fta no free channels

[shawnruckus]

hi,
I just got my complete satellite equip. set up and after a bunch of tries and moves to diff locations around the property I cant get my signal quality up past 42%(signal strength is at 92%).Now my reciever box says its sees around 35 transponders and I can get around 87 paid channels but not one free channel or a single radio channel. Im located in northeast PA so I was trying to align to galaxy 18 & 19 along with amc 21, once again i get a list of 30 some transponders it sees off those 3 satellites but not one free channel? Im really new to satellite equipment so any help would be greatly appreciated, it feels like im close to the finish but not sure what to do...lol

My equip: Slim line dtv dish, a DV3 S2 reciever box, Dual Output KU Band LNB High Gain Universal Ku Band Twin Output Hd LNB Lnbf Two Output LNB, and top of the line satellite cable.(everything was just bought around X-mas this year)
Thanks for your time,
Shawn

 

[comfortably_numb]

hi,
I just got my complete satellite equip. set up and after a bunch of tries and moves to diff locations around the property I cant get my signal quality up past 42%(signal strength is at 92%).Now my reciever box says its sees around 35 transponders and I can get around 87 paid channels but not one free channel or a single radio channel. Im located in northeast PA so I was trying to align to galaxy 18 & 19 along with amc 21, once again i get a list of 30 some transponders it sees off those 3 satellites but not one free channel? Im really new to satellite equipment so any help would be greatly appreciated, it feels like im close to the finish but not sure what to do...lol

My equip: Slim line dtv dish, a DV3 S2 reciever box, Dual Output KU Band LNB High Gain Universal Ku Band Twin Output Hd LNB Lnbf Two Output LNB, and top of the line satellite cable.(everything was just bought around X-mas this year)
Thanks for your time,
Shawn

The Slimline dish is likely undersized for most current Ku FTA content. It is sufficiently wide perhaps, but at only 22.5" tall, it's a bit too short. You may be able to receive a number of DVB-S feeds on 97, and perhaps the CNN feeds on 87, but that's about it. To get any DVB-S2 channels, you really need at least a 76cm oval dish. This is a good one (I have 2 of them): Winegard 30 Inch Diameter Universal Satellite Dish Antenna (DS-2076) 615798308780 | eBay

 

[IntelPennny4]

bigger dish bud

 

[IntelPennny4]

this dish work for me on 97W when i first started

 

[comfortably_numb]

PS- The Slimline dish would work OK for Orby TV, if you're wanting an inexpensive pay-tv service.

 

[Brct203]

a larger dish would definitely be better but a slimline should still allow reception of Galaxy 19 @97W and at least KBS World on Galaxy 18@123W. It's just more likely to lose them when it's very cloudy/rainy/snowy.

I'm guessing that Shawn is receiving some of the Dish Network satellites. As far as I know, channels on 121W and 110W will easily scan in, and sometimes 119W too

Shawn, can you give a list of some of the transponders you are scanning in? And also a few of the channel names?

Typically, Dish Network channels will scan in with a 4-digit channel name.

 

[comfortably_numb]

a slimline should still allow reception of Galaxy 19 @97W.

That was my experience as well when experimenting with a Slimline. Note: I was not able to receive any of the DVB-S2 feeds on 97, though (Al Kass Two, etc).

 

[Brct203]

That was my experience as well when experimenting with a Slimline. Note: I was not able to receive any of the DVB-S2 feeds on 97, though (Al Kass Two, etc).

yeah i don't think there were any S2 transponders yet on 97W when I last tried with small dishes. I do remember that the NBC transponders on 103W were definitely challenging, and also BVN on 113W was almost impossible.

CGTN on 95W should be the easiest target, I think

 

[Pablo88]

I have that same 30inch dish im new to FTA but i can get no channels on galaxy 19 I really dont know what to do i need strong transponders for galaxy 19 and intelsat 23 and LNB frequency

 

[comfortably_numb]

I have that same 30inch dish im new to FTA but i can get no channels on galaxy 19 I really dont know what to do i need strong transponders for galaxy 19 and intelsat 23 and LNB frequency

Strongest frequency on 97 is probably 11966 H 22000.

 

[. Raine]

On my Slimlines, 95W and 97W are the easiest satellites to get. I've never been able to lock anything on 125W with a Slimline dish, transponders will scan in, but no lock on channels.

