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freezy

Last reply Jun 12, 2009 · posted in Free To Air (FTA) Discussion

Invacom QWPH-031 weight issue solution

if this weighs so much could we just run a couple stainless fishing leaders from the lnb yoke to the edge of the dish and attach with a couple screws

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Smith P.

Jun 8, 2009

Still flimsy - wires are bad for holding LNBF on place - it's hold only one direction : down, but allow to move up/left/right; better use struts.

B.J.

Jun 8, 2009

Smith said:
Still flimsy - wires are bad for holding LNBF on place - it's hold only one direction : down, but allow to move up/left/right; better use struts.

That may be the case if the lnbf is in the right place already, but I guarantee that isn't the case with my lnbf, since I had to stress it with probably 10 lbs of tension to pull the lnbf up into position. So it isn't moving in ANY direction, despite the apparent slack look of the wires. The wire is pretty heavy duty wire, and even 10 lbs tension didn't straighten out the kinks.

But even if you didn't have the lnbf in the wrong position, if the reason for the wires is to compensate for the extra weight, then all the force is down anyway, so I don't see a problem with using wires. Bottom line, it's a cheap solution, and struts might be better, but it can't be worse than not having them.

AcWxRadar

Jun 8, 2009

B.J. said:
That may be the case if the lnbf is in the right place already, but I guarantee that isn't the case with my lnbf, since I had to stress it with probably 10 lbs of tension to pull the lnbf up into position. So it isn't moving in ANY direction, despite the apparent slack look of the wires. The wire is pretty heavy duty wire, and even 10 lbs tension didn't straighten out the kinks.

But even if you didn't have the lnbf in the wrong position, if the reason for the wires is to compensate for the extra weight, then all the force is down anyway, so I don't see a problem with using wires. Bottom line, it's a cheap solution, and struts might be better, but it can't be worse than not having them.

B.J.

My brother ran into a case with a brand new dish where the LNBF support arm was not correctly formed (the bend where the arm passes under the lower perimeter of the dish was not fully complete). No wire or struts would have corrected this. He physically had to finish the bend that was not done fully at the factory.

This was not a difficult task, but if it is your first NEW dish, how would you know that it was wrong without going through a lot of frustration. This was on a Winegard DS-2076 dish. The LNBF support arm on that dish cleared the bottom perimeter of the reflector plate by 2-3 inches. On my dish, it barely cleared it by 3/8". We soon picked up on this difference and corrected his dish by bending the arm properly (completely). That dish is still in use somewhere and doing fine now.

A person has to watch out for these quirks.

RADAR

B.J.

Jun 8, 2009

AcWxRadar said:
B.J.

My brother ran into a case with a brand new dish where the LNBF support arm was not correctly formed (the bend where the arm passes under the lower perimeter of the dish was not fully complete). No wire or struts would have corrected this. He physically had to finish the bend that was not done fully at the factory.

This was not a difficult task, but if it is your first NEW dish, how would you know that it was wrong without going through a lot of frustration. This was on a Winegard DS-2076 dish. The LNBF support arm on that dish cleared the bottom perimeter of the reflector plate by 2-3 inches. On my dish, it barely cleared it by 3/8". We soon picked up on this difference and corrected his dish by bending the arm properly (completely). That dish is still in use somewhere and doing fine now.

A person has to watch out for these quirks.

RADAR

I found out that my support arm was bent before I ever put it up, via aiming at the sun with mirrors, however I was reluctant to bend a brand new dish, and it seemed to work OK even though in the wrong place. But I finally got fed up, and put it in the right place, and I did improve the reception a bit.

Re the previous post about trying guy wires to support a dish on a pole, yeah, I had a friend who put a 10' dish on a PVC pole, and he tried to secure that with steel cables, and it just pulled the anchors right out of the ground. Didn't come close to working.

AcWxRadar

Jun 8, 2009

B.J. said:
I found out that my support arm was bent before I ever put it up, via aiming at the sun with mirrors, however I was reluctant to bend a brand new dish, and it seemed to work OK even though in the wrong place. But I finally got fed up, and put it in the right place, and I did improve the reception a bit.

