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subway

Last reply Jun 11, 2008 · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

q's about connection, programming, and splitting

I would like to know if there are any ways to change my system setup for the better. I recently read many of the posts on this site and have a couple questions that weren't answered. Also I was about to call Dish network to get cinemax for a penny when I thought there might be something I'm missing / don't know about that I should wait for before I call Dish up.

I have 2 dishes, one was used for international channels (international) a long time ago and is now just sitting, it has one lnb? at 119 while another is being used for the national channels (national) and has 2 things one for 110 and one for 119. There is a coax cable from the international dish going to the national. From the national dish there is one coaxial cable going to the house.

My first concern is that of connection: when it is not raining the signal strength is between 10 and 25 (usually 16) and even when its barely raining it goes to 0 and I can't watch anything. This is after a professional guy drove an hour and a half to get here, was very angry (like all the people who come here) and 'fixed' the dishes in 10 min. I've tried to increase the signal before but its just very sensitive and I'm afraid of losing my good weather signal cause at the moment thats all i have. (zip code btw is 12501). Is there a way of using my international dish to help increase the signal? This is really annoying since one of things I like to do when it rains is watch tv.

My second concern is of programming: currently these are the monthly fees I see

Digital Home Advantage with America's Top 100 and local - 37.99
Programming Access Fee - 5.00

besides getting cinemax is there anything I should be aware of? is the dish hd system much more expensive? I'm interested in keeping my price around 40 bucks a month, would like to have access to hd channels, and am not interested in any DVR's as I can just make one out of a computer and not pay any monthly fees

My third concern is of splitting the line:

There are 2 HDTV's and 2 standard tv's in the house that I'd like to make use of. unfortunately I have to watch the same channel on 2 tv's, is there anyway around this by splitting the line and getting a second receiver? and if I do would dish network find out? given the information I gave at the top is it possible for me to even do this? If I get a new system (the HD one) what type of setup should I ask for so that I can split the lines on my own?

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Jim5506

Jun 8, 2008

How is your dish attached to the deck? Is it firmly mounted or setting in a 5 gallon bucket of concrete?

If you are dealing with a 2 lnb head, and have found one satellite already, the other is nearby.

First cover the lnb eye for 119 (the one on the left when looking from behind the dish). If you lose 110, it means you are seeing 110 with the 119 lnb and you are pointed about 8 degrees too far east. From where you are 119 is to the right and 5 degrees below 110 in the sky, so drop the elevation 5 degrees and turn the dish 8 degrees west. After uncovering the 119 lnb, you might just see both.

If covering the 119 lnb does not effect 110, then you are seeing 110 with the correct lnb, and you need to check mast plumb, skew and whether or not you have lost the 119 lnb.

Settings for Dish 500 in your zip code are:

Azimuth - 246 (almost perfectly WSW - sight up the lnb arm)
Elevation - 26 (on back of the dish)
Skew - 126 (also on back of the dish - rotated clockwise)

Here are the exact locations for 110 and 119 from your location, if you were seeing each with a 1 lnb dish:

110 - Azimuth - 242, elevation 29
119 - Azimuth - 250, elevation 24

This is where I go the 8 degree right and 5 degrees down numbers to try, you see the Dish 500 numbers are almost exactly in the middle of these.

headband

Jun 9, 2008

if you plug in a phone line you can avoid the $5 a month programming access fee, if you do not have a phoneline the HD DVRs can use a broadband connection, I know you said that you don't want DVR but if you can do this going to DVR advantage for $39.99 (includes programming, DVR fee and Locals) will make it cheaper, and unlike a PC it will be able to record stuff in HD and you will not have to deal with setting up IR blasters like you would with a PC.

