Anyone Experiencing 129 Issues?

FCom911

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
May 25, 2008
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Anyone Experiencing 129 Issues? (ERROR CODE 002 = LOSS OF SIGNAL)

Let me begin my query by saying, I have absolutely no obstructions regarding line of sight between 129 and my dish/LNBs. The weather was clear, although fires in California have introduced higher amounts of particulates into the atmosphere.

As an HD Only subscriber, I've been experiencing pixelation, audio sync and audio stutter issues recently — mostly random annoyances, but last night I actually experienced screen notification of 129 signal loss (ERROR 002). This was a first for me and it was replicated across many HD channels off of 129. So much so, I simply ended up turning off the TV.

I've also found, when the SAT signal is interrupted, it also impacts OTA service as the system presents the ERROR 002 screen regarding 129 loss as well.

I called Dish twice regarding the issue last night. The first time, I asked the CSR if others were experiencing issues with 129, she said no. I then asked if 129 had been suffering signal depreciation, she said no. She then said call back if it happened again. I was back on the phone within 5 minutes (thought, that was very weird handling of a technical issue).

Dish will send out an installer to check alignment, switches, DVR, etc on Monday, between 8 AM and 12 noon (I asked specifically if I'd be billed since I wasn't carrying the protection plan, my 722K is only about 7 months old - she said there would be no charge). Unfortunately, I'll have to take the day off for the service call, but that's life...

Have any of you been experiencing issues similar w/ 129 and/or relative signal loss around 0200-0700 GMT, prior annoyances?

Any suggestions...?

Thanks
 
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I lose some transponders on 129 at least every other day. Most times it is TBS and TNT but once in a while my locals are out.
 
I experience the same thing on TBS, TNT and locals. I use the 1000.2 dish which has 110, 119 and 129 and the 500 dish for 61.5 for local HD. I was told by others on this forum to disconnect the 129 from the LNB and run a switch check and it should make all the ones on 129 go to 61.5. I live in NE NC and I haven't tried it yet but if the trouble continues, I will.
 
Sounds like...

all of you are experiencing what we in the NW have known for a long time...the sat is falling out of the sky! Busted thrusters or flat tires...it's a sick bird. Why DISH decided to put all their HD on it is beyond me.

Replacement, rumored to be Ciel2, rumored to be launched late this year, postponed till early 2009 ?

When they put TBSHD up to cover the baseball playoffs (tp6) I lost the signal about 6 times within an hour. Took 3-5 minutes for the signal to return...had to have a 2nd tv tuned to the SD feed to watch the game! After a year-and-a-half and about 12 service calls, the original DISH installer returned and told me "If you want HD you'll have to switch to Directv." Which I did, guess what...NO PICTURE LOSS!

Oh, and the CSRs play denial, or they just haven't been told about the condition of the 129. They must get thousands of calls a day, so how could they not know!

Good luck!
 
I experience the same on 129 from San Francisco. In the West Coast the 129 signale is one of the worst. This will not improve untill Dish replace the Sat at 129 with a new one.

I wish Dish would be more honest with its valued patrons.
 
I'm having 'way more problems on 129 in Kansas City than I used to. I recently re-peaked the dish and cut off an offending tree branch, which helped some, but still lots of dropouts, momentary pixelization, and LOS screens. I have a 1000, BTW. I'm considering going to a separate dish for 129, but hate to do that if the problem will be solved in 6 months with Ciel-2. The other part is, I don't know what the long-range plans are for KC locals. It APPEARS that E* is putting all the small markets around this area on the 61.5 spot (Eastern Arc), and that KC and St Louis will go on spots on 129 after Ciel-2 goes up. No way to know for sure at this point. If 129 gets much worse, I'll have to make some kind of decision, though.

Brad
 
I'm West Coast... 1000 (1 dual LNB and one single LNB) 129, on some transponders, the signal strength is somewhere between '25-28', others' maybe, '30-35'. That seems quite low to me, and it constantly fluctuates between those numbers.

Do any of you think the LNB's plastic opaque lens cover, through time, heat, and sun exposure, could impair the LNB's ability to see 129 optimally? All of mine look pretty weather beaten (more whitish and seemingly crusty/dusty film, decomposing).

