Losing Signal on HD channels from 129

[medman426]

I live in Oregon, Have a VIP722 receiver.
Have a dish 500 for sats 110 & 119, & a separate one for 129. My 129 signal has never been good (installed about 9 mos ago myself), but I did get the HD channels ok.
About a month or more ago, I started losing HD channels on 129, & only get a signal on one or two transponders now. The dish has not moved.
Can anyone tell me what may have happened, or what I can do to boost the signal?
My 722 receiver seems to be working fine, and check switch shows all three satellites OK.

I have always installed my own equipment, and am sure I can fix the problem myself.
Just would like some suggestions, to cut down my trial & error time.

Thanks in advance!

 

[chrisd_az]

Get use to it my friend. I live out here in Phoenix area with no trees or nothing blocking sat 129. Mine goes out at the same time everyday same station TBS. I called a local dealer here an they said sat 129 is comming down its dead!! I thing they have a replacement going up at some point. So its not your equipment..

 

[joekawasaki]

Last I heard the replacement for the 129 sat is due to launch on Dec. 3. It would be a few weeks after that before it would be operational.

 

[Laddyboy]

Since 129 has a big wobble it doesn't take much dish misalignment to reduce or lose your signal, especially when you are nearer the edge of the signal footprint in Oregon. Have you tried repeaking the dish? I think you are outside the 61.5 footprint; otherwise you might try for that bird. It has the same HD programming. It might be worth a service call to get aligned if you can't get it yourself. They sometimes use oversized dishes in the Northwest for 129.

 

[medman426]

RE: Signal Loss on Sat 129

Thanks for the replies,
Didn't know 129 had a wobble, I will try re-tweaking the dish tomorrow. I have a signal meter, so it should be easy to see if that helps.
Also, glad to hear they are launching a replacement soon, the wife is upset about not getting HGTV in HD. Gotta keep the wife happy to keep our toys.

I am out of the 61.5 footprint, so that is not an option. I may look around for a little bigger dish though, and see if that helps for the time being.

Thanks again.

 

[kstuart]

I may look around for a little bigger dish though, and see if that helps for the time being.

Thanks again.

You may not need a bigger dish after the new satellite comes online in about two months (if everything goes according to plan).

So, be aware that any expense for a bigger dish may be unnecessary by then.

But, a bigger dish will always get you better rain/snow resistance.

PS I live in Northern California and use a 30-inch dish. Winegard makes excellent dishes that hold Dish Network LNBs, such as the DS-2077 30-inch dish for Dish Network that costs around $50.

 

[stacker]

sat 129 sucks it is definately coming down as a installer for Dish it's sucks for us ,most trouble calls
are for that sat 119, and 110 are always fine

it's impossible to fix this problem until they get a new bird up there!

 

[levibluewa]

RE: 129 / 61.5

Medman,

I doubt if you're out of the "footprint" of the 61.5. There are rare lucky ones here that are able to hit it. However, its like 11 degrees above the horizon, so NO TREES and you might clear the Rocky Mountains.

129 tp6 (TBS) is one of the weakest tps. Check the signal level of a 129 channel that you're receiving, assuming that you can receive something via 129, and watch the signal rise and drop 2x an hour, when the sat starts falling out of the sky. "Tweaking" the dish is problematic, cause you have to hit the sweet spot b4 the sat starts its semi-hourly fall.

A 24" dish was installed here by DISH. Signal loss is 2x an hour for 1-3 minutes each time. It should be better for you...you're further South. However, if you're at the coast, maybe not!

Someone posted that the launch for its replacement has been put off till Dec. 10th, do I hear December 11? how about December 12th...to be continued.

Bruce

 

[ZBoomer]

Wow, I bitched when they put my HD locals on 61.5, forcing me to get a wing dish... now I'm glad they did.

That said, I did get 129 rock solid way down in TX.

 

[apollog]

That's why all new HD channels coming out will be on the 110 bird until Ciel 2 is ready to go sometime in the middle of January 09. Ciel 2 is scheduled to launch Dec. 3, but lately all ILS launches have been delayed a few days. Keep your fingers crossed.

 

[medman426]

Tweaked Dish & Now get 129 again

Thanks again for all the replies.
I tweaked the dish a smidgin to the East, and "voila" I get 129 again. Only about a 27 signal strength on the strongest tp, but at least I now get it again.
My wife is now happy to get HGTV in HD again.
Now if we can only get the NBA league pass contract signed, so I can get the games in HD, I'll be happy!!!

 

[Supershooters]

The biggest dish I've found is a 30" from solidsignal.com I've had a few customers buy one for the 129 problems. I wish there was a bigger one.

BTW, 129 and 61.5 are not the same. FOX Sports Northwest HD is only on 129.

 

[kwindrem]

The biggest dish I've found is a 30" from solidsignal.com I've had a few customers buy one for the 129 problems. I wish there was a bigger one.

BTW, 129 and 61.5 are not the same. FOX Sports Northwest HD is only on 129.

Seems like a big dish would increase signal level, BUT would have a narrower beam exacerbating the fade due to wobble. Yes?

I've got a single dish for 110, 119 and 129 and live at 121W 39N with a decent view of the sky. Signal on 129 is low but usable. I seem to be getting more dropouts lately. Has the 129 stability worsened recently?

 

[Supershooters]

Seems like a big dish would increase signal level, BUT would have a narrower beam exacerbating the fade due to wobble. Yes?

Signal is a lot higher and it works just fine. When the satellite drops in signal the loss is not as drastic on a bigger dish, unless there's rain along with it of course. The rule of thumb is correct when they say buy the biggest dish you can afford.

 

[bradleys]

I had an early Dish 1000 here in Seattle.

I was never able to get a decent signal on 129.

Within a week or so, I bought a 30 inch dish.

It works great.

I haven't had a dropout since I installed the 30 inch dish.

 

[jetpilotciii]

DishNetwork dish warped

I'm a new DishNetwork customer and had trouble holding the satellite 129 HD channels...it would periodically lose signal for no reason. I bought a signal meter from Radio Shack and aligned the dish myself...still no luck! After aligning the dish several times, I pushed on the edge of the dish to see if the signal strength would change...it got stronger! ...long story short...I ended up gently bending the edges of the dish while observing the signal meter and tweaking for the maximum signal strength. I haven't had any more trouble with the system. I suspect that the installer "rough handled" the dish, since I saw him pull it out of the back of his junk filled truck. Also, there were scratches on the dish itself. I was surprised at how critical the dish curvature is for the system to operate normally...no margin for warpage!