Need help with finding CCTV-4 on microHD

[hsykora]

Hi,
I bought a satellite system from Sadoun.com so that my dad can watch CCTV-4. His first satellite system stopped
working for some reason. He tried to set it up today to Galaxy 3C (lives in Fort Smith, Arkansas) and could receive ONLY Middle
Eastern channels.
I read that CCTV-4 can only be received as analogy for FTA satellites, so does this mean the microHD receiver is the wrong receiver?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. We are all novice satellite handlers.

Regards,
Ann

 

[qwert1515]

CCTV-4 is on Galaxy 3C at 95° West and can be received with the microHD.
The international channels are on 97° West

 

[Mr Tony]

welcome
The Micro will get CCTV4 but it sounds like the dish is off by a little bit. There are lots of middle eastern type channels on the satellite next door which is G19 (97W)
CCTV 4 & 9(news) is on 95W

I'm confused when you say "his first system stopped working"...what do you mean by that?

 

[KE4EST]

to the site hsykora!!

 

[hsykora]

Hi,
To be honest, I have no idea. He told me one day on the phone that he turned on his TV to watch CCTV-4 and all he got was a black screen.
His theory is that either the LNBF or receiver went bad, but he couldn't determine it.
I've JUST started understanding satellite stuff because I have to try to help my dad out (hiring pro installer is a last resort since their price quotes so
far have been around $160 to finalize the setup).

Question 1 that's probably trivial:
How do you determine that the dish is pointing 95W instead of 97W (in layman's terms)?

Question 2:
I had my dad rotate the lnbf in the 1:00 position relative to the dish based on lyngsat.com, is that correct? Am I completely off-base?

The signal level currently is displaying at 45% and signal quality is at 0% (probably means that my dad needs to tune the dish and move the LNBF a little bit?)

Thanks so much!

 

[hsykora]

Thank you for the warm welcome!

 

[gabshere]

to Satelliteguys
these guys can walk you through anything it will be a slower process since its going to you and then to your dad and then back.

your asking question so your heading in the right direction.

some things to consider . name as much of the equipment your dad has and how its setup

receiver , dish type , lnbf, motors, switches involved

since no motor was mentioned we can only assume its setup as a stationary dish ( aimed at only one satellite )

Question 1 that's probably trivial:
How do you determine that the dish is pointing 95W instead of 97W (in layman's terms)?

usually each satellite has a unique transponder ( which channels are broadcasted from) so the receiver can pick them up

for CCTV on 95w the transponder frequency is 11780 H SR 20760 tell your dad to select this satellite & this frequency when trying to tune CCTV

Question 2:
I had my dad rotate the lnbf in the 1:00 position relative to the dish based on lyngsat.com, is that correct? Am I completely off-base?

in part this is kinda correct ... on the lnbf there is or should be a little scale ( tick marks on the top) usually going from 30 to 0 and to 30 again so it might look like +30......+15.......0......-15.......-30

since you said he's in Ft. Smith 95W is his ture south satellite so the dish should be pointed at 180 if you was looking at a compass
and the skew would be +.8 or just one little tick mark toward the left ( if he's in front of the dish looking at it )

if he's receiving middle eastern type channels then he's on the satellite next door which is G19 (97W) then he's a bit to far west ( by about 3 degrees on a compass) he's at 183 and needs to be closer to 180 so he needs to adjust the dish toward the east very slightly. 3 degrees is a small amount so it would be less than a inch of movement. probably closer to 1/2 inch toward the east ( or if he's behind te dish toward the left)

elevation for 97 W and 95 W are so close for his location that it probably won't make a lot of difference with that adjustment 97 W needs a elevation of 48.9 and for 95w needs 48.3

so if you have the transponder listed above for CCTV on the receiver and he slightly adjusts the dish toward the east he should start receiving a signal.


if i wasn't stationed in Maryland i would help him out i have lots of family in the Ft. Smith area and visit often , but with this slight little adjustment he should be receiving the channel in no time

if you have any probems just come back and ask

 

[Cham]

Could you post a picture of the dish and LNB so we know what you have?
LNB setup is likely standard or 10750, TP info is 11780 H 20760 3/4. Should get a good signal Quality once your dish hits G3 it's strong transponder.
Once you get the signal and lock down the dish you can scan the TP to program the channels.
If you are getting 95 unless there is something in the way (tree, building?).

 

[richyrich]

Could you post a picture of the dish and LNB so we know what you have?
LNB setup is likely standard or 10750, TP info is 11780 H 20760 3/4. Should get a good signal Quality once your dish hits G3 it's strong transponder.
Once you get the signal and lock down the dish you can scan the TP to program the channels.
If you are getting 95 unless there is something in the way (tree, building?).

When moving dish; set frequency at 11780 H 20760 3/4 (make sure you aim dish when you have this showing on your display); so that your quality meter on your receiver will tell you if you've hit 95W instead of 97W.