There is no way to get another reciever without paying a monthly fee for it. Your first HD reciever will provide seperate programming to 1 HDTV and 1 SDTV a second HD reciever will provide additional programming for 1 HDTV and 1 SDTV as well. It is $7 more a month, if you have a HD DVR hooked to broadband, or a phone line on an HD reciever you can use dish comm to avoid the $5 programming access fee on this reciever also. Or you can just get a single tuner reciever and forget the extra $5 fee if thats not possible.

As stated it is $10 a month to add HD to your package, you also might look into the $29.99 HD only package, you lose some channels from AT100 but you also gain a few and IMO all the best channels are already in HD.

subway

Jun 11, 2008

Jim5506
If covering the 119 lnb does not effect 110, then you are seeing 110 with the correct lnb, and you need to check mast plumb, skew and whether or not you have lost the 119 lnb.

The satellite is firmly mounted to the post of the deck that was just built (the post is set in concrete) moving the dish wildly and then putting in the correct coordinates I can immediately get a signal at 110. covering the 119 does not effect the 110 signal. I am thinking that the 119 lnb might be gone.

I finally broke down and called dish network on sunday and they set an appointment for Tuesday (yesterday) between 12pm and 5pm, I got the $5 a month extended warranty so the repair will cost me 29.99 (as apposed to the 79.99 fee without the warranty) I plan on canceling the warranty next month since its on a monthly basis and not a yearly contract and since the repair work the guy does is covered for 90 days.

so I took the day off yesterday and the guy just didn't show. The last couple times I needed a repairman they never show and I always have to reschedule an appointment, at which point they do finally come. I called to express my anger and rescheduled for this Friday, the explanation that they gave me was that the guy in new jersey (YES NEW JERSEY, which is about a 2-2.5hr drive one way) just didn't get the message, the guy coming this friday is coming from 2 county's south of me (about 1 hr and 40 min drive one way). There is a guy in the next town over who is a dish retailer and will fix it but for 99 bucks, I asked them to see about any reimbursement but they just won't do it.

I have checked out my two dishes and found that one dish has a twin lnb that looks like this (although i don't know how many connections there are inside) and the other lnb is single. Would it be possible for me to take the single lnb from the international dish and replace the 119 lnb on the twin by taking the twin apart and just swapping the two? I can't keep taking the day off and would rather just fix it myself.

headband
if you plug in a phone line you can avoid the $5 a month programming access fee, if you do not have a phoneline the HD DVRs can use a broadband connection, I know you said that you don't want DVR but if you can do this going to DVR advantage for $39.99 (includes programming, DVR fee and Locals) will make it cheaper

I currently have dsl since the ny cable company says my house is in Connecticut territory and the Conn cable company says im in ny territory. either way cable is not an option for the house. so when i plug in the phone line my dsl is disrupted. I may actually do either the dvr advantage setup or just the hd channel package. With just the hd package is there a receiver that has 2 hdtv outputs or is it just one hd and one sd? and its hdmi correct (one of the hdtv's is about 50 feet away and the other is about 100 ft away which could be a problem) does the receiver act as a dvr? and do they include hdmi cable with the install? Is it correct for me to assume that using a broadband connection means that I could connect an ethernet cord to the receiver and my lan and efficiently use the internet and avoid the extra fee? do you know if it'll disrupt the internet service? I could ask a dish rep but im so fed up with them right now.

I am getting very disgusted with dish network, and complaining to the csr won't help since they won't do anything/state they don't have any power to do anything. I don't mind paying 40-50 bucks a month for tv but if I can't watch tv for weeks at a time, and the representatives nullify an appointment without giving me 24 hours notice making me lose a day of work I won't be able to take it. You guys are way more helpful then anybody I've dealt with from dish network, they should pay you guys.

Although I will probably never do so I am researching the whole free to air route since then if somethings wrong I can research and fix it on my own time. I wont say more since everybody knows what im talking about and since its such an empty threat lol. Thanks alot for your help, you don't know how much you guys are keeping me from losing my sanity.

boba

Jun 11, 2008

You really haven't provided us much information on your equipment. What receiver do you have ? Is the LNBs on the dish Legacy or DP (Dish Pro)? Is the Twin exactly as picture or does it have 3 "F" fittins on it? Do you have an external switch on the deck where the international dish was joined to the national dish?

