Taking my satellite while travelling for a weekend

[Busterw]

I have an odd question. We're gonna be vacationing for a few days at a relative's that has no television service and absolutely nothing to do for entertainment otherwise. I would like to take one of my basic receivers and any needed equipment with me so I have my DirecTv service as well as local channels from my home town for those few days. This trip is gonna be to the North Georgia mountains which is about 160 miles from my home and in the same state as my home.

Currently mounted at the place we'll be visiting is a round DirecTv dish with a single LNB. I've previously connected to it to get the major networks when I was there and that works fine.

My questions is, for me to also get local channels from my own zip code, do I also need a second dish pointed differently as well as a mulit-switch to connect everything together? If so, what dish do I need for this....just anotyher single LNB round one? Lastly, will a Dish network multi-switch work since I have one of those sitting in a closet and unused?

Thanks!

 

[jdspencer]

You didn't list your location. Do you require a second dish at home for the locals? Do you know which satellite provides you your locals?

A Dish multiswitch won't work with DirecTV. You said that the place you'll be at has a round dish with a single LNB. It's possible that it actually has a dual LNB in the housing. Check to see if there are two outputs.

 

[Busterw]

OK, I'll provide more info. At home, I have a HUGE oval dish, 5 LNB I believe, and a small round dish, single LNB it APPEARS. I don't know which satellite the locals come in on or how to tell this. I DO know when I was farting around with one of my basic receivers yesterday, I lost locals and the 72.5 was not listed. I then told it to auto-configure the satellites and when it was completed, it listed the 72.5. Then the locals had reappeared so I assumed the 72.5 is what was pulling locals down. We'll be travelling to Talking Rock, GA but how do I find out which sat pulls local channels there or can I?

As for the single LNB dish at the mountains, all I know is it has one eye so I don't know if that housing includes 1 or 2 LNBS within it. It's pretty old so if a dual included in a single housing is even remotely recent, then this would be a true single LNB b/c it's AT LEAST 7 years old.

Does this sound like I will have to have a second dish for up there and if so, what exactly do I need to look for on eBay? Same question about a multi-switch.

Thanks again!
Buster

You didn't list your location. Do you require a second dish at home for the locals? Do you know which satellite provides you your locals?

A Dish multiswitch won't work with DirecTV. You said that the place you'll be at has a round dish with a single LNB. It's possible that it actually has a dual LNB in the housing. Check to see if there are two outputs.

 

[Peter Parker]

What locals are you looking for? City name would help.

 

[Busterw]

Lizella, Georgia but Macon is the closest major town.

 

[dishrich]

Macon, GA DOES require the 2nd (72.5) dish for locals.
You'll obviously need a 2nd 18" dish & switch at the other location - a cheap D* 4x4 switch will suffice. A DISH switch will NOT work.
Also, the LNB on the main (existing) dish must have dual outputs - a single output LNB will not work properly w/the 4x4 switch.
However, you could take the single LNB off the existing dish & use it on the 72.5 dish - just make sure you run the single feed from the 72.5 dish into the 18V 22khz input on the switch.

 

[Busterw]

OK, so let me be sure I've got this correct. If the existing dish is NOT a dual LNB ( and I won't know without looking at it in person), meaning having 2 outputs, I need to get a dual LNB one and swap the one up there with the newly purchased dual LNB dish. Then I can use that single LNB for the 72.5.

What if it IS a dual LNB and I get another dual LNB, is that a problem or can I just connect one of the LNBs have it hit the 72.5????

What I'm getting is I must have a dual LNB to point where the existing one is to get networks. Then have another pointing at 72.5 to get locals. Connect them with a switch and them from the switch to the receiver. correct?

Lastly, how will I be able to aim this newly added dish as I've only played with aimiing one dish setups and go into to setup to begin. Then manually move the dish til I get the best signal strength. In setup, can I manually do each dish individually or is it just easiest to hit auto-configure in the sat setup menu?

Thanks very much!
Buster

Macon, GA DOES require the 2nd (72.5) dish for locals.
You'll obviously need a 2nd 18" dish & switch at the other location - a cheap D* 4x4 switch will suffice. A DISH switch will NOT work.
Also, the LNB on the main (existing) dish must have dual outputs - a single output LNB will not work properly w/the 4x4 switch.

 

[Busterw]

OK, just bought a dual LNB round dish and a 4x4 switch.

