Social Feed

R
Last reply · posted in DIRECTV General Forum
I am trying install a new dish myself and upgrade from my existing standard dish. Can anyone give me the main obstacles of installing the new HD slimline dish. I got a HD DVR and the Dish from a friend who moved. So I really do not want to pay for someone to install the new dish for me.

Any suggestions would be very appreciated. I currently have my dish installed on a 2ndry roof that is over a kitchen sun room. It faces direclty to the SW and has no obstructions.

Do I need to get a sat finder? Thanks!!!!!
6 Replies · 66319 views
E
It would be a good idea to use a sat finder, preferably one that can be set the ber to log format for fine tuning...........ka band requires precise pointing..........get your mast level and plumb, be sure you catch a truss line with your center holes......this is not optional! Also be sure you use both monopoles for added support........tighten collar bolts enough to take the play out of it but loose enough to still easily turn, set elevation, and tighten inside nut on elevation adjustment, leave two outside nuts loose.....rotate back and forth to find your high point, and then lock down collar bolts......turn elevation adjustment on dither with 1/2 inch nutdriver to obtain highest strength, once you peak, set tick dial to zero and then make two full rotations counter clockwise.....record what your signal is......then begin rotating dial clockwise, carefully tracking number of turns down to the tenth, passing your original start point and stopping when you get to exact low point you hit when making the first two rotations counter clockwise, now take the number of turns it required to reach this point (for example maybe you went two to the left, and then had to go 5 to the right to get to the same low point, 5 would be the number we want) now divide that number in half and after setting dial back to zero again, turn counter clockwise until you get to that half number of rations, 2 1/2 by my example........lock down elevation bolts....then follow same process for azimuth after loosing two nuts under front of dither mechanism........hope this helps.........skew can usually be preset, but may need to adjust to peak out 119.....
Jimbo
It would be a good idea to use a sat finder, preferably one that can be set the ber to log format for fine tuning...........ka band requires precise pointing..........get your mast level and plumb, be sure you catch a truss line with your center holes......this is not optional! Also be sure you use both monopoles for added support........tighten collar bolts enough to take the play out of it but loose enough to still easily turn, set elevation, and tighten inside nut on elevation adjustment, leave two outside nuts loose.....rotate back and forth to find your high point, and then lock down collar bolts......turn elevation adjustment on dither with 1/2 inch nutdriver to obtain highest strength, once you peak, set tick dial to zero and then make two full rotations counter clockwise.....record what your signal is......then begin rotating dial clockwise, carefully tracking number of turns down to the tenth, passing your original start point and stopping when you get to exact low point you hit when making the first two rotations counter clockwise, now take the number of turns it required to reach this point (for example maybe you went two to the left, and then had to go 5 to the right to get to the same low point, 5 would be the number we want) now divide that number in half and after setting dial back to zero again, turn counter clockwise until you get to that half number of rations, 2 1/2 by my example........lock down elevation bolts....then follow same process for azimuth after loosing two nuts under front of dither mechanism........hope this helps.........skew can usually be preset, but may need to adjust to peak out 119.....

Nice post EricS :)

Jimbo
T
Trying to turn an adjustment bolt one way, then another then divide and split the difference can be very hard if you are not familier with satellite dishes. It can take at least 1 complete turn of the rod to take up the slack before the dish begins to move, which throws off your whole calculation. That method looks great on a training video, and many will swear by it. I am even sure that with enough experiance someone might get pretty good using that method, but after being called to a lot of homes and having re-fine tune 5-LNB dishes that were "professionally installed" by DTV, I have my doubts that it reliably works 100% of the time.

Having a meter is fine to get you roughed in, but you will have to measure the actually signal quality level to nail down the best spot. If you want to buy a $300+ meter to do this, then go ahead. Otherwise you will need to rough-in your signal and then use the receivers built in meter. This meter does not measure the strength of the signal but rather the quality of the data stream. Yes a stronger signal usually yields a better signal quality, but not always.

There are four basic ways to adjust your dish using the receivers meter.

1) The yelling back and forth method (AKA the relationship killer) - Not recommended

2) Cranking the volume up on the TV so you can hear it at your dish location. OK, if your dish is close enough. Even better if you can see your TV.

