Just did a self install cannot get picture. signal strength is good.

[harshness]

i have a 1000.4 know which satellites, coordinates and plumb cant seem to find any signal at all

Are you using an MPEG4 capable receiver to do your testing? Now that it has been "discovered" that you have an Eastern Arc dish, you need know whether your receivers are Eastern Arc compatible.

I get the nagging feeling that when you finally find the satellites, that some or all of your receivers won't be compatible. While DIY can be fun, there must be some hope of ultimate success.

Self-installing is overrated.

 

[Tech#344]

Clinical much?

 

[Miner]

If you have the manual for the 1000.4 it illustrates the installation fairly well. I believe the first step would be to run the switch check without the dish connected to clear the switch matrix, then attach the coax to the middle output port (72.7), set the signal meter to 72.7, then try aiming (with the outer eyes covered with foil). As noted, the ViP receivers are a bit slow to respond. As dishpointer.com allows you to move the location of the dish, try dragging the dish location on the screen to where your dish is and align the actual dish to the line on the screen. After you peak to 72.7, then remove the foil over the outer eyes and run the check switch.

Miner

 

[harshness]

Clinical much?

Often clinical. Only cynical when it seems appropriate.

 

[Tech#344]

By land of lAND OF cHEESEHEADS do you mean Wisconsin? If so and you live anywhere near Portage WI (the reason I say Portage is that more people know where it is than where Pardeeville is) I would be more than willing help to set you up. If you wish to ask any questions feel free to call me at (608)-429-4094 with any Dish network related questions. I am a Dish Network retailer and answering Dish Network related questions is what I do all day.

 

[Velvet Elvis]

I do not have a meter- point dish only.

i swtched to my other box that still has 77, 72, 61.5 saved.

i manually was really slow especially near 160 degrees- my compass is a pain in the a$$ and being on a sloped roof doesnt help with getting the compass to work good.

what do technicians use for azimuth- just standard engineer compass? and how do you stand over it to line it up? I tried setting compass on square paltform on top of mast, but its stubborn and does not want to move freely.

due to the skew it is hard to tell where line of sight for satellite is. i turned skew back to straight to try aligning az first but still had issued finding signal.

anyways- ill try recommendations and report back

 

[dishcomm]

How to install dish network myself? Keeps trying to acquire signal when signal strength is good.?

i recently moved and decided to attempt moving dish myself to new house. I used to be a cable tv installer so I was up to the challenge.

Dish network in 54247 zip code. I adjusted skew and elevation appropriately 114 skew and 32 elevation, and installed wiring exact as previous house. Signal strength is 75 on 110 and 119. green and locked.

it will go through first round of acquiring signal fine, and then download program guide, attempts to go to channel but black screen and then starts acquiring satellite signal all over again. And from there just keeps trying to acquire signal. Did a switch test and it comes back sayin there is less satellites than previous configuration, is this because all tvs arent hooked up yet?

Am i missing a step- do i need to contact dish network and inform them of new zip or something? Also- my dish is a year old and says turbo hd on it. I have just standard programming with hd package. How do i tell exactly which dish. I have tried searching this forum for answers, but am new to this and having a hard time sifting thru all the forum.

Thanks guys!

which Dish do you have?

 

[Velvet Elvis]

I was originally informed i had a 500 then 1000.2 but after help from you guys it is deemed i have a 1000.4

one box still has proper sats in check switch, other box has reduced sats after check switch with sat feed disconnected.

now i know the proper coordinates but i am having a heck of a time finding any signal

with azimuth setting is it that close to magn with a compass, or should i say damn near spot on

some advice has told me to pan as far as due east..

i tried with exact settings from dishpointer and tried to pinpoint with all minor adjustments close to dishpointer suggestions

 

[busdriver72]

Sorry, Velvet Elvis, I may have sent you on a wild goose chase looking for the wrong satellites. In my area, we are eastern arc, and all new installs I do are only eastern arns. If the mast is plumb all the way around, you want the cable connect to port 2 of the 1000.4 LNB.

On the pic below, see the scale to the far left on the side of the dish, that is the skew setting. Loosen the 4 nuts (one on top, two on each side, and one on botton) and rotate the dish until the little pointer next to the left nut points to the degree you need. Tighten the nuts down.
On the very back of the structure you will see a single 1/2in size nut on top with a plastic cam under it. Use a 1/2in wrench and make sure the the tab on the plastic tab is lined up with the notch (centered.) You'll see what I mean when you look.
After you have centered this, tighten the three azmuth bolts on the underside. I find most of them to be loose.
If you can see this pic, it will show you where they are.

Next, set your elevation to just a tiny, tiny wee bit above what it calls for.
Now, set the dish on a totally plumb mast and take out any sloppiness by tightening the three nuts that secure it to the mast. Just snug them up enough so that the dish doesn't wiggle up and down...but you can still turn it.
Next, trace the cable from the dish to the receiver. Make sure there are no in-line splitters, and any splices need to have the high-data barrells. having the wrong kind of splice can mess things up.
With one end of a cable connected to port 2 of the LNB and the other end connected to the receiver input, go to the point dish screen. Go to satellite 72.7 and transponder 21. Have someone watch the screen while someone turns the dish from south to east very slowly. When a green signal bar shows, stop, and make only very slight adjustments until you cannot get any stronger of a signal. Tighten then nuts down that secure it to the mast. Next, make any fine adjustments to the elevation if needed. When you get the reading on the 72.7 and it says "locked", run a check switch. You should get all three (77, 72.7 and 61.5.) If it still doesn't work, then you have a prolem elsewhere, either LNB, cabling or the receiver.

 

[Miner]

Velvet,

I remembered another thing to help find the EA satellites. If you can find the 119 sat again (with the center eye, again covering the outer eyes with foil), mark the location for the aim, and that would be Azmuith for the WA. You now have a good reference point of where to rotate towards the east. Say the EA is 125 and WA is 175, you would need to swing the dish towards the east 50 degrees. Since the diameter of the shaft is 1.625 inches, that would equate to about .7 inches along the side of the shaft. This can get you very close to the correct AZ, then move the Skew and EL to the indicated positions. And then slowly move the dish AZ.
Don't forget to run the check switch with the coax disconnected and then connect the receiver to the center output.

I've used this technique to find 61.5 as well as 110 w/out having a compass.

Miner

 

[scoobyxj]

Another tip. You say you're using a DirecTv mast? I am going to assume you don't have any struts on this mast either. That being said the weight of the 1000.4 may be pulling the mast out of plum, and thus affecting your elevation settings. 1000.4 can be a PIA to point with a good meter let alone trying to do it with a receiver.

 

[Barry Erick]

And once you set skew and elevation, you should not move them, only azmuth, to find the bird. Once you find it, you can touch elevation to peak it, but going up and down will only work if the mast is not plumb or the skew is off. And then it will never get more than one bird.