Needing to transfer to East Arc, couple questions..

[bcsman]

Hi, right now I am receiving the western arc sats 110, 119, 129 but since I put up a pole and installed the dish trees have grown. So most channels on 129 come in very weak and any moisture it's over to SD channels. I am in the thumb of Michigan and have a better view of the eastern arc so need a few questions answered if possible. I am using a dish that says on the front Dish TurboHD. It is working well for my west arc sats but would like to know if I can use for the east? It doesn't say anything on the back so I don't know if it is a 1000.2 or 1000.4 dish. The measurements are 20" x 25" so it has the size. I am posting a picture to show you what it looks like. If I can use it I would just need to buy a 2 or 3 east LNB. Also the other question, how do I determine if the feed arm is the correct length for the focal point and adaptable for the east LNB's. I would prefer to use all 3 east sats as 77 has many SD channels to use in case HD does not come in. I plan on doing the setup and install myself but need to know if I need a new dish before I start.

Thanks for any help

 

[TheKrell]

I do not remember the exact dimensions, but the WA LNB for a 1000.4 is extremely rare and you almost certainly have a 1000.2. Now, there is a 2-LNB EA module that will fit on the 1000.2 unmodified; in fact I believe this is the default for EA. But the old 3-LNB meant for 1000.4's will need some nibbling on the yoke to make that fit on a 1000.2.

All this is IIRC.

 

[NYDutch]

Your dish is a 1000.2. The 1000.4 arm is bolted to the mounting bracket, while the 1000.2 arm is spot welded to the mounting bracket. The twin DPP LNBF you need to convert to the eastern arc is readily available from multiple online sources including Amazon. You might even find a friendly installer that has some used units laying around from Hopper 3 upgrades that he'll part with cheaply. I've gotten multiple LNB's for the price of a cup of coffee...

 

[bcsman]

Thanks for the replies, I might need to have a Dish installer come out and make sure 61.5 is available from where my pole currently is located. Elevation is 35.8 and it might be dicey, the other 2 sats will be fine. So before I make all sorts of plans better make sure it's doable.....If not I'm kinda hosed 129 too low and behind trees. One of those yards full of big trees so an open viewing window is tough....

 

[TheKrell]

, I might need to have a Dish installer come out and make sure 61.5 is available from where my pole currently is located.

Try one of the AR apps and see for yourself. (You need a cell phone with a magnetometer inside so it knows which way the camera is pointing.)

 

[bcsman]

With a sat app I can see the direction from my house to the sat, 150 degrees, that's fine. My concern is the elevation which is 35.8, not sure my house is too high...will the AR app determine that or just azimuth?

 

[chainblu]

But the old 3-LNB meant for 1000.4's will need some nibbling on the yoke to make that fit on a 1000.2.

All this is IIRC.

I'm using a 1000.4 LNB on a 1000.2 dish right now. Just needed to come in at a 45 degree angle and pivot up, no nibbling required. Fits and works great.

 

[bcsman]

I'm using a 1000.4 LNB on a 1000.2 dish right now. Just needed to come in at a 45 degree angle and pivot up, no nibbling required. Fits and works great.

That's good news thanks for the news, if I can get 61.5 I would prefer to use the 3 LNB part. I have an app on my phone, gonna try tomorrow.....

 

[TheKrell]

With a sat app I can see the direction from my house to the sat, 150 degrees, that's fine. My concern is the elevation which is 35.8, not sure my house is too high...will the AR app determine that or just azimuth?

My understanding, not having ever used it, is that it superimposes the satellites on the view of the sky the camera sees. So you can see immediately if your dish is viewing sky or rather the nearest stand of trees.

 

[NYDutch]

My understanding, not having ever used it, is that it superimposes the satellites on the view of the sky the camera sees. So you can see immediately if your dish is viewing sky or rather the nearest stand of trees.

Exactly... This screen capture is from the DishPointer app.

 

[HipKat]

I'm using a 1000.4 LNB on a 1000.2 dish right now. Just needed to come in at a 45 degree angle and pivot up, no nibbling required. Fits and works great.

That's not possible with the tabs on a 1000.4 LNBF. You'd have to cut them off to allow it to fit into the 1000.2 LNBF Bracket.

 

[chainblu]

That's not possible with the tabs on a 1000.4 LNBF. You'd have to cut them off to allow it to fit into the 1000.2 LNBF Bracket.

WOW! I guess I'm a miracle worker. I'll repeat: come in at a 45 degree angle and pivot up. I cut nothing!

 

[HipKat]

WOW! I guess I'm a miracle worker. I'll repeat: come in at a 45 degree angle and pivot up. I cut nothing!

Wow! I'm a Dish Tech.

The 1000.4 LNBS has 2 tabs at the bottom where they connect to the LNB Bracket. 1000.2 LNB bracket has no cutouts for the tabs so if your using a 1000.4 on a 1000.2 LNB Bracket and Dish kit, then you're wrong. And I'd be shocked if your signal was more than just marginal

 

[TheKrell]

I'm using a 1000.4 LNB on a 1000.2 dish right now.

There is no need to do that since the 2-LNB's for 1000.2's are readily available, and already the default these days. I asked my tech to retain my 1000.4, and just put the new hybrid LNB on it. He made it work. And HipKat I have excellent SS on my H3 and much better than I was getting with my mis-aligned 1000.4.

That's not possible with the tabs on a 1000.4 LNBF.

My tech went the other direction: hybrid LNB to 1000.4 arm. I looked and he definitely used a nibbling tool to make it fit. Had I known that at the time, I should have given him a tip. Or maybe not... He let the old 3-LNB that he took off the 1000.4 get away from him. It must have slide down the roof and shot off into my front yard. I found it in deep grass a week later when I was mowing.