Re the previous post about trying guy wires to support a dish on a pole, yeah, I had a friend who put a 10' dish on a PVC pole, and he tried to secure that with steel cables, and it just pulled the anchors right out of the ground. Didn't come close to working.

It is amazing the circumstances that we find in this hobby. Even little things that do not seem all that important on the surface can make the difference in what channels a person can receive.

I may be quite anal about my dish and motor alignment procedures. But, I think that my persistence and dedication is paying off quite well. This is great!

I only have two snares that I cannot seem to fix. RTN on 83 and the interference from Video-1 and Estrela do Sul @ 63.0W being very weak (69% Q).

Everything else is coming in with quality (on a CS 5K) in the 88-98% range. This is very good in my opinion.

I would like to chat further about other issues, but I hate to hijack Freezy's post any further. Some of this information is related to his issue, but I don't wish to go beyond that.

We will have to discuss this more in another post, I believe.

RADAR

B.J.

Jun 8, 2009

AcWxRadar said:
...
I only have two snares that I cannot seem to fix. RTN on 83 and the interference from Video-1 and Estrela do Sul @ 63.0W being very weak (69% Q).

Everything else is coming in with quality ...

I haven't had any problems with RTN. It's been solid, as has Video-1/LEO. My theory is that blind scan receiver have a problem with that, while non-blind scan receivers can handle the nearby channels, but that's just a guess.
The Estrela do Sul thing really annoys me. For years, I've been tuning that sat in, getting the DCII channels there, but since i have a 4200 that requires about 50 some keystrokes to tune the DCII channels, I seldom went there. THEN, the DCII channels changed to DVB, so it was convenient to tune them in.... but 3 pine trees grew up, and blocked me. I can't get a hint of a signal off that sat anymore. Good news is that my wife want's to install a barn, that will require those 3 pine trees to GO AWAY. So I may get that sat back if we decide to go through with the barn.
Actually, there were 5 pine trees, and I already took down 2 of them, in order to get AMC6 back since I had lost NASA and the MSNBC channels, but there are still about 3 of them blocking T14 (which is what the North American sat users calls Estrela do Sul).

AcWxRadar

Jun 9, 2009

B.J. said:
I haven't had any problems with RTN. It's been solid, as has Video-1/LEO. My theory is that blind scan receiver have a problem with that, while non-blind scan receivers can handle the nearby channels, but that's just a guess.
The Estrela do Sul thing really annoys me. For years, I've been tuning that sat in, getting the DCII channels there, but since i have a 4200 that requires about 50 some keystrokes to tune the DCII channels, I seldom went there. THEN, the DCII channels changed to DVB, so it was convenient to tune them in.... but 3 pine trees grew up, and blocked me. I can't get a hint of a signal off that sat anymore. Good news is that my wife want's to install a barn, that will require those 3 pine trees to GO AWAY. So I may get that sat back if we decide to go through with the barn.
Actually, there were 5 pine trees, and I already took down 2 of them, in order to get AMC6 back since I had lost NASA and the MSNBC channels, but there are still about 3 of them blocking T14 (which is what the North American sat users calls Estrela do Sul).

Hello Again B.J.

Great to chat with you! I am about done for the evening, but I wanted to say goodnight to you before I left the forum.

I find it great to chat with you and the other members. We certainly must keep this dialog going. Talk to you soon?
\
Take care B.J.

Gordy (RADAR)

freezy

Jun 12, 2009

I got my Invacom QWPH-031 today. Wow this thing weighs 5 times as much as my single linear only. My cheapo d-wave dish is able to hold it w/out any extra support...thank goodness.

I did get it from an ebay seller. I need to go back and read the "how to tell if you have a clone" but so far it's working very nice.

Skew isn't dead center at zero at my straight south bird but a 3 degree variance seems ok.

sw21 between the motor and lnb..right?

AcWxRadar

Jun 12, 2009

freezy said:
I got my Invacom QWPH-031 today. Wow this thing weighs 5 times as much as my single linear only. My cheapo d-wave dish is able to hold it w/out any extra support...thank goodness.

I did get it from an ebay seller. I need to go back and read the "how to tell if you have a clone" but so far it's working very nice.