You should be able to connect the international dish directly to your receiver and using the 250 az and 24 elevation given earlier tune that dish to receive 119. Once you have gotten 119 you should be able to use the DPP Twin switch or the external switch to combine the 2 dishes to get you some reception.

subway

Jun 11, 2008

edit: someone came today and replaced the stuff, its fine now thanks

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osu1991

Pub Member / Supporter

Last reply 4 minutes ago · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Susan Saint James, Emmy-Winning Star of 'Kate & Allie' and 'McMillan & Wife,' Dies at 80

Susan Saint James, Emmy-Winning Star of ‘Kate & Allie’ and ‘McMillan & Wife,’ Dies at 80

Susan Saint James, the Emmy-winning actress who starred in "Kate & Allie," died Monday after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She was 80.

variety.com

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Bobby

Yesterday at 5:01 PM

Rest in peace.

sdfntx

Yesterday at 7:39 PM

Sorry to hear this. R.I.P.

FTA4PA

Yesterday at 8:53 PM

R.I.P.

dishstaller

4 minutes ago

My Mom was a huge McMillan & Wife fan.

RIP

dishstaller

Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter

5 minutes ago · posted in The Chit Chat Club

At least 64 dead in Spanish passenger train collision

Terrible tragedy. You would think that they would have safe guards in place that would prevent something like this from happening. I guess if you are going to ride in a passenger train it might be best to get a car near the rear.

At Least 64 Dead After Two High-Speed Trains Collide In Spain | ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

0 Replies · 0 views

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TRG

Pub Member / Supporter

Last reply 6 minutes ago · posted in Local Radio Discussion

House Passes AM Radio For Every Vehicle Act

House Passes AM Radio For Every Vehicle Act

(Washington, DC) - The U.S. House has passed the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, marking a major step forward for broadcasters and listeners who have pushed to keep AM radio available in new cars and

wabcradio.com

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Reactions: FTA4PA, Mr Tony, Howard Simmons and 2 others

dishdude

Sep 18, 2026

It's probably been 2 decades since I've listened to an AM radio station. Very rarely listen to FM any more.

Reactions: reubenray and Jimbo

dishstaller

Yesterday at 10:41 AM

dishdude said:
Very rarely listen to FM any more

That goes for a lot of people. I've been advertising on radio for more than a decade now and am very familiar with this subject. While it is still a valuable tool, it has far less impact than it did just a few years ago. The best reaction I get is from a local Country music station....they play a mix of older and newer music and have a very big footprint.

Reactions: Mr Tony

Jimbo

Yesterday at 11:03 AM

dishstaller said:
That goes for a lot of people. I've been advertising on radio for more than a decade now and am very familiar with this subject. While it is still a valuable tool, it has far less impact than it did just a few years ago. The best reaction I get is from a local Country music station....they play a mix of older and newer music and have a very big footprint.

Do you do any Ad's on Satellite ?

If Not, why not, because it's not Local ?

dishstaller

Yesterday at 12:29 PM

Jimbo said:
Do you do any Ad's on Satellite ?

If Not, why not, because it's not Local ?

No, just regular FM stations. One is the country station I mentioned and the other is a Talk Radio station which used to get fantastic results but honestly, since the death of Rush Limbaugh, talk radio just doesn't do as well. There were two guys who had an early morning show which was hugely popular here in the southeast but one of them retired a couple years ago and the show just doesn't garner the same numbers as it used to.

slow_poke_pete

Yesterday at 5:35 PM

Haven't listened AM or FM in years

harshness

6 minutes ago

Jimbo said:
If Not, why not, because it's not Local ?

You knew the answer before you asked it.

I can't recall having encountered a local ad on Sirius, and I don't imagine it is any different on XM.

