DW-tv interference?

[red23eye]

I live in a restricted community therefore I have a fixed mount 1.2m offset Channelmaster for C band coupled with a CalAmp 17K Lnb into a Pansat 2300A which gives me about 70% signal and 90% quality. This was fine for DW-tv 3840 until about a month ago. Now I have same S&Q but the picture varies from good to none at this frequency. CCTV and NHK come in great off 3880 and 4040. All stations on 3840 are bad. For short times like maybe an hour all goes well then falls apart anytime of the day or night - haven't looked at 0100!

I have replaced the RG6 with new and no help. Re-aimed dish same result. In fact this is best S&Q I have had with this install.

Any thoughts/ suggestions would be appreciated. If new lnb or receiver suggested please give make and number.

Thanks in advance,

Hank

 

[Hermitman]

If the other transponders on the satellite are working ok and it's only that one transponder that's giving you problems, I'd think the satellite is the problem and not your setup.

 

[voomvoom]

You definately need a bigger dish. I'm using a 10' BUD. But, I have a 47% SQ on DW, and it's on 3740, not 3840. On 3840, is where the Pax (i) feeds are. I'm getting 60% SQ on Pax. This is on AMC1 @ 103.0w.

Al

 

[mark_calgary]

You definately need a bigger dish. I'm using a 10' BUD. But, I have a 47% SQ on DW, and it's on 3740, not 3840. On 3840, is where the Pax (i) feeds are. I'm getting 60% SQ on Pax. This is on AMC1 @ 103.0w.

Al

I think he's looking at Pas9.

Maybe some interference from I-805 3848 H (Fox TP) because of the small dish? Just a wild guess. Perhaps Fox changed something in their transponder at the beginning of NFL season (an even wilder guess)

 

[red23eye]

Sorry, big dish is out. But the interference is what I am afraid of. I cannot see AMC 1 as my house is in the way. Would a hotter lnb help giving more gain over the 17K CalComp such as a Norsat 8115?

Thanks guys,

Hank

 

[red23eye]

I am only interested in DW-tv on 3840. Is there any source of a filter to pass only 3840 or reject the 3848 from I 805 that may be the source of intereference?

This is my primary TV source since my wife is German and we have been looking at the DW programs for about ten years now.


FYI I am located in Central Florida where the PAS 9 footprint is strongest.

Hank

 

[mark_calgary]

I think some people here have had success by moving the dish slightly left or right. You'll get lower quality on DW but you have lots to spare and maybe the interfering signal, if that is the problem, will be proportionally weakened enough for you to lock properly on DW. When your picture drops out try pulling on each side of the dish to see if it comes back.

A filter won't reject in band interference as the signals overlap.

A hotter LNB won't help. The only possibility I can think of where a different LNB "might" help is if you use one with a much more stable and accurate L.O. frequency - either a good DRO based one like the Norsat 8115 or an even more expensive PLL based one. Perhaps your Calamp L.O is off enough to place more of the interfering signal in band. But this is very unlikely to be the cause if it is even possible and is a very expensive test if it doesn't help.

You could also play a bit with the LNB skew as a last resort.......

I can only wish that I was in the centre of *ANY* footprint of the satellites I'm interested in way up here.....

 

[red23eye]

Mark,

Thnaks for your efforts. Within reason, money is not an issue - like trying a better lnb is cheap as compared to rotating my house about 20 degrees! It is possible I can "play" with the pointing and the skew as it seems to be "just out", but I have the feeling that the temperature variations could be getting to me - it is still hot here in Florida so we get a 25 deg F swing. There are so many vriables it is driving me nuts as you can imagine.

Passed thru your world last year about this time last year in my motorhome returning from Alaska - Canada is much prettier.

Thanks again,

Hank

 

[photoman76]

I don't think it is your setup. The signal here in California is strong, but I have periodic breakups and tiling. I checked the transponder with TSReader and there are sync losses, continuity errors and TEI errors. I think they are having encoder problems on that transponder. Your Pansat 2300A may be having trouble processing these errors. When the picture is bad, does it help if you turn the receiver off and then retune the channel?