Skew isn't dead center at zero at my straight south bird but a 3 degree variance seems ok.

sw21 between the motor and lnb..right?

LOL! Yeah, it is heavy, but remeber there are four LNBFs inside!

As for a switch, yes it should be inserted between the motor and the LNBF for best results. I have done it otherwise and made it work, but it isn't recommended. An SW21 switch may not always be supported by the receiver. Most true FTA receivers will only support DiSEqC and 22KHz switch types, so research your receiver's specs before you buy the switch.

Just thought you would like to know that in advance.

RADAR

FTABman0

Jun 12, 2009

I robbed the support struts off my 90 CM 3ABN dish and fitted to my 80CM Fortec Star dish for extra support!

Worked out great, added a bracket from Lowes, now there is room for one more LNB on the other side!

Now, there is no weight issue!! :up

K E V I N

Fortec Star 80CM Mod With A-shine Arms.JPG

B.J.

Jun 12, 2009

AcWxRadar said:
LOL! Yeah, it is heavy, but remeber there are four LNBFs inside!

....

Assuming that we're talking QPH-031 rather than QWPH-031...

Has anyone taken one of these things apart to see how they work?
There certainly aren't 4 "LNBFs" there, since the "F" of that acronym is a feedhorn. Ie only one feedhorn. But after that, I'm curious re how it works. Ie how many probes inside. I assume that there are probably only 2 or perhaps 4 probes, and that the electronics do magic with phasing of the signals from those. I can understand how a multiport circular or linear lnbf can function, but am a bit curious re how they get both circular and linear from one feed.
But re the weight of the thing, seems like the feedhorn part should be the same, and perhaps an extra set of probes at the end of the waveguide, but it seems likely that the main extra hardware required would be 4 sets of electronics for the amp/converter. So the circuit board would have to be bigger, but those things are so miniaturized, that it sure doesn't seem like that could account for the weight. I almost think that a large part of the extra weight would be due to just the need for 4 f connectors?

One question I have about the LNBF, and I think I'll experiment with this once the rain stops and the dragonflies come out and eat these darn mosquitos, but I have always used my 2 QPH-031 with a DiseqC switch, such that only one port get's power at any one time. I'm curious relative to how the performance changes when power is applied to more than one port at a time? Ie is there any problem with leakage of signal from the circular ports into the linear, or from one polarization into the other? I have used mine with one linear port connected to a receiver, and the other linear port going to a signal meter that provides power, but I'm pretty sure that when I did this, I was on horizontal polarity on both ports. Anyway, just curious whether anyone uses one of those multi switches that would power up all the ports, and could compare performance between using only one port vs using all ports?

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dfergie

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!

Last reply 19 minutes ago · posted in TV Shows

Stargate SG-1 Discussion

Stargate SG-1 cancelled, Atlantis renewed

Monday - August 21, 2006 | by Darren Sumner

The future of Stargate is in question today, as SCI FI Channel has cancelled the long-running Stargate SG-1, Multichannel News reported today and a GateWorld source has confirmed. The news regrettably follows the airing of the show's milestone two-hundredth episode on Friday.

Stargate Atlantis, meanwhile, has been renewed for a fourth season, with the network hoping to see that the spin-off series can stand alone, according to a source.
Source Gateworld

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reubenray

Yesterday at 1:30 PM

I have gotten back into watching SG-1 and I have recorded most of the episodes to binge watch. What episodes are about the Antarctic or was this a movie? Also where could I watch the SG-1 movies?

osu1991

Yesterday at 2:00 PM

Watch Stargate SG-1 for Free Online | Pluto TV

Stargate SG-1 picks up where the blockbuster film left off as the SG-1 team sets out to explore the mysteries of the Stargate and the worlds beyond it in the pulse-pounding series which became a worldwide phenomenon and a science fiction classic. Stream Stargate SG-1 for free on Pluto TV.

pluto.tv

long_time_Dish

Yesterday at 3:47 PM

reubenray said:
I have gotten back into watching SG-1 and I have recorded most of the episodes to binge watch. What episodes are about the Antarctic or was this a movie? Also where could I watch the SG-1 movies?