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Scott Greczkowski

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge

Last reply 19 minutes ago · 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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dishstaller

Yesterday at 11:28 PM

Don't Stop Me Now - Queen

long_time_Dish

Yesterday at 11:49 PM

Don't Stop Believin' - Journey

Reactions: gms49ers and ClarkGable

ClarkGable

Today at 6:02 AM

Don't Stop - Fleetwood Mac

Reactions: gms49ers

gms49ers

45 minutes ago

Show Don't Tell - Rush

harshness

19 minutes ago

Show and Tell - Al Wilson

View all replies (68641)

Gary Toma

Staff member Pub Member / Supporter Cutting Edge

Last reply Today at 8:31 AM · posted in DIRECTV Technical Resources Forum

DIRECTV Transponder Map ~ Data 10/21/2026

The TPN Map Excel Presents all DIRECTV Channels:

National (50-States or wide/NAT+PR beams)
Local (Local-Into-Local or narrow/Spot beams)

Additional tabs provide:

OTA the (Over-The-Air) Database
VOD (Video On_Demand) Records
Offline Records
Engr Records
Net Decoder a graphic presentation of all satellites and transponders

Domestic Satellites
@99W...... D11, D14
@101W.... D16
@103W.... D12, D15
@110W.... D5
@119W.... D8

Understanding the TPN Map

Making Sense of the TPN Map Display Conventions

DIRECTV_TPN_Map_261021.xlsx 1,876 KB

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Reactions: Zakdj, Mr Tony, Tom Speer and 3 others

dtv757

Monday at 7:33 AM

For those dazn nba channels are they sat only or sat & streaming

KyL416

Monday at 1:50 PM

Both, and they just made it official with a multiyear deal that also includes TV Everywhere authentication for the DAZN app, and commercial distribution.

DIRECTV, the premier provider of digital television entertainment in the United States, and DAZN, the world's leading sports entertainment platform, today announced a new multi-year distribution agreement for local telecasts of Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, and San Antonio Spurs games for DIRECTV streaming, satellite, and U-verse customers in each team's respective NBA-designated home territories.

These DAZN telecasts will be available to DIRECTV customers who subscribe to the Choice or higher packages and to U-verse TV customers who subscribe to the U200 or higher package. Each of DAZN's team services provides live pregame, postgame, and in-game coverage for the respective team.

In the coming weeks, customers who receive access to these teams via DIRECTV will also be able to login to the DAZN platform at no additional cost using their DIRECTV login credentials.

This agreement also provides distribution rights to each of the five NBA teams to all of DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS' thousands of sports bars, restaurants, fitness clubs, and other commercial venues located within each team's respective region.

Reactions: dtv757 and Mr Tony

doctor J

Today at 7:25 AM

DirecTV Satellite Transponder Updates for Oct 28 2026

Comparison of Transponder Data for Oct 28 2026 vs Oct 21 2026:

No changes in system tables for any transponder tuning parameters.

Changes to the use of defined transponders:

1 Transponder cleared of all Streams::
Net 15 TID 12 Beam NAT is a National Transponder on D12@103ca, TPN 13

2 Previously unused Transponders with current APG records::
Net 0 TID 28 Beam NAT + PR is a National Transponder on D16@101, TPN 29
Net 10 TID 126 Beam NAT is a National Transponder on D11@99cb, TPN 3

Stream (PID) counts:

LIVE Streams	National		Spot Beams
	Count	Change	Count	Change
4K	4
HD	264		1449
SD mpeg4	144	-1	194
SD mpeg2	434	1
RB
Audio	89
Push	26
Slate	19		1

TEST Streams	National		Spot Beams
	Count	Change	Count	Change
4K
HD			1
SD mpeg4
SD mpeg2
RB
Engr Work	38

The PID count Excel workbook provides much more count detail.

