Improve 129 signal

[BayouBill]

Living on the Gulf Coast, I frequently lose sat 129 because of approaching storms. Right now I can only get SD programming and the sky is only overcast (no rain). The storm is still 50 miles away from Houston. Signal strength from 129 normally runs around 60 on most trans but now it is bouncing around 25. The 119 sat normally averages 70+ but it is now averaging 55. I've spent a lot of time repeaking the dish and am convinced it is right on.

One possibility is a dedicated wing dish for 129. But I don't like the idea of 2 dishes causing problems with the townhouse HOA. Yes, I know, legally they can't stop me but they have been accommodating on things I have requested so don't want to antagonize. Question: If I set up a 24 inch Winegard dish with a DP single LNB what will be required to connect directly to my Hopper & Joey? I checked "The List" and found that all channels we watch are on 129 (using OTA adapter for locals) so there really is no need for 2 dishes.

Equipment set-up: 1 1st gen Hopper, 1 1st gen Joey and a 1000.2 Dish Pro Hybrid feeding a solo hybrid hub.

 

[HipKat]

you'd run the cable from the DP Single to the input port on the 1000.2 LNB, then run a check switch at the Hopper

 

[BayouBill]

you'd run the cable from the DP Single to the input port on the 1000.2 LNB, then run a check switch at the Hopper

Yes, that would be so simple. But I want to eliminate one dish (The 1000.2). Only need 129 for all the channels we watch.

 

[JSheridan]

Yes, that would be so simple. But I want to eliminate one dish (The 1000.2). Only need 129 for all the channels we watch.

I'm on eastern arc but IIRC if you're using the western arc like you are you must have 119 in the mix in order to get the 8 day guide and other updates.

 

[BayouBill]

I'm on eastern arc but IIRC if you're using the western arc like you are you must have 119 in the mix in order to get the 8 day guide and other updates.

Thank you for this information. I was not aware of that.

 

[boba]

You may need to go with a larger dish than a 24" Winegard, The 24" really isn't much larger than a 1000.2

 

[Miner]

Bill,

I lived in Corpus for nearly 10 years and while I did lose signal every once in while during big storms, I'd lose everything, not just 129.

What is your 110 signal? I think your 129 signal is lower than normal, please check that your mast is plumb and verify your skew setting. You may want to sacrifice a bit of 119 signal to improve the 129.

If the storms move from west to east, 129 will be affected first, but signal loss should happen across all three satellite signals almost simultaneously.

 

[BayouBill]

Bill,

I lived in Corpus for nearly 10 years and while I did lose signal every once in while during big storms, I'd lose everything, not just 129.

What is your 110 signal? I think your 129 signal is lower than normal, please check that your mast is plumb and verify your skew setting. You may want to sacrifice a bit of 119 signal to improve the 129.

If the storms move from west to east, 129 will be affected first, but signal loss should happen across all three satellite signals almost simultaneously.

Thanks for suggestions. I have double checked the mast for plum but possibly could gain some by adjusting the skew. It is set as recommended for my location but I have heard some ppl on this forum gained a little by playing with the skew. The 110 sat is also in the range of 70 for trans in use. 129 has always been the lowest. Another factor at work here is a large tree that is close to the path to 129. If it grows much more I will have to move the dish. The Eastern arc is a much cleaner shot - maybe a possibility.

 

[boba]

Thanks for suggestions. I have double checked the mast for plum but possibly could gain some by adjusting the skew. It is set as recommended for my location but I have heard some ppl on this forum gained a little by playing with the skew. The 110 sat is also in the range of 70 for trans in use. 129 has always been the lowest. Another factor at work here is a large tree that is close to the path to 129. If it grows much more I will have to move the dish. The Eastern arc is a much cleaner shot - maybe a possibility.

Maybe you are already too late in moving the 129 dish?

 

[NYDutch]

Thanks for suggestions. I have double checked the mast for plum but possibly could gain some by adjusting the skew. It is set as recommended for my location but I have heard some ppl on this forum gained a little by playing with the skew. The 110 sat is also in the range of 70 for trans in use. 129 has always been the lowest. Another factor at work here is a large tree that is close to the path to 129. If it grows much more I will have to move the dish. The Eastern arc is a much cleaner shot - maybe a possibility.

If your locals are available on the eastern arc, I think you'd be better served to go for it. Changing the LNB and repointing the dish would be well worth it to avoid future problems.

 

[Jim5506]

I'm in Lubbock and was on WA, switched to EA because our HD locals are there.

When on WA I almost never had rain fade, now on EA just a small cloud seems to block the signal.

