Cband has become more frustrating....

[iBoston]

I've bought updated titanium 5g filter LNBF's.
I've adjusted the dish and the lnbfs until my back is broke.
The only dish that is reliable is my 12 footer. 10 footers seems just not to cut it any more with all the terrestrial interference.

It is so HIT and MISS. Example, the Alaskan mux i could get with EASE on my 8' at 131w. They move to 127w and i cannot get it with my 10' no matter what i do. I can only get a hint of the signal with my remote tuner. I cannot clean it up no matter what adjustments i do. I've given up. I can get the Jewish BS channel @ 127w 4020H with 10.5db, and i can get NASA with 11.5db I can get the 4080 (scrambled) transponder with 13.00db, as that was the signal i tuned off of because i find it much easier to tune with a DVBS signal as apposed to the more difficult DVBS2 signal.

But, the 4140 mux is scattered pixelated and unwatchable , the 3980 is un lockable. I cannot move my 12 foot dish there, because i need my 12 foot dish at 101w as thats the ONLY way i can get all the signals on that bird. My 12 footer is the only dish where i seem to guarantee getting all FTA signals at a location. My 10 footer just won't do it any more. It used to be my 10' would get 99% of everything, and now that seems to be more of 50-60%. My 8' and 9' can only get the most forgiving signals.

My 8' parked at 131w right now is getting stuff only because of the dual illumination going on right now from the fall sun issues, but once they turn off that dual illumination, 131w will get nothing. I guess the plan is the move that to 103w, as if i cannot get stuff at 127 with a 10' a 8' surely isn't going to cut it.

 

[wagonman76]

Have you checked the voltage at the LNBF? I was having a horrible time for awhile with what acted just like terrestrial interference. NASA was the last one to fail because it is so strong. Ku was great, could barely get anything on C band. It started right about the same time as everyone else noticed 5g issues, and every week got worse. I made adjustments, checked cables, tried the Titanium 5g filter LNBF, seemingly everything. No change.

Turned out it was all coincidence. My FTA receiver was failing to put out the correct voltage. Like just teetering on the threshold. It wouldn’t power my LNB or even my multi switch correctly. A new FTA receiver solved it.

Edit: I can also get the 101W stuff, even though it is certainly more finicky than the others. Just watched Perry Mason last night without issue.

 

[SDA_FL_USA]

Could you put the 8 ft on 101w those Weigels and some other FTA are DVB-S . I get them fine on an 8 1/2 but maybe I'm lucky not much interference here yet in central FL. I even get the FTA dvb-s2 stuff and wildfeed stuff when I find it on the 8 1/2. I'm not using an filter yet.

 

[iBoston]

Have you checked the voltage at the LNBF? I was having a horrible time for awhile with what acted just like terrestrial interference. NASA was the last one to fail because it is so strong. Ku was great, could barely get anything on C band. It started right about the same time as everyone else noticed 5g issues, and every week got worse. I made adjustments, checked cables, tried the Titanium 5g filter LNBF, seemingly everything. No change.

Turned out it was all coincidence. My FTA receiver was failing to put out the correct voltage. Like just teetering on the threshold. It wouldn’t power my LNB or even my multi switch correctly. A new FTA receiver solved it.

Edit: I can also get the 101W stuff, even though it is certainly more finicky than the others. Just watched Perry Mason last night without issue.

Its not voltage, because the same thing happens on multiple receivers. Also, i can get the some Horizontal signals, and not others, so its not limited to one particular polarity. But thanks for the suggestion, as that has happened to me in the past.

 

[ZetaMale]

Good news if you want some larger antennas.

C-Band Mesh Antennas are available again - TVROSat

 

[ZetaMale]

Glad to hear that they are back in business. Better bring some $$ though - $899+ for a 7.5ft mesh and $1749+ for a 10ft mesh. Ouch!

About $2200 for the 12 footer. The first 12 footer I bought was a Paraclipse and it was about $1200 back then. I think the TEK 12 footer was about $2100 a few years ago so it hasn't increased too much since then. Next time I might spend the bucks for a 15 footer (assuming I can get a permit from the city).