Newly updated tables of Streams on each transponder are available in the DataDigesters TPN Grids

More details of changes in individual channels will follow in the Weekly Analysis
and Gary Toma's Domestic TPN Map Excel files
A few remaps
Weekly Analysis soon
Enjoy
DataDigesters

doctor J

Today at 7:26 AM

Weekly Analysis for 10/28/2026:

Weekly_Analysis_261028.xlsx 16 KB

KyL416

Today at 8:31 AM

ElectionHQ mixes testing with BBC News, CNBC, CNN, FBN, FNC, MSNOW, NewsMax and NewsNation

Some more reshuffles

Updating the TMSIDs for KSBI and KQCW to use the cable feeds with Thunder games instead of the OTA feeds

An additional commercial PPV channel is now on 9530

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Booredatwork.com

Today at 8:12 AM · posted in BooredAtWork.COM

Amazon Echo Show 16: Now this is it!

Time for another AWESOME video from BoredAtWork!

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

Direct YouTube Link - Amazon Echo Show 16: Now this is it!
Booredatwork.com Website
Booredatwork on Facebook

0 Replies · 9 views

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TFLEV

Today at 7:02 AM · posted in TFLEV

Can You ACTUALLY Use the Mazda CX-90 PHEV As an Electric Commuter? | Baseline Challenge

Time for another AWESOME video from TFL Electric Vehicles!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-HYgO5Lpa8

Direct YouTube Link - Can You ACTUALLY Use the Mazda CX-90 PHEV As an Electric Commuter? | Baseline Challenge

0 Replies · 13 views

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TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Today at 3:02 AM · posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Apple's All-New iPad mini

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtLJGwEtyT0

Direct YouTube Link - Apple's All-New iPad mini
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed

0 Replies · 19 views

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JSheridan

Lifetime Supporter

Last reply Today at 1:01 AM · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

All DMA's now Western Arc

I know HipKat said that they were working on conversions but we got the official news yesterday right from Dish that starting next month all DMA's will be on the western arc, and all customers will be assigned to that. That's gonna mean a lot of customers around here aren't gonna get Dish unless there are exceptions. Too many mountains and trees.

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Reactions: That American Girl, MikeD-C05, AkaDoubleG and 6 others

Strega

Friday at 10:01 PM

Even if you are broadcasting old SD-only shows, I would think advertisers would still want their commercials to look good.

Reactions: charlesrshell

Jimbo

Friday at 11:17 PM

Strega said:
Even if you are broadcasting old SD-only shows, I would think advertisers would still want their commercials to look good.

Advertisers on SD channels are probably Far and Few, very hard to find, they have very few viewers to watch them.

Reactions: charlesrshell

Mister B

Saturday at 7:35 AM

Jimbo said:
Advertisers on SD channels are probably Far and Few, very hard to find, they have very few viewers to watch them.

I watch mostly SD channels (H&I, Start and ION, etc.). There are plenty of advertisers, this time of the year it is mostly Medicare Advantage plans, auto extended warranties and the occasional walk-in-tub. They know who is watching.

Reactions: gasman882001, Almighty1, savarese04 and 1 other person

slow_poke_pete

Monday at 10:40 AM

Mister B said:
I watch mostly SD channels (H&I, Start and ION, etc.). There are plenty of advertisers, this time of the year it is mostly Medicare Advantage plans, auto extended warranties and the occasional walk-in-tub. They know who is watching.

can't forget the little blue m&m's

Reactions: Almighty1, charlesrshell and telstar_1

charlesrshell

Monday at 11:23 AM

slow_poke_pete said:
can't forget the little blue m&m's

That's what my wife calls my Viagra!!

Reactions: Almighty1, slow_poke_pete, MikeD-C05 and 2 others

telstar_1

Monday at 8:12 PM

Why didn't Charlie end up launching starlink

Reactions: charlesrshell

slow_poke_pete

Yesterday at 2:09 AM

charlesrshell said:
That's what my wife calls my Viagra!!