 

[hsykora]

Hi,
Hi,
thanks for the quick responses! Below are a couple pictures I hope will help us out. Also, my dad informed me that the middle of the dish
was slightly damaged due to my sister's boyfriend trying to help install it yesterday (he accidentally tightened something down wrong?). There
was a bit of teamwork going on between me on the phone, and my sister and her boyfriend acting as my hands while trying to teach my dad
everything we're learning on the fly




Satellite dish is stationary (no trees or buildings blocking)
LNBF = universal = 9750/10600

I had my sister configure receiver with the TP settings stated on Lyngsat.com:
1. Receiver setup via microHD GEOSAT manual via: http://www.satelliteav.com/portal/33/images/microHDmanual.pdf
2. 11780 (I don't recall which letter was after this number on the GEOSAT microHD)
3. 20760 - 3/4 (although it might be set on 20761 b/c my sister's boyfriend said he found on the web that this is where CCTV-4 is?)

My dad had question regarding his old LNBF:
1. Does the LNB become weaker over time and need to be replaced or reset?

Thank you for the patience and effort to help us with this. Results may take a longer than expected because it is like explaining to a grandparent
how to navigate high tech equipment with the added complication of translating the instructions in broken Chinese!!

 

[gabshere]

damage is not good . sometimes areas where damage happens doesn't affect signal much. but this damage is in the center . it should be possible to fix damage area by removing the dish from the mount and using a rubber mallet lightly hitting the damaged area or you can try to lightly press damaged area hopefully popping the dent back out.

also if he was receiving signal with damaged dish ( middle eastern type channels ) he might still be able to get CCTV with the slight adjustment listed in my previous post.

from the picture of lnb -- the white arrow needs to point close to the 0 on the left side ( its on the right side now pointing at -10) its very small increments

although lnb's do fail , I don't think its very often.

 

[northgeorgia]

Hi Ann (hsykora)!

I'm a newbie, too. Welcome! The guys here are, in my opinion, the best online to help you figure out how to set up your FTA system. Sometimes a strong wind from a storm can slightly move the dish...but that's enough to point it towards a different satellite! In layman's terms, as several other people have suggested here, if your dad is getting middle east channels, it's pointing at the wrong satellite (97W). If he can bump it ever so slightly to the east, (try moving 1/8 of an inch at a time) he should pick up the CCTV channels (95W). That's probably all he'll have to do. I agree with the other folks that would be good to get that dent out of the center of the dish for best results.

 

[Tron]

I agree with Gabshere... That damage needs to be straightened out first. You will also want to do a 'string test', which involves running string across the dish from top to bottom and side to side. The two strings should touch. If not, the dish is warped. The Winegard will bend and warp easily, and it is imperative that the shape is correct or else the LNBF will not see all of the signal.

 

[sergei]

I don't see it being mentioned but I'd also check to make sure the pole is still level after you repair the dish.

 

[hsykora]

Hi,
Thanks for all the tips everyone. I'm reporting back based on the advice that was given in the previous posts.

1. They tried moving the dish ever so slightly to the east to try to find Galaxy 3C - unsuccessful
2. They tried adjusting the height from 49ish to 48ish and rescanning- unsuccessful
3. Adjusted LNB slightly (point closer to zero in the counter-clockwise direction) - unsuccessful in getting CCTV
3. We went through the receiver setup to make sure thing were highlighed correctly - unsuccesful in getting CCTV.

I don't know what else to do anymore. Should I hire help at this point? Does anyone know of someone in the Fort Smith, AR area
who may be able to help solve the problem?

Thanks.

 

[chaskuchar]

can you get the dish back to where you were getting the international channels? if so, then there will be little movement to get to cctv4. just a little to the east. cctv is a strong transponder and i don't think the dent will keep you from finding the right signal. when you find the signal record your settings and then try to get the dent out but i don't think it will kill the signal completely and if the signal is ok, then don't mess with it anymore. that's my motto. charlie

 

[SatelliteAV]

If you need to locate a local satellite technician, visit Satellite System Installer Referral - www.FTAinstall.com

 

[gabshere]

I will be returning home from Maryland at end of month and can help then. until that time only help i can think of is here (walking you through the basic setup ideas) or from the locator supplied above.

other options to try find another dish locally ( used primestar dishes are great ) dave's hobbie shop in van buren might have a dish ( cost $$ ?? )



I will think of some other things to try and post later

 

[hsykora]

Hi,
My dad says he fixed the dish with a rubber mallet. My sister was able to confirm that she could still get a fair amount of international channels as before.
They DID try to move the dish ever so slightly towards the east (tiny increments at a time) from the position where they were receiving the international
channels and that attempt was still unsuccessful.
My dad was able to set everything up himself before the 1st time he bought a satellite system to receive CCTV. He claims that it was easier to set up
than this current one and that the receiver was easier to navigate as well. I'm fresh out of ideas at this point.

Thank you all for spending time on this thread though!

 

[cyberham]

You and the others have covered the obvious possible causes of the problem. Is there any chance that vegetation may have grown in and is now blocking clear line of sight to 95W? It may not take more than a few leaves to block the signal if they are just in the wrong (right?)) positions. At my location all CCTV channels on 95w are as strong or stronger than signals on 97W (international channels). Don't forget to try adjusting very slightly the elevation (up / down of dish) as well as azimuth (back / forth).