Need help troubleshooting

[Raitech]

Hi all, I'm picking up Intelsat 9, and using it for Al Jazeera and RAI Italia. I have decent strength, quality ranges from 48 to 50 though. While watching, I get varying waves of pixelization across the image. I am using a 1.8 or 1.9M Fortec Prime focus dish, RG6 cable (which is in my opinion, the first thing I should upgrade), a C/Ku band LNBF, and a Technosat receiver. I believe the run to be around 115'. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
John

 

[MikeinBaja]

Whenever I've run into this, I further fine tune the dish alignment and the skew to get the numbers up. Don't forget to look at the condition of all of your connectors too.

A small/short coax jumper at the dish with the receiver and a little TV or sat meter could help to eliminate your coax run as a possible culprit.

Tons of guys here with way more expertise that I have - and I'm sure they will chime in - but these are the basics where I'd start.

 

[Raitech]

Thanks, I actually temporarily replaced the entire run with a floor run substitute with no change, so I have began to fine tune the LNB placement (again). On my Super Buddy, it looks great, both at the dish, and at the end of the line. At the receiver, the quality hasn't changed(usually 49). Strength is up around 90.

 

[Raitech]

I'm also interested in upgrading the receiver. Does anyone know of any (relatively) inexpensive, preferably rack mounted receivers capable of outputting in (SD) SDI?

 

[Inno]

How is your line of sight to Intelsat 9? Anything at all that might be in the way?

I am shooting through a bit of tree cover and my signal is solid although I am using a 10' prime focus dish.
Often the signal meter on the satellite receiver is not quick enough to catch the drops in signal.
How is your signal on satellites close to it? Perhaps 72° with a NASA feed?

 

[Raitech]

Line of sight should be fine, I'm in downtown NYC pointing from a 25th floor balcony, and I should be way clear of the only other tall building remotely near the shot. Could I be getting interference of some kind from the extremely large (15ish feet) dishes two floors above me being used for CBS newspath amongst other things?

 

[Inno]

That must take up quite a bit of your balcony!
Perhaps some sort of terrestrial interference. If the dishes above you are transmitting then it's possible they might be interfering.
Have you tried another satellite that's close to I9?

 

[Raitech]

Office building, so it's more of a terrace than a balcony (as I pretend to know that one is bigger than the other?). No, since I receive the signal (although imperfectly), I haven't had a chance to take it out of use to try. Oddly enough, the weather is foul today, and the signal is almost flawless as far as the pixelation waves go.

 

[Inno]

I sometimes have a problem with my LNBF but only when it is used with my 4DTV receiver. The vertical transponders pixellate. But with the FTA receiver everything is fine. I think in my case it is because of the length of the cable run and the fact that it is joined party way with a coupler.
It might be the length of your cable run. Also confirm that your cable ends are in good shape.

 

[Raitech]

I am using the Vertical transponders, and I do have a long run. I ordered a spool of solid copper core RG11 that I hope to install this week.

 

[Raitech]

Question-I have been using a small in line amplifier. After re-re-re-retweaking the LNB today, I again tested it both with, without, and at different places in the line. There is no difference in the quality reading, only the strength. How can I determine what an appropriate amplifier would be?