Can't peg Sig Strength - 96 of 125 - D500 & D1000

[Dirk_McGherkin]

Hey - I just experimented with a dish 500 (existing) and a dish 1000 (119, 110, & 129) (1000.2?).

6,1,1 before:
DiSH 500 w/ DP dual lnb
119 on TR 11 = 96
110 on TR 11 = 86

then I put the 1000 on the mast, set skew, peaked, check switch:
dpp combo lnb
119 = 94
110 TR 11 = 82
129 TR 13 = 68

yanked the dish 1000 & re-installed the dish 500:
119 = 96
110 = 86

I used the new super buddy and am confident I couldn't get it higher w/ my channel master dual.

So what's my problem or is this as good as it gets in my geographical area?

My receiver is a 625 (SD DVR)

 

[Jim5506]

There is a difference between the 1000 and the 1000.2. The 1000.2 has one triple lnb block with a built in switch and has a larger dish whereas the 1000 has two heads one with two lnb's and one with a single.

I just re-peaked my 1000 last week, and noticed that after I peaked 119 at about 110 signal, I had to detune 119 to bring 110 and 129 up to acceptable levels. That dropped 119 to the upper 90's and 110 in upper 80's and 129 lower 80's. It seems the lnb's are in a line and the satellites are on the tangent of an arch. Close, but not perfect geometry.

 

[Dirk_McGherkin]

then the 1000 mentioned above is actually the 1000.2

OK - I went up again, working only with the dish 500 w/ dual DP LNB (single for 110/119).

Initial test results w/ twin lnb:
119: -32.3 dBm, 15.2 C/N
110: -35.5 dBm, 13.2 C/N

Switched out to two DP single LNBs (one for 119 & another for 110). I didn't move the dish, just measured to see if there was a difference. Results:
119: -33.3 dBm, 15.3 C/N
110: -32.9 dBm, 13.4 C/N

disconnected super buddy & connected channel master dual analog meter & found new skew peak. my skew was off by 3 degrees (adjusted & peaked dish 5 degrees either way of previous skew setting).

Switched back to DP twin lnb (110/119 combined) - results after skew peaking as follows:
119: -33.6 dBm, 15.2 C/N
110: -36.9 dBm, 13.0 C/N

6,1,1 (see what receiver thinks):
119 @ Transponder 11: 95
110 @ Transponder 11: 88

Before all of this it was at 96/86, respectively. I guess all that's left to do is check the cable. I'm just using cheap brass crimp connectors, can't seem to find my digicon crimper.

If I was more ambitious this evening I'd yank a 311 from the garage and try it at the dish & at the current receiver location. but not tonight.

btw, I knew I had the skew set up right when a slight push in any direction would raise one sat but lower the other.

I have another question regarding the dish 1000.2 setup... I got the "W" adapter to use 3 separate dp lnbs to p/u 110/119/129. I seem to remember reading that the "W" adapter doesn't work on the 1000.2 dish - is this correct? I can try this another day too. retailer.echo said they only sell the one I have, I guess the plain-old 1000 has been sun-setted..

 

[Dirk_McGherkin]

just went through all of the transponders on my alignment screen to see wuz up with all of this.

Transponder 9 on sat 119 has a 122 signal strength
Transponder 23 on sat 110 has the signal pegged @ 125

Sure would be nice to get a 125 on transponder 11 from 110/119

 

[garys]

SS of high 90's is pretty good, if you could get consistantly over 100 on both you would be golden. I do not think there is much of a chance to get both 119 and 110 pegged at 125. I would worry about higher signal if there is a channel/channels you watch regularly with a low ss. Having both pegged at 125 isn't going to get you a better picture quality only less drop outs.

 

[Dirk_McGherkin]

I know that a higher signal than what I have isn't going to improve my picture quality, I just want to make sure I have the best signal quality before I start working on distribution w/ longer cable lengths, switches, etc. I want to dial in the distributed system, that's what this is all about. I want the best Sig Quality on the distributed system where it will be more important to avoid outages.

I'm wondering why the receiver's meter goes to 125, why I'm supposed to peak 110/119 on transponder 11, and why my SS is so much higher on random transponders. Is there that much difference in strength coming from the different transponders? Am I using a poor quality cable & experiencing frequency attenuation on the higher frequencies? Is the problem with my cheapo brass crimp F connectors? Why am I reading about others pegging their 119 sig above 100 yet I'm struggling to hit above 96 (~80% on a 125 scale).

Just experimenting here on a small system with a bar graph that is new to me

 

[Dirk_McGherkin]

tested sig strength & quality @ receiver end of cable

I just connected the meter @ the receiver end of the cable - here's what I got:

119 @ receiver: -35.1 dBm, 15.0 C/N
119 @ dish: -33.6 dBm, 15.2 C/N

110 @ receiver: -38.0 dBm, 13.1 C/N
110 @ dish: -36.9 dBm, 13.0 C/N