Hughesnet raven dish .74 Good for FTA?

[dan70]

Hi everyone, I just got a hughesnet dish it measures 28 3/4" X 34"
and I cant get anything on it. I have been reading a lot about FTA here for the last few weeks so am familiar with basic setup, elevation, azimuth etc...
I'm using a coolsat 5000 and would like to get Galaxy 19 for starters.
Perhaps the dish is to small for Salem Oregon? I am very frustrated been trying for a couple weeks now, even tried a spitfire elite Lnb with no results.
Funny thing there is a di*h network dish 500 fully setup when I moved here just couple feet away from my new install and the coolsat scans 119 well, all scrambled but well So I'm thinking looks clear from around 90 to 190 degrees (magnetic)
So I move my hughesnet dish 20 degrees east or so and nothing, heck tried 123.0 W today still no go. Any clues? I'm at loss. One last thing hughesnet dish was set at around 22 degrees elevation by a former hughsnet installer, wonder why so low?

P.S I included a pic of the same model dish as mine.

Sorry about the lengthy post but Thanks in advance to all.

 

[sathen]

You could but you have to do some changes.First You have to change LNB for the one working on Ku band.Then You have to find focal point on that dish (LNB HEAD MUST be in the center of reflected waves from parabolic surface).Its kind of dificoult. You be better of getting something from Ebay.Besides that size of your dish is a bit too small for obtaining a good signal.Important during the rain.Good luck.

 

[dan70]

I am worried dish is a little small but cant buy one for a while yet.
The lnb that came with the hughesnet dish is KU I'm told all I had to do is disconnect the transmitter part from the lnb part. I attached the spitfire side by side with the hughes lnb,
evened them up where the plastic lens caps are, but perhaps the spitfire needs a new focal point?
either way I agree I need a good setup from ebay but was hoping to make this work until I can afford it. The hughes dish was used until recently for Internet and it did get at least one sat
but then again I didn't install it then
thanks for the input.

 

[Mr Tony]

I hate to say it but disregard pretty much everything sathen wrote. Its all wrong

The Hughesnet LNB usually has a transmitter and a receiver part on the LNB. You can remove the transmitter part and use the existing LNB for FTA. I've used Directway and DirecPC dishes for FTA.

The dish is big enough to get FTA. a 30" dish minimum is required for FTA. The oblong dishes actually help reject interference from satellites next door

If you could take pics of the dish and LNB that you have it would help a little better. But like I say remove the transmitter from the dish and then you should be OK for FTA.

Those dishes can skew so make sure you have the right skew for the satellite in question. You can check thelist at the top and put in your zip. It will tell you skew for each satellite (along with the elevation too). Since you want ot get 97W and are on the coast skew is critical to get a signal

 

[Mr Tony]

For Salem OR the numbers are as such

32 elevation
130 azimuth (where it is in the sky)
-24 for skew. Since the dish skew is at 90 to begin with if you are standing behind the dish turn the dish counterclockwise towards 66. That is what the skew is

Ono the CS5000 make sure the LNB Frequency is set to SINGLE and 10750
make sure you have an active transponder up when aiming the dish. 12177 or 12152 are good ones. Make small movements with the dish because the receiver takes a little bit to acknowledge the satellite. The bars on the meter will turn green when you are locked on the satellite.

 

[hwm]

Aiming the dish is pretty straightforward if your mounting pole is plumb and the dish's markings are accurate.

The geostationary satellites are in an arc across your sky, highest in the middle at your true south. Once you visualize this, it becomes a lot easier to wrap your mind around finding one in particular at a certain azimuth/compass reading.

Make sure your mounting pole/arm is exactly plumb, then set your dish elevation and skew to the correct figures for your location. On a high-quality dish like the Hughesnet the markings should be accurate.



Setting up the receiver options can be confusing at first.

Set the receiver and a small TV or monitor up right next to the dish, or down on the ground close by the pole.

Set your receiver up as Iceberg posted for 97w. On my CS6000, I use the Manual Scan screen when searching for a signal. Then very, very slowly swing it through where your compass says the sat should be. Go quite a ways past each way, since metal objects (like your satellite dish) near a magnetic compass can cause significant errors. It helps to turn on the signal beeper function in the receiver, if available.

One thing that helps me is to print out the satellite's info from "The List" on this site. It gives the active transponder and FTA channel data on the sat I'm looking for. Click on the link at the top of any page here for "The List".

Your Hughesnet dish is plenty big for Ku band FTA.

If you can't get a signal, write down all your settings from the manual scan setup screen in the CS5000 and post them back here.



The Dish500 you have will also work for 97w, 101w, and most of the stronger Linear Ku FTA sats with your Spitfire Elite Linear LNB mounted on it in place of the twin circular lnbs.