 

[red23eye]

Hi Photoman,

When I turn off the receiver the picture at turn on is momentarily better but not long. I am not sure what you mean by "retuning the channel".

I share your belief about the transponder having problems. It has not been really reliable for some time - that is there are always short periods of difficulty but they have gone away soon. I have not found the 2300A to be the best, but as long as it worked I kept it in place. I feel a new receiver would be in order and perhaps an LNB with a tighter LO. My inclination is to go for the NorSat 8115 and the Buzz 2010 which seems to have the latest and, I hope, greatest tuner and processor since blind scan and other goodies are not that important for my use.

Appreciate your thoughts. Time to search for some new goodies as I am sure things will not get better in the long haul.

Thanks again,

Hank

 

[photoman76]

When I turn off the receiver the picture at turn on is momentarily better but not long. I am not sure what you mean by "retuning the channel".

By retuning, I mean just selecting DW TV channel. But I guess you don't have to retune it as the receiver probably automatically tunes the last channel it was receiving. It sounds like the Pansat is having problems processing the errors in the signal. The picture is better until it encounters another error and then the picture breaks up again. Some receivers are probably better at handling errors, but I'm not up on the current receivers, so I can't recommend one over another. Hopefully, they will correct the encoder problems soon.

 

[red23eye]

The age of miracles has not ended! This morning DW-tv is clear, solid, outstanding as it was before. Will leave on all day and monitor. Still think I will opt for a new receiver as this one lacks some features I want and besides it may have a improved processor.

Thanks for the help and support,

Hank

 

[red23eye]

Miracle ended about 1000 local time. Have ordere new receiver and will try Norsat 8115 ASAP.

Hank

 

[mark_calgary]

Mark,

Thnaks for your efforts. Within reason, money is not an issue - like trying a better lnb is cheap as compared to rotating my house about 20 degrees!

...

Passed thru your world last year about this time last year in my motorhome returning from Alaska - Canada is much prettier.

Thanks again,

Hank

If I could I would buy my neighbour's house and knock off the upper floor so I could see further east than Pas9.

If you can handle the winter (I love skiing so it's easy) this is a nice place to be.

Glad to hear that someone has confirmed that it isn't your equipment that's at fault. But it does sound like you are entering the endless tweaking/upgrading/playing that all of us here do with our dishes.....

I'll look tonight to see if my Pansat 2500 has the same issues as your 2300 with DW on Pas9. I have a Norsat 8115 on a 10' mesh.

 

[red23eye]

Mark,

That is devotion to FTA!

It will be interesting to see what you find. It seems that there is activity of some kind as every so often the screen is completely tiled for a short time. One time when looking at CCTV and even it was bad for a similar time - most unusual from my experience.

At 82 young skiing is out for me - this minamal FTA is bad enough. I learned my electronics when TV was a pup.

I have ordered a Buzz S2010 for $150 and I hope a Norsat 8115 for $123 plus ship.

This is getting to be quite a saga. Appreciate your help and interest.

Looking forward to your find tonight.

Hank

 

[mark_calgary]

I looked last night- this morning for you - at midnight and also at 0600 mountain time. Both DW-TV USA and DW-TV Latin America were solid for the half hour I watched them for. Sounds like I will need to watch for longer, though, as it is so intermittent for you. Fairly easy to do as I have 2 receivers and a big TV that allows a split screen. For reference I get ~60% quality on my Pansat 2500 with a 10' dish mostly because of my location in the footprint and a bit of shadowing by that same neighbour's house.

It wasn't much effort to look as there isn't much else I can do with a 2 month old sleeping in my arms. I usually have her for a bit at these times to allow my wife to have some uninterrupted sleep.

I'll keep looking now and again as Pas9 is my favourite satellite and I'm always on it Saturday and Sunday mornings searching for international sports feeds. Once in a while I also watch DW if I scan past it and they have something interesting on in English. If I remember right I think the last thing I watched was something on the Airbus 380.