Would an inline passive amp assist (the kind that draws power from the receiver via the coax, like the LNBs do)?

I'm trying to think of every possible angle to prepare myself to direct the installer make the best adjustments and/or changes as possible.

The CSRs act like this is a new issue, but from reading posts here at SatGuys, it has become obvious, it isn't just me experiencing these issues.

This morning I spoke with another CSR. She alluded, personal supervision helps in the following aspects,

1.) Make sure the installer confirms a consistent 'earth ground' is established. Make sure they test for that aspect, as it may help eliminate static charge accumulation.

2.) Have the installer check 'signal strength' via the 'in/output' of the cable for possible 'coax violations', 'increased resistance/attenuation'.

3.) Make sure the installer makes the proper 'azimuth', 'elevation', 'skew' for 119, and reports to you, those numbers. Then ask/encourage the installer to kindly 'tweak for more gain off of 129'.
 
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I'm having 'way more problems on 129 in Kansas City than I used to. I recently re-peaked the dish and cut off an offending tree branch, which helped some, but still lots of dropouts, momentary pixelization, and LOS screens. I have a 1000, BTW. I'm considering going to a separate dish for 129, but hate to do that if the problem will be solved in 6 months with Ciel-2. The other part is, I don't know what the long-range plans are for KC locals. It APPEARS that E* is putting all the small markets around this area on the 61.5 spot (Eastern Arc), and that KC and St Louis will go on spots on 129 after Ciel-2 goes up. No way to know for sure at this point. If 129 gets much worse, I'll have to make some kind of decision, though.

Brad

I gather we're in this for the long run, then? That is, until the next bird goes up... 6 months from now. Is it to take 129's position or will it be an additional position?

Doesn't it take ruffly 90 days after launch, after certification, before service begins, on a new SAT = potentially 9 months, at best?
 
I'm also having the same issues on the west coast with the 129 and I'm using a separate D500 dish. I was watching on the SMITH and I got that no signal error message. It's too bad that it doesn't see anything on my 61.5 sat dish, it always defaults to the 129 sat.
 
I'm having 'way more problems on 129 in Kansas City than I used to. I recently re-peaked the dish and cut off an offending tree branch, which helped some, but still lots of dropouts, momentary pixelization, and LOS screens. I have a 1000, BTW. I'm considering going to a separate dish for 129, but hate to do that if the problem will be solved in 6 months with Ciel-2. The other part is, I don't know what the long-range plans are for KC locals. It APPEARS that E* is putting all the small markets around this area on the 61.5 spot (Eastern Arc), and that KC and St Louis will go on spots on 129 after Ciel-2 goes up. No way to know for sure at this point. If 129 gets much worse, I'll have to make some kind of decision, though.

Brad

I live in Grain Valley and 129 is getting almost unbearable to watch. The locals are really pixelating, so bad, that we always watch OTA. Also ESPN 2 and the RSN for the Royals are usually bad along with HGTV.
 
FCom911...

Unless your installer is wearing a spacesuit I don't think he's going to be of much help. The poor installers up here get the raw end of the frustrated customers.

In this area they are automatically installing a separate 24" dish pointing at the 129. It only helps a tad. In other areas it might be the solution. Here in the NW, especially N of Seattle, we're on the edge of the beam, so when it starts falling out of orbit -- 2x an hour -- the signal drops from say 55 to zero and takes 3-5 minutes to recover.

Here's an image that shows the beam and the cut-off N of Seattle, S Texas, and S Florida. It appears from the posts that indeed things are getting worse.
 

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  • IMAGE - EchoStar 129 MAP ku-band.gif
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I gather we're in this for the long run, then? That is, until the next bird goes up... 6 months from now. Is it to take 129's position or will it be an additional position?

Doesn't it take ruffly 90 days after launch, after certification, before service begins, on a new SAT = potentially 9 months, at best?

