Dish farm work, and envy, at 40.3 / -76.9

[oldsmobile]

I've been planning some dish farm work for a little while, and I finally got most of my plans in place and the tools to do it. Three of my dishes are on the roof, and it's harder to get up there.

What I had up there was a 76cm for 121W, a 75e for 97W, and a 90cm that was supposed to be for 125W. I could not get anything on the 125W experiment, so I left it in place last year. Now that there's no need for a 121W anymore, and I effectively had two of three dishes doing nothing, it was time to rework.

This morning, I removed the 76cm and it's now just the pole. I put a single LNB bracket on the 90cm (took off the geosatpro 4-degree bracket), and put in a geosatpro PLL LNB. It took me longer to get my little TV and MicroHD receiver up there, and get myself situated, than it did to get the MTA signals on 87W locked in. I switched over to the LPB signal, and it will not lock. All the fine-tuning in the world will not result in a stable signal--it jumps from 16% to 32%, and that's just not sufficient.

This was disappointing. I have an 85cm Zehnder at ground level aimed at 87W, and it gave the same results. I was hoping that a bigger dish would help, but it has made no appreciable effect.

I will admit to having a bit of envy. I read about some of you who pull in LPB on a 76cm, or get it just fine on a 90cm, and I cannot get it reliably. The MTA signals on 87W come in perfectly, but that LPB is elusive.

It started to rain, though, and I quickly got everything put away. I have zero desire to be on a wet roof. I'm not sure if I'm defeated just yet, though.

Next plan is to put another 90cm up on the empty pole for 125W. Weather permitting, of course.

 

[FTA4PA]

I've been planning some dish farm work for a little while, and I finally got most of my plans in place and the tools to do it. Three of my dishes are on the roof, and it's harder to get up there.

What I had up there was a 76cm for 121W, a 75e for 97W, and a 90cm that was supposed to be for 125W. I could not get anything on the 125W experiment, so I left it in place last year. Now that there's no need for a 121W anymore, and I effectively had two of three dishes doing nothing, it was time to rework.

This morning, I removed the 76cm and it's now just the pole. I put a single LNB bracket on the 90cm (took off the geosatpro 4-degree bracket), and put in a geosatpro PLL LNB. It took me longer to get my little TV and MicroHD receiver up there, and get myself situated, than it did to get the MTA signals on 87W locked in. I switched over to the LPB signal, and it will not lock. All the fine-tuning in the world will not result in a stable signal--it jumps from 16% to 32%, and that's just not sufficient.

This was disappointing. I have an 85cm Zehnder at ground level aimed at 87W, and it gave the same results. I was hoping that a bigger dish would help, but it has made no appreciable effect.

I will admit to having a bit of envy. I read about some of you who pull in LPB on a 76cm, or get it just fine on a 90cm, and I cannot get it reliably. The MTA signals on 87W come in perfectly, but that LPB is elusive.

It started to rain, though, and I quickly got everything put away. I have zero desire to be on a wet roof. I'm not sure if I'm defeated just yet, though.

Next plan is to put another 90cm up on the empty pole for 125W. Weather permitting, of course.

Glad to hear you were able to work on your dish farm today - sorry you couldn't get LPB mux on 87w. Is it possible they were using it for a sports feed as they do use the frequency for that sometimes and LPB goes away for a while? I did just check now and it's coming in fine with 69Q on my 90cm Fortec Star with a Titanium PLL-1KS lnbf. Hoping to do some work on my dishes as well but it got warm too quickly. I really mind the heat so high 70s or better puts me out of commission .

 

[comfortably_numb]

I can sympathize with your 125 issues for sure. That one has been difficult for me lately.

I haven’t had any issues with LPB, though. I have a 76cm fixed on that bird. Like FTA4PA said, they sometimes switch transponders and frequencies on the weekends, so don’t give up

 

[. Raine]

The LPB stations are weaker than the MTA ones for sure, and touchy. If you can get that Q to be steady at 32 rather than jumping 16-32, you'll probably have it. I had a 76 cm locked on 87 w for years (since 2013) and with my MicroHD, high 20's to 32 Q was the lowest it could be without breaking up. I just recently moved that dish to 125w for the PBS stations there.

