The troubles with 129 - A summary

[kstuart]

Try setting transponder that you are looking for on 129 to tr. 17.

Unless your wing dish mast is really, really plumb (ie perfectly vertical), then elevation can vary a degree or 2 from the theoretical setting.

Also, you need to stop for 3-5 seconds at each point where you are testing whether you have the right point. Moving the dish continually may not work.

 

[Dish VIP]

The 129 IS a bugger to locate. So as mentioned above, move your wing dish slowly and in tiny incrementes, raising the elevation a couple degrees up with each sweep.

I have four suggestions:

1. Make sure you have LOS! Seems obvious but surprising how often this is ignored. After all, 129 is a full 10 degrees west of 119.

2. Make sure your receiver has had a chance to take in any software updates! These will come from the 119 location.

3. Do switch tests often! Sometimes it takes more than once to clear out the previous data registers.

4. Use 129 t.p. #17, as mentioned above. This is the "home" transponder for 129.

 

[foghorn2]

Hook the 1000 back up with the 129 lnb unhooked. Hook a meter with a beeper in series with the STB and 119 lnb. When you find 119 and then move the dish slightly horizontally back and forth, you should hear 3 quick beeps (4 if you go too far). Thats 110, 119, 129. Try leaving it at the 2nd weaker beep opposite of 110 and do a check switch and see if 129 is seen by the STB. If nothing, try again 10 minutes.

When you finally "see" 129, move the dish back a notch back to 119 and peak using the meter. Do a check switch, verify110 and peak 119 using the STB again.
Now hook the 129 lnb in series with the STB and you should get a signal on the meter. If it is too weak, without loosening the bolts, jiggle the dish up/down, around and see if the meter jumps higher in certain positions. If so, go ahead and peak it for 129.. DO NOT CHANGE THE SKEW.

Re verify signals from the 110, 119 lnb's using the meter. Now finally do a check switch again and you should get 129. If you are not, you may have a bad switch in the Dish 1000.

 

[foghorn2]

I forgot to mention, do not use the seperator at the 622, just hook it up to sat 1 when doing all this.

 

[CHIEFWAHO]

Thanks for all the help!

I did get things figured out enough for a temporary wing dish and was able to watch the Super Bowl in HD.

IMO the Dish 1000’s are junk at least for the DIYer even the D* CSR said as much.

I used a mobile tripod to put the wing dish on and used an old C-band meter to tune it in. Was only getting around 52 averages on the signal. I plan to mount a new arm below my existing and put the wing there.

When I do the upgrades for my parents and brother I will just put a DP + on the existing 500 and then a new mount and DP for the wing.

I love my HD, but probably not my bill.

 

[oljim]

coolbreeze
I would demand 2 dish 500s 1 for 110/119 and 1 for 61.5, you have no need for 129. 61.5 is much stronger

 

[CHIEFWAHO]

coolbreeze
I would demand 2 dish 500s 1 for 110/119 and 1 for 61.5, you have no need for 129. 61.5 is much stronger

The KC locals I get are on 129. I am doing the install myself.

Is this the best I can expect from 129 on a wing dish (500)?
transponder listed first then signal strength
01-51, 02-52, 04-66, 05-53
06-50, 07-52, 08-64, 09-65
10-67, 11-52, 12-65, 13-65
16-54, 17-54, 18-50, 19-68
21-53, 22-55, 23-55, 27-42
30-72, 31-73, 32-53

Should I get rid of the Y lnb adaptor on the wing dish (500) and go with the single I lnb adpator? Will that help signal any getting the lnb centered up, plus I know it would look better.

Where is a good place to purchase the I adaptor?

 

[ckgrick]

Constant LOS and low numbers (60-70) on 129 with two dishes (500 & 300) I canceled StarzHD Sunday since I was tired of watching bits and pieces of each movie. Same with every other station on transponder 30. So called DISH customer service has blown me off so far.

 

[HDTVFanAtic]

Constant LOS and low numbers (60-70) on 129 with two dishes (500 & 300) I canceled StarzHD Sunday since I was tired of watching bits and pieces of each movie. Same with every other station on transponder 30. So called DISH customer service has blown me off so far.