We really don't have a lauch date for Ciel-2 yet. Some say it could be late this year, but early in 2009 is more realistic. Let's say January, or 6 months from now. Figure 2 months for testing and uplinking, so you're probably closer to correct than I am. Yes, it's going to 129, and it will be chock-full of spot beams. That means it will have a lot of LIL HD (like 61.5 does now), and hopefully a lot powerful CONUS HD also.

Brad
 
Well, I'm in Lexington KY and had three service calls the past few months for this. I've been reading and posting about my problem and no one mentioned anything about 129 being a sick bird. That explains my pixelization and drop outs on the HD channels and Locals. I've never had signal loss though. I thought it was something wrong here but after reading this, apparently not.
 
I'm in the Kansas City metro area, and within the past week I've also seen dropouts on 129. On Monday I lost ABC Family HD repeatedly and ended up using the SD feed instead as the outages were very frequent. I checked here right away to see if it was already reported, but nothing was posted that night so I just assumed it was me at the time.
 
I'm also having the same issues on the west coast with the 129 and I'm using a separate D500 dish. I was watching on the SMITH and I got that no signal error message. It's too bad that it doesn't see anything on my 61.5 sat dish, it always defaults to the 129 sat.

I removed my 61.5 dish because the receivers were always defaulting to 129. Signal is low but I haven't lost it while watching any program.

This is nothing new and it's been going on for a few years now so nothing new it's being discovered here. 129 MUST be replaced SOON or else E* will have some very unhappy customers.
 
I'm 15 miles NE of Seattle, and 129 is problematic around here. However, Thursday night, perfect weather/clear skies, I experienced enough stuttering and pixelization on CNN HD that I switched channels. In bad weather, that is not at all uncommon, but it concerns me when it happens under ideal conditions.
 
Just off the phone w/a Dish CSR supervisor... She said she was unaware of issues pertaining to 129, so no idea of a replacement.

I asked, in the tech forum, advise pertaining to 1000 vs 1000.2, and was advised to try to move to 1000.2 upgrade (possible 5 db gain). So, I asked the super to make sure the tech has all assets required to make it a 1 day service call.

She updated the call ticket to reflect so; new 1000.2 antenna and new LNB.

I'll let you know the results, after a day or two, after the service call.

We also discussed placement of the new HD channels. She said all Encore, HBO, MAX, and STARZ HD updates for AUG 1 will be placed on 110 and 119. All other's appear to be delegated to 61.5 and 129.

I'm of the opinion, if Dish admits issues w/129, it could cause a 'fire-sale', adding to the hemorrhaging they already appear to be experiencing.

This is, without question, a very difficult time for Dish. One would hope Tuesday's launch will help rectify some of the HD issues we're experiencing, but don't expect anything for 60-90 days after the launch, prior to certification.

Q: Anyone know where they'll park it?
 
A thought, after reading many posts, perhaps the uplink center was experiencing bad weather, etc.

Many of you are sighting the same ' lost signal ' timings and conditions... clear skies, etc... or...?
 
The weird thing for me was that I checked my signal strength on the channel (SMITH) that had the no signal error message and it was fairly strong for the 129 sat, around 36, which should be plenty of signal. I even tried a reboot hoping that would solve the problem since I was seeing it another channel from All American Direct that was on the 119 sat, that also had a good signal.
 
I got my Dish 1000.2 for MPEG4 HD at the end of May. Set up signal strengths for the transponders that the installer said were supposed to be used for aiming (14, 15, 16, & 21) were over 60 for the 110 and 119 birds, but barely over 40 on 129. I stayed on the installers case in trying to get the most out of the 129 bird as possible.

The wife and I have seen frequent drop outs in the past two weeks on our LiL HD channels, which are on Transponder 2 on the 129 bird. I get a signal strength of 22 to 29 on that transponder. Dish tech support says that I only need 20; 15 to lock and 5 more for rain fade. I'm not convinced.

I knew there were issues with the 129 satellite, but based on the remarks in this thread, it appears that 129 is in trouble and our personal experience seems consistent with that conclusion. I guess I can only hope that Dish gets a replacement up soon or transfers the 129 HD to 110 or 119. Also, I can confirm that dropouts of 129 channels also impact OTA TV reception on my 211 receiver.
 
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