 

[FTA4PA]

About $2200 for the 12 footer. The first 12 footer I bought was a Paraclipse and it was about $1200 back then. I think the TEK 12 footer was about $2100 a few years ago so it hasn't increased too much since then. Next time I might spend the bucks for a 15 footer (assuming I can get a permit from the city).

Yeah, I guess higher prices are to be expected with the supply chain problems and these being a niche market item. Still glad they are back even with higher cost as it does give an option if you can't find an old used dish locally.

 

[ZetaMale]

Yeah, I guess higher prices are to be expected with the supply chain problems and these being a niche market item. Still glad they are back even with higher cost as it does give an option if you can't find an old used dish locally.

used 12 footers are impossible to find within 100 miles of here.

 

[FTA4PA]

used 12 footers are impossible to find within 100 miles of here.

Same here so far but did find and acquire 10ft and 8ft mesh dishes over the years though.

 

[iBoston]

Well i have some great news. Of-course, now it has me somewhat scratching my head. Because 131w would soon be of no use (no FTA signals) , I moved the 8 footer to 127w, and with some fine tuning i am able to lock almost everything. The only transponder i cannot lock is the 4140h30000. I can now lock the Alaskan Mux. I never watched 4140, so I am okay with that. - It is weird thou, because according to websites, that signal is fec 3/4 and should be easier to receive than signals i can lock.. Heck, i can even lock the 4040v32500 16apsk...

I dunno why i couldn't lock the Alaskan mux on my mesh 10'. I know it wasn't the cabling, because i had a tuner right outside at the lnbf and couldn't lock it. I wonder if just the location difference makes the difference on the interference. The two dishes are about 80 foot part, and probably sits about 12 feet off the ground. Also, that LNBF is an older Titanium PLL Cband LNBF.

I then moved the 10 foot mesh to 103w and i get everything there without incident. I was also possibly thinking my 10 foot was warped or something causing degraded signal, but I am getting everything at 103w. I might do a string test to make sure.

I am now swimming in a bunch of new channels as i never had a fixed at 103w. It will take days to get everything all sorted out again.

So, although i am still perplexed, I am very happy, because when the Alaskan mux moved from 131 to 127, both locations i had dishes parked, now that i can finally get the Alaskan mux at 127, i then had a free dish to now park at 103w.

 

[iBoston]

Argh... No Alaskan mux this morning... I spent the last 4 hours hauling cut wood from the forest... I am in no mood to work on the dish today, regardless, its discouraging.....

 

[navychop]

Reminds me why I have a pizza dish.

 

[patcomm]

navchop,
this is why i have a cband dish. Freedom to watch what is up there and not pay a subscription which is full of double channels,junk,stuff inappropriate to my family , full of perverted crap,etc. i own a 10 ft soild aluminum dish and love it. iboston, check your cable fittings, and also the skew on you lnbs.
also, i would replace your cable. the cable might have an intermittant pinhole from lightning.

also if it happens on multiple receivers and if you have other receivers or dishes tied to it, you might have a switch problem. 4way disque or whatever you might use might be going bad. also pull the fittings off the cables and check for corrosion.

I had three lnbf go bad at the same time when a storm went thru. lighting hit close by and even with proper grounding,they were knocked out.

also, you might check the outlets they are plugged into.problems with your electrical source can affect proper operation

 

[patcomm]

iboston,
start with connections on lnbfs,and the mounting bolts that hold the lnbfs. also when you lose it since your dishes are up quite aways, maybe the dishes are moving slightly with wind?maybe you have some bees that have made a nest in the opening of the lnbf?I had that problem one year. it drove me nuts. I checked voltages, the receivers, the cable the dish position,warping,etc even the skew settings and focal length.

turns out all my problems were bees getting into the open cband lnbf and made a small nest. when the crawled around, thats when i lost half my channels and sats. one day they are there next day gone. mine were back strong in the early morning when the bees were dorment. When it warmed up, i slowly lost signal. when i cleared out the bees, i was getting great signal.

patcomm

 

[ZetaMale]

Reminds me why I have a pizza dish.

