Problem with recent wing dish installation

[srcronk]

I just had a wing dish installed to access 77W to get the new HD locals for the Monroe LA / El Dorado AR area. If I'm watching a channel on a WA satellite and then use my remote to tune to a local channel, I often (but not always) get a message saying "The satellite signal has been lost ...". It can take either of my 2 ViP722 receivers anywhere from 5 to 20 seconds to lock on to the signal from the wing dish. However, if I scroll up or down through channels, the receiver seems to lock onto the signals more quickly, often without an error message.

The new HD locals are on TP 14. Every time I've checked, I have a signal strength of 31 to 33.

Since I am one of the first persons in the area to be upgraded to receive the HD locals, I found my technician to be well-meaning but somewhat uninformed about and unprepared for the upgrades. For example, he didn't know which channels are now available in HD, nor did he have any 1000.4 dishes in stock for the EA installation I had expected. Before I call him back about my setup, I was hoping someone here could tell me if the problem is that the wing dish isn't pointed properly, or something else I haven't thought of.

Thanks in advance!

 

[delta_charlie]

HI, don't know what receiver you are using so I'm not sure about the signal strength of 31 - 33 but that sure looks weak. How does it compare to the other transponders on W.A. that you are not having trouble with? If there is much of a difference then the wing dish must not be peaked correct. Or there is something blocking the LOS.

I used to have trouble with loss of signal and after checking all the coax connectors I found a tiny piece of foil shield touching the center conductor and intermittently shorting it.

A loose coax connector might cause trouble too but my money is on the dish not peaked.

Hope this helps, DC

 

[R0ss]

HI, don't know what receiver you are using so I'm not sure about the signal strength of 31 - 33 but that sure looks weak. How does it compare to the other transponders on W.A. that you are not having trouble with? If there is much of a difference then the wing dish must not be peaked correct. Or there is something blocking the LOS.

I used to have trouble with loss of signal and after checking all the coax connectors I found a tiny piece of foil shield touching the center conductor and intermittently shorting it.

A loose coax connector might cause trouble too but my money is on the dish not peaked.

Hope this helps, DC

He said he has 2 722's

 

[R0ss]

I just had a wing dish installed to access 77W to get the new HD locals for the Monroe LA / El Dorado AR area. If I'm watching a channel on a WA satellite and then use my remote to tune to a local channel, I often (but not always) get a message saying "The satellite signal has been lost ...". It can take either of my 2 ViP722 receivers anywhere from 5 to 20 seconds to lock on to the signal from the wing dish. However, if I scroll up or down through channels, the receiver seems to lock onto the signals more quickly, often without an error message.

The new HD locals are on TP 14. Every time I've checked, I have a signal strength of 31 to 33.

Since I am one of the first persons in the area to be upgraded to receive the HD locals, I found my technician to be well-meaning but somewhat uninformed about and unprepared for the upgrades. For example, he didn't know which channels are now available in HD, nor did he have any 1000.4 dishes in stock for the EA installation I had expected. Before I call him back about my setup, I was hoping someone here could tell me if the problem is that the wing dish isn't pointed properly, or something else I haven't thought of.

Thanks in advance!

Can't help with signals on that sat but I do have a question for you and maybe a suggestion. You mentioned that you thought the tech would put up a 1000.4 dish. Was that what you were told by Dish? If so it might have been a good idea to either call dish while the tech was there or delay the install until he had the correct dish. If he did put up a EA (1000.4) dish he would have taken your WA set up down or at least disconnected it as you would no longer need it.
I also would suggest always contacting dish by chat, unless phone is the only way. at the end of a chat you can save the caht and you can e-mail a copy to your self, there by having a record of the conversation. This can be especially helpful when you are discussing installations, upgrades or billing issues. Of course it is helpful as a record for any conversation.

Having said all that, have you tried a hard reset of your receivers? Unplug for 30 seconds or so then plug back in? SOmetimes that will fix all sorts of odd and mysterious problems. It certainly won't change your signal quality, but it may fix the other problem.


Good Luck

Ross

 

[srcronk]

Thanks, delta_charlie and R0ss for the suggestions!

I did try a hard reset of both receivers today at your suggestion, but no difference. In fact, the signals are taking longer to lock in. Checking signal strength, I'm down to the low 20s instead of the low 30s on the transponder I need. It's sunny outside, so I'm not sure why.

I wasn't able to save the chat of the upgrade order with the CSR because of a weird problem with the chat window. For some reason, the window was only about half the usual size, and the save button was missing. Next time, I'll know to abort the chat and restart.

When the technician arrived and said he didn't have any 1000.4 dishes, I decided to let him install the wing dish for 2 reasons: (a) I had heard on this board that peaking a 1000.4 dish is harder than doing so for a 1000.2 dish, and the technician clearly didn't have any experience with 1000.4; and (b) I have really good signal strengths from the WA setup, with signals ranging from the low 50s to the upper 70s on almost all transponders. I have a feeling that one day Dish will change something that will require a pure arc setup, but I can always schedule another visit when that happens.

Again, thanks for the information.

 

[srcronk]

I just got off the phone with the technician who did the installation. He says the problem is not that the dish needs to be peaked; instead, he thinks its a bad LNB. He's coming out tomorrow to replace it. Does this make sense?

Thanks!

 

[delta_charlie]

I just got off the phone with the technician who did the installation. He says the problem is not that the dish needs to be peaked; instead, he thinks its a bad LNB. He's coming out tomorrow to replace it. Does this make sense?

