Riddle me this...

[Oblong Desoto]

While I've been patiently waiting for the St. Louis HD locals spotbeam to light-up on Ciel-2, my lackluster reception of Anik F3 TP18 has seriously degraded. I now lose lock every night after sunset. Then it is back every morning. This started a couple of months ago.

My other HD locals on TP11 are always fine. So is everything from 110/119/129. This makes no sense to me.

Any ideas?

-OD

 

[TheKrell]

Different transponders on the same satellite can have different emitted power or modulation schemes. That explains the difference between tp 11 and tp18. The regular Dish satellites at 110/119/129 are BSS satellites. They are much more powerful than the FSS Anik satellite. BSS satellites can be received with an 18" dish, and the dish alignment is not as critical. What's the diameter of your dish for Anik F3?

 

[AriesGodofWar]

While I've been patiently waiting for the St. Louis HD locals spotbeam to light-up on Ciel-2, my lackluster reception of Anik F3 TP18 has seriously degraded. I now lose lock every night after sunset. Then it is back every morning. This started a couple of months ago.

My other HD locals on TP11 are always fine. So is everything from 110/119/129. This makes no sense to me.

Any ideas?

-OD

I have been through the exact same issue, twice. Channels 2 and 5 on TP18........The first time, tweaking my Dish resolved the issue, the second required the replacement of the (and I am going to likely use the incorrect term) lens of my Dish. Apparently, as the temperature cooled, condensation was building up to a level which affected the reception enough to lose lock on 118 (apparently the seal degraded). I think it is that "finicky" for some reason where we live. The signal is never very strong. However, Dish Tech replaced the lens a few months ago, and no problems since (except for last night which I think was technical as I was showing a 55 on TP18 118, yet both the HD versions of 2 and 5 were out.) Quickly resolved itself within minutes.

 

[Oblong Desoto]

It is a Dish1000plus. I've had it re-peaked, but there was no improvement. A CSR suggested that I get a wing dish for 61.5 and pickup the STL spotbeam there, but waiting for Ceil-2 saves me some roof clutter.

 

[Oblong Desoto]

@Aries

Funny... I had the entire LNB assembly replaced once because it filled with water. Maybe the seals are going bad in this one, too. Thanks for the tip!

-OD

 

[llzel]

I've had so much trouble with the 1000+ dish, 118, power inserter, and/or DPP44 switch. I finally complained to ceo@dishnetwork.com that they came out and switched me to the eastern arc setup. (1000.4 dish). They just replaced the dish on the roof without switching supports. I haven't had one problem in 5 months now.
Just guessing here, but I would think STL HD's will be fired up on 129.........soon

 

[Oblong Desoto]

llzel - How has rain fade been with the 1000.4 compared to your old 1000+?

 

[llzel]

haven't noticed any fade since I've switched.

 

[bhawley]

llzel - How has rain fade been with the 1000.4 compared to your old 1000+?

Love your avatar and agree 100%

 

[Oblong Desoto]

Thanks bhawley. I have learned a great deal about proper construction techniques from watching Mike Holmes. Plus, watching him get pissed-off about shoddy work is fun.

Too bad Discovery Networks is incapable of making a deal to keep Mike's shows on in the U.S.

 

[thebaggins]

Homes on Homes is now on HGTV every Saturday morning at 8am

 

[joeyjojojnr]

Homes on Homes is now on HGTV every Saturday morning at 8am

Awesome! I loved that show too. Have to add that to the DVR schedule...

HGTV Canada streams it on their web site, but they block all non .ca ip addresses.

 

[Oblong Desoto]

Cool! Last I knew it was on TLC for about a month, then gone again. Looks like these just began airing last week.

You made my day baggins... now I have to change my avatar.

 

[highdefjeff]

I have been through the exact same issue, twice. Channels 2 and 5 on TP18........The first time, tweaking my Dish resolved the issue, the second required the replacement of the (and I am going to likely use the incorrect term) lens of my Dish. Apparently, as the temperature cooled, condensation was building up to a level which affected the reception enough to lose lock on 118 (apparently the seal degraded). I think it is that "finicky" for some reason where we live. The signal is never very strong. However, Dish Tech replaced the lens a few months ago, and no problems since (except for last night which I think was technical as I was showing a 55 on TP18 118, yet both the HD versions of 2 and 5 were out.) Quickly resolved itself within minutes.

Reported loss of signal in the evening with regularity is usually the LNB (lens). If it is not the LNB, then check for:

loose connections

connections with a short needle

a strand of shielding braid, or foil, that is touching or near the center needle.

 

[Oblong Desoto]

I decided to get up on the roof and check out the LNB's yesterday. They looked clean and clear, so I checked the alignment. Everything matched dishpointer's recommended settings, but on a whim I adjusted the elevation. Bringing it up a degree more than doubled my signal strength for 118.7 TP18 to 38, while bringing TP11 down just a few points to 57. The level still drops at night, but not enough to lose lock anymore. Strength still looks good on the other birds.

We'll see if it stays good for awhile.

-OD

 

[willie177]

I decided to get up on the roof and check out the LNB's yesterday. They looked clean and clear, so I checked the alignment. Everything matched dishpointer's recommended settings, but on a whim I adjusted the elevation. Bringing it up a degree more than doubled my signal strength for 118.7 TP18 to 38, while bringing TP11 down just a few points to 57. The level still drops at night, but not enough to lose lock anymore. Strength still looks good on the other birds.

We'll see if it stays good for awhile.

-OD

I don't know who re-peaked you dish or how it was done but i know doing it with meters is the only way to do it right and get good readings. You need to realign your dish. i am in st louis and I had a buddy come over and help and we realigned the dish, all reading were better and then I checked the plumb of the mast and it was off a little.
I am now getting getting 56 on 118.7 TP18 and 65 on 118.7 TP11. I had low readings like you but once it was reset properly i have very high reading now on all 4 sats. The settings they give you are just a start point. I bought 2 cheap meters and peaked my dish and all settings except skew are about a 1/2 degree to a degree different. All readings on 118.7 and 129 are above 50 and 110 and 119 above 70. A lot of techs out there are not aligning the 1000+ dish properly

 

[Oblong Desoto]

Willie... the guys who worked on my dish were local subcontractors. I don't know much about them.

My signal strengths on 110, 119, and 129 aren't quite as high as yours (all in the 50-65 range right now) but I'll see how it goes. If rain fade is bad, I may follow your lead and get a meter before climbing the ladder again. Wouldn't be surprised if my mast was slightly off plumb too.

-OD