Are you talking about subscription services or FTA?

 

[raoul5788]

Are you talking about subscription services or FTA?

Directv/Dish

 

[iBoston]

I was able to get the signal the next day, and so far has stayed locked.. We shall see over the coming days how reliable the signal will be. Regards to peoples messages, i have a portable tuner that allows me to lock signals. I have a 2 foot jumper RG6 cable that i tie directly into the LNBF to the portable tuner, so i know these issues are not related to the cabling. I am pretty sure it is some sort of terrestrial interference that seems to fluctuate through-out the day. I noticed that signals are often clean in the morning and fade and deteriorate through days progress. But, it seems to be limited to certain orbital positions. I wonder if its terrestrial along with adjacent satellite interference.

On a positive note, we have finished making wood... We filled a 16 foot horse trailer, two 8'x20' shipping containers, a 8x12 wood shed and the back of the two car garage with wood. In total 20+ cord of wood. We cut about 10 cord of wood per year. The wood we just finished will be for winter 2023. The wood we will burn this year was cut last year. Every morning, it is more BRISK...

As for getting Pizza dish, (ie Dish/DirecTV), that would never be an option for me. Besides being too frugal, you just cannot beat the "CRISP" nature of some of the channels you can get on Cband. I have friends that see our TV (they have Dish/DirecTV) and they marvel on the immense quality of the picture compared to their paid service. - I know this thread was me complaining, but I still love it and when comparing other options out there, I have never looked backward when it comes to my Cband/KU band dish farm.

 

[N6BY]

I was able to get the signal the next day, and so far has stayed locked.. We shall see over the coming days how reliable the signal will be. Regards to peoples messages, i have a portable tuner that allows me to lock signals. I have a 2 foot jumper RG6 cable that i tie directly into the LNBF to the portable tuner, so i know these issues are not related to the cabling. I am pretty sure it is some sort of terrestrial interference that seems to fluctuate through-out the day. I noticed that signals are often clean in the morning and fade and deteriorate through days progress. But, it seems to be limited to certain orbital positions. I wonder if its terrestrial along with adjacent satellite interference.

Just my observations from the west coast (at 121W longitude) which may help with your diagnosis of the interference.

Without the Titanium C138 C-Band was mostly not watchable. I had pixelation, freezes, and audio dropouts every few seconds. With the C138 it is now good with my 10' Unimesh, but sometimes even with the C138 there are still problems when using my 8.5' dish. The dishes are on opposite sides of my house, and I think my 10' dish is better located to block the offending 5G interference.

As for 127W, it comes in fine here. I can watch the one channel on 3980H that is FTA which I'm getting at 11.1 dB. NASA is good most of the time, but I need the 10' dish to get it 100% glitch free. The FTA channels on 4140H are about 11.9 dB without glitches.

I'm thinking that some of my neighbors may be using 5G phones, because I have seen some very large signal spikes when I do a signal graph with EBS Pro. And the signal spikes are intermittent, but not at regular intervals so I am pretty sure its not radar.

I am almost positive that all the C Band problems here are from 5G.

 

[Comptech]

I am so glad I live in the sticks, no problem with Sat and 68 channels of OTA.

 

[Inclined Orbit]

The commercial C-band users are also having a difficult time with 5G interference and since its a multi tiered rollout over time you had to buy a specific filter or filtered LNB at the start of this mess then when the next tier is on air throw away your new filter or LNB and buy another and so on until the final 5G stuff is on air. Then maybe the last and final version of filters or LNBs will cover all the interference. Maybe, maybe not depending on how far away you have 5G towers.

It could be that some of you have filters or LNBs that were adequate for an earlier 5G rollout and now they are letting newer 5G freqs through and you need a newer version. If you were lucky enough to have registered your C-band receive only dish with the FCC then they will pay $$ towards your filter or LNB upgrades. For most of us its $$ down the toilet.