My gf is 29 years younger than me :shh

Reactions: MikeD-C05, charlesrshell and HipKat

Almighty1

Yesterday at 4:04 PM

telstar_1 said:
Why didn't Charlie end up launching starlink

He does not have the resources aka $$$ compared to Elon Musk as in reality, Elon can eat Charlie for lunch or even mop the floor with Charlie if he wanted to.

Reactions: charlesrshell

slow_poke_pete

Yesterday at 4:58 PM

ment to 20 yrs dam phone

Reactions: charlesrshell

BradleyD

Yesterday at 11:57 PM

Dish should use both satellite and internet like they do now for all channels. Use either or or both.... like now but subscribers could choose something like internet only, or sat only, or both.

Reactions: charlesrshell

slow_poke_pete

Today at 1:01 AM

BradleyD said:
Dish should use both satellite and internet like they do now for all channels. Use either or or both.... like now but subscribers could choose something like internet only, or sat only, or both.

They have sling tv wich sucks ass it needs a major upgrade

Reactions: charlesrshell

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TvMind

Last reply Yesterday at 10:02 PM · 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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arlo

Oct 20, 2026

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

Thursday 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

Thursday 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

Friday 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!

arlo

Friday at 12:02 PM

Just some rambling here. Be safe on that ladder.
Took me about 20 seconds looking at a YouTube video showing the V8 Finder in use. A spectrum analyzer display.
Well, Cool! And it can power an lnbf stand alone. More cooler.
Well there's your 5g interference wonderment solution. IF you had a spare C band lnbf. Put it on a stick and go "wardriving". If 5g towers are blowing out signals strong enough to cause interference in your dish. Well.....
And off-axis, not in the same direction as the dish is pointed? Don't exactly know.

Take a drive around and look at towers with microwave dishes bolted to them. You'll see that a large share of them do have a perimeter shield. Further diving into the likes of Andrews show shields as an optional add-on to do just what you think they should do. Block adjacent interference. Probably a good idea when multiple units are on the same, or adjacent towers. Ya' think?

Some not-so-many years ago when I dove into this whole dish antenna thing. I replaced the c/ku band corotor feed with a Titanium C2-W. Being a good boy. Assuming that the original scalar was in the proper position from day one back in the 80's. I followed instructions and stuck the unit in the hole and bolted it down at the stamped marking as per instructions. I got my first signal finally with the Zgemma H7. I was thinking "that's it?". Signal sucked.
Then I looked at how the corotor feed was located looking at the bolt marks on the tube.
It was like focusing a telescope or camera. In the end. I was getting pretty good signals. That was in the dead of winter. And I hate the cold.

A buttonhook feed support. Give a margin of adjustability versus perimeter arm scalar supports.
And a lot of reading and experimenting showed that although the scalar was probably where it should be. Isn't anymore. The focal length / fd ratio calculations probably are right. If you have a perfect parabolic dish.
Mine ain't. And its old. Most probably not a perfect parabola since it was. As well as the polar mount. Fabricated locally.
I spoke to the old guy who installed all of them here back in the heyday. Started installing Prodelin dishes.
Everyone was watching HBO and Playboy. At 3-5 grand a pop.
He told me that him and his sons made a concrete form. Finished with a plaster top coat. And started spraying resin and chopped fiberglass. Then a metal flame sprayer like is used to build up crankshafts and stuff. Finished with several more layers of 'glass. The rest. Polar mount, cast iron pole mount. Contracted locally.
That's the story. I took that old beast and if you've seen Pootie Tang. I juvenated it and then rejuvenated it.

I think that one thing to remember is that in an lnbf. All of the satellite signal amping is done in the low noise amplifier section. What signal is blown out to the coax is done in the intermediate frequency amplifier section.
So what comes in the waveguide is what it is.
I've used several receivers. Different Enigma2 images on the same receiver show different signal levels. It's a software thing. Signal calibration and display. Don't forget that. One image might not give a signal lock on a weak transponder. Fire up another? Look at the TNAP images. An option to display signal below lock.
The only real way to tell the absolute signal level you get in the house is to use a certified spectrum analyzer/service monitor.