Well, there are a couple involving the Antarctic. "Solitudes", S1 E17 (one of my favorites), Then, "Lost City', S7 E21 and E22. Then, in the SGA pilot, "Rising", S1 E1 and E2, it starts out in the Antarctic for about the first 20 minutes or so.

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reubenray

Yesterday at 3:54 PM

long_time_Dish said:
Well, there are a couple involving the Antarctic. "Solitudes", S1 E17 (one of my favorites), Then, "Lost City', S7 E21 and E22. Then, in the SGA pilot, "Rising", S1 E1 and E2, it starts out in the Antarctic for about the first 20 minutes or so.

Which one has O'Neil being Ancients? I am at the end of Season 8 now.

long_time_Dish

Yesterday at 8:36 PM

reubenray said:
Which one has O'Neil being Ancients? I am at the end of Season 8 now.

If I understand your question, O'Neill had the Ancient's knowledge in the "Lost City" two-part episode. That was when Anubis attacked Earth and there was a big battle over Antarctica.

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reubenray

19 minutes ago

long_time_Dish said:
If I understand your question, O'Neill had the Ancient's knowledge in the "Lost City" two-part episode. That was when Anubis attacked Earth and there was a big battle over Antarctica.

Those are the episodes I am looking for. They are referred to a lot in the episodes I just recently watched.

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TFLEV

32 minutes ago · posted in TFLEV

2027 BMW iX5 Walkaround & Review // They Have To Get This One Right!

Time for another AWESOME video from TFL Electric Vehicles!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ca9w7HnuXg

Direct YouTube Link - 2027 BMW iX5 Walkaround & Review // They Have To Get This One Right!

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TVHabit

Last reply Today at 6:42 AM · posted in Free To Air (FTA) Discussion

Hybrid Dish setup

Picked up a sweet directv dish, mount, twin lnbs and a short cable.
Has anyone converted one to FTA? A Frankenstein of sorts...

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Brct203

Oct 13, 2026

would probably also work well for NHK on 101W and possibly for PBS on 99W. I used one for a while on 30W. Just keep in mind that because it's undersized for those satellites, it might work fine in clear weather but won't have much margin to account for signal degradation during rain/snow

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one_db_compression

Oct 13, 2026

If you can find one, the Shaw / Star Choice 75e ellipticals are great for use on 97, 99, and 101W. They are really just rebranded ChannelMaster 75 cm reflectors and use linear LNBFs by default out of the box.

Everyone else's mileage may vary.

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TVHabit

Sunday at 10:12 AM

I have read that some have converted this type dish but after giving it a good look, it's the lnb conversion that is the bottleneck. Does anyone have a picture of their attempt to configure the lnb? I watched a video on youtube from the save it for parts guy and he used duct tape! Guess it worked but I'm thinking something a bit more permanent!
Thanks to all for your interest and replies...

Titanium

Sunday at 3:38 PM

Many of us have used a universal LNBF mount (or get creative with L brackets and plumbers tape - perforated metal strapping). Use a few inches of aluminum tube (or a piece of 1x2" lumber) to extend the support arm (replacing the plastic mount used by DirecTV and Dish) to place the LNBF throat opening at the correct distance from the reflector, the correct height and at the correct angle. Nothing magical... simply place the new linear LNBF in the center at the same distance, height and angle as the current combo.
www.amazon.com/Universal-Single-Bracket-Holder-FTA-US/dp/B074L85WK2

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k4otl

Today at 6:42 AM

To add: 101W Ku seems to be (one of if not the) strongest for me, and if I only had Ku I definitely want 101W for the music mux, it's robust FEC and strong signal help a lot. I've thought about using a used Dish/DirectTV dish at my Dads to supplement his OTA (mainly for my benefit when I visit

)

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Scott Greczkowski

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge

Last reply Today at 5:59 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 8:29 PM

Give A Little Bit - Supertramp

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Yesterday at 10:11 PM

Little Wing - Jimi Hendrix

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Today at 12:54 AM

With A Little Luck - Wings

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LITTLE Willy-Sweet

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Today at 5:59 AM

Little Deuce Coupe - The Beach Boys

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meStevo

Lifetime Supporter

Last reply Yesterday at 11:25 PM · posted in The Sports Section

NFL 2026-2027 Season

Schedule drops tomorrow. Mandatory mini camps in June. Hall of Fame game August 6th.

