RTN Signal Strength AMC-9

[Gary Z]

My signal strength on RTN is low at 40% It was in the 70's when I set up the dish.

What are some of your signal readings? I'm using a 90cm 3ABN dish with GeoSatPro DVR1100c

 

[magnigyro]

My signal strength on RTN is low at 40% It was in the 70's when I set up the dish.

What are some your signal readings? I'm using a 90cm 3ABN dish with GeoSatPro DVR1100c

Pixelating here, 84cm with coolsat5000 original Q90 right now Q65 (readings in coolsat are higher than pansat).

 

[phlatwound]

Gary, I'm bouncing from 31%-36% on my 3ABN/Visionsat/TrackerII combo.

Threshold is somewhere in the 20s on that receiver, so I'm getting a solid pic, no blocking.

 

[Gary Z]

I'm not getting any blocking either, but signal strength was in the 70's a few weeks ago. Then it dropped in to 55 now 40, Seems to be dropping little by little.

Threshold for me is 35%

Gary, I'm bouncing from 31%-36% on my 3ABN/Visionsat/TrackerII combo.

Threshold is somewhere in the 20s on that receiver, so I'm getting a solid pic, no blocking.

 

[turbosat]

ok here

70/99 on the Icon and 1m primestar with the red lnb.
Some oddball movie on RTN EAST which is prob the FarOut Cinema, or whatever it was called lol.

 

[Gary Z]

If you are getting that good of a signal turbosat then I might have an aligment problem.

70/99 on the Icon and 1m primestar with the red lnb.
Some oddball movie on RTN EAST which is prob the FarOut Cinema, or whatever it was called lol.

 

[TimLones111]

I'm at 33-40 quality with the Fortec Star Dynamic-30 is my "good picture" Threshold

 

[AcWxRadar]

I have been having problems with RTN on AMC 9 ever since these channels came on line there.

The NBC news feed channel comes in at 87-91% Q on a Coolsat 5000 receiver, but I cannot get much above 70% from the RTN channels. They usually run somewhere close to 67%. This does not leave me with much of a margin for my threshold signal quality on this receiver, which is somewhere around 65%. I think everything goes completely dark at 63% for a linear Ku band signal.

I have tried different receivers, different LNBFs, altered the dish elevation, motor azimuth, LNBF polarity skew, LNBF positioning for focal distance, altering the TP frequency and symbol rate and standing on my head. Tried eliminating all switches and running a very short cable (6-10 foot) directly from the LNBF and bypassing the motor entirely.

At the same time, with the same equipment (absolutely identical) and only a mile away, just down the hill from my house, my brother is getting these channels in with at least 87% quality, maybe better more often.

Cannot figure it out. The only thing left to do is try one of my other dish antennas or alter the dish location or both. I am just waiting for warmer, drier weather to get out and set up a new installation to test this.

I cannot identify any obstructions that would be in the line of sight that could cause this, but maybe there is something that I don't realize based on and related to the frequency of this particular TP.

If I relocate the dish and the problem is resolved, then I will know that there is some interference problem. If the problem remains, then I will replace the dish. If the problem goes away then, I will know that there is some anomaly with the original dish, maybe it has a strange warp to it. These are the only options that I have left to try.

I am not soliciting for any advice regarding my issue, I am just presenting my findings so that others can compare results. Of course, I would never refuse a suggestion.

Relocating the dish was planned before this problem arose. I have a few trees and the house in the way of satellites like 30.0W and 43.0W so I am relocating the dish for that purpose anyway, if it resolves the problem with 83W as well, then I get a bonus. I will find out then.

AcWxRadar

 

[LoTech]

I've been having problems with RTN Since they moved to AMC 9. Like AcWxRadar the other feed channels come in at the 90% quality level, but my RTN hovers around 66 on my Coolsat 5000. Not much room for variance since I get pixelation at 65. About a month ago my signal jumped to about 70 for a few days and then back down to 66. The past few days it has been dropping below 65 quite frequently. All the channels on the other sats come in strong.

 

[phlatwound]

I'm up about 7 SQ points today (38-43%), might do a little better but it's overcast (sunny yesterday) and getting a little dish wiggle in 25-35 mph winds.

 

[turbosat]

GaryZ the Icon reads 98-99 on most any stable signal, and stays locked (damn good tuner I reckon) . Just for grins I hooked up the Merc2, and its stable lock too today, 87-88 /38-42 Q
fluctuates a bit but picture is solid. Heavy cloud cover here with rain coming later. And the Icon still says 70/99. maybe something out of kilter for your rig there......