They were supposedly installing 24" dishes for 129W in Washington - not the smaller dishes.

I have called E* 4 times today as well - and everytime get routed to the Phillipines where they are clueless.

I guess there is no way to get an American on the line who understands the US Geography and what is needed in particular locations.

 

[chasby]

2 Dish Install Works Good !!!!!

My original Dish 1000/VIP622 installation gave me lots of problems on 129. All kinds of break-up and pixellation on many of the 129 transponders. Since I live in a dense forest area, I have 140 ft. RG-6 cable runs. After complaining, the installer came back and set up a 2 dish feed with the Dish1000 feeding 110/119 and my old Dish500 feeding 129. A sampling of the signal levels below show: transponder #-Dish1000 only-Dish1000/500 signal levels.

1-55-78, 2-55-76, 4-77-88, 5-67-78, 6-51-60, 7-57-77, 8-76-85, 9-79-87,
10-79-86, 11-58-63, 12-80-88, 13-82-87, 16-70-77, 17-72-79,
(transponders 18 and above showed only marginal improvement)
Bottom line is that since adding the dedicated Dish500 for 129 I haven't had a problem. One obvious caveat I'd have to add is that we have had an unusual period of clear, extremely cold days so I can't comment on bad weather performance.

chasby

 

[navychop]

I guess there is no way to get an American on the line who understands the US Geography and what is needed in particular locations.

Just go thru Tech Support. I think you always get a U.S. contact that way.

 

[downriver]

This week Dish replaced my D1000 with a 500 for 110 & 119 and a 24" dish dedicated to 129. TP23, one of the weak ones, went from 52 to 87. Eureka!!!

This morning TP 23 seems to be bouncing around from 65 to 75. Now this is still a vast improvement and I would urge anyone on the West Coast to call Tech Support and have them pull the 1000, it's free.

BUT why is the signal so inconsistent?? The OP said the orbit is screwed? skewed? some of the transponders are very strong.

This thread should be a sticky.

 

[RandallA]

My TP23 with a Dish 1000.2 goes from 62 to 77 but it stays at 62 most of the time. There are another 2 TPs that do this.

Some TPs are as high as 90 so that means that they can turn the power on some of these TPs but they can't do it on all them because Echostar 5 is so crippled that they need to conserve power so it survives another 2 years. In summary, 129 is a POS.

 

[Fredinva]

Tweeking a Dish 1000

First off, we replaced our store 1000 with a 1000.2
129 siganl levels increased about 5 to 7 points on most transponders.
Only because it is a larger dish.

When anyone mentions signal level on a bird (129) the transponder should always be listed too. There is too much of a signal spread not to mention Tr.

Tweeking a 1000 my way: After I meter on 119.
My trick is a 5/16 inch wrench and a cell phone.
My assistant or customer will be on the point dish screen on tv.
I tighten the two dish post nuts to make sure the dish wont turn on the post.
I make the call to assistant and then physically move (torque) dish left or right to gain 129 signal level. When I find the higher level I actually bend the mount ever so slightly so the dish will not return to the original spot. This has been working for me the past dozen or so 1000s I've installed. I may lose a couple points on 119or 110, but the gain on 129 is worth it. I'm happy, the customer is happy.

fred

 

[Smith P.]

Walkie-talkie best too for that and actually $20 satmeter will give you quick and accurate aim.

 

[markd]

I know this is an older thread but I just got installed this week with a 1000.2 & VIP622.
Through all the TPs on 129 I get between 75 thru 89.

 

[Smith P.]

That's why the 1k.2 designed .

 

[gadgtfreek]

I know this is an older thread but I just got installed this week with a 1000.2 & VIP622.
Through all the TPs on 129 I get between 75 thru 89.

Not bad. I had a 1000.2 installed awhile back for 110/119/129. My 129 SS was from 55 to 80. I recently installed a D500 just for 129 and got the SS up to 75-95.

 

[knot]

I can't stand installing 1000's. I would much rather throw up a wing dish. Yeah it's 2 dishes, but much easier then trying to fight to get a good signal on the 129. All my 61.5's hit at least 115 - 125.