Slimline 5LNB dish installation

[vwsofia]

Hello al,
I'm new to the site and also to HD, I reently purchased a dish from eBay and decided to try to install it myself. I do have an older oval (101, 119) which picks up great signal from my deck, I live in a complex where they don't allow us to use the roof for any satallite installations. My problem is that having the slimline next to the older dish I only get about 45 or 50 on 101, in the 90's with the old dish which is right next to it as I mentioned.

Any help on initial set up, I read that the main thing is to get 101 in the high 90's but for some reason I can not get it that high with this dish, could it be that the dish iself in no good, the people I bought it from had great reviews and no one had compalints about the dish not working. I do get 119 and 110 but not all on the same spot.

Like I said....I have never installed this type of dish so I'm thinking I might need a meter, is the grounding option really necessary to get good signal?

Thanks in advance for any help,
Eddy

 

[bateau980]

Forgive me for asking the basics:

Have you verified your mount is plumb?
Are your connections nice and snug?
Does the dish look like it has any dents or indications it is used? (If so, it very well might have a bad LNB assembly)
Given the new angle, is there anything in the way?

Look around the forum. If you search, you'll be able to find an install video that might be of use.

 

[vwsofia]

is the mount plumb? excuse my ignorance, I guess plumb means level? right? I do have the level in the center and have verified to still be dead center.

I have checked all my conections and they have actually ran a single line to the reciever to avoid issues

the dish looks pretty new and I have been able to get signal on sallites 101, 119, 110 and 99 but only on a couple of transponders and not at the same time, I do have great signal on my ovel dish on both 101,119 and 110

There is a chimeney on the way bu it is also on the way of the other dish, I'm thinkinh because of all 5 satallites that might be my problem and should ask for permision to install it on the roof, I'm hoping they will let me.

could I get signal on 101 119 and 110 if the LNB's were bad?

Thanks a lot for your response
Eddy

 

[bateau980]

You're right with Plumb. Basically to ensure plumb, you check level twice, say once at 0 degrees, then again at 90. This ensures your position of the dish will be true.

Depending on your signal readings... If you have signal on just odds or evens, or it fluctuates a lot, it is a bad LNB.

I don't claim to be a pro at all, but these are the same issues I ran into after a bad experience with an installer.

 

[charper1]

Technically plumb refers to the vertical where level refers to the horizontal.

BUT; that being said if your mast has the built-in bubble level and it is pressed into the pipe correctly; that thing is pretty darn good.

 

[vwsofia]

Thanks guys, I will double check all my settings tomorrow and try again, I will update my posting then just in case anyone is interested. I'm also wondering how critical it is to run the grounding cable since the manual tells me to do so, will that affect my signals if I don't run one?

Thank you again for the help, so glad I found this site
Eddy

 

[Zynergi]

the ground wire will prevent (sorta) static charges and lightning discharges from possibly entering via the coax. It will not have any affect on your signal. Make sure you have your Elevation set for your area (your HD rec if set to 6 LNB will tell you) also if you have the oval 3 lnb the 5 lnb wont appear to "point" in the same direction. Get As many transponders above 95 on the 101 you can then fine tune the adjustment screws while looking at a 103c transponder. Also make sure you have Filters before the RG6 goes into SAT-IN unless you have a H23 Rec.

 

[vwsofia]

Thanks Zynergi, I'm starting to think my lnb is bad since I can only get my 101 up to about 50 or 60 but no better than that, what do you think? I'm getting 90's on the oval dish right next to it.

Eddy

 

[vwsofia]

one more thing, I'm using the slimline 5 as a setting on my H21 but reading the slimline dish description it says it's a 3 LNB dish. What setting do I use on my DVR? slimline 5 or 3LNB?

Thanks
Eddy

 

[vwsofia]

Sorry guys, I actually have the HR21 DVR

Eddy

 

[Mike500]

If you can post some pictures of your situation, maybe we can be of further help. As an installer I prefer a tripod mount for decks, as opposed to mounting on a railing.

We do a lot of apartment installs. Because of strength of the railing and liability issues, we avoid clamping to railings and use a tripod.

