Can't align dish to 58.0w for Sky Mexico

[handogg]

Hello All. Long time reader. First time poster.

I signed a contract for Sky Mexico in Mexico and am trying to get it up and running in Las Vegas, NV.

I can't for the life of me get a signal from 58.0w. I've been using dishpointer.com as well as the iphone app but still no luck

I have pointed several dishes for use w/ Dishnetwork w/o problem so I do have some experience.

I'm using an official 33" SKY dish (measured from top to bottom) and 30" from left to right. The LNB I am using is a WNC FS8-G1. The receiver I am using is a basic SD phillips that was given to me at installation.

The dish I got at a swap meet by a company that installs SKY. There is a small chance that the LNB is not compatible w/ the reciever I have or that I need to adjust LNB settings in the reciever which were set by the original installers.

Does anyone know what the problem is or how can I fix it ?

Thanks in advance.

 

[rocket69]

lnb should be correct but pointing dtv/dish are a walk in the park. even pointing 97 is not as hard as 58. the skew of the lnb must be correct and the mast must be level.

 

[handogg]

I'm looking to buy one of these $100 satellite finders. Is it true these things show the azimuth etc that the dish is currently at as you are aligning it ??

Should I buy a higher qual LNB or just go w/ this one ?

 

[rocket69]

for 100 don't think it will work any better then a $10-15 meeter. If your getting a birdog for $100 then it might be worth it . as for the pointing and it telling you the azimuth that the dish is pointing i dont think so my 900$ meeter just tells me about where i should point and my $1 compass gives me a good ball park untill i get the bird.

Can you post the name of the sat finder your asking about?

 

[handogg]

www.ebay-dot-com/itm/SATlink-WS-690...150?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cfc8fe0e6

Ebay seems to be the only place I can buy these. No local stores seem to sell them

 

[rocket69]

those are cool but id fell better using the cheap pos meeter. Those work on the old method of dragging a small tv and box and power to the roof but is all in one now.

I keep 2 pos in my truck when my bat goes south on my supper sat buddy.

 

[handogg]

Another problem I am going to face is that the 2 receivers I have are married. One is the master receiver which I should have no problem using but the second receiver seems to check for the 1st one or it gives an error. The dish and whatever switch was all installed on the roof in Mexico. I have no access to it or even know what kind of setup is up there.

Do you happen to have any idea how these married receivers work or how I can set it up in my house. It would be nice to have 1 box here and the other in Mexico. The next best option would be to find whatever switch or setup they used and get both boxes working w/ me in US. The last and least favorite option would be to turn in the second box and pay $8 less a month or so.

Happen to know how the married boxes work? Thanks AGain.

 

[handogg]

Today was a good day. I got my dish pointed to 58w. The bad news was I had to move 5 houses over so that I could clear the houses across the street.

I want to thank you for giving me the idea to do that when you said it was the old fashioned way to take a receiver and a TV up to the roof.

W/ the 33" dish I was able to get the signal pictured below from the street. The receiver showed strong signals from the pas 9 13k and pas9 24k. However, not all channels seemed to be working. Channels in the 200 range were good but channels in the 500s and higher went to a blank screen followed by a "your signal has been interrupted."

I know sometimes this has to do w/ certain channels being on certain transponders. How do I know I am getting the full required signal on all transponders? Does it have something do to w/ that "BER" on the bottom. I have no idea what that means and imagine it means something in Spanish.

Thanks AGain

 

[rocket69]

n/p looks like your maxed out on your elevation now that you have the bird you can try and move the mast to get a lower elevation. In socal i can get 77 on a similar dish. also try changing the skew and move the in to the dish or out from the dish by the 2 skrews on the holder and then just the lnb to get some extra points

 

[handogg]

Thanks. Are you able to direct me to info on the married receivers ?

 

[rocket69]

nope cant help with that. just take the full account to your current location

 

[handogg]

I have no idea what LNB or switch they used as it is all on the roof in Mexico. I don't have nor could I gain access to the roof. Do you know the type of switch/lnb they use or that I could use?

 

[handogg]

I've been doing some reading on some spanish boards. The switch is called a pareo de puente or pairing bridge. Now to see if I can find something like that at Radio Shack? Nothing came up on eBay

 

[handogg]

For the Last few posts, I been pretty much talking to myself but I guess it's a unique situation I have. Above is the pictured swich Sky uses on their multi room married receiver installs. This particular model is not for sale anywhere that I could find.

Linked is a 2x2 switch on eBay
SW22 Multi Switch Satellite TV Dish 2 in 2 out SW2x2 | eBay

Will this switch allow the 2 married receivers to talk to each other so that they both will work ? The only difference I see is that the Eagle Aspen Switch is labeled "active." I'm not sure what that exactly means or how to find a comparable swich in a 2 STB version on eBay.

Any good advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[rocket69]

i gave my advise to take the full account to your new address .

 

[handogg]

I would love to take that advise. It would have already saved me the headache I've run into. I do appreciate your advise regarding my LNB selection earlier as well as taking a receiver and small TV to the roof.

Unfortunately, taking the full install is not feasible. The installers came w/ an enormous ladder and put the dish and switches way up on the roof. Provided I could obtain a ladder in Mexico (how would I do that), it's a serious climb up there and I'm not sure I could do it.

I'm almost home I think. Right now I just need to find a switch that acts like the eagle aspen rb 44 or rb 22 in my case.

The question I have now is what is the significance of the wording "active" on the switch?

Thanks

 

[rocket69]

i dont have any clue on how they work but im sure you can find some one in mexico to send you the correct switch. from the sounds of the system boxes just look for the master and the switch will allow them to talk to each other. Chance of the system locked to the switch could be gotten around by a simple call to sky

 

[handogg]

I've already called sky hoping they will turn off one box so that I could watch on atleast 1 receiver but they said there was a ridiculous pre payment penalty.

Time will tell if that RB44 switch pictured above is as simple as it looks. Hopefully it is too simple to be some sort of unique marrying switch.

Thanks again for ur advice.. I'll report back as soon as the rest of these puzzle pieces arrive in the mail.

 

[handogg]

I've also read on the Spanish boards that Sky has been known to un marry receivers if I were to call in w/ a valid reason, ie I travel in a circus. Unfortunately, I can't think of such a valid reason.

 

[handogg]

I now have both sky boxes at my location in Las Vegas and I have tried pairing them using various switches and signal dividers lying around as well as calling SKY up to tell them I'm having an error 80 but no luck. The only thing I can think of that is wrong is that I don't have the correct switch. Some one out there must know what switch I need that I can readily buy on eBay.