Peaking Problems -- Dish 1000.2 / VIP 211-k

[TyrionLannister]

Hi all. New to forum. Was hoping for a little advice.

I've been setting up a Dish 1000.2 @ tailgates in Austin, Texas for several years now. I follow all the standard steps: foil over left and right LNBs, peak of the 119 sat, etc. As with any dish setup, this has always required a little patience and perseverance.

This year, I switched to a VIP 211-k receiver. Same dish antenna as before. It took me FOREVER (2+ hours) to find the birds. In fact, I got NOTHING until I knocked the foil off the left LNB, and all of a sudden the 119 popped up loud and clear, with a signal strength of ~ 70 (good enough for a 8 hour tailgate on a clear day). Of course it was at an az, el, and skew that I'd tried a dozen times by then. I ran check switch, and the system told me all 3 birds were lined up properly, so it wasn't a case of picking up the wrong sat with the wrong LNB.

Question #1: why would taking the foil off the LEFT eye somehow allow the MIDDLE eye to see the 119 bird?

Question #2: the 1000.2 owner's manual contains different az/el/sk settings based on ZIP code than the "point dish" menu on the VIP boxes (always has, in my experience). I've always ignored the suggested settings on the "point dish" screen, and gone with the info in the 1000.2 manual. Is this the right move?

I'm hoping to avoid another 2-hour setup process @ my next tailgate. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[papalittle]

do not use the point screen setup unless you add 5 degrees onto the 500 skew.

 

[the mack]

might want to use your old receiver (if you still have it) to peak your antenna as the vip receivers are real slow to respond to signal, or get yourself a meter....

 

[harshness]

The secret to aiming success is to use dishpointer.com instead of some other means of coming up with AZ-EL numbers.

Can't explain why the foil trick didn't work since you obviously had everything set up right.

 

[TyrionLannister]

might want to use your old receiver (if you still have it) to peak your antenna as the vip receivers are real slow to respond to signal, or get yourself a meter....

Definitely do not have the old receivers anymore. I used to use VIP 612's; they were equally moody.

As for satellite meters, I've thought about getting one for years. What's a good, not-too-expensive one?