The available tripods for a two inch actual pole are specialty items and sell for expensive prices. They are usually not carried locally by suppliers due to costs.

A subcontractor colleague of mine has solved the problem. Radio Shack stocks a heavy duty 3 foot Rohn Made in USA heavy duty tripod for $35.

A section of 2 inch actual pole is also hard to find and will not fit inside the Radioshack tripod.

A standard 1-5/8" actual galvanized chain link fence line post will fit perfectly.

My colleague developed and manufactures an adapter to bring the 1-5/8" pole to exactly two inches. The mount for the slimline fits perfectly. The clamping force of the socket's bolts transfers to the 1-5/8 pole and no additional fasteners are required.

Unlike the bucket, the tripod has a wide base and the bolts allow perfectly plumbing the pole. A few paint or Sharpie marks on the dech would allow perfect realignment; should the tripod be moved by accident.

We have done over 150 apartment installs this way. We have had no dissatisfied customers.

Anyone can buy this adapter on eBay;

DirecTV AT9/AU9 KA/KU Adapter for old 1-5/8" pole - eBay (item 150287748687 end time Sep-02-08 09:00:27 PDT)

 

[vwsofia]

thanks, my mounting seems to be pretty solid and with my in law being a machinist I have added an extra leg to it to make sure wind will not affect it, reading more postings I see that the VDR should have 2 cables going to it, right? I only have one on the (SWM-2) satallite input so I'm not sure if I need to run another cable from the dish to the other imput

Eddy

 

[texasbrit]

OK, back to basics. If you are using a slimline 5 or a slimline 3, the pointing direction is different from the 3-lnb oval dish you already have. The 3-lnb dish is aligned on 110, and the slimlines are aligned on 101. I think you are probably not getting 101 at all on the slimline, because it is pointed at the wrong satellite. If this is the case you will see the wrong number of transponders on each of the satellites. Just move the azimuth setting on the slimline several degrees to the left and you will probably find 101.
If you have a slimline 3 then you need to set slimline 3 as the dish during satellite setup. But you need to check that it really is a slimline 3. The slimline 5 looks like it only has three LNBs.

 

[vwsofia]

It is a slimeline 5, I just checked. what I do not know now is wheter or not I need to run 2 lines to it/

Thanks for the support,
Eddy

 

[texasbrit]

It is a slimeline 5, I just checked. what I do not know now is wheter or not I need to run 2 lines to it/

Thanks for the support,
Eddy

Yes, you need two lines to a DVR. You posted you had an H21, that's a receiver, do you mean an HR21 DVR?
You could also buy an SWM8 multiswitch and then you would only need one line to the DVR. Four lines from the dish to the multiswitch though.

 

[vwsofia]

Sorry, I have a HR21 DVR Plus. I'm running a second line from the dish directly to the second imput on the DVR and will update soon.

Thank you for taking the time to help me...very much appreciated
Eddy

 

[vwsofia]

ok guys, I have tried getting a good signal with no luck....since I bought this dish from ebay I think that it is a bad one, I can only get 101 in the high 50's and that is it. I guess my best bet is to get a brand new dish from Directv or a website I can trust, any suggestions? or just pay directv to come over and get it done.

Thanks,
Eddy

 

[Zynergi]

....or just pay directv to come over and get it done.

Thanks,
Eddy

Worse case it would cost you $99 for a dish upgrade from D*, more than likely no cost, you could always set it up as a movers.

 

[texasbrit]

ok guys, I have tried getting a good signal with no luck....since I bought this dish from ebay I think that it is a bad one, I can only get 101 in the high 50's and that is it. I guess my best bet is to get a brand new dish from Directv or a website I can trust, any suggestions? or just pay directv to come over and get it done.

Thanks,
Eddy

Which transponder numbers are you seeing any signal on for the 101, 110 and 119 satellites?

 

[vwsofia]

The guys from ebay have overnight me another dish so I'll update when it shows up tomorrow. I'm very curious to see if it is the dish or I'm just not doing it right. But I would think that if my lnb was good I would at leat get 101 on the high 90's like I did on my oval, we'll see.

Eddy