 

[Brct203]

I have that same 30inch dish im new to FTA but i can get no channels on galaxy 19 I really dont know what to do i need strong transponders for galaxy 19 and intelsat 23 and LNB frequency

First, I don't know how you are aiming the dish. That's probably the critical part. It's very difficult to aim a dish without any direct feedback. The best approach is to have the receiver and a TV or monitor near teh dish, or at least where you can directly see them through a window, etc. You could also use Facetime or Skype etc to view the TV screen remotely but it's not so convenient as those apps have a slight lag. Also, make sure the pole supporting the dish is perfectly vertical and solidly attached (that it won't sag under the added weight of the dish)

let's start with 95W, it's easier to find than 97W

First, make sure your receiver LNB setting is set to Universal, with Local Oscillator frequencies of 9750 and 10600.

then choose Galaxy 3C Ku /95W as the satellite and select transponder 11780 H 20760. Or if it's not there, see if you can enter it manually.

get the dish aimed roughly with the proper elevation and the approximate azimuth. move the dish sideways in a sweeping motion, around the area you'd expect the satellite to be. if you don't get anything, lower or increase the elevation a bit, and repeat the azimuth sweeping, and keep doing this until you get a signal on that transponder. It's probably the strongest, cleanest transponder in Ku FTA in that part of the sky.

Once you get a lock on the signal, fine tune the elevation and azimuth to maximize the signal quality. Note the the signal strength is irrelevant, it's the quality that matters.

Once you have 95W, do a blind scan, that should bring in 5 CCTV/CGTN channels, and several other Chinese channels on another transponder. Once you have that, Galaxy 19 (97W) is next to it: move the dish slightly to the west by about 2 degrees (or until just past the point when you lose CGTN signal), keeping the same elevation. Change the satellite selection in your receiver to Galaxy 19 Ku, make sure the LNB settings are correct, and do a blind scan. That should likely bring in the Galaxy 19 channels.

For Galaxy 18 (123W), KBS is the easiest signal, but it's not as easy as 95W. Its transponder is 12078 V 3680. It's quite strong but next to another strong satellite, so it can be easily missed. Use the same method as described above.

As Raine indicated, 125W is probably mission impossible on a Slimline dish. Still worth a shot later, once you are more familiar with Galaxy 3C, 18 and 19, but I would not bother trying 125W for now.

 

[harshness]

I'm guessing that Shawn is receiving some of the Dish Network satellites. As far as I know, channels on 121W and 110W will easily scan in, and sometimes 119W too

Wouldn't picking up circular polarity transmissions with a dish outfitted with a linear LNB be a dicey proposition? I get that they're strong beams but the polarity has to count for quite a bit.

 

[Brct203]

Wouldn't picking up circular polarity transmissions with a dish outfitted with a linear LNB be a dicey proposition? I get that they're strong beams but the polarity has to count for quite a bit.

I agree, with a few exceptions:

121W is linear and in regular Ku-Band, so no problem there but it has some FTA channels such as Dish101, and test cards, so i don't think that's what Shawn was getting

119W, in my experience, won't scan in with a linear LNBF, too many transponders on both polarities messing with each other on a linear LNBF

110W however, has some transponders that come in strong on a linear LNBF. I often get them accidentally when scanning 113W. All the channels are encrypted. So I suspect that's what he was receiving. You get many more with a proper circular LNBF

as far as I can tell, 77W, 82W and 91W don't scan in with a linear, only with a circular LNBF

 

[primestar31]

Set the LO frequency for a 10750 standard KU lnb to 10600, and it'll scan in circular Dish or Bell tv channels just fine.

 

[Titanium]

Set the LO frequency for a 10750 standard KU lnb to 10600, and it'll scan in circular Dish or Bell tv channels just fine.

Why would you change the LO? That would only display the transponder frequencies wrong. As long as the LNB frequency range covers to 12750, a linear LNBF LO 10750 will scan the the circular Dish or Bell with approx. 3dB attenuation.

 

[shawnruckus]

Hello everyone,
First I want to thank everyone for they're help and time, I didnt know what to expect by asking for help online but didnt expect this much help this fast!! lol .Thank you all!.. I thought maybe id have to wait a couple days, lol..So I just bought a new dish 33" round, it should be arriving in about a week or so, once it comes in ll have it set up that day and I can let everyone know what kind of difference it made (hopefully ill have some channels).

Here's my current transponder list of scanning for galaxy 18-19 and amc 21
Galaxy18; (in order) Galaxy 19; (in order) AMC 21;(in order)
1. 12588 h 19999 1. 12400 h 27500 1. 12501 h 19999
2. 12588 v 19999 2. 12535 h 27500 2. 12589 h 19999
3. 11776 h 4999 3. 12585 h 30000 3. 12588 v 19999
4. 11786 h 6000 4. 12490 h 30000 4. 11775 h 4999
5. 12632 h 19999 5. 12440 h 30000 5. 11786 h 6000
6. 12501 v 19999 6. 12501 h 19999 6. 12632 h 19999
7. 12632 v 19999 7. 12588 h 19999 7. 12501 v 19999
8. 11776 v 4999 8. 12589 v 19999 8. 11775 v 4999
9. 11786 v 6000 9. 11786 h 6000 9. 11786 v 6000
10. 12633 h 19999 10. 12632 v 19999
11. 12632 v 19999
12. 11776 v 4999
13. 11786 v 6000
14. 12501 v 19999
No free channels or radio tho
If I turn off "free tv only" I get 96 channels that all have the same text format as the next, just the numbers change. $CH-8780, $CH-6252, $CH-6250, $CH-8773 etc. All have info at bottom of screen and all say that they come from one of the 3 satellites im currently looking for...if i view any of those channels it says on the screen " Message - Encrypt Program".. Im lost..lol
Hopefully the bigger dish will fix this??
Thanks again for the help,
Shawn

