Problems with 61.5 SB10 transponders?

[Kirby Baker]

I was doing some testing last night on my signal strengths, and I am not sure what is going on. I have a 1000.4 dish and I'm aimed pretty darned good IMO. My locals (Grand Rapids, MI) are on Spot Beam 10, transponder 15 from 61.5 location. Other transponders in this beam include 1, 3, and 7. Here are my readings from those 3 transponder last night (clear evening, no clouds):

Tp 1 = 20
Tp 3 = 71
Tp 7 = 0
Tp 15 = 28

Transponder 3 above comes in really hot! But doesnt report what it is, I get a "Locked but no satellite name" message on the pointing screen. This one also takes forever to lock on (15-20 seconds). Maybe I need to sit on Tp 7 for a longer time to get a lock/signal? So is this normal behavior? Shouldnt I be getting a signal on all 4 transponders, and somewhat equal readings across them (not 28 vs. 71)? According to the google map on TheList, I am just inside the green signal line.

I am also partially covered by Spot Beam 11, which has transponders 5, 9, 11, and 13. My location on that beam's map puts me about halfway between the yellow and red lines. My signal strengths are:

Tp 5 = 71
Tp 9 = 32
Tp 11 = 43
Tp 13 = 62

So again, signal strengths are pretty random there, but overall are better than the spot beam intended to cover me. All other normal transponders that I get signal on are in the upper 50's to low 70's.

Signals on 72.7 range from 48 to 53, and 77 are 43 to 48. I understand that some transponders might be having power issues, might be operating at lower power, etc. But given my readings from 72.7 and 77, as well as the non-spot beam transponders on 61.5, I'm wondering what to do, if anything.

 

[Voyager6]

The spot beams on E12 have moved from the posted maps. E* shifted E12 slightly to get better coverage in certain areas. There is a project underway to remap the spot beams. If you haven't already, please post your SS numbers for the TP's that Digiblur has requested.

 

[Mr Tony]

Transponder 3 above comes in really hot! But doesnt report what it is, I get a "Locked but no satellite name" message on the pointing screen.

FYI TP3 spotbeam for you would be the locals for Flint

 

[digiblur]

What you are seeing where it says not locked is the receiver searching for an LNB that has drifted. It finds a signal but it doesn't match it so it displays the signal but not locked and/or spotbeam. It also could be switch leakage, but don't worry about those that take forever to lock and don't display correctly.

 

[Kirby Baker]

So are you saying I could have a bad switch on my 1000.4? Its only a few months old, and I have no other switches installed (just the one built into the LNB assembly). I do diplex the signal though (dont recall if that line is with cable or ota, but my cable system is a 860mhz plant, so it shouldnt be affecting the lnb signals).

Digi, I looked through your 61.5 signal thread and found that some people in the state of michigan are getting similar results to mine on our spotbeam 10. People on the west side of the state, like me, get piss poor signal on TP15 for our locals, and really good signal for TP 3 (flint). And people on the east side are just the opposite, strong TP15, and weak TP 3. I dont suppose people at Dish actually would look at your information and do something smart, like swap the Flint/GR markets between those 2 transponders? (if its that easy)

 

[digiblur]

So are you saying I could have a bad switch on my 1000.4? Its only a few months old, and I have no other switches installed (just the one built into the LNB assembly). I do diplex the signal though (dont recall if that line is with cable or ota, but my cable system is a 860mhz plant, so it shouldnt be affecting the lnb signals).

Digi, I looked through your 61.5 signal thread and found that some people in the state of michigan are getting similar results to mine on our spotbeam 10. People on the west side of the state, like me, get piss poor signal on TP15 for our locals, and really good signal for TP 3 (flint). And people on the east side are just the opposite, strong TP15, and weak TP 3. I dont suppose people at Dish actually would look at your information and do something smart, like swap the Flint/GR markets between those 2 transponders? (if its that easy)

No I'm not saying bad cable or bad switch. You receiver will let you know if you have LNB drift. I have found that the receiver is very aggressive in its "hunt" for the signal and sometimes finds the wrong thing.

If it's on the same spotbeam I would assume it would be pretty easy to swap things around.