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meStevo

Yesterday at 11:40 AM

Hurts done for the season now

View: https://x.com/RapSheet/status/2112185275862417814

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Foxbat

Yesterday at 6:19 PM

I guess even the patience of us laid-back Hoosiers has its limits:

Colts relieve general manager Chris Ballard of his duties

Colts Owner & CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon released a statement Monday announcing the news.

www.colts.com

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rvvaquero

Yesterday at 9:00 PM

Foxbat said:
I guess even the patience of us laid-back Hoosiers has its limits:

Colts relieve general manager Chris Ballard of his duties

Colts Owner & CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon released a statement Monday announcing the news.

www.colts.com

Be nice to see a Cowboy headline like that.

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Mike0616

Yesterday at 9:35 PM

Foxbat said:
I guess even the patience of us laid-back Hoosiers has its limits:

Colts relieve general manager Chris Ballard of his duties

Colts Owner & CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon released a statement Monday announcing the news.

www.colts.com

Can we expect to see a new coach if we say "pretty please?"

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Foxbat

Yesterday at 11:25 PM

Jeeez, Week 6, no lead is safe…

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Peter Parker

Supporting Founder Lifetime Supporter

Last reply Yesterday at 10:34 PM · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

DISH Hopper 3 Software Version 713 Is Out

No idea what improvements might be involved.

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naptime

Sunday at 1:05 AM

I'm getting fabulous picture on Ch. 148 4k, but zero audio with H713. This is with a recorded show (Notre Dame game). Anyone else have this? Audio is fine on every other channel.

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jsmit86

Yesterday at 9:57 AM

naptime said:
I'm getting fabulous picture on Ch. 148 4k, but zero audio with H713. This is with a recorded show (Notre Dame game). Anyone else have this? Audio is fine on every other channel.

It's a known issue.
For a temporary fix, go into the menu, Audio, and turn Dolby Audio "OFF". You will have PCM stereo audio.

I was able to give the tech ops team some data logs so they could diagnose the problem, and they rolled me back to H708 temporarily. It fixed that issue.

They let me know that they understand what caused the issue, and it will be fixed within a few weeks in a new update.

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long_time_Dish

Yesterday at 3:57 PM

jsmit86 said:
They let me know that they understand what caused the issue, and it will be fixed within a few weeks in a new update.

Oh, you mean "soon"? :biggrin

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Almighty1

Yesterday at 4:07 PM

jsmit86 said:
It's a known issue.
For a temporary fix, go into the menu, Audio, and turn Dolby Audio "OFF". You will have PCM stereo audio.

I was able to give the tech ops team some data logs so they could diagnose the problem, and they rolled me back to H708 temporarily. It fixed that issue.

They let me know that they understand what caused the issue, and it will be fixed within a few weeks in a new update.

I guess they will be busy when lots of people start asking for rollbacks to H708 now that you mention that downgrades of software does exist because it will likely fix the OTA Single Tuner and the IR Remote problems in H710-H713.

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navychop

Yesterday at 5:53 PM

Almighty1 said:
it will likely fix the OTA Single Tuner

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dishstaller

Yesterday at 10:34 PM

Almighty1 said:
it will likely fix the OTA Single Tuner

Oh....you were serious

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iJustine

Yesterday at 10:22 PM · posted in iJustine

This is iPhone Duo!

Time for another AWESOME video from iJustine!

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/P4_TzYKwcNY

Direct YouTube Link - This is iPhone Duo!
The official iJustine Website's Website
Buy her book!

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TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Yesterday at 10:22 PM · posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Generative AI: Revolutionizing Game NPC Dialogue & Behavior? #shorts

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-O2iLThF4z8

Direct YouTube Link - Generative AI: Revolutionizing Game NPC Dialogue & Behavior? #shorts
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed

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teachsac

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!

Last reply Yesterday at 10:14 PM · posted in TV Shows

S.W.A.T. Exiles (Starz)

Hondo is back with a new squad 9/25 only on Starz.