My clear sky signal levels are good, BTY.

 

[BayouBill]

I'm in Lubbock and was on WA, switched to EA because our HD locals are there.

When on WA I almost never had rain fade, now on EA just a small cloud seems to block the signal.

My clear sky signal levels are good, BTY.

Bummer. Yes, I have heard the same thing about Eastern arc in Texas. But maybe it's worth a try before going to the streaming alternatives that also have their problems.

 

[BayouBill]

I'm on eastern arc but IIRC if you're using the western arc like you are you must have 119 in the mix in order to get the 8 day guide and other updates.

Having very few options for dish placement (trees, buildings, HOA) I'm still interested in pursuing the one-dish, DP single configuration. As JSheridan pointed out using one dish on 129 would be a problem because the program guide is on 119. I checked 72.7 and found that it has all the HD channels I need and it also has the 9-day guide. But the next issue that may arise is the periodic downloading of Hopper firmware. I see several DNLxxx channels on 71.7 but have no way of knowing if they would provide what my Hopper 1 needs. Any experts here know where Hopper firmware downloads come from on the Eastern arc?

 

[JSheridan]

Having very few options for dish placement (trees, buildings, HOA) I'm still interested in pursuing the one-dish configuration. As JSheridan pointed out using one dish on 129 would be a problem because the program guide is on 119. I checked 72.7 and found that it has all the HD channels I need and it also has the 9-day guide. But the next issue that may arise is the periodic downloading of Hopper firmware. I see several DNLxxx channels on 71.7 but have no way of knowing if they would provide what my Hopper 1 needs. Any experts here know where Hopper firmware downloads come from on the Eastern arc?

A lot of the HD channels on eastern arc have recently moved to 61.5. If you haven't checked a very recent listing then you should. If you can live with just 72 then you'll probably get Hopper firmware updates from there as well as the extended guide.

 

[BayouBill]

Thanks for the heads up on 72.7 HD channels. On to the next research project

 

[Miner]

Back in the day I used a Dish Pro Plus 500 (dish and lnb) to get the 61.5 / 71.7 signals, not worrying about the 77 stuff. It worked great in San Diego on my 622. I don't remember if I tried that in corpus, although I did try a second dish pointed at 61.5 for the (back then) VOOMHD channels. That was a long time ago though.

You could try swinging over your existing setup, you won't be able to get signal on 77 satellite, but you would be able to get the main 2 on the EA and see if your signal is good enough, or at least better than WA.

A long time ago I had a dish aimed at 61.5 from west of Seattle. Despite almost pointing down, and having perpetual clouds in the area, signal was pretty decent.

 

[BayouBill]

....You could try swinging over your existing setup, you won't be able to get signal on 77 satellite, but you would be able to get the main 2 on the EA and see if your signal is good enough, or at least better than WA....

Yes, I have a better shot at Eastern and LNBs are cheap so may try that. As suggested by jSheridan I double checked the HD channels on 72.7 and found that "TheList" is a year old and a current list of uploads reveals that all my HD channels have been moved to 61.5. And the 9-day guide is still on 72.7 so my original one-dish with DP LNB idea appears to be impossible.

 

[NYDutch]

The most up to date "Who's on what" listing that I know of:

Channels 1-999 on DISH Network (Unofficial Listing)

 

[BayouBill]

The most up to date "Who's on what" listing that I know of:

Channels 1-999 on DISH Network (Unofficial Listing)

Thanks for this list. Unfortunately same result

 

[Tampa8]

IMO if you are losing much of a signal on 110 or 119 then something else is not correct. In all my years with DISH I have had those two in Ct and then also in Florida and I never, lose a signal or even have seen much of a drop from those two in Ct or Fl unless it is a strong storm head passing here or maybe in Colorado or perhaps an insanely heavy downpour. If either of those regularly lose much of the signal something is off.

I can tell you the loss of signal is much more likely with the Eastern arc than the Western Arc. Tampa and other areas were actually changed from being officially on the Eastern Arc to going back to the Western Arc. Obviously if you can't get a good signal from the Western Arc (normally that would be 129) then it has to be the Eastern Arc if your locals are there. I can not see 129 in Ct, in Florida it is rock solid. I was one who had the Eastern Arc in Fl and got it changed for free to stop the more frequent signal loss. In Ct I had both EA and WA -minus 129 (now only EA) and EA did lose signal more often. Snow was more of problem there where the WA almost never lost the signal and EA regularly needed me to brush off the snow. But that had to do more with with angle of DISH of WA VS EA.