If you are just recently getting this same kind of interference on other transponders at the same time, perhaps it could be caused by something ground based - terrestrial microwave? Perhaps your coax cable or connections are deteriorating?

I guess you are doing the right thing and eliminating one thing at time. And you'll get some newer toys at the end of it

 

[red23eye]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for looking - in case you do not know, the English on DW is on the even hour with daylight time - changes back to the odd hour with standard time. My quality is still 90% with Signal at 70%. It will vary +/- 2 or 3 in both cases but it does not seem to bother the picture.

It is beginning to look like the problem is intereference with 805 at 55.5 probably the 3848 Fox stuff. If, as some one suggested, -was it you - they have activated some sports feeds for the football season, then this is could be my problem. With your 10 footer it would not bother you, but my 1.2 meter has too broad a look. I cannot even detune very far without losing PAS 9 completely in an effort to eliminate the splatter from 805. Strange it would show up all of a sudden since I have the same install for more than a year.

It has been suggested that maybe the 3480 transponder with DW is less powerful than those with the CCTV and NHK feeds. Do you have anyway to see if this is true? I have had a variety of problems in the past getting DW when the others were still strong, but eventurally the problem would go away.

I have checked cale performance with new RG6 and changed to another identical LNB and no change. I will get Norsat 8115 Monday along with new receiver - I will keep my fingers crossed at the first turnon.

Again many thanks and I am sure your wife thanks you also.

Hank

 

[mark_calgary]

Hi Mark,

It is beginning to look like the problem is intereference with 805 at 55.5 probably the 3848 Fox stuff. If, as some one suggested, -was it you - they have activated some sports feeds for the football season, then this is could be my problem.

Yes, that was my random speculation.

It has been suggested that maybe the 3480 transponder with DW is less powerful than those with the CCTV and NHK feeds. Do you have anyway to see if this is true? I have had a variety of problems in the past getting DW when the others were still strong, but eventurally the problem would go away.

NHK is definitely very strong as it passes through an inactive port on a DiseqC switch to the input on my other receiver. Imagine my surprise when I scanned a Ku satellite and found NHK on both polarities.

I'll compare the quality between DW, CCTV, and NHK during tonight's childminding.

I have checked cale performance with new RG6 and changed to another identical LNB and no change. I will get Norsat 8115 Monday along with new receiver - I will keep my fingers crossed at the first turnon.

Again many thanks and I am sure your wife thanks you also.

Hank

Too bad you can't put up a slightly bigger dish in secret and then pretend it's the same size to anyone who asks. I'm envious you get such high quality readings with a 1.2m dish now regardless of your issues with DW.

Tell us how your tinkering goes.

 

[mark_calgary]

I'll compare the quality between DW, CCTV, and NHK during tonight's childminding.

Pansat 2500 Quality readings at midnight my time

DW-TV 60%- 75% bouncing
CCTV 75% steady
NHK 90-97% bouncing

Seems to be excessive variability in the DW-TV TP quality even for a pansat meter. Could it be related to your dropouts?

 

[red23eye]

I believe that the intereference problem and possibly lower power on the transponder account for the lower readings. The bouncing also could stem from the interference since it seems to vary in magnitude.

Until I get the new LNB and the receiver installed, I doubt there is much more to be determined - I either get a useable pix or I do not. Hope that the better equipment will do the trick. Maybe I will need to wait until the end of football. At least I can get the news on CCTV 9 - it is pretty good but I have some problem with the broadcaster's enunciation.

I could probably get away with a 6 foot dish, but I am not sure it will solve the problem. One step at a time. Mike Kohl, whom I have dealt with for several years, suggested putting the dish behind a friend's house, look at AMC-1 and use the internet to get a signal to my place - wow!

This has all been interesting - amazing how it all goes together.

Thanks again, will sit tight for a day or two then come back.

Hank