Help! Can't Find Sat for HD

[jcart]

We just added the HD essentials package to our Americas Top 200. We only picked up a couple of the channels we're supposed to get. We have two dishes, one is currently picking up sat 119 and 110 the other wasn't in use until now. Everything I've read indicates that I should be trying to pick up sat 61.5 or sat 129 for the rest of our HD channels. I've heard sat 129 is difficult so I tried to pick up 61.5 this evening. I couldn't find it, not even a blip on the meter.

We live in Arlington, Wa 98223. According to our receivers we should be using Azimuth 93 and Elevation 10 for sat 61.5. I tried everything around that area with no success.

We have an old PVR 508 and the vip222 for receivers. Both of the dish LNBs were upgraded to the dish pro plus when we purchased the vip222.

Is there anything I'm missing here?

 

[digital echo]

The elevation is only 10? Id try to pick the 129 Sat up then. Just make sure you have a good clear line of sight. And remember you will only see those channels on the 222 recvrs.

I checked it out on my recvr, and it is 10. Thats like pointing that dish at the ground, make sure the LOS is good.

 

[RandallA]

With an elevation of 10, 61.5 is gonna be very difficult for you. Do you have trees, hills, or anything that would block the signal? I would try hitting 129 first and see what you get. 129 is bad in the PNW but at least you could get it easier. The best solution for you is to get a bigger dish 24 inch or 30 inch and hit 129.

 

[jcart]

Thanks for you help!

Our receiver doesn't seem have any azimuth or Elevation info for sat 129. Does anybody know what direction I should be pointing in?

 

[Miner]

How were you connecting the 61.5 dish to the receiver? Were you connected directly or through a switch? I find it is easier when installing dishes to connect the new dish directly to the receiver and running a check switch then trying to aim.

The Az and El for Arlington are correct. At the risk of asking the obvious, have you checked to make sure you have a clear line of sight to 61.5? From our part of the country, it is looking at just above the horizon (trees and mountains not included) almost due east. It is a hard to get a good line of sight out here because of the trees and hills here, but it is possible. I used to get 61.5 and was litterally looking through the trees.

Use the 508 to aim, and move the dish very slowly, pausing for a few seconds between each move.

I was trying to aim a friend's dish today (going from 61.5 to 129) and for some reason, I couldn't get 129. I could find 119 but just couldn't find 129. I think the mast isn't as plumb as it should be, which can also cause problems aiming the dish, something else to check.

If you do find 61.5, it is a good signal but Fox Sports NW isn't on it, only on 129. But then again, 129 drops signal (due to wobble) about every 25 minutes for 15 seconds on some of the channels.

I hope this helps.

Miner

 

[RandallA]

Thanks for you help!

Our receiver doesn't seem have any azimuth or Elevation info for sat 129. Does anybody know what direction I should be pointing in?

Use the settings for 119 and a D300 in the Point Dish Screen and then just swing the dish to the West 9 degrees slowly until you hit 129. If you're standing behind the dish, you will swing it to your right.

Use the 508 as Miner suggested above.

 

[jcart]

You'll have to forgive me if I get the terminology incorrect, it's been a while since I installed them, but I believe we have a Dish Pro Plus Twin LNB and a Dish Pro Dual LNB. We have one dish tied into the other and 2 lines feeding the house. When I run the check switch it says the connection is good for all but there is no siginal for the third sat.

 

[BobaBird]

That sounds like an accurate description. Try DishPointer.com - Satellite Dish Pointer / Alignment Calculator with Google Maps for the settings, 129° is in the drop-down list.

 

[Miner]

jcart,

You have a good dish setup for 3 satellites. 129 is ~10 degrees west of your dish 500, elevation is pretty much the same.

What caught me off guard last night (rookie mistake) is what transponder I had the receiver selected. Up here, 110 Transponder 20 isn't active, and for whatever reason, that is which TP the receiver was looking for signal. Kinda hard to find a satellite without signal. As soon as i switched to a 'live' transponder, it peaked in about 2 seconds. With 129, use TP 31 as it is one of the stronger signals.

I now have an 'Oddball' setup especially for the Seattle area. A single 500 pan with I bracket pointed at 110 and a 500 aimed at 119 and 129. 129 TP 31 comes in around 45%, very close to the 50% with the larger 24" dish the company installed. We'll see how it works compared to the larger dish with respect to loss of signal.

Miner

 

[loves2watch]

jcart,

You have a good dish setup for 3 satellites. 129 is ~10 degrees west of your dish 500, elevation is pretty much the same.

What caught me off guard last night (rookie mistake) is what transponder I had the receiver selected. Up here, 110 Transponder 20 isn't active, and for whatever reason, that is which TP the receiver was looking for signal. Kinda hard to find a satellite without signal. As soon as i switched to a 'live' transponder, it peaked in about 2 seconds. With 129, use TP 31 as it is one of the stronger signals.

I now have an 'Oddball' setup especially for the Seattle area. A single 500 pan with I bracket pointed at 110 and a 500 aimed at 119 and 129. 129 TP 31 comes in around 45%, very close to the 50% with the larger 24" dish the company installed. We'll see how it works compared to the larger dish with respect to loss of signal.

Miner

129 has the weakest signal of any satellite. You really want to shoot for 50 about the strongest signal you can get there. If you do get a picture with no macro-blocking, consider yourself lucky and enjoy HD to it's fullest. You seem to be doing very good signal wise.

 

[Miner]

129 has the weakest signal of any satellite. You really want to shoot for 50 about the strongest signal you can get there. If you do get a picture with no macro-blocking, consider yourself lucky and enjoy HD to it's fullest. You seem to be doing very good signal wise.

I'm with you. That is why I was surprised to get into the 40s with a 500 aiming at both 119 and 129.

Miner