 

[NYDutch]

There is no need to do that since the 2-LNB's for 1000.2's are readily available, and already the default these days. I asked my tech to retain my 1000.4, and just put the new hybrid LNB on it. He made it work. And HipKat I have excellent SS on my H3 and much better than I was getting with my mis-aligned 1000.4.

My tech went the other direction: hybrid LNB to 1000.4 arm. I looked and he definitely used a nibbling tool to make it fit. Had I known that at the time, I should have given him a tip. Or maybe not... He let the old 3-LNB that he took off the 1000.4 get away from him. It must have slide down the roof and shot off into my front yard. I found it in deep grass a week later when I was mowing.

He could have just connected a DPH42 switch to your existing triple LNBF with no other modifications needed.

 

[bcsman]

This is getting confusing, sounds like my best bet for getting all 3 eastern sats is a 1000.4 dish....the reason I want 77W is it has most of the channels SD channels. Here's how it works for me now, most HD channels are on 129 and when we get rain they tile. If I switch to the SD channels we generally can get it back. But we get a better signal on 110 and 119. Maybe it won't work the same on the eastern arc since it looks like 61.5 and 72 should come in strong here. If the HD tiles we likely won't be able to pick up 77 either. So many problems, so little fixes....lol That's my story and I'm sticking to it....

 

[NYDutch]

This is getting confusing, sounds like my best bet for getting all 3 eastern sats is a 1000.4 dish....the reason I want 77W is it has most of the channels SD channels. Here's how it works for me now, most HD channels are on 129 and when we get rain they tile. If I switch to the SD channels we generally can get it back. But we get a better signal on 110 and 119. Maybe it won't work the same on the eastern arc since it looks like 61.5 and 72 should come in strong here. If the HD tiles we likely won't be able to pick up 77 either. So many problems, so little fixes....lol That's my story and I'm sticking to it....

I sometimes see a drop to SD on 77 during storms for HD channels carried on 61.5. Rarely if ever for HD channels on 72.7 though. The closer proximity of the two sats makes it unlikely that heavy clouds would block one and not the other. As we move from RV park to RV park, I do sometimes end up on locations where the close together 72.7 and 77 let me get the signals through a small gap in the trees where the spread to 61.5 isn't doable. I'm in no hurry to replace our 1000.4's triple EA LNBF with a dual LNBF...

 

[TheKrell]

He could have just connected a DPH42 switch to your existing triple LNBF with no other modifications needed.

I thought the OP had a WA LNB on a 1000.2, and also that he wanted to switch arcs and get all 3 sats. If there is a triple LNB for EA that fits on a 1000.2 without modification, then I haven't heard of one. Do we know whether bcsman has an H3?

Rarely if ever for HD channels on 72.7 though. The closer proximity of the two sats makes it unlikely that heavy clouds would block one and not the other.

I agree; that argues for giving up on 77 and just going with an LNBF built for EA and a 1000.2. He can also buy the old triple-LNBF built to fit on a 1000.4. I suspect that can be made to work, e.g. by nibbling on the yoke. IIRC people actually got the WA LNBF to work on EA, but the feed horns are not in the right place for the satellilte locations and I am pretty sure they had lower SS than the one made for EA. That would defeat the OP's purpose in switching to EA while maintaining his failover to SD capability.

 

[NYDutch]

I thought the OP had a WA LNB on a 1000.2, and also that he wanted to switch arcs and get all 3 sats. If there is a triple LNB for EA that fits on a 1000.2 without modification, then I haven't heard of one. Do we know whether bcsman has an H3?

That was in reply to your post, "I asked my tech to retain my 1000.4, and just put the new hybrid LNB on it." The DPH42 would have eliminated the need for the modified hybrid LNB.

I agree; that argues for giving up on 77 and just going with an LNBF built for EA and a 1000.2. He can also buy the old triple-LNBF built to fit on a 1000.4. I suspect that can be made to work, e.g. by nibbling on the yoke. IIRC people actually got the WA LNBF to work on EA, but the feed horns are not in the right place for the satellilte locations and I am pretty sure they had lower SS than the one made for EA. That would defeat the OP's purpose in switching to EA while maintaining his failover to SD capability.

I have managed to hit 61.5 and 72.7 with the 119 and 129 horns on a WA LNB just to prove it can be done, but as you said, peaking both for the best balance results in a lower SS on both sats. Since it only takes me a minute or two to switch LNBs, it's not something I would bother doing normally for an arc switch as we move around.

 

[pattykay]

IIRC people actually got the WA LNBF to work on EA, but the feed horns are not in the right place for the satellilte locations and I am pretty sure they had lower SS than the one made for EA. That would defeat the OP's purpose in switching to EA while maintaining his failover to SD capability.

Yeah, people were originally able to do that for 61.5 and 72.7 by using the old Dish 500 LNB's intended for 110 and 119, even though the spacing between the satellites is different. As NYDutch said, it is slightly easier to use the 119 and 129 LNB's instead, since the 10-degree spacing gets you a little closer to the 11.2-degree spacing needed, compared to the 9-degree spacing of the older LNB's. Either way, signal strength will be lower than a properly-configured EA LNB. The solutions I have seen for getting all three sats with the wrong arc's LNB also involve tacking on an additional DP single LNB, due to the different spacing needed for 77. Then, that additional LNB can be fed into the input port on the WA LNB, or an external switch can be used instead. Either way, this results in a clunky-looking dish that works, but is still slightly less than ideal.