 

[LoTech]

For me RTN dropped from 67 to 63 today during Alias Smith and Jones (East). Still hasn't come back up. I'm in Eastern Kentucky with no cloud cover or wind.

 

[Mr Tony]

possible weather issues in Tennessee?

 

[AcWxRadar]

I've been having problems with RTN Since they moved to AMC 9. Like AcWxRadar the other feed channels come in at the 90% quality level, but my RTN hovers around 66 on my Coolsat 5000. Not much room for variance since I get pixelation at 65. About a month ago my signal jumped to about 70 for a few days and then back down to 66. The past few days it has been dropping below 65 quite frequently. All the channels on the other sats come in strong.

For me RTN dropped from 67 to 63 today during Alias Smith and Jones (East). Still hasn't come back up. I'm in Eastern Kentucky with no cloud cover or wind.

Lotech,

Might you inform us what dish and LNBF you are using? If your dish is motorized, do you have to readjust your sat obital degree to make it work the best?

I have a Winegard DS-2076 dish and an Invacom QPH-031 LNBF and I am just a tad NW of Omaha, NE.

Your results are almost identical to mine. Maybe we can converse on this and try a few things and figure this out.

AcWxRadar

 

[AcWxRadar]

GaryZ the Icon reads 98-99 on most any stable signal, and stays locked (damn good tuner I reckon) . Just for grins I hooked up the Merc2, and its stable lock too today, 87-88 /38-42 Q
fluctuates a bit but picture is solid. Heavy cloud cover here with rain coming later. And the Icon still says 70/99. maybe something out of kilter for your rig there......

Turbosat,

I would like to learn more about your ICON receiver. Do you also own a Coolsat to compare your results with? I know that DN and DirecTV use unique scales for signal quality and that can be deceiving..

FTA receivers quality signal readouts are also unique from receiver to receive/brand to brand so it is difficult to compare.

I am going to make a note to check into the ICON just in case.

Radar

 

[Mr Tony]

72 quality here in Minnesota on same setup as I've had for 3+ years

 

[AcWxRadar]

72 quality here in Minnesota on same setup as I've had for 3+ years

Iceberg,

Is that on your DS-2076 dish with your Coolsat 5K?

Is that your max signal Q % ?

You are not too far away from me being in Minneapolis area and me in Omaha area, so we could compare also.

Radar

 

[LoTech]

AcWxRadar,

I also have a Coolsat 5000, and a motorized Winegard DS-2076, but I have a ROC CSS11G LNBF. I am in Whitesburg, KY (I would suggest Google maps as absolutely no one knows where it is), and at noon today my signal was running 66-67. At about 1:30 it dropped to a steady 63 and hasn't regained any signal quality yet. AMC 5 and AMC 3 are still coming in with great quality. So are all the other sats all the way out to Galaxy 27.

 

[AcWxRadar]

AcWxRadar,

I also have a Coolsat 5000, and a motorized Winegard DS-2076, but I have a ROC CSS11G LNBF. I am in Whitesburg, KY (I would suggest Google maps as absolutely no one knows where it is), and at noon today my signal was running 66-67. At about 1:30 it dropped to a steady 63 and hasn't regained any signal quality yet. AMC 5 and AMC 3 are still coming in with great quality. So are all the other sats all the way out to Galaxy 27.

LoTech,

It is 5:30 pm CST here. Just doing a brief summary:

11.720 V on 123.0W is showing me 87% Q
11.998 H on 97.0W is showing me 88% Q
12.188 H on 85.0W is showing me 97% Q
11.775 H on 83.0W is showing me 87% Q
11.735 H on 83.0 W is showing me 66% Q
12.176 H on 79.0 W is showing me 90% Q
11.734 H on 74.0 W is showing me 88% Q
12.055 V on 72.0 W is showing me 94% Q
11.998 V on 43.0 W is showing me 89% Q

Radar

 

[TRG]

I reported something similar here http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/169776-rtn-stuttering.html
And everyone said "no problem here". The signal quality isn't steady on that bird. Some days its fine and other days its not. It could be weather related, I guess. I wish I had a 1 or 1.2 meter dish dedicated to that satellite for extra signal headroom. I really enjoy the programming.