 

[shawnruckus]

a larger dish would definitely be better but a slimline should still allow reception of Galaxy 19 @97W and at least KBS World on Galaxy 18@123W. It's just more likely to lose them when it's very cloudy/rainy/snowy.

I'm guessing that Shawn is receiving some of the Dish Network satellites. As far as I know, channels on 121W and 110W will easily scan in, and sometimes 119W too

Shawn, can you give a list of some of the transponders you are scanning in? And also a few of the channel names?

Typically, Dish Network channels will scan in with a 4-digit channel name.

Hello everyone,
First I want to thank everyone for they're help and time, I didnt know what to expect by asking for help online but didnt expect this much help this fast!! lol .Thank you all!.. I thought maybe id have to wait a couple days, lol..So I just bought a new dish 33" round, it should be arriving in about a week or so, once it comes in ll have it set up that day and I can let everyone know what kind of difference it made (hopefully ill have some channels).

Here's my current transponder list of scanning for galaxy 18-19 and amc 21
Galaxy18; (in order) Galaxy 19; (in order) AMC 21;(in order)
1. 12588 h 19999 1. 12400 h 27500 1. 12501 h 19999
2. 12588 v 19999 2. 12535 h 27500 2. 12589 h 19999
3. 11776 h 4999 3. 12585 h 30000 3. 12588 v 19999
4. 11786 h 6000 4. 12490 h 30000 4. 11775 h 4999
5. 12632 h 19999 5. 12440 h 30000 5. 11786 h 6000
6. 12501 v 19999 6. 12501 h 19999 6. 12632 h 19999
7. 12632 v 19999 7. 12588 h 19999 7. 12501 v 19999
8. 11776 v 4999 8. 12589 v 19999 8. 11775 v 4999
9. 11786 v 6000 9. 11786 h 6000 9. 11786 v 6000
10. 12633 h 19999 10. 12632 v 19999
11. 12632 v 19999
12. 11776 v 4999
13. 11786 v 6000
14. 12501 v 19999
No free channels or radio tho
If I turn off "free tv only" I get 96 channels that all have the same text format as the next, just the numbers change. $CH-8780, $CH-6252, $CH-6250, $CH-8773 etc. All have info at bottom of screen and all say that they come from one of the 3 satellites im currently looking for...if i view any of those channels it says on the screen " Message - Encrypt Program".. Im lost..lol
Hopefully the bigger dish will fix this??
Thanks again for the help,
Shawn

P.S Also if anybody could recommend any brands/company's for the equipment needed for fta satellite relieving, from individual parts too complete sets/kits, I would be very gratefull. EX: Ive done a bunch of research on what reciever box to invest in next but theyre are way too many boxes with many options and it gets confusing!! lol. Hoping someone can lay it out staight..Thanks

 

[Brct203]

ok I think what you are seeing is a combination of Anik F2 @ 111W and Echostar (Dish Network) @ 110W.

There's nothing to receive on Anik F2 in Ku band but most receivers will detect those transponders at 11776 and 11786. Not sure why you got those in both polarities though. Maybe you turned the LNBF at some point?
The rest of what you are seeing is from Dish Network, and yes, it's all encrypted and using this proprietary naming scheme. Those would likely come in with both H and V as they are circular polarization.

So it means that your dish is pointing too far west.

If you raise the elevation by about 2 degrees and turn the dish eastward by about 13-14 degrees you should start getting something from Galaxy 19 or Galaxy 3C. On the way there you might see SES3 @103W. It has RT and NHK and CGTN in HD, quite easy to receive.

 

[Brct203]

P.S Also if anybody could recommend any brands/company's for the equipment needed for fta satellite relieving, from individual parts too complete sets/kits, I would be very gratefull. EX: Ive done a bunch of research on what reciever box to invest in next but theyre are way too many boxes with many options and it gets confusing!! lol. Hoping someone can lay it out staight..Thanks

I would strongly recommend checking out the stuff at www.titaniumsatellite.com and www.ESTsatellite.com, both are run by fellow forum members and their stuff is top quality at very reasonable prices. Another good place is hypermegasat.com. Beware of receivers on eBay and Amazon, many are cheap stuff that give even cheaper (lousy) results.