BTW. I'm on MeTV right now. Book 'em Danno. Purposefully aimed off-axis just above the threshold of pixelation.
Only thing I see is that the sun came and the sun went. That's where I saw break up for a half hour or so.

brownsfan1

Yesterday at 9:02 PM

arlo said:
Just some rambling here. Be safe on that ladder.
Took me about 20 seconds looking at a YouTube video showing the V8 Finder in use. A spectrum analyzer display.
Well, Cool! And it can power an lnbf stand alone. More cooler.
Well there's your 5g interference wonderment solution. IF you had a spare C band lnbf. Put it on a stick and go "wardriving". If 5g towers are blowing out signals strong enough to cause interference in your dish. Well.....
And off-axis, not in the same direction as the dish is pointed? Don't exactly know.

Take a drive around and look at towers with microwave dishes bolted to them. You'll see that a large share of them do have a perimeter shield. Further diving into the likes of Andrews show shields as an optional add-on to do just what you think they should do. Block adjacent interference. Probably a good idea when multiple units are on the same, or adjacent towers. Ya' think?

Some not-so-many years ago when I dove into this whole dish antenna thing. I replaced the c/ku band corotor feed with a Titanium C2-W. Being a good boy. Assuming that the original scalar was in the proper position from day one back in the 80's. I followed instructions and stuck the unit in the hole and bolted it down at the stamped marking as per instructions. I got my first signal finally with the Zgemma H7. I was thinking "that's it?". Signal sucked.
Then I looked at how the corotor feed was located looking at the bolt marks on the tube.
It was like focusing a telescope or camera. In the end. I was getting pretty good signals. That was in the dead of winter. And I hate the cold.

A buttonhook feed support. Give a margin of adjustability versus perimeter arm scalar supports.
And a lot of reading and experimenting showed that although the scalar was probably where it should be. Isn't anymore. The focal length / fd ratio calculations probably are right. If you have a perfect parabolic dish.
Mine ain't. And its old. Most probably not a perfect parabola since it was. As well as the polar mount. Fabricated locally.
I spoke to the old guy who installed all of them here back in the heyday. Started installing Prodelin dishes.
Everyone was watching HBO and Playboy. At 3-5 grand a pop.
He told me that him and his sons made a concrete form. Finished with a plaster top coat. And started spraying resin and chopped fiberglass. Then a metal flame sprayer like is used to build up crankshafts and stuff. Finished with several more layers of 'glass. The rest. Polar mount, cast iron pole mount. Contracted locally.
That's the story. I took that old beast and if you've seen Pootie Tang. I juvenated it and then rejuvenated it.

I think that one thing to remember is that in an lnbf. All of the satellite signal amping is done in the low noise amplifier section. What signal is blown out to the coax is done in the intermediate frequency amplifier section.
So what comes in the waveguide is what it is.
I've used several receivers. Different Enigma2 images on the same receiver show different signal levels. It's a software thing. Signal calibration and display. Don't forget that. One image might not give a signal lock on a weak transponder. Fire up another? Look at the TNAP images. An option to display signal below lock.
The only real way to tell the absolute signal level you get in the house is to use a certified spectrum analyzer/service monitor.

BTW. I'm on MeTV right now. Book 'em Danno. Purposefully aimed off-axis just above the threshold of pixelation.
Only thing I see is that the sun came and the sun went. That's where I saw break up for a half hour or so.