3) Running a coax from the receiver to a TV co-located at the dish, also works, although a little awkward in bad weather

4) My favorite trick, Use two-way radios or even a baby monitor. Turn the volume up on the TV a little and set one radio to voice activate. Use the other radio to listen to the signal quality level as you make VERY SMALL movements on the dish.

Start off with everything snuggled down. Using one finger, apply slight pressure to the dish to push it left to right and up and down. You will need to wait 1-3 seconds before the receivers signal meter responds, this is because the receiver has to process the data. A true signal level meter responses immediately because it is not processing data. It is only measuring the strength of the signal and the quality of the data stream.
Once you have an idea of which way the dish has to go, loosen the bolts only enough to allow you to move the dish. If you loosen too much, the dish will flop around. Keep the bolts snug and slop free.
Once you have the best signal quality carefully secure all bolts. Then, check your dish by shaking the dish pretty hard. It is not uncommon for a dish mount to tighten in such a manner that it can slip to a new position when under stress. I call this the shake down test.
E
Actually on the slim line there is no slack in the dither adjustment bolts, and the point of making two rotations as opposed to one, counterclockwise, is to compensate for any play.........the idea is to find a drop point one direction, find the matching drop point the other, and then split the difference.........one thing you said is accurate, just because it was proffessionally installed doesn't mean it is set properly, lol........as a factory tech I can vouch for that point.......
J
Hey Todd,
I have used all those methods. My personal favorite is the baby monitor because you can leave it on while you work and the cx often forgets it is broadcasting their conversations.........got a cool stories.
Awhile ago I picked up the trick of tuning the 23 transponder on the 101 sat and this gave peaked signals on the 119 ,110 & 101........from these I have been able to dibble in the other two sats. Until yesterday.
No amount of tuning gave me any signal on transponders 23,25 or 29 on the 119 while installing an H 20-600 through a 5 lnb ka/ku non slimline. All the channels were there including the HDs & HD locals. Have there been changes up there? Is it a goofy box? Should I retweak the dish?

Joe
Bobby
Supporting Founder Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
This is a thread that will keep you apprised of 4K events that will be showing on Dish channel 540. Keep looking here for information.

As of today, 9-27-17, there are no scheduled events posted for the next 2 weeks. That is subject to change on a daily basis.
763 Replies · 167355 views
Bobby
CFB, Notre Dame at BYU, Saturday 10-27, 4:30PM PDT, Channel 148-03.
Bobby
NASCAR, Freeway Insurance 500, Sunday 10-18, 12PM PDT, Channel 148-04.
Bobby
CFB, Ohio State at Indiana, Saturday 10-17, 9AM PDT, Channel 148-01.
CFB, Arizona State at Texas Tech, Saturday 10-17, 12:30PM PDT, Channel 148-01.
Bobby
CFB, Ole Miss at Texas, Saturday 10-24, 4:30PM PDT, Channel 148-03.
  • Like
Reactions: charlesrshell
Bobby
CFB, Indiana at Michigan, Saturday 10-24, 9AM PDT, Channel 148-01.
CFB, BYU at UCF, Saturday 10-24, 12:30PM PDT, Channel 148-01.
meStevo
Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Sports Section
Schedule drops tomorrow. Mandatory mini camps in June. Hall of Fame game August 6th.
119 Replies · 1901 views
  • Like
Reactions: Jimbo and dfergie
Foxbat
I guess even the patience of us laid-back Hoosiers has its limits:
rvvaquero
I guess even the patience of us laid-back Hoosiers has its limits:
Be nice to see a Cowboy headline like that.
M
I guess even the patience of us laid-back Hoosiers has its limits:

Can we expect to see a new coach if we say "pretty please?"
  • Like
Reactions: Foxbat
Foxbat
Jeeez, Week 6, no lead is safe…
  • Like
Reactions: Mike0616
b4pjoe
Be nice to see a Cowboy headline like that.
Yes the Cowboys owner needs to fire the general manager (himself), co-owner, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Executive Vice President, Director of Player Personnel, and President of AT&T Stadium (his son) and then he should jump off of a cliff. Only then can they recover.
rvvaquero
Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson had an argument about who was responsible for the dynasty building of the early 90's Cowboys.

