All except 129 LNBF working; Why?

[mraroid]

Hello folks...

Can someone give me a tip about why I can not get my 129 LNBF to see anything? I bought my own VIP 622, and did a self install. Here is my story:

I have a D1000. I live in the Pacific North West. I installed the D1000, but I removed the 129 LNBF from it. I mounted the 129 LNBF onto a 500 dish. I have a short bit of RG6 running from the 129LNBF on the 500 dish to the 110 LNBF on the D1000. It is hooked up exactly as the directions say for the D1000 on page 2 of the D1000 manual, except the 129 LNBF is a foot away living in a 500 dish (and not mounted on the D1000 dish).

I hooked up my 622 and set it up to look for the 119 satellite. I was able to ID the 119 satellite and lock on. Then I selected the 110 satellite in the 622 set up screen, and I was locked onto it as well. My signal strength was very good; in the 80s plus for both the 119 & the 110.

After that, the 622 did some stuff; down loaded software, rebooted, etc. Then it came back on again with a new software load (L365). After that, I turned the 622 off for 15 minutes, then turned it on again. It looked for my dial tone, and then everything was fine (again). I can see the DN commercials that are shown before you turn your service on. On Channels 100 & 101 everything is grovey.

So I went to the acquire satellite screen again and selected the 129 satellite. Then I started moving the 500 dish around the sky looking for 129 satellite. I had a good idea where it was, but I could not find it. To make a long story short, after my buddy & I worked on it for about 4 hours, we never did get anything from the 129 LNBF. No amount of pointing ever gave us a peep. I have a clear shot at the sky.

I disconnected the RG6 (from the roof dishes) from the 622, and did a check switch. Then I turned the 622 off, and connected the RG6 to the 622 and turned it on. Then I did a check switch again. It saw (as before) the 119 & the 110 LNBs.

Tomorrow, I am going to replace the cross connect RG6 that runs between the 129 LNB and the 110 LNBF. But I think it is good.

My 500 dish sits next to the D1000 dish. I believe I have my azimuth, and elevation set correctly for the 129LNB in the 500 dish. I am not sure about the skew setting.

I wanted to call DN today and turn on service. But with out getting anything out of the 129 LNB I am holding off.

I have no reason to think the 129 LNBF is defective, but I don't know what else to think.

So, my service has not been activated, but now I have the current software update in my 622, and more stuff is available to look at. Checking a diagnostic screen, I saw this:

Modular Set Up (TV1) Off
Modular Set Up (TV2) Air 60

I only have one TV. Is the above settings correct?

Can anything think of what I may be doing wrong?

Thanks in advance.

mraroid

 

[dodge]

cant get 129

mraroid
what is your elevation set to, here in northern il , my dish 300 elevation is set to something like 27 deg , very low where as the dish 500 is 37 degrees. Also what are you using to aim at 129 with just the 622??? If that is the case you will have a very hard time to find 129. It took me 35 minutes with a birdog meter to aim for my 129...

 

[dfergie]

Be aware the 1000 instructions elevations are not quite right all the time either, I had to go up a few degrees I believe when I hooked up mine... a meter really helps.. I'm now running a dish 500 and a dish 300 for 129 and get a better signal than I got with the 1000 which was dedicated to 129...

 

[brabus]

Why not try putting the 129 LNB on the 1000? If you get 119 on the 1000, then 129 should also come in, or be very easy to find. Seems like you're making it much harder on yourself by having to wrestle w/ a 2nd dish when the first one will do. Also, a sat meter is a big help...even the cheap $15 ones.

 

[dfergie]

Why not try putting the 129 LNB on the 1000? If you get 119 on the 1000, then 129 should also come in, or be very easy to find. Seems like you're making it much harder on yourself by having to wrestle w/ a 2nd dish when the first one will do. Also, a sat meter is a big help...even the cheap $15 ones.

Get it going as suggested, then try the other dish, our sponsors have inexpensive meters that will make things much easier...

 

[dnsguy]

129 bore site is 164, elevation 36.

 

[HDTVFanAtic]

well, to begin with, from the comments i have read here, it seems that Dish is installing a 24" dish for 129W in the Pacific NW - so I believe you are worse off with a Dish 500 20" dish than you would be if you left the 129W on the Dish 1000 itself.

 

[Miner]

HDTVFanAtic,

Interesting thought. If I had a 1000, I'd love to test it out. I used to have a 500 w/ I bracket for 129 and signal was pretty solid. I would lose the signal on Rave or Monsters for a couple of minutes every hour. Since dish installed the 24" dish, I lose it much less. I suspect a 1000 would perform more poorly than a single 500 unless it was aimed specifically to maximize the 129 signal at the expense of 110 and 119.

I agree that installing the 129 LNB into the 129 slot on the 1000 is a good way to test all the LNBs and switches. It may even prove good enough or better than having 2 dishes, unless he goes for the 24" dish with the extra Low Noise LNB.

Miner.

PS. Does anybody know of a good ARK builder? Its been a tad wet this winter.

 

[mraroid]

finding that pesky 129 bird

Folks....

Thanks so much for the help and many tips.

Here in the Pacific North West where I live, the local contract installers often find that the 129 LNBF will not work well, if at all, in the D1000 dish. Some folks get lucky, but most are unhappy. So the most common solution here has been to yank the 129 LNBF from the D1000, and move it to a 500 dish. This fixes the problem for most. It may not work for me, and I am not above buying a larger dish than the 500 to bring in my HD. I was able to pick up a 500 dish on craigs list for next to nothing. If I have signal drop outs in my HD set up, I will move up to a larger dish. I *hope* that the trouble now is just that I have not properly sighted the 129 satellite.