Maybe just a little tweak might do it, adjust the skew as you watch the Q scale to wherever it's best, move the lnbf forward/backwards in its holder to wherever you have the best Q reading, lightly push up/down and side to side on the lnbf arm and see if Q improves, adjust elevation/azimuth accordingly if it does.

It might just be the weather in your area right now too, you mentioned it started raining, could be that.

Your pole doesn't have to be plumb and level for a fixed dish, but it's much easier if it is, for the tough TPs like 87w PBS. I'd move the dishes off the roof down to ground level if at all possible. I had a few dishes on my roof and it was horrible to work on them. I moved four onto the south side of my house, 2 are on tree stumps and one on a pole in my yard.

Is there any obstacles blocking your signal, trees, buildings, etc? I'm thinking probably not, cause 70 Q seems right about what I remember the MTA's being at for Q on my 76 cm.

 

[oldsmobile]

I can sympathize with your 125 issues for sure. That one has been difficult for me lately.

I haven’t had any issues with LPB, though. I have a 76cm fixed on that bird. Like FTA4PA said, they sometimes switch transponders and frequencies on the weekends, so don’t give up

I think the trick with LPB is to have it be on full power AND have the cojones to climb up that far on the roof. At the same time.

I've had LPB in the past, but it hasn't been reliable in years, even on the motorized 90cm.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using the SatelliteGuys app!

 

[oldsmobile]

The LPB stations are weaker than the MTA ones for sure, and touchy. If you can get that Q to be steady at 32 rather than jumping 16-32, you'll probably have it. I had a 76 cm locked on 87 w for years (since 2013) and with my MicroHD, high 20's to 32 Q was the lowest it could be without breaking up. I just recently moved that dish to 125w for the PBS stations there.

Maybe just a little tweak might do it, adjust the skew as you watch the Q scale to wherever it's best, move the lnbf forward/backwards in its holder to wherever you have the best Q reading, lightly push up/down and side to side on the lnbf arm and see if Q improves, adjust elevation/azimuth accordingly if it does..

Lock it in at Q32? On the MicroHD, "perfect" is around 72, in my experience, and anything over 65 is usually good enough. I may get back up there and see if I can lock at 32, and see how that does for actual watchability. Thanks for that tip!

Pole is plumb and level. I don't post often here, but I have learned a LOT from the assembled group over the past few years. My property layout isn't particularly satellite-friendly. I have a big maple tree in the backyard, which pretty much eliminates anything at ground level. There are trees at the neighbor's property, somewhere around 30ish feet tall, I guess, so I can't get too close to them. From my back porch area, I have gotten from 91W to 103W. Nothing outside that range. At the back of the house, there is a fixed 90cm on 103W, and a converted DirecTV Slimline for 95W.

That leaves the front yard, which is a slope, and rather small. I managed to plant a pole for the 90cm motorized, but the roof gives the best clear shot.

Another reason I'm trying to redo some stuff is that I recently had success in 97W and 91W on the same dish with one of those multi LNB brackets. I had never done that before, and I started thinking that fewer dishes might be achievable.

It's still overcast here right now, and I believe there's possibility of thunderstorms all day.

Lock it in at Q32? On the MicroHD, "perfect" is around 72, in my experience, and anything over 65 is usually good enough. I may get back up there and see if I can lock at 32, and see how that does for actual watchability. Thanks for that tip!

Pole is plumb and level. I don't post often here, but I have learned a LOT from the assembled group over the past few years. My property layout isn't particularly satellite-friendly. I have a big maple tree in the backyard, which pretty much eliminates anything at ground level. There are trees at the neighbor's property, somewhere around 30ish feet tall, I guess, so I can't get too close to them. From my back porch area, I have gotten from 91W to 103W. Nothing outside that range. At the back of the house, there is a fixed 90cm on 103W, and a converted DirecTV Slimline for 95W.

