Despite warning, I saved configuration with fewer satellites - help!

FL RV Guy

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Aug 24, 2019
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Florida
I was in a location with limited reception and, after running the "test installation" on my Dish receiver, I made the mistake of saving the 1- satellite configuration. Can anyone tell me how I go about getting back to the 3 satellite configuration that I had previously? Thanks
 
I was in a location with limited reception and, after running the "test installation" on my Dish receiver, I made the mistake of saving the 1- satellite configuration. Can anyone tell me how I go about getting back to the 3 satellite configuration that I had previously? Thanks

Run a check switch without any dish connected, then save that configuration before re-connecting coax.
 
Running a check switch without the dish connected won't restore your previous 3 satellite result. The only way to get a 3 satellite "check switch" result is by doing that check switch with a clear view of all 3 Satellites and adequate signal from each one.
 
Running a check switch without the dish connected won't restore your previous 3 satellite result. The only way to get a 3 satellite "check switch" result is by doing that check switch with a clear view of all 3 Satellites and adequate signal from each one.
Oh for God’s sake, you do the Check Switch with nothing attached to clear the matrix. Then you reattach and run the Check Switch again to see the 3 satellites! That’s all he was saying.
 
Oh for God’s sake, you do the Check Switch with nothing attached to clear the matrix. Then you reattach and run the Check Switch again to see the 3 satellites! That’s all he was saying.

Doing so certainly will clear the matrix. Seeing how the OP didn't ask how to clear the matrix, it is a completely unnecessary step in achieving his goal. That's all I was saying. Sorry if my response rubbed ya a bit wrong.
 
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I was in a location with limited reception and, after running the "test installation" on my Dish receiver, I made the mistake of saving the 1- satellite configuration. Can anyone tell me how I go about getting back to the 3 satellite configuration that I had previously? Thanks

Doing so certainly will clear the matrix. Seeing how the OP didn't ask how to clear the matrix, it is a completely unnecessary step in achieving his goal. That's all I was saying. Sorry if my response rubbed ya a bit wrong.
Well he didn’t say anything about the matrix, specifically, but he did ask, specifically, how to get back to the three satellite configuration that he had previously. rvvaquero got him started by telling him how to clear the matrix, a necessary step in his case. What he didn’t say was to run the check switch after reattaching the coax. From the wording of the first post the OP was in a location with limited reception and saved the “test installation” (aka check switch) looking at a single satellite. If the receiver is set up to see a single satellite you have to reset it so it will look for more satellites, three in his case. So, clearing the matrix is very necessary to get there.
 
.......... So, clearing the matrix is very necessary to get there.

I guess I'm missing the reason why clearing the matrix would be necessary based on the info in the OP's post. I don't think I've ever, in 18 years and thousands of installs, had to clear the matrix to get a successful multisat result once the dish was correctly aimed. Once the OP correctly aims his dish, the next check switch will show all 3 Sat's whether the matrix was cleared or not.

Contrary to what your initial response implied, my post was in no way meant to be a knock on Rvvaquero. I simply didn't think it answered the OP's question correctly/completely so I gave it a go. If I've learned one thing here, it's that you can't assume anyone knows what you mean when explaining how things work.
 
Like Brussam, I've never had to clear the matrix after saving it with just one or two sats instead of all three. Just re-runing the test with all three in sight works fine on our H2's. We occasionally land on heavily treed campsites where I can only dial in one or two sats, but the next site has a clearer view. Even switching arcs/LNB's hasn't required clearing the matrix. The last time I can remember doing that was with our old VIP211k while troubleshooting a connection problem.
 
You don't have to clear the matrix, just re-aim the Dish correctly. What clearing the Matrix does is removes the results of the last Check Switch that was errant
 
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You don't have to clear the matrix, just re-aim the Dish correctly. What clearing the Matrix does is removes the results of the last Check Switch that was errant

I'm not going to get into a pissing match over this, but here's my experience using a VIP211K with both dome dishes and fixed dishes on both arcs over many years of rv'ing.

If you change from EA to WA or vice versa..............and if you're using your receiver to align the dish (like many non-professionals do)..............or if you weren't getting all the sats in your previous location............the receiver will only be looking for the previous configuration when you try to align the dish anew. Thus, my advice to clear the previous settings by doing a check switch with no dish.

However, if you do your alignment using a quality instrument and not the receiver, then run a check switch, you won't need to clear the previous setting like I advised.

Since the OP did not tell us which receiver, dish, or alignment method he was using, I made some assumptions and gave him a simple way to clear his receiver of the previous setup. You know what they say about assumptions. I apologize for my misstep. I will try to do better in the future.............maybe. :banme
 
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From what I gather here from the true pros I am incorrect on the clear matrix option. It seems the newest check switch is already taking care of that. I apologize for my tirades! I know there are times that a pure clear matrix is desirable but I guess I am forgetting just when that is.

BTW Bourbon is not one of my favorites. Myers Dark Rum on the other hand! :D
 
From what I gather here from the true pros I am incorrect on the clear matrix option. It seems the newest check switch is already taking care of that. I apologize for my tirades! I know there are times that a pure clear matrix is desirable but I guess I am forgetting just when that is.

BTW Bourbon is not one of my favorites. Myers Dark Rum on the other hand! :D

If you use a quality signal meter (like the professionals here do) and align the dish, then do inside and turn on the receiver, the receiver will go through a boot up sequence which includes a check switch. So, the old check switch is no longer valid.

However, if you're using the receiver to align the dish (none of the professionals here would do that), then there will be no new check switch until the dish is aligned. You interrupt the normal boot up sequence and go straight to the menu/dish alignment screen. It's a catch 22. It doesn't do any good to run a new check switch until the dish is aligned and you can't align the dish until the receiver looks for the satellites, using the old check switch.

If you leave the old check switch with just one sat on it while you try to align the dish using the receiver, then all it will look for is that one sat. It's hard to align a dish on three sats when it's only looking for one, if you're using the receiver to align the dish. That's why I suggested doing a check switch with no dish connected. After you do that, the receiver will look for all sats.

When I first started full time RV'ing, most RV'ers I observed used the receiver to align the dish. Back then, there was only one or two sats to align. You could align the dish by listening to the receiver through an open window. Pretty easy stuff. Nowadays, most RV'ers use automatic dishes, so this whole discussion is mostly moot. But, if the OP is doing it the old way using the receiver to align and listening through an open window for the tone, I can certainly relate to him..............and I stand by my original advice.
 
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