Yes, a good meter would be useful. I did not mention in my first post that I bought a Channel Master model 10081FD. Because I was going to do a self install, I thought it might come in handy. I did not use it yesterday, because I first wanted to try the menu in the 622. And by the time my buddy & I gave up for the day, it was getting dark outside.

So today, we are heading back to the roof and I will see if my Channel Master helps me out.

I will report back what I have found. Thanks again gentleman.

mraroid

 

[mraroid]

finding that pesky 129 bird

mraroid
what is your elevation set to

Out west where I am, I am looking at an elevation of 37.2 degrees.

Also what are you using to aim at 129 with just the 622??? If that is the case you will have a very hard time to find 129. It took me 35 minutes with a birdog meter to aim for my 129...

As I was planing to do a self install, I bought a Channel Master model 10081FD. It looks like that was a good idea. I am going to fire it up and use it today. Thanks for the help dodge.

mraroid

 

[mraroid]

High end LNBF?

I used to have a 500 w/ I bracket for 129 and signal was pretty solid. I would lose the signal on Rave or Monsters for a couple of minutes every hour. Since dish installed the 24" dish, I lose it much less.

And I may go that route Miner... I'll try this set up first. Also I would like to figure out what I am doing wrong. Sounds like a "locate the &^%$# 129 satellite" issue. Read: Install needs training!

I agree that installing the 129 LNB into the 129 slot on the 1000 is a good way to test all the LNBs and switches. It may even prove good enough or better than having 2 dishes, unless he goes for the 24" dish with the extra Low Noise LNB.

Miner.... I am totally interested in a Low Noise LNBF for the 129 satellite. But my knowledge is limited as far as 3rd party LNBFs go. Can you recommend one to me? What do I need to know about buying a 3rd party LNBF and using it with DN? Can I just buy any 'ol high end LNBF??

Thanks again for all your good info.

mraroid

 

[mraroid]

What voltage for the 129 LNBF? 18V?

Hello...

I am up on my roof today. I have a single 129 LNBF (that I took off of a D1000 dish) installed, alone in a 500 dish. I am going to use a Channel Master model 1008IFD unit to fire up the LNBF, and then look for the satellite.

My Channel Master will supply 13V, 18V, 13V/22Khz, and 18V/22Khz.

What power setting should I use for my single 129 LNBF?

Note to Dodge the Bird Dog Guy: I wish I had your meter. I bet you know that correct voltage? Maybe??

Thanks

mraroid

 

[SmityWhity]

Don't have an answer for you on how to use the Channel Master, but I think the following suggestion is also applicable.

When peaking your dish, you need to get it in the general direction, and then just move it slightly, like about 1/32 of an inch. Moving it about 1/16" on the mast will move it several thousand miles in space.

Also, the receiver takes about 8 to 10 seconds to recognize a change in satellite signal, if any. So you move it a hair, take a reading, move it another hair.

Hope this helps.

For laughs.... My brother-in-law spent a day and a half trying to find 119 and 110. I climbed the ladder (without a meter) and locked down everything within 5 minutes.

 

[SmityWhity]

Also....

On the Dish 500, set the SKEW to 90, which actually equals 0 degrees.

On a 3rd party LNBF... The LNBF needs to be a DishPro, usch as a DP Dual, in order to work with the DishPro Plus Twin that is on the Dish 1000.

 

[dodge]

voltages

Hello...

I am up on my roof today. I have a single 129 LNBF (that I took off of a D1000 dish) installed, alone in a 500 dish. I am going to use a Channel Master model 1008IFD unit to fire up the LNBF, and then look for the satellite.

My Channel Master will supply 13V, 18V, 13V/22Khz, and 18V/22Khz.

What power setting should I use for my single 129 LNBF?

Note to ...


Thanks

mraroid

the voltage does not really matter as 129 has odd and even transponders, pick one and aim. no 22khz tone needed for dish net

 

[brabus]

Just a thought...my actual elev is about 6 degrees higher than what Dish said it would be. So, just b/c yours is supposed to be 36.2 or whatever doesn't mean that measurement will work. I spent forever trying to get 129 in on my 1000, then one day I said @#$# it and just started randomly moving it around with a sat meter hooked up (I still had it in the general elev/heading range). Found it in about 1 min. It's true that 1/16" can mean on/off for signal, so go slow and hopefully you get that sat meter working. The receiver is way too slow to respond to changes, so you can easily miss the right setting when relying on a receiver.

 

[mraroid]

Finding that 129 satellite.

I am up and running. Thanks to all of you for the help!

Yea, finding that 129 Satellite was *hard* I had to move very slow. But I found it. I had another issue with a interment connector on my RG6. Fixed that. And yea, I had to look a few degrees higher than my data said to lock in the 129 LNBF. All is well.

Using my 500 dish with the 129 LNBF, and the D1000 with the 119 & 110 LNBF I am getting numbers like:

For the 110 & 119, they are as high as the high 80s. But with this rain and wind I am getting now, they have dropped into the high 70s, My 500 with the 129 LNBF is not doing so well. The best I had was 76, but it drops to the low 70s.

After reading all that was posted here, I am going to move to a 24" or larger dish. But that will be in the spring.

Thanks all for the many tips and help. I sure appreciate it.

mraroid

 

[Jordan420]

Try hooking the 129 lnb directly to the receiver to find 129. After you have found it & peaked the dish, then connect the 129 lnb to the 110-119 dpp twin on the dish 1000, then run your check switch.

It might also be a tad easier to peak the 129 dish if you use an I adapter to hold the 129 lnb instead of the Y adapter that holds 2 lnb's for 110-119 on the dish 500


Jordan