That leaves the front yard, which is a slope, and rather small. I managed to plant a pole for the 90cm motorized, but the roof gives the best clear shot.

Another reason I'm trying to redo some stuff is that I recently had success in 97W and 91W on the same dish with one of those multi LNB brackets. I had never done that before, and I started thinking that fewer dishes might be achievable.

It's still overcast here right now, and I believe there's possibility of thunderstorms all day.

 

[comfortably_numb]

Lock it in at Q32? On the MicroHD, "perfect" is around 72, in my experience, and anything over 65 is usually good enough. I may get back up there and see if I can lock at 32, and see how that does for actual watchability. Thanks for that tip!

Pole is plumb and level. I don't post often here, but I have learned a LOT from the assembled group over the past few years. My property layout isn't particularly satellite-friendly. I have a big maple tree in the backyard, which pretty much eliminates anything at ground level. There are trees at the neighbor's property, somewhere around 30ish feet tall, I guess, so I can't get too close to them. From my back porch area, I have gotten from 91W to 103W. Nothing outside that range. At the back of the house, there is a fixed 90cm on 103W, and a converted DirecTV Slimline for 95W.

That leaves the front yard, which is a slope, and rather small. I managed to plant a pole for the 90cm motorized, but the roof gives the best clear shot.

Another reason I'm trying to redo some stuff is that I recently had success in 97W and 91W on the same dish with one of those multi LNB brackets. I had never done that before, and I started thinking that fewer dishes might be achievable.

It's still overcast here right now, and I believe there's possibility of thunderstorms all day.

Lock it in at Q32? On the MicroHD, "perfect" is around 72, in my experience, and anything over 65 is usually good enough. I may get back up there and see if I can lock at 32, and see how that does for actual watchability. Thanks for that tip!

Pole is plumb and level. I don't post often here, but I have learned a LOT from the assembled group over the past few years. My property layout isn't particularly satellite-friendly. I have a big maple tree in the backyard, which pretty much eliminates anything at ground level. There are trees at the neighbor's property, somewhere around 30ish feet tall, I guess, so I can't get too close to them. From my back porch area, I have gotten from 91W to 103W. Nothing outside that range. At the back of the house, there is a fixed 90cm on 103W, and a converted DirecTV Slimline for 95W.

That leaves the front yard, which is a slope, and rather small. I managed to plant a pole for the 90cm motorized, but the roof gives the best clear shot.

Another reason I'm trying to redo some stuff is that I recently had success in 97W and 91W on the same dish with one of those multi LNB brackets. I had never done that before, and I started thinking that fewer dishes might be achievable.

It's still overcast here right now, and I believe there's possibility of thunderstorms all day.

Sounds like trees may be your issue then?

Also, I’ve noticed it takes me a couple of adjustments during different times of the day to get signal just right. Signals are weaker during the day when it’s hot outside, so I try to fine tune in the early afternoon. Then signals usually peak after dark

 

[oldsmobile]

Well, I'm probably done with the roof for a little while, but I'm still itching to get this done. I just put up a j pole on my back porch, farther away from the house, and I can lock in MTA on 87W perfectly from the ground. No tree blockage there, which surprised me, as I'd never gotten that far before.

So, that is a good sign. I now have 87W in the back yard, and perhaps I'll be doing LPB there.

However, there's still no good signal for a lock. It is jumping from 0 to 12 to 20 and back to zero. I'm adjusting skew, focal length, az, el...nothing is showing any positive effect. I suppose I'll be trying this again later. I really want all the PBS I can get...which is proof that I must not be a kid anymore.

 

[oldsmobile]

I have pretty much zero artistic ability. Here's my layout in Paint. My big maple tree is somehow ignored by Google, but it's there. You cannot see my sidewalk from above in my back yard.
Neighbor's trees aren't tall enough to interfere at this point. When this pic was taken, I'd had a new roof and Commdecks installed. The three along the north side are all for dishes.

