1000.4 Pointing difficulty

[MadDogMike]

Spent all day yesterday trying to tune in 119, until I realized that my dish is a 1000.4. (Surprisingly, I was able to get 110 at 77 signal strength, but never 119.) Anyway, once I realized I was pointing at the wrong satellites for this dish, I made the appropriate adjustments:

Zip Code: 31064
Elevation: 49.4°
Azimuth (true): 160.3°
Azimuth (magn.): 165.1°
Dish Skew: 73.6°

The above is from DishPointer, and it jives with the settings shown in the 1000.4 installation manual.

Anyway, now I can't get ANY signal! I'm trying peak on 72 with transponder 19 or 21, but having no luck at all. Am I missing something? (I have no meter, just using the Point Dish screen.) Any advice?

thanks,
Mike

 

[papalittle]

Are you using a eastern arc 1000.4 or western? You really should use a meter as it is difficult and time consuming to use the boxes meter. If using the meter on the box you must run a switch test each time you move the dish. Best bet would be to call a local retailer to point your dish for a small fee.

 

[MadDogMike]

Eastern arc. Yeah, I've read that the 1000.4 is the toughest dish to point....might be time to call in the pros.

 

[TimberWolf]

Run a checkswitch so that it recognizes the 1K.4 lnb with out 110 on it. For the settings to work on the dish, the mast has to be plumb and level. Move the dish VERY slowly.

 

[MadDogMike]

Run a checkswitch so that it recognizes the 1K.4 lnb with out 110 on it.

OK, so when I get the message after the checkswitch that says something like "we found more satellites under the previous settings", just ignore that and hit save?

thanks,
Mike

 

[old corps]

I'm certainly no expert but I think he meant to disconnect the coax and run a check switch to clear everything out and then reconnect and start over.

Ed

 

[MadDogMike]

OK, when I'm done with the Check Switch my options are Cancel, Retest, and Save. I'm assuming to "clear everything out" I select Save, correct?

 

[MattG@DISH]

Correct, saving the results from the 836 (fewer satellites detected) message will clear the satellites from the install summary, or it will show you what satellites you are receiving if the "sat in" cables are connected.

 

[MadDogMike]

Here's a frightening thought, since at first I was able to pick up 110, does that mean maybe this is a Western Arc dish after all, or not necessarily?

 

[skyviewmark]

I'm sorry but if you have to ask a question like that, I really feel like you need to call someone that knows what they are doing,, No disrespect intended.. This dish is just to much over your head..

 

[MattG@DISH]

Is it possible for you to take a picture of the LNB's on the dish and post it here? A lot of us will be able to tell what kind it is just by the spacing on the LNB's. If you want a tech out, you can PM me with an account number or phone number.

 

[MadDogMike]

I got a guy coming this weekend, but I'm still curious to learn about it.

 

[Dah-Henny]

If the LNB's are evenly spaced, it's a WA LNB. If 2 of the LNB's are close together, with the 3rd one off to itself, it's an EA LNB.

 

[MadDogMike]

OK, that's what I thought, but wasn't sure. Thanks.

 

[Frank7004]

I just wanna say I love the first sentence of the first post.

 

[dummy]

Ignore that comment!

I'm sorry but if you have to ask a question like that, I really feel like you need to call someone that knows what they are doing,, No disrespect intended.. This dish is just to much over your head..

Go ahead, ask your question and ignore unhelpful posters. Not all posters are like this guy. If you can't ask questions, you can't learn anything. I'm not a satellite nut case so I've had to ask questions in order to learn.

 

[vash1090]

It is never easy to point a dish with a new receiver, for anybody that doesn't know, it only comes programmed with 119 feed. If you don't hit the 119 with the right LNB, or aren't using 119, a meter may be needed unless you get lucky enough to hit sats, check switch them in, and then adjust for signal.

If it is EA, make sure you read the installation instructions or ask for them since they are different for anything but an upper class meter (Super Buddy). If anybody didn't understand that, just ask instead of trying to contradict.

 

[Voyager6]

The easiest way to tune in the EA dish is to put tin foil over the 2 outer eyes of the lnb and peak for 72. After the check switch has found 72 and you've peaked for highest signal then remove the foil and run the check switch again. It "should" find the other 2 sats. Peak the dish to get the best signal from all 3 sats but 61.5 and 72 are the most important.

 

[MadDogMike]

At the risk of incurring the wrath of skyviewmark again, let me ask if this is a true statement: The 1000.4 Dish is EA, and the 1000.2 Dish is WA? I get this impression from DishPointer.com, where it only shows 61.5, 72.7 and 77 for the 1000.4 and only 110, 119 and 129 for the 1000.2. This is why it threw me for a loop when somebody asked if my 1000.4 was EA or WA.

 

[Dah-Henny]

EA & WA refers to the satellites, not the dish. The 1k.4 is now capable of either arc, using different LNB's. Dishpointer shows 1k.2 for the WA, but, IIRC, the settings are the same for the WA 1k.4.