The rest of us figured it out in about 3 years, Jerry has had over 30 years but still can't admit it. It's all he lives for, to show everyone he can put together a winner. I don't think he can. His kids only know what he taught them.
  • Like
Reactions: dfergie and b4pjoe
dfergie
I was a devout Cowboy fan in the Landry era, grudgingly gave Jimmy his due, since then not so much, the Jones family took care of that...
dfergie
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Stumbled across this ... http://www.gaspricewatch.com/USGas_ZipSearch.asp
I found no local prices, although it did show stations at my location...
Added these to this post...
USA National Gas Temperature Map
State By State Gasoline Taxes
Gas Buddy

Ethanol Free Stations

5556 Replies · 460853 views
Bobby
Regular$5.999​
Premium$6.399​
Diesel$7.999​
at Costco, Rohnert Park.​
  • Like
Reactions: harshness
dishstaller
Regular$5.999​
Premium$6.399​
Odd that out there, Prem is only 40 cents higher. Here it's a full dollar more.

Last night it was about $4.17 gas, $6,19 diesel.
harshness
Odd that out there, Prem is only 40 cents higher. Here it's a full dollar more.
On the West Coast, a 40-cent differential is common. It used to be 30 cents before the prices rose above $3.

A "full dollar more" sounds like it may be boat gas (non-alcoholic), which is a whole different discussion.
  • Like
Reactions: Foxbat
dishstaller
A "full dollar more" sounds like it may be boat gas (non-alcoholic),
Both non-ethanol and prem run about the same....buck more. When we were up in TN it was a buck more up there as well.
harshness
In Oregon, our premium boat gas is about a dollar more than our corn premium. Several stations only offer the non-corn premium grade.
Bobby
Regular$5.899​
Premium$6.299​
Diesel$7.999​
at Costco, Rohnert Park.​
dishstaller
Diesel is all over the place around here. Saw it yesterday from $5.37 to $6.17...not sure what the obsession was with ending in 7
dfergie
$4.09 - $4.29, real gas $4.69...
Scott Greczkowski
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
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....
68543 Replies · 2673969 views
  • Like
Reactions: c-spand
ClarkGable
Little Deuce Coupe - The Beach Boys
gms49ers
The Boys of Summer - Don Henley
FTA4PA
Summer In The City - The Lovin' Spoonful
  • Like
Reactions: gms49ers
Bobby
Gonna Send You Back To Georgia (A City Slick) - Timmy Shaw
dishstaller
Detroit Rock City - KISS
  • Like
Reactions: gms49ers
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network
0 Replies · 6 views
M
Last reply · posted in Over the Air Television By RabbitEars.Info
Interesting article about the work being done to develope an ATSC 3 converter box. Yes it does mention affordable.
4 Replies · 39 views
Scott Greczkowski
Hopefully they are better then the current highly insecure junk boxes that are out now.
  • Like
Reactions: FTA4PA
navychop
DEATH TO NEXGEN!
TRG
TRG
17 years ago the US turned off analog OTA signals in favor of digital broadcasting. Now the push is ATSC 3 "Nextgen TV". But nobody seems to be able to agree on DRM implementation protocols. People don't want to hook their TV up to the internet in order to watch over the air TV. At least I don't. With all the data they collect about your viewing habits the box should be given away at no cost.
navychop
Comb your hair.
Howard Simmons
Lifetime Supporter
· posted in Movie Talk
0 Replies · 16 views
T
Last reply · posted in C-BAND Satellite Discussion
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]
10 Replies · 394 views
cyberham
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.

Weigel mux.webp
Titanium
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.
T
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

With the microHD connected this afternoon and tuned to the Weigel mux, I can receive the mux well.
T
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
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
B
Howdy folks long time no write.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Sami 10' mesh, Corotor II+, Eagle Aspen (very old) C-band lnb, Norsat Ku lnb, Channel Master C/Ku (H/V) switch, Startrak 400 Analog receiver w/ motor control, Geosat uHD DVD-S2, CW600S for Mpeg-2]
I had the EXACT same problem happen to me with 101w, MeTV mux (Weigel). Working great when about 3 weeks ago I started to get the pixelating, especially at night. Sometimes Jewelry TV would also do it, sometimes not. Tweaked my dish. I have a Titanium 240 feed with the 5G filter 4.0-4.2 band pass. Every other satellite is working fine. Something on their end for sure. Power reduction? My signal seems fine like always. Running a Winegard 8.5 ft dish using a GT Media UHD V8. I'm sure my receiver isn't maybe sensitive enough for lower signal levels. Frustrating here too. I'm in the Canton, Ohio area. Thanks!
arlo
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?