Should I try 61.5 or 129 for HD?

[N6BY]

My 622 installation is scheduled for 3/15 and I decided to upgrade the Dishes/LNBs myself in advance of the "installation" (they'll be in and out in 5 minutes).

I have a new Dish Pro Plus for 110/119 and a Dish 300 (with a DishPro LNB) that will be aimed at either the 61.5 or 129 satellites.

I'm in California, where I've read that others have had problems receiving HD from 129. From my location, the 61.5 sat is only 15 degrees above the horizon, but I'm fortunate enough to have a clear line of sight to it (no trees or buildings).

If they were only a few degrees apart, it would be easy to try both. But each sat location would require different bracket locations. So I'd like to get it "right" on the first try.

The question is, which one should I aim at, 61.5 or 129?

Neither satellite has local channels for Sacramento, so that is not a consideration.

Also, which one would have more HD channels?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

If your in Sacremento then go for 129.

 

[gbjbany]

However 129 does have local channels for Sac. It has the spanish channels. see www.dishchannelchart.com
The issues on 129 are with the d1000 which you wont be using so for me i would say 129.

KUVS-TV 19 (Univision) Modesto/StocktonKUVS863821129°E*5..Local - Sacramento

KTFK TV 64 (Telefutura) StocktonKTFK86405129°E*5 Local - Sacramento

KTNC TV 42 (Azteca) ConcordKTNC864121129°E*5 Local - Sacramento (Mirror 8231)

KSPX TV 29 ("i")KSPX864215129°E*5 Local - Sacramento

 

[FantasyChannel]

Point to 61.5 since you have access to it!!! You will regret pointing to 129.

I would also try an off-air antenna for HD Locals since Sacramento is not up yet. And if it works real good forget Sat HD Locals.

 

[sonnyboy11]

I live in L.A and get 61.5 no problem. I use OTA for locals as well. Very good set up.

 

[N6BY]

I live in L.A and get 61.5 no problem. I use OTA for locals as well. Very good set up.

Thanks for the info. What signal strength are you getting from 61.5 in LA?

I'll be using OTA for locals too.

 

[rdinkel]

Or for over-kill, you can do what I do in Colorado: Dish1000 with 110/119/129, and a separate Dish500 point at 61.5. All tied together with DPP44. Works great.

 

[7720driver]

rdinkel, just so as to not confuse anyone...if anybody wants to receive 61.5 (or any other single satellite) by using a Dish 500, then he should replace the Y-bracket with an I-bracket, so that the LNB will be at the prime focus (the postion of tightest focus). Using a Dish 500 with an I-bracket produces a somewhat stronger signal than a Dish 300, of course. Use the azimuth and elevation info provided by your receiver for the Dish 300.

Of course the simplest thing is to just use a Dish 300 dish to receive 61.5.

But if you want a stronger signal, use the Dish 500 with an I-bracket. The cheapest place I've found to buy an I-bracket is: http://www.futurevisionsat.com/catalog/item/548160/720906.htm

 

[N6BY]

Yes, I got the I-Bracket already. But futurevisionsat.com would have saved a few dollars, oh well.

If someone in California could tell me what kind of signal strength level I would get from 61.5 vs. 129, that would be great to know. Thanks.

 

[RandallA]

I don't have 61.5 but have 129, mid 70s to some 80s with a D500 and an I bracket. I'm in the SF Bay Area.

 

[N6BY]

I don't have 61.5 but have 129, mid 70s to some 80s with a D500 and an I bracket. I'm in the SF Bay Area.

Thats good to know. Do you get big signal drops every 20 minutes or so? I read some other posts where that was happening.

Also, can anyone provide the signal strength for 61.5 from California (or even anywhere on the west cost) ?

 

[RandallA]

"Do you get big signal drops every 20 minutes or so?"

No, I haven't seen those signal drops in my setup.

 

[gbjbany]

Im in sac and i have a dish1000 i am not getting the same symptoms that person was getting.
I dont have a great signal strength and in the current heavy rain have suffered from rain fade. my signal strength is in the 50's and 60's but i aint getting on the roof in this weather to repeak !

Edit: - changed "a couple of occaisions" to "have suffered" coz i spoke too soon I realized i am not looking at 129 much as i dont have voom any more.

 

[ArTT Vandelay]

I'm in Sac as well and use the 61.5

and just had my 622 put in this morning

installer came out, swapped the lnb, plugged it all in and it works.

I have a 500 pointed at 110/119 and a 61.5 from the Voom days. no issues with signal strength.

I have a Winegard SS1000 pointed at Walnut Grove for my digital locals. 10 (ABC) seems to have the crappiest signal of the bunch, but I live up in Rancho Murieta which is kind of a bowl. The weird part is that ABC and CBS are on the same tower, at least according to antennaweb.org. Depending on where you are, the OTA stuff might be rockin.

 

[N6BY]

I have a Winegard SS1000 pointed at Walnut Grove for my digital locals. 10 (ABC) seems to have the crappiest signal of the bunch, but I live up in Rancho Murieta which is kind of a bowl. The weird part is that ABC and CBS are on the same tower, at least according to antennaweb.org. Depending on where you are, the OTA stuff might be rockin.

ABC in Sacramento is on UHF Channel 61 (753 MHz), so its at a much higher frequency than CBS, which is on Channel 25 (537 MHz).
I have a Channel Master UHF Yagi which is also pointed at the Walnut Grove towers. It gets both ABC and CBS very well. (I'm in Rocklin, which is 40 miles away.)

So maybe your antenna is not optimized for the highest UHF channels? I think Yagis work better than square grid models.

BTW, I decided to try 61.5 first. I went up on the roof this afternoon, installed the new dish, and tried to aim it so it would pickup a signal from 61.5. Before I could get a lock, a massive rainstorm forced me off the roof Will try again tomorrow.