Tips for 1000.4 Dish

[Ikonoclast]

Hello I am newish here (lurked for awhile) and would discuss the 1000.4 dish. This thing is a pain in the ass. That's my opinion anyway.

I forgot to mention that I am an installer in northeast vermont. Sorry.

So I would like to know how people are coping with eastern arc migration, and how you guys go about pointing this specific dish and with what equipment.

For example, the company that I work for gets a mix of 1k.4 LNB's from both echostar and sharp manufacturing groups. I personally have found the LNB's manufactured by sharp worthless. I don't know what it is, if the switch in the thing is activated or what but these LNB's I have trouble with, whereas the echo* LNB's point like a DP single on port 3. Thereagain, please explain which ports you point on, and any little tricks such as what I do; I cover the two feedhorns that sit on the left and peak on 61.5 on port 3 with a channelmaster. This has had good results with echo* LNB's, less with sharp LNB's.

And finally, I would to voice a public lament for the slow and obvious death for Dish 500. Most of us will miss you.

EDIT:

Average signal strengths:
t/s 2: 30
t/s 10: 40-45
t/s 31: 40-50

the specific t/s's I used reflect minimum signal strengths in VT.

 

[tedb3rd]

The first thing I realized is that 1000.4 is about the most difficult to aim of any Dish Network dish I've installed. The only thing that I've done that was more difficult was a WildBlue dish.. (That thing went from peaked to nothing in about 3 turns of the fine tuning bolt it seemed like.) But anyways.... It's difficult, but not impossible.

I will say that the azimuth setting doesn't seem right (at least to me) when your aiming... I setup a 1000.4 where the neighbor has a wing pointing only at 61.5... When you look at the 'direction' that the 1000.4 appears to be pointing you would never know it could be picking up 61.5. It looks like 61.5 is way too far to the east for the 1000.4 to be picking up.

Signal meters are a matter of choice. I've seen people use the $$$ birddog meter... The first time I ever saw a guy install a WB dish, I thought he'd pull out something even more complicated since a WB dish is receive AND send.. But no.. He whips out a $6 analog meter and uses that dinky little needle bouncing around to peak... And it was dead on too when he was done. ...and it only took him a matter of minutes.

I don't know what kind of signal strength you should be getting for your area. Check with some other local installers (or maybe somebody in the forum from the area can comment).

 

[snowboardernh]

this covers it...
http://installeroasis.com/images/docs/Eastern_Arc_Antenna_Installation_Instructions.pdf

note 77 sat is useless at your latitude.. The most you'll get is in the 30's if your lucky

As it states, peak on 72 and fine tune with 61.5

 

[bgee]

What 1000.4 signal strengths do you guys end up seeing (722K) on 72 and 61.5?

TIA

 

[TimberWolf]

The meter you use makes all the difference in how easy it is. With a Super Sat Buddy I can sight one in minutes. I peak in on 72 trans 19 all the time and just double check the other 2

72 trans 19 - 62
77 trans 1 - 58 (spotbeam for locasl here)
61.5 trans 11 - 73

 

[bgee]

Thanks - I meant with the 722K internal level indicator.

 

[TimberWolf]

Those are good for any mpeg4 rec. What you see on the Super Sat is what it reads on the rec

 

[bgee]

Okay, thanks. I'm definitely not seeing those levels after tech install. Maybe it's time to tweak azimuth/elevation on my own.