil Collins

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dishstaller

Yesterday at 9:32 PM

Heart of Glass - Blondie

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long_time_Dish

Yesterday at 10:13 PM

Magazine - Heart

hwkn

Today at 2:40 AM

Harden My HEART-Quarterflash

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ClarkGable

Today at 6:13 AM

My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion

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TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Today at 3:22 AM · posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Agentic AI Security: Why Unconstrained Agents Alarm CISOs #shorts

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/N2oPp-plZEw

Direct YouTube Link - Agentic AI Security: Why Unconstrained Agents Alarm CISOs #shorts
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Distribute tuner 2 out plus antenna

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Cable TV ‘cord-cutters’ became the majority in 2022

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Remote feeds.

SES 1 101° W Horizontal "Issues" a.k.a "I want my M(e)TV"

Revenge of the Folds

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Song Name Game Part 3!

Agentic AI Security: Why Unconstrained Agents Alarm CISOs #shorts