See my earlier post on this subject below.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/209227-what-can-i-get-linear-lnb.html

 

[sathen]

I Thing U Right Iceberg. Just realized that he has 34 inch NOT 28 like I saw in the first look on his letter.Yea. With 34 inches hi will be OK as long as his LNB can be tuned to Local Oscilator 10750. I just finished my experiment on using 18 inches dish with full success so even with smaller size it is possible. I would not use it for permanent use ( On rainy day U can forget it) so I always would recommend as big as possible.Later I put some pictures..

 

[Anole]

aiming a skewable dish, for beginner:

Mounting an LNB beside the existing one, would require aiming the dish differently, so let's not get into something like that on your first one. -

Make sure the post is plumb.
Set the skew on the back of the dish to 90° (no offset). - (no, not a typo)
Stand well behind the dish with your compass (to prevent the metal from affecting the compass).
Aim across the dish at 130° (using Iceberg's numbers)
Find a point in the distance, that lines up with your dish, on the 130° direction.
For best results, pick a tree, fence post, corner of a house, that's at least several hundred feet in front of the dish.
Make sure the dish is aimed toward your distant reference.
The way you will do this is to aim the LNB support arm. (that's about all you have to work with).
Make a pencil mark on the post, and a matching one on the clamp that holds the dish to the post.
During your dish test alignment, you will may twist (aim) the dish on the pole so the two marks are out of alignment by maybe 1/8" and no more.
Line up the marks; note the dish is aimed at your distant object.
Now, skew the dish the -24° as Iceberg said, and lock down the skew adjustments.
Does the dish look like it's still aimed at your distant reference point?
It won't appear to be, but if the pencil marks are still aligned, then it IS ! -

Skewing an offset dish adds an optical illusion to the process of aiming that you don't need.
This procedure cancels that effect.


I am reminded of this situation every time I fiddle with a dish that has it's own skew.
However, I don't recall ever seeing it written down.
Feedback from other members is requested, on improving or fine-tuning the idea.

 

[dan70]

Thank you all for the wonderful info. I checked many sat sites before joining this one, it is the best, no funny stuff here just the best on the net.
I experimented today and attached a circular lnb and got 119 on the hughes dish instantly.
I wanted to check and see if I can even aim, after 2 weeks I started doubting.
of course its a much stronger beam but at least I can aim
I wonder if the required 38 deg elevation helped getting the signal? (zip 97305)

I will try all the advice today since weathers good, but am confused about something.

(1.) How do I scan active/strong tp on my coolsat if I am getting no quality? am I missing something?
The way I've been doing it is moving dish around, up down side to side etc. and get the quality, then blind scan on my coolsat 5000 for channels.

All I got so far is dis* Net with the experimental circular lnb.
Can I scan a sat tp before getting quality? did I misunderstand?

(2.) Should I use my universal spitfire elite lnb or the one that came with the dish?
original hughes lnb is rated 11.95 to 12.75 and has the dual arms.

(3.) There is a one story duplex in front of me maybe
20 ft to 25 feet tall about 15 feet in front of me will that be low enough to clear? I don't have an inclinometer.

Many thanks to all and God Bless

 

[hwm]

"(1.) How do I scan active/strong tp on my coolsat if I am getting no quality? am I missing something?
The way I've been doing it is moving dish around, up down side to side etc. and get the quality, then blind scan on my coolsat 5000 for channels. "

Go to the "Manual Scan" screen on your Coolsat. Select the Ku satellite at 97w. It may be named G19 or G25 which G19 replaced. Choose the one of the transponders that Iceberg recommended. If they are not available, print out the pages for G19 @ 97w from The List on this site. Input the data manually with the "Add Transponder" option in your Coolsat's Manual Scan screen.

With your Coolsat set on its Manual Scan screen and the Ku satellite at 97w selected and one of the two recommended transponders selected, make sure your other options are set as Iceberg recommended.

Now, with your dish carefully adjusted for the correct elevation and skew for your zip code, move it slowly through that area of your sky that is at or near the correct magnetic azimuth for your zip code. Follow Anole's instructions above on this.

If/when the signal bars turn green, you are locked on the signal. Peak it and scan just the one transponder for now by pressing the OK button on the remote. If it scans in the expected channels, exit the Manual Scan screen and go to the Blind Scan screen. Now is the time to Blind Scan your sat, after you have found the desired transponder and confirmed the sat's identity.

If the signal bars do not even flicker green for an instant, recheck your dish aiming. If you still can't get a signal lock, please post your option settings from the manual scan screen, and someone with a similar Coolsat will check them for you.

You must be locked on the transponder you are looking for, before you try a blind scan. Signal Strength just means that your LNB is working and sending a signal to your receiver. Signal Quality is what you are looking for. Quality means that the LNB is receiving a signal at the chosen transponder frequency / polarization / symbol rate (S/R).

"(2.) Should I use my universal spitfire elite lnb or the one that came with the dish?
original hughes lnb is rated 11.95 to 12.75 and has the dual arms."

If the original LNB is sending good signal strength to the receiver, I would use it for now.

"(3.) There is a one story duplex in front of me maybe
20 ft to 25 feet tall about 15 feet in front of me will that be low enough to clear? I don't have an inclinometer."

