New Install - Weaker Signals on Sat 129?

[radtech]

Hi all,

I am new here so please bear with me. I am located in northern Michigan and had a new installation yesterday. I had a VIP722K dvr and a Dish 1000.2 antenna installed. Everything seemed to be working OK when the installer left.

I was looking through the menus last night and came onto the dish pointing screen. My signals on the 129 satellite are much lower than the 110 and 119 satellites. For instance, on the 129, transponders 17 through 32 range from the high 30's to lower 40's for the most part. The highest signal is 51 on transponder 21.

Signals on the 110 satellite typically range from the middle 60's to middle 70's and signals on the 119 satellite typically range from the lower 70's to high 70's with the highest at 82 on transponder 7.

I called the installer this morning and he stated that it was typical to get lower signals on the 129 satellite in this area. What do you think? Are these levels normal or should I call Dish and request a re-point? I really don't know if there is a problem with this, since I won't be getting the HD package until I get my new HD TV in two or three weeks.

Thanks in advance,

Ed

 

[peano]

129 should be 50s to 70s.

 

[hawker152]

that signal is fine. Its always been like that. The highest ive gotten it was at 63 one time.

 

[magnum2066]

The signal was probably peaked on the 119 satellite instead of the 129. This is common in my area in similar situations. In Michigan you should be getting about 57 or more on transponder 21.

 

[radtech]

Thank you for the responses. I was just concerned that these signals would not provide enough rain fade margin on the 129. I guess time will tell.

I have installed satellite antennas before, both C and Ku band and I could probably peak it up a little closer myself. Or should I just call the installer back?

Yes, I do remember the installer saying that he is told to peak the 1000.2 antennas on the 119 satellite, and to let the 129 signals ride where the may.

Thanks,

Ed

 

[Dr Pepper]

I am in KY.
110 mid 70's
119 upper 70's to lower 80's
129 upper 50's to low 60's

 

[sca]

your signals are same as mine on a 1002 dish, maybe just a couple points lower. i wouldnt expect you to have any problems. call the installer if you have signal issues.

 

[cditty]

I checked mine and my 129 ranges from 59-72.

I only get 72 on Transponder 21.

 

[ebms1]

Thank you for the responses. I was just concerned that these signals would not provide enough rain fade margin on the 129. I guess time will tell.

I have installed satellite antennas before, both C and Ku band and I could probably peak it up a little closer myself. Or should I just call the installer back?

Yes, I do remember the installer saying that he is told to peak the 1000.2 antennas on the 119 satellite, and to let the 129 signals ride where the may.

Thanks,

Ed

not only that ... but DN also announced that they lowered the meter settings on the recvrs some time ago ... this will not affect the signal you recv ... but only how high it looks on the reading ... the actual signal you recv is the same ... it just looks lower on the recv....

 

[sca]

also remember that because some people have highger strength, they live in other states. you have some free hd channels. go to them and see if there is a problem.

 

[whatchel1]

true but doesn't apply here

not only that ... but DN also announced that they lowered the meter settings on the recvrs some time ago ... this will not affect the signal you recv ... but only how high it looks on the reading ... the actual signal you recv is the same ... it just looks lower on the recv....

The lower SS is true but it is for all satellites. It won't be for just 1 sat.

 

[radtech]

OK, I did a little tweaking today to see if I could make an improvement. First, I marked the az/el settings so I could get back to where the dish was previously set. Since TR 21 seemed to be near the highest on each satellite, I used that as my reference.

By panning and tilting, I was able to get the 129 sat up to a signal level of 67, but then the 110 and the 119 fell off pretty bad. So, I re-adjusted several more times and was able to strike a compromise. Now I have the following signal levels on TR 21.

110 63

119 73

129 64

Obviously, it looks as if it is pretty difficult to get a perfect peak on all three sats at one time. Maybe if I adjusted the skew or re-leveled the post, I might be able to make some improvement. But, I think these numbers are probably good enough, so I think I will leave it as is for now and see how it performs.

Also, this seems to confirm that I do not have a LOS issue. That is good news! I'll see what happens when the leaves come on trees.

Thanks for all your help.

Ed

 

[peano]

64 on TP21 on 129 is pretty good. You should be fine. The only way to better your numbers is to fool with the skew which could be disastrous if you mess with it too much.

 

[ITL8476]

well when i install 1000.2.
119 is always 70 above on TP14, 15, 16, 21
110 is always 70 above on TP14, 15, 16, 21
and 129 is always 70 above on TP 21. TP21 is the only one i check for 129

 

[digiblur]

21 will always show the highest (unless you right in the bore of a spotbeam), since it is QPSK TP.

 

[whatchel1]

3

OK, I did a little tweaking today to see if I could make an improvement. First, I marked the az/el settings so I could get back to where the dish was previously set. Since TR 21 seemed to be near the highest on each satellite, I used that as my reference.

By panning and tilting, I was able to get the 129 sat up to a signal level of 67, but then the 110 and the 119 fell off pretty bad. So, I re-adjusted several more times and was able to strike a compromise. Now I have the following signal levels on TR 21.

110 63

119 73

129 64

Obviously, it looks as if it is pretty difficult to get a perfect peak on all three sats at one time. Maybe if I adjusted the skew or re-leveled the post, I might be able to make some improvement. But, I think these numbers are probably good enough, so I think I will leave it as is for now and see how it performs.

Also, this seems to confirm that I do not have a LOS issue. That is good news! I'll see what happens when the leaves come on trees.

Thanks for all your help.

Ed

There will always be compromise unless you use 3 dishes.

 

[dvrexpander]

I will peak off 119 trans 15 when installing a 1000.2 however if the user is a HD nut I'll peak on the 129 just so they will be happiest and avoid a call back for something stupid. 9times out of 10 the numbers are usually only a few points off if you do it that way.

 

[Liquidforce88]

Well I am in Michigan and I get 82 for signal on the 129 trans 21.

 

[Jim5506]

The further north you are, the more out of line the three satellites are while the lnbs on the Dish are in a line, so balancing the signals becomes trickier.

Also the further north you are, the further you are from the satellite, so the spread changes a little, also making balancing a tiny bit more difficult.

 

[scoobyxj]

OK, I did a little tweaking today to see if I could make an improvement. First, I marked the az/el settings so I could get back to where the dish was previously set. Since TR 21 seemed to be near the highest on each satellite, I used that as my reference.

By panning and tilting, I was able to get the 129 sat up to a signal level of 67, but then the 110 and the 119 fell off pretty bad. So, I re-adjusted several more times and was able to strike a compromise. Now I have the following signal levels on TR 21.

110 63

119 73

129 64

Obviously, it looks as if it is pretty difficult to get a perfect peak on all three sats at one time. Maybe if I adjusted the skew or re-leveled the post, I might be able to make some improvement. But, I think these numbers are probably good enough, so I think I will leave it as is for now and see how it performs.

Also, this seems to confirm that I do not have a LOS issue. That is good news! I'll see what happens when the leaves come on trees.

Thanks for all your help.

Ed

Something else to note is that the core of your programming is going to come off 119* & 129* (once you start using the HD), and being that the 110* is the hottest bird of the trio (for now anyway) you can stand to loose a bit to gain the 129*

Also for reference. Where I'm at in Ohio (south eastern par of the state) the 129* Tr21 is usually around 70, but I have had it as high as 76. Last, but not least Dish has a QC problem with their dishes. Some will peak out just screaming while the very next one out of the same case will make you pull your hair out just trying to make min thresholds.