The Wooded Forest (& My Dish 500) - Install Question(s)

[ktalley]

General Location: Nashville, TN
Hardware:
Dish 500 with DishPro TwinLNB (actually, I have TWO of these combos)
Dish 301 receiver(s)

Hello! I just recently built a house back in a clearing in the woods (completely surrounded by trees) and am NOT having much luck trying to "sight" my dish. I've read just about every newsgroup posting, tip, trick, etc., and still have no success. And for the record, I've tried both LNBs (both previously worked fine) just to make sure that I don't have bad hardware. I can practically hold the dish in my hands (without the mast!) and lock in on the 110 bird, but can't get a sniff of 119. It appears to me (at least with my handy compass and protractor) that I *do* have enough tree clearing around the house to be able to point from one end of the yard (opposite where the birds are in the sky) and be aiming slightly above the trees. Here are my questions:

1) For "sighting" purposes, I'm connecting to the 119 port on the DP Twin LNB, and selecting 119 (Transponder 11 or 13 -- although I've tried "1" also) on the "Point Dish" menu. Should I simply be able to rotate the dish (assuming my mast is plumb all around and skew/elevation is set correctly) and see a signal from the 119 bird? Is it that simple?

2) If the answer to #1 is "YES -- It's that simple", then I must not be high enough to clear the trees (although I can easily see 110 from 4 ft. above ground level). Would it be crazy to try and mount my dish on a telescopic antenna mast (i.e. Channel Master 30' telescopic antenna mast)? Most newsgroup postings say this is one of the sturdiest masts out there, but wasn't sure if it would work for a Dish 500 (I could certainly use guy wires to minimize the wind sway). Obviously, I'd have to have the ability to rotate the mast from the ground (assuming that skew and elevation could be set correctly before mounting) to find the birds. I would try the roof of the house, but it's much closer to the tree line (and from the edge of the yard where I'm considering the in-ground tower/mast, it's actually on a 5-ft. raised bank, which should help even more).

ANY SUGGESTIONS ON WHAT I'M ATTEMPTING TO DO? Is there some other trick for finding the 119 bird that I haven't tried?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I *KNOW* my wife would appreciate it -- I've been fooling with this goofy thing for several weeks now!!

Thanks!
KT

 

[inwo]

Yes it's that simple. Clear the switch matrix by running "switch check" with nothing connected. Cover 110 lnb eye with metal foil.

Your protractor will not lie, a compass often will.
Make sure you are using the right coordinates. Garbage in = garbage out.
Enter your zip and look at 119 dish 300 for correct elevation.

If at that elevation, you are looking over tree line, it will work, with bottom of dish at eye level.

 

[SimpleSimon]

You say you can get 110 - but on which "eye"? Do what inwo said - cover the 110 and scan around. Remember, 119 will be a couple of degreees LOWER than 110.

 

[ktalley]

Good News!

Well, it turned out to be a combination of things. First of all, I had not previously used Transponder 11 when "sighting" for 119 (nothing in the Dish docs that says that -- I found it on a newsgroup posting). Also, I was not looking LOWER than 110 (I was assuming that there was NO WAY I could see anything lower without the trees being in the way). After clearing the switch, covering the 110 LNB with tinfoil, and moving the dish around (both rotation & elevation), I locked in on 119 with a signal strength of 115!!!! Once I uncovered 110, it was there as well.

THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP!!!

(FWIW, if I changed the transponder on "Point Dish" to anything lower than 11, I could not get any signal whatsoever. Why doesn't D/N put this in their FAQ?)