So, 87W is confirmed for my back yard, and I'm going to see about peaking it after dark tonight. If I can get it on the ground, I can choose to leave it there or have an excellent starting point for a rooftop peak.

 

[comfortably_numb]

I have pretty much zero artistic ability. Here's my layout in Paint. My big maple tree is somehow ignored by Google, but it's there. You cannot see my sidewalk from above in my back yard.
Neighbor's trees aren't tall enough to interfere at this point. When this pic was taken, I'd had a new roof and Commdecks installed. The three along the north side are all for dishes.

So, 87W is confirmed for my back yard, and I'm going to see about peaking it after dark tonight. If I can get it on the ground, I can choose to leave it there or have an excellent starting point for a rooftop peak.

View attachment 133277

Can you tune The Florida Channel and Florida Lottery Channel on 87? If you can get those, then LPB should come in fine. They are also DVB-S2

 

[oldsmobile]

The Florida Channel and Florida Lottery Channel on 87? If you can get those, then LPB should come in fine. They are also DVB-S2

That was a good idea. I did a blind scan, and Florida Channel came up. Q is bouncing: 0 - 11-14-16-21-0. Oddly, though, the channel is watchable. There's some politician behind a podium at the moment. When I checked the other TPs, they're as good as it gets: Q at 74 on a couple. Everything is there but LPB. Grrrr....

 

[comfortably_numb]

That was a good idea. I did a blind scan, and Florida Channel came up. Q is bouncing: 0 - 11-14-16-21-0. Oddly, though, the channel is watchable. There's some politician behind a podium at the moment. When I checked the other TPs, they're as good as it gets: Q at 74 on a couple. Everything is there but LPB. Grrrr....

Florida Channel should be very strong. 90% signal quality for me on the dedicated 76cm dish here in Kansas. Where are you located?

Do you get full signal on the CNN feeds? 11969 H 29270

 

[oldsmobile]

The plot thickens. After last update, I went back outside to see what was next. Florida Channel stablized at a range from 49 to 60. I have no idea what happened to make that change. I peaked that TP, knowing it is DVB-S2 (thank you, comfortably_numb) and switched back to LPB. No dice.

 

[oldsmobile]

Florida Channel should be very strong. 90% signal quality for me on the dedicated 76cm dish here in Kansas. Where are you located?

Do you get full signal on the CNN feeds? 11969 H 29270

All of the CNN channels are perfect. I'm in Harrisburg PA. I suppose some receivers are more sensitive than others. Could it be the MicroHD itself?

Sent from my SGH-T999 using the SatelliteGuys app!

 

[oldsmobile]

Just out of curiosity, I put my unused 76cm (formerly for 121W) on my other J-pole out back, and hit 87W with it. I am getting very consistent results between A & B. CNN screams in at 74 or 75%, MTA is solid at 70-71, and Florida Channel is watchable without breakups between 44 and 60. If I didn't already know which was which, I could not tell the difference between the 76cm and the 90cm for this particular application.

 

[FTA4PA]

All of the CNN channels are perfect. I'm in Harrisburg PA. I suppose some receivers are more sensitive than others. Could it be the MicroHD itself? View attachment 133278

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That could very well be the case. I've noticed some receivers require just a bit more signal before they will lock while some cheap import boxes I've tested will lock at a lower strength. Do you have any other receivers to try?

 

[SatPhreak]

I get around the same quality as you on my mis aligned 90cm mitorized dish, but I get LPB bouncing between 0 and 23 percent quality.
At the first hint of rain I lose the signal. This is with my microHD receiver.

Sent from my LG-M153 using the SatelliteGuys app!

 

[comfortably_numb]

I’m using the Amiko HD.265 receiver. Signal quality is currently 63%

 

[oldsmobile]

Amazing. This is on a X7 or something like that box. Same dish settings. It's there, but it is breaking up slightly every few minutes.

I have been considering a new receiver. Perhaps this is the time.

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[oldsmobile]

X squared, actually. It's a cheap receiver thrown into a big lot of fta stuff I got a while back. I never really played with it until now.

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