No TNT HD on 245

[Echo33029]

Hi,

I just got HD service installed in July: 5 LNB Slimline, HR21 DVR. Intially I had no probem receiving TNT HD on 245, but recently I noticed that the receiver cannot find it on that channel. Since it is also available on 75 I have been using that, however I am told that it should still be available on 245 in MPEG4.

Any ideas?

Echo

 

[charper1]

Maybe an improperly aligned dish? Do any of the other MPEG4 chnls show?

 

[skyviewmark]

If that is the only Mpeg4 channel you are missing then it's a really weird issue.. If you are missing multiple channels then I sould say it's a dish Issue.. What are your signal levels on 103c and 99c satellites..

 

[charper1]

If the other MPEG4's come in, maybe it was simply removed from the EPG in the favorites?

 

[skyviewmark]

Favorite issue.. hmmm.. Question would be what you see when you go to that channel.. Do you get a searching.. Or will it just not go to that channel.. Charper may be on to something

 

[Echo33029]

I get searching for satellite on 245. The channel is still in the program guide. My signal levels on 99c are all below 30, on 103c all below 60. Signal levels on all other satellites are 90 and above.

I supect that my allignment may have shifted. I'll try to peak it tomorrow.

 

[charper1]

Yep, that is now my guess as well.

 

[Echo33029]

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I fine tuned 103c and 99c yesterday using the azimuth fine tuning on the slimline 5 and got them up to 90 and better.

It appears that the Directv techs who installed my dish had no idea on how to do this, probably just knowing how to do the basic install. After they had installed the system back in July, I kept getting an error on sats 99 and 103 during the satellite setup menu process right after they left. I called Directv and they had them come back out that same night to fine tune the alignment. They played with it, peaked the 101 sat a bit more and said that this was the best that was possible. It was about 8 PM and they were tired an wanted to call it a day. The setup menu still reported a problem. They gave me a Bullsh!t story about the BBC and the DVR having a compatibility problem, but everything was OK. Since I was receiving all channels (as far as I knew) I let it go.

Well on or about 8/15/08 Directv moved some channels (MPEG4) to different satellites (99 and 103), I think that this is why I lost TNT HD on 245. Since I had such poor signal quality on 99 and 103, I lost that channel as well as many others. Now that I have fine tuned it properly, I get all of these channels. As well, the menu satellite setup process no longer reports an error.

So bottom line, a lousy initial installation. I also found two loose bolts on the support arms that they installed. Never assume that the professional installers know what they are doing. If I was not a tech person myself and just another ordinary consumer I would probably still be on the phone to D* complaining.

Echo

 

[HDinCincy]

Way to go Echo!@!@ Could you provide a little more detail as to your fine tuning process please. I'm thinking of moving my slimline myself. Did you follow the online video? I guess you used only your receiver right? no $500 meter? Thanks!!

 

[Echo33029]

Although I viewed the video, I didn't quite follow it. The dish was already peaked for 101 and 119 as per the installation instructions, at least the installers got that right, so all I had to do was fine tune it to improve the signal on 103c and 99c.

I figured that I would start with the azimuth first and then move on to elevation if needed. I just used the signal level on the receiver (HR21). With my wife on the cell phone inside and me on the cell phone outside, I loosened the azimuth locking nuts and started turning the fine tune screw. The signal level started improving immediately. After one and a half turns on the fine tune screw I had a 91 signal level on 103c. I figured that it would not get any better than that. I double checked that all of the other sats were still peaked (all better than 95), locked down the nuts and that was it. I did not even bother adjusting the elevation. All of the missing channels were coming in stronger, and the rain fade had improved significantly.

My thanks for all of the excellent information on this and other referenced websites for the detailed instructions on installing the slimline 5 dish.

Echo