Need Help with RTV

[cgearhar]

Does anyone else out there have a hard time pulling in RTV? The transponder was just strong enough for my receiver (Mercury II) to find it and add it to channel list but it's so weak all I ever see is a couple of pixels. Ditto for Tuff TV. Does the fact that I'm in Connecticut have anything to do with it? Anybody got any suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[LoTech]

What size dish do you have, and are you using a fixed or motorized system? You may need to tweak your dish just a little.

 

[cgearhar]

What size dish do you have, and are you using a fixed or motorized system? You may need to tweak your dish just a little.

This dish is 36 inches and is motorized (mounted on the roof). I've tweaked the position as best I could but it's still not viewable (although at least now I'm getting some choppy audio). As far as I can tell the dish has an unobstructed view to the horizon.

 

[Cosmokramer11]

I think RTV is down cause right now I have it at 88quality and its just a black screen. But TUFF TV comes in just fine. Also nbc amc9 is on as well

 

[cgearhar]

I think RTV is down cause right now I have it at 88quality and its just a black screen. But TUFF TV comes in just fine. Also nbc amc9 is on as well

Well that's interesting. On my end I've got a very weak signal on all three channels (SQ of 27) and none are viewable. But of the three, NBC seems to be coming in the best.

 

[Bill_KY]

There are storms running from Illinois through Michigan...where is RTV's uplink and downlink?...it could be storm related...

 

[cgearhar]

There are storms running from Illinois through Michigan...where is RTV's uplink and downlink?...it could be storm related...

You may be right Bill. I noticed that ABC News Now is off the air and they're at 89 degrees (although I have no idea where their uplink is).

 

[Mr Tony]

RTV uplink is in Tennessee (Chattanooga)

 

[stanleyjohn]

I was just watching RTV alittle while ago with a good signal here in CT.I did loose it for alittle while yesterday evening when some strong storms passed by.

 

[LoTech]

This dish is 36 inches and is motorized (mounted on the roof). I've tweaked the position as best I could but it's still not viewable (although at least now I'm getting some choppy audio). As far as I can tell the dish has an unobstructed view to the horizon.

Are all your other sats coming in strong, or are some of them weak as well?

 

[cgearhar]

Are all your other sats coming in strong, or are some of them weak as well?

Yes there were a few others (like ABC News Now and ABSAT) that are usually strong but were not coming in at all or were very weak. This morning however RTV and Tuff TV both seem to be coming in okay with only slight pixelation. So I'm thinking this was just weather related.

 

[LoTech]

Yes there were a few others (like ABC News Now and ABSAT) that are usually strong but were not coming in at all or were very weak. This morning however RTV and Tuff TV both seem to be coming in okay with only slight pixelation. So I'm thinking this was just weather related.

Several atmospheric conditions can cause your signal to drop. With a 36 inch dish, though you should be getting RTV fairly strong unless your alignment is off a little.

I assume that you have played around with USALS or DiSEqC to nudge the dish left and right. You might also have someone watch the TV while you lift up and/or press down on the dish face without loosening the bolts. This will move the dish face by small amounts and return to its original position. If it improves your signal you can then loosen the bolts and raise of lower the dish face slightly.

 

[cgearhar]

You might also have someone watch the TV while you lift up and/or press down on the dish face without loosening the bolts. This will move the dish face by small amounts and return to its original position. If it improves your signal you can then loosen the bolts and raise of lower the dish face slightly.

That's a great idea except for the fact that I'm too chicken to walk on my roof! It's very steep. That's why I had a professional install it a couple of years ago.

Yes I did actually use the DiSEqC mode to tweak the dish. As of this morning RTV was coming in okay but with a few pixels here and there. I'm wondering if maybe I should try an inline amp at the feedpoint to my house. I figure there's probably 50 feet of cable running from the dish, down the gutter and over to the hole in my house where the cable comes in. Then it's probably another 50 feet by the time it get's to my TVs. Do you think that might help?

 

[SatelliteAV]

I'm wondering if maybe I should try an inline amp at the feedpoint to my house. I figure there's probably 50 feet of cable running from the dish, down the gutter and over to the hole in my house where the cable comes in. Then it's probably another 50 feet by the time it get's to my TVs. Do you think that might help?

An inline amp will most likely degrade your signal on a shorter cable run rather than improve it. Inline amps are usually only used to overcome extremely long cable runs (example: 200 feet or more).