View: https://m.youtube.com/shorts/b0gPzA8KHEQ

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klang

Aug 1, 2026

Never watched the previous shows, so doubtful.

dfergie

Sep 2, 2026

View: https://youtu.be/wRbxI9muoIw?is=uM9d0DhDKRao_kA3

teachsac

Yesterday at 8:19 AM

Started watching yesterday. Not too bad.

Scott Greczkowski

Yesterday at 8:55 AM

Wife likes it.

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teachsac

Yesterday at 10:14 PM

I like Zyra from La Brea (one with the prosthetic).

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TvMind

Last reply Yesterday at 9:22 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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cyberham

Sep 30, 2026

With the microHD connected this afternoon and tuned to the Weigel mux, I can receive the mux well.

My conclusion is that the sensitivity of the receivers in descending order of sensitivity is as follows:

V9 Prime (best)
microHD
Edision osmio4k+

Either the V9 or the microHD could be used to watch Weigel but the Edision really could not with my given dish situation, at least during the daytime. At night, the signal is stronger here and then maybe the Edision could be used.

Titanium

Oct 1, 2026

What is the SNR readings for these transponders? Is the signal breaking up due to low SNR or interference?

Did you inspect the feedhorn throat and wave guide for wasp nest or other blockage? Good SNR with frequent drops in decoding ( loss of SQ readings) could indicate interference from 5G.

TvMind

Oct 13, 2026

Appreciate you checking. I should be picking these up with the tenner so still not done tuning up the bud - fell off ladder last week and hit my head!

Started over from scratch, N/S alignment, El/Decl extreme West sat, played with feed f/d checking everything and getting nice signals but still 101 west is PIA. New lnb was defective and returned it. My old one is fine but would have liked to A/B with a better lnb.

Thought it was the servo there because I was out and set everything up by the dish and flipping to HOR made a strange noise -BUT ONLY on 101 W ! All other sats skew is fine..hmm ( I have the skew almost perfect, use "Arrow" template on Zenith Sat (well nothing on 74 W to check with but Nimiq 5 at 72.6 W is closest and luckily picking up R- Pol channel from Canada to test with. Anyway picking up a new servo to try (the obvious polarity culprit).

Q. Back in the day PAS9 (74 W) was used but now I have to use closest zenith sat (Nimiq 5). I can't perfectly peak on that one which is 1 degree off (N/S alignment error). I used my trusty Brunton compass and even true noon shadow off pole to hit south.

I did have to peak extreme west by rotating mount ever so slighty so tracking extreme pretty good, but top and middle can use an elevation tweak (esp. Ku) to bring them back to where they were. No fun as the weather has been miserable and still dizzy from fall.

Oh and the Freesat V8 is crap (the tuner pixelates when the uHD is solid!) but love that SCART connector for S-Video out ! (I record to my Pio DVR and burn to DVD classic tv shows).

Stay tuned

cyberham said:
With the microHD connected this afternoon and tuned to the Weigel mux, I can receive the mux well.

TvMind

Oct 13, 2026

Titanium said:
Did you inspect the feedhorn throat and wave guide for wasp nest or other blockage? Good SNR with frequent drops in decoding ( loss of SQ readings) could indicate interference from 5G.

Thanks for chiming in here. No wasps (or hornets nests) but good suggestion.

I am getting 70 and over Quality on uHD which is good but as you say the signal drops out (70 to 0 ) occasionally and much worse by day (even JTV which I used to get solid is a mess in the day. Again Daystar (VER) is fine but still not what it used to be.

I will will either have to get a BPF or go VHF/UHF for these channels but not giving up just yet!

p.s. Isn't there something between your feedhorn/lnbf BPF model and Norsat's 1500$ BPF and 5G filtering lnb's? Heck almost ready for a diy (reverse engineer) job here (microwave BPF hack) Ah where is Radio Electronics when you need it! If it wasn't for losing Ku I'd buy your lnbf in a heartbeat! Are these hard to add Ku to?

Titanium

Wednesday at 1:19 PM

Our LNBFs are integrated with the feedhorn and no KU option. Maybe install an inline waveguide BPF such as:

www.ebay.com/itm/158077455896
www.ebay.com/itm/960059145385
www.ebay.com/itm/158007483799

brownsfan1

Yesterday 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!

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