Can you now tell me how I can best go about making sure I get one of the dishes pointed to the 72.5? Should I connect them one at a time and get each one aimed by itself or how shoudl I do it?

What i did previously since i was only working with one dish was hook it up, aim it in the general direction and start messing with it until the signal meter was the strongest. I'm just unsure how to handle it if I have two of them to do.

Thanks!
Buster

 

[dishrich]

For the 72.5 LNB, either output will work to the 18V input. Or, you CAN run BOTH outputs into both 22khz inputs - my way saves you a coax run. (no biggie)

To aim the 72.5 dish, hook it up DIRECTLY to the receiver & just put it on the 101 bird on the meter. You'll know when you find it, when you can find a satellite with signals ONLY on the even x-ponders. Peak it for max strength, THEN connect the dishes through the switch, connect the receiver to the switch, then do auto-detect, which will find both birds.

 

[Busterw]

I don't have to have a sat meter to do this correct? I can just use the signal meter in the menu-setup-satellite-signal meters area right?

I don't mind the extra cable b/c I'll most likely have the switch sitting right beside the dish anyway so what's an extra foot or two of cable. Is one way better than the other?

OK, I need you to help me with the final connections to the switch with 2 separate scenarios since I don't know what dish is there currently.

Scenario 1) I have my 4x4 switch and two dual LNB dishes, one that needs to get the networks, and the other to get local channels.

Scenario 2) I have my 4x4 switch and one dual LNB dishe and one single LNB dish, one that needs to get the networks, and the other to get local channels.

I've attached an image of what I'm looking at so you can be as specific as possible.

Thanks!

Buster

 

[dishrich]

No, the meter in the receiver will work fine.
In either case run both outputs from the main (national) networks dish to the 2 inputs on the left side. (the NON-22khz ones) It doesn't matter which LNB out goes to which input.
Then, just run a single coax from the other (locals) dish into the 18V 22khz input - if you have a dual out LNB, just use either output.
BUT, peak the 2nd dish FIRST, then connect as I already told you above...

It REALLY is as simple as I already described before...

 

[Busterw]

OK, that sounds easy enough. Just hard to envision without having had done a 2-dish setup before.

So when I set it up, will I need to enter my hometown zip code to pick up my hometown locals?

Thanks for all of your help!
Buster

 

[dishrich]

So when I set it up, will I need to enter my hometown zip code to pick up my hometown locals?

No, the zip on the receivers is ONLY for giving you dish coordinates - NOTHING more.

 

[Busterw]

I hate to sound stupid but I can't seem to find where to enter the zip on a basic receiver. Where am I not looking?

Also, let me clarify something you said. When aiming the 72.5, you said to put the receiver on the 101 bird on the meter to get it aimed. Why wouldn't I put it on the 72.5 bird on the meter to aim it?

Let me throw this one at you too if it wasn't a typo in you telling me to get my single LNB (for locals) aimed at the 101 initially, then aim the dual one by itself as well, then connect everything up as it's spose to be. Since there's currently a single (I think) LNB dish up there pointing at the 101 that's getting the major networks, and since you're saying I should aim my single LNB dish at the 101 for my initial setup for my locals. Can I leave it (the existing single LNB) as is, then get my new dual-LNB dish pointing at the 101 as well independently, then hook everything up with the mult-switch per your instructions, run auto-configure and be good to go?

I would like to avoid pulling down a single LNB that's up there and pointing correctly at the 101 only to replace it with a dual and then have to re-aim both is what I'm getting at.

Thanks!
Buster

 

[Busterw]

More details added in my post above from when I initially submitted it.

 

[Busterw]

A bump to the top in hopes of help on my last post.

Thanks!
Buster

 

[dishrich]

Well, after I did ALL of a post, just saw you got it aimed in another post - oh well...
(was at CES & wasn't checking in here)

 

[ramcm7]

Are the locals delivered via 72.5 CONUS or spot beam? If they are spot beamed, Busterw might have some issues getting locals.

 

[Busterw]

With Bluegrass's guidance in another thread, setting azimuth at 160, it was on and just required a minor amount of tweaking.

From what I read, the 72.5 is a spot and it was iffy as to whether I would pick it up or not. But, I did and it works like a champ.

Buster

 

[dishrich]

From what I read, the 72.5 is a spot and it was iffy as to whether I would pick it up or not. But, I did and it works like a champ.

FYI - 72.5 is NOT a spot beam bird at all & will work pretty much anywhere, except in some parts of the southwestern US, due to low strengths.