Well summing it up in one word...success! I spent about 2 hours tweaking the feed. Found I was almost 2 inches too far from the actual focal length. Plus adjusting the skew just a hair made a big difference. I measured 3 points around the dish from the edge to the outside of the scalar ring. One side measured 51 inches and the other 53, Adjusting the button hook feed I was able to get it 52 inches all the way around the dish perimeter to the scalar. I had my doubts this would fix anything but when I turned on the satellite finder I had all the channels in the MeTV mux coming in clear! No more fading away different times of the day and night. Plus the Jewelry channels are all solid also. I'm just wondering...did this just give me more signal to overcome the interference or did properly aligning the feed effectively "blocked out" the 5G interference? Sort of wondering about sidelobes in the old parabolic antenna manuals of the 80s. Just happy to have things working correctly now. Thanks to all who helped especially to Arlo who spent a lot of time commenting to me. Best regards!

Reactions: Keith Brannen, SDA_FL_USA, arlo and 1 other person

primestar31

Yesterday at 9:07 PM

brownsfan1 said:
Well summing it up in one word...success! I spent about 2 hours tweaking the feed. Found I was almost 2 inches too far from the actual focal length. Plus adjusting the skew just a hair made a big difference. I measured 3 points around the dish from the edge to the outside of the scalar ring. One side measured 51 inches and the other 53, Adjusting the button hook feed I was able to get it 52 inches all the way around the dish perimeter to the scalar. I had my doubts this would fix anything but when I turned on the satellite finder I had all the channels in the MeTV mux coming in clear! No more fading away different times of the day and night. Plus the Jewelry channels are all solid also. I'm just wondering...did this just give me more signal to overcome the interference or did properly aligning the feed effectively "blocked out" the 5G interference? Sort of wondering about sidelobes in the old parabolic antenna manuals of the 80s. Just happy to have things working correctly now. Thanks to all who helped especially to Arlo who spent a lot of time commenting to me. Best regards!

Do NOT mess with it anymore just "trying to get it a tiny bit better" than you just got it... I've been through that HELL more times then I'd want to admit.

Reactions: Keith Brannen, cyberham and SDA_FL_USA

arlo

Yesterday at 10:02 PM

Very cool there Brown's. My intentions are good. Sometimes tact....not so much.
I'm glad you could read through the nebula of gunk.
If I can dig through my pictures directory you might pick-up a few things I've done to and made to get as perfect alignment as possible. Your journey shows how a bit of common sense and experimentation while using known guides as a starting point (at least). The phone book just isn't full of big dish service providers like way way back.

To help. A true parabola will converge all incident rays. Light, RF. At one single point. You kind of answered your question. Two inches too close/far from the convergence point (focus) degrades signal strength. If you ever get a chance to examine a telescope. The eyepiece is on a rack. You can adjust the position of the eyepiece distance from the objective. Depending on the eyepiece. The sharpest focus is only at one finely adjusted distance.
Make sense?
And for a telescope made with mirrors. The ultimate eyepiece aim. Imagining a tiny spot right in the center of the glass lens. Will be aimed exactly at the center of the mirror. A small mirror, prism, adjustment screws assists in attaining that perfect place where a star way way back in time shows as a perfect spot. Not an ellipse, etc.
Yeah.

Who knows about the 5g thing? Did your tweaks optimize where the receiver finally got enough usable DVB signal to lock onto them and reject 5g? The crowded room full of drunks thing?

Edit:
Yeah that tiny little bit can drive you nuts.The best and only way is to find a weak transponder on a sat that doesn't "swamp" signal levels. With a matching opposite polarity having close to the same signal level.
There will be a lot of tweaking with an extended arm and......thick cotton gloves. Your body, extremities, close to the lnbf will effect signals. Then just when you think you got it. In your case. Climb down the ladder and get out of the way to see what becomes.
I got obsessed and was out there in 10 degree winter on a step ladder on clear nights.
Tweaking elevation, azimuth, declination. Unbolted actuator gearbox and vice grips. Trying to get the best of the best tracking. Adding those porch rail stainless steel turnbuckles and catv messenger wire from the rim to the scalar to bring 'er back into kilter did wonders. Don't be me. Watch MeTV!