Thanks!

Hi, a bad LNB would not be common, far more likely to be a bad coax connector. It might be interesting to watch the installer and see what he does to fix it.

In any case I hope you get it taken care of.

Later, DC

 

[digiblur]

Also...remember the OTA tuners in Dish receivers do weird things with weak OTA signals.

 

[srcronk]

Thanks for all the help! The technician replaced the LNB, and that does seem to have fixed the problem. I noticed after he left that the signal strength for 77W went up to the low 40s; however, he didn't mention doing anything to peak the dish.

At any rate, everything seems fine now. Again, I appreciate everyone's feedback!

 

[cditty]

Thanks for the update. That signal strength is good to know. It's much weaker than what I expected.

 

[srcronk]

Thanks for the update. That signal strength is good to know. It's much weaker than what I expected.

I had read somewhere on this forum that signal strengths for EA satellites are generally lower than those for WA satellites, though I'm not sure if the posts were before or after the last two satellites went up for EA. This was one of the reasons I wasn't particularly upset when the technician first came out and said that he couldn't switch me to EA.

I'll be curious to see how much the signal fades when we get our next good rain.

 

[lparsons21]

It depends on where you are a bit.

Here in the midwest, the WA for 110/119 was nice strong signals, in the 50-60+ range, but 129 was a PITA and generally about 1/2 the 110/119 readings.

I just switched to EA last week and all sats are in the upper 40's to upper 50's with a smattering in the 60's. Needless to say my rain fade is much less than it was before, especially for the HD channels.

 

[cditty]

I had read somewhere on this forum that signal strengths for EA satellites are generally lower than those for WA satellites, though I'm not sure if the posts were before or after the last two satellites went up for EA. This was one of the reasons I wasn't particularly upset when the technician first came out and said that he couldn't switch me to EA.

I'll be curious to see how much the signal fades when we get our next good rain.

I'm going to aim my Dish 500 @ 77 and see what I get. I have an I adapter and single LNB for it. I'll run it into my 1K2 Dish. Probably not until Monday, though... I'll have to grab a pole to mount it to temporarily.

 

[srcronk]

I'm going to aim my Dish 500 @ 77 and see what I get. I have an I adapter and single LNB for it. I'll run it into my 1K2 Dish. Probably not until Monday, though... I'll have to grab a pole to mount it to temporarily.

I'll look forward to seeing your results.

 

[srcronk]

Here in the midwest, the WA for 110/119 was nice strong signals, in the 50-60+ range, but 129 was a PITA and generally about 1/2 the 110/119 readings.

My average reading for 110 is about a 69; 119 is around 76, and 129 is about 57. Though clearly lower than the other 2 WA sats, 129 isn't bad, and almost 50% better than the 77W I now get.

 

[cditty]

Ironically, when my daughter and I went to the grocery store this morning, there was a Dish upgrade going on two houses down from me. I asked him what they were doing for people wanting HD locals. He told me that if a 1K2 was installed and working, then they were going with wing dishes as opposed to a 1K4 install. If it was new, then a 1K4 would be used.

That seems very different to what I have been led to believe about Dish's policy of no mixed arc setups.

 

[srcronk]

Ironically, when my daughter and I went to the grocery store this morning, there was a Dish upgrade going on two houses down from me. I asked him what they were doing for people wanting HD locals. He told me that if a 1K2 was installed and working, then they were going with wing dishes as opposed to a 1K4 install. If it was new, then a 1K4 would be used.

That seems very different to what I have been led to believe about Dish's policy of no mixed arc setups.

I'm surprised to hear that, too. Maybe Dish thinks that they'll save money in the short run. I bet they aren't planning any more major changes that affect this area for the next 2 to 3 years.

 

[lparsons21]

I think that there is some confusion at Dish about exactly what to do with these mixed arc needs. When I called a bit prematurely about getting 77 for my new locals in HD, they indicated that it would be a wing dish, but that I had to call the next day because they couldn't set me up.

When I called to set it up the next day, they said no wing dish, we'll swing you around to EA and in the process, upgrade my 625 to a 612.

 

[Dr.Pepper]

Ironically, when my daughter and I went to the grocery store this morning, there was a Dish upgrade going on two houses down from me. I asked him what they were doing for people wanting HD locals. He told me that if a 1K2 was installed and working, then they were going with wing dishes as opposed to a 1K4 install. If it was new, then a 1K4 would be used.

That seems very different to what I have been led to believe about Dish's policy of no mixed arc setups.

This is true. For existing HD systems Dish is wanting techs to install a wing dish to the appropriate EA sat and connect it to the 1000.2 instead of just replacing the 1000.2 with a 1000.4. Why? Don't know. Sure seems to us techs that it would be easier to do the 1000.4 (if all receivers are MPEG4).

But, "their game, their rules", purely speaking from a technician point of view and not as a customer.

 

[cditty]

This is true. For existing HD systems Dish is wanting techs to install a wing dish to the appropriate EA sat and connect it to the 1000.2 instead of just replacing the 1000.2 with a 1000.4. Why? Don't know. Sure seems to us techs that it would be easier to do the 1000.4 (if all receivers are MPEG4).

But, "their game, their rules", purely speaking from a technician point of view and not as a customer.

That's what I plan on doing for myself tomorrow. Using an old dish 500 as a 77 dish. I might even give a feed to the neighbors 1k2 as well. It is on a pole right by where I plan in mounting.

As another thought, the installer at the neighbors was very nice and quite knowledgeable. That is not typical for my area.