Most offset Ku band dishes "Look" 22.5 degrees above their actual line of sight. Make a 22.5 degree cardboard template and see where it aims with the template in place, wide end at the bottom of your dish.

HINT: If you don't have a protractor, 22.5 degrees is half of 45 which is half of 90. You can fold a piece of paper into a perfectly serviceable 22.5 degree angle.


This site helped me a lot when I started in this hobby too.

 

[ynnedibanez]

i have a dish identical to that one, the lnb on it works quite well.
you should be able to get very good signal on 97w
also, you dont have to remove the transmitter, just leave it unhooked, personally i would leave it on to keep bugs out of the feed tube
the only reason to remove it would be to reduce the weight of the dish, and being as you are not putting a motor on it, there is no reason to do that.
even without a transmitter that particular dish is too heavy for a motor
hope this helps,
Denny

 

[dan70]

Hi I wanted to say that with everyones help I have success getting 97 W
quality is coming in at mostly around 87% up to 91% on a few channels.

It took under 30 minutes using the strong transponder method mentioned.

What I did wrong was going under the main dish setup in my coolsat 5000 menu,
(where you adjust lnb type etc) and picked my satellite there ; instead of going to manual scan and finding a strong TP on the satellite.

I tried getting quality with no luck in that menu...

I didn't know about going into manual scan, picking your satellite and going to a strong transponder and look for quality there.

(I hope that makes sense to everyone)

Funny thing, once I changed my method, the markings on the pole and dish I had made days ago where exact, just used the wrong menu/method.
At least that is what I'm getting out of all of this. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I got roughly 246 channels and 138 radio channels in my blind scan with only a handful being encrypted

I would like to give give everyone a big thank you for your help
-Dan

 

[BiggRedd]

Just adding my 2 cents worth

I am in agreement with many others. Your dish is plenty big for FTA. I have an old Starband/DN 36x27 dish and the original Starband LNB. I use it for 83.0W(RTV) and I get 90-91% Quality on my cs4K box.

I also have an old DN 19.5"T x18"W dish with a standard .03 linear LNB on it for 89.0W(ABC News NOW) with 69-71% Quality. Not excellent, but sharp and stable picture. Actually, I did this one because I was told it couldn't be done.

With a smaller dish I find you must kinda pick your battles. Weaker transponders probably won't scan in no matter how many times you try. and of course, a bigger dish bigger is usually better.

All of the above has been said many times in this and other forums, just felt the need to chime in.

Most important part is to have fun with the hobby.

 

[Mr Tony]

Hi I wanted to say that with everyones help I have success getting 97 W
quality is coming in at mostly around 87% up to 91% on a few channels.

sweet. Glad it is working out

The number of channels you are getting is about right

 

[Mr Tony]

Welcome to the forum

I also have an old DN 19.5"T x18"W dish with a standard .03 linear LNB on it for 89.0W(ABC News NOW) with 69-71% Quality. Not excellent, but sharp and stable picture. Actually, I did this one because I was told it couldn't be done.

some of those stronger signals work decent with the smaller dish. I use to have a 18" dish for 72W and when 101W had Fox Beaumont, TX I had a Directv Phase II (with the removable separate LNB's) for 91/101/110
91 for the free audio on Bell (now scrambled)
101 for KUIL and 3ABN
110 for part of my Dish sub.

With a smaller dish I find you must kinda pick your battles. Weaker transponders probably won't scan in no matter how many times you try. and of course, a bigger dish bigger is usually better.

so true :up

 

[hwm]

Hi I wanted to say that with everyones help I have success getting 97 W
quality is coming in at mostly around 87% up to 91% on a few channels.

It took under 30 minutes using the strong transponder method mentioned.

What I did wrong was going under the main dish setup in my coolsat 5000 menu,
(where you adjust lnb type etc) and picked my satellite there ; instead of going to manual scan and finding a strong TP on the satellite.

I tried getting quality with no luck in that menu...

I didn't know about going into manual scan, picking your satellite and going to a strong transponder and look for quality there.

(I hope that makes sense to everyone)

Funny thing, once I changed my method, the markings on the pole and dish I had made days ago where exact, just used the wrong menu/method.
At least that is what I'm getting out of all of this. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I got roughly 246 channels and 138 radio channels in my blind scan with only a handful being encrypted

I would like to give give everyone a big thank you for your help
-Dan

Yeah, I was pulling my hair out with both hands the first time I tried to align a dish with my CS6000, until I stumbled into the Manual Scan screen. The main menu is a bit misleading, and the owner's manual isn't much help.

Now you can mount that extra Spitfire LNBF on your Dish500, and wire it up with a DISEQc switch, so you can get another strong Ku band satellite. I would suggest 101w, because the signal is plenty strong (for me here in Idaho anyway) and there are a couple of really good channels there. If you can't get 101w, you can almost certainly get ABC NewsNow on 89w. It's a very powerful signal. I get 70% Q on ABC NewsNow with my CS6000 and a Dish500 with Linear LNBF.

Have fun.