Vacation house dvr box portability

[Dust Mite]

Hello all,
My wife and I live in Madison, WI where we have directv with only one TV set, an HR22-100 DVR receiver box and a slimline platter with a SWM LNB. There's a 21V power inserter too.

We recently acquired a vacation trailer house near Arkdale, WI about 100 miles to the north.

What we want to do is move the DVR box back and forth but leave all other equipment in place. We also don't want to pay directv any more money or get signed up for a two year contract again.

A fella up there gave us a used slimline platter with a SWM LMB on it. It was left over from when he switched to Dish. We mounted it on the roof. I ran co-ax from the SWM LNB to the power inserter, and then to the HR22 box.

Well, after three hours of attempting to aim it we could never get any bars at all on the signal strength display.
The websites tell me I want a 38 degree elevation and a 196 degree azimuth. Well I don't have any precise way to measure these angles when I'm up there but you'd think that after all that playing around I'd at least get a peep.

I am missing some equipment? Do I need to set the HR22 for the LNB model in some menu? Is it super fussy about what co-ax type is used?

Thx for help.

 

[Hutch1814]

Do you have the 21 volt power supply plugged in? And yes, RG59 isn't recommended with SWM but it will work majority of the time


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[Jimbo]

Did you go into the recvr Menu and re run the Sat Set Up ?

That may be the issue, maybe not as the SWM set up should detect the SWM when it's powered on.

I would still look to make sure.

Your co ordinates should be relatively close to what your using at home.

Are you sure your using the same SWM dish ?

 

[Joe Diamond]

RE the dish:

Make sure the mast is plumb......... makes everything much easier.
Get the coordinates for the zip code you in.
Set the tilt (skew) and elevation per the coordinates for the zip code.
Slowly swing the dish through the compass line (azimuth) with someone viewing the 101signal meter.

As mentioned above....do rerun setup....and then do it again when you go home.

Inspect fittings.Inspect cable. Eliminate any splitters.

You can do this!

Joe

 

[raoul5788]

to Satelliteguys Dust Mite!

 

[Hutch1814]

Did you go into the recvr Menu and re run the Sat Set Up ? That may be the issue, maybe not as the SWM set up should detect the SWM when it's powered on. I would still look to make sure. Your co ordinates should be relatively close to what your using at home. Are you sure your using the same SWM dish ?

His home is SWM so when he moves the receiver it's still set to SWM so rerunning the setup wouldn't help him. I think Joe may have hit something. Whether the mount is plumb and level. Also, SWM can be tricky so it requires a very slow movement of the dish so the receiver has a chance to show a signal

 

[RLDreams]

If you have smart phone or tablet, there are plenty of free apps in store/market to help you with aiming. From there is it just a matter of slow miniscule adjustments until you get it locked in.

 

[Dust Mite]

Success!
The biggest of my earlier failings was that I mistook the elevation angle tick-marks by the curved slot.
I thought the tick marks were in relation to the center of the bolt that rides in the slot and locks down the setting.
After looking at a neighbor's setup I realized that the 38 degrees is set at the edge of metal visible thru the slot.

Using a quality orienteering compass like a Sylva helps to find your azimuth angle. Know your magnetic declination for your area and know whether the stated angle is true north or magnetic. Get away from metal objects that distort the direction of the earth's magnetic field lines.

The system test menu lets you test if there's comms from the box to the SWM. That's helpful.

 

[raoul5788]

Excellent! FYI, the azimuth given in the menu is magnetic north. If you use dishpointer.com, it gives you both magnetic and true north.

 

[texasbrit]

Success!
The biggest of my earlier failings was that I mistook the elevation angle tick-marks by the curved slot.
I thought the tick marks were in relation to the center of the bolt that rides in the slot and locks down the setting.
After looking at a neighbor's setup I realized that the 38 degrees is set at the edge of metal visible thru the slot.

Using a quality orienteering compass like a Sylva helps to find your azimuth angle. Know your magnetic declination for your area and know whether the stated angle is true north or magnetic. Get away from metal objects that distort the direction of the earth's magnetic field lines.

The system test menu lets you test if there's comms from the box to the SWM. That's helpful.

Lots of people make that mistake with the elevation setting!!

 

[Mr Tony]

glad you got it going!

 

[Joe Diamond]

Success!
The biggest of my earlier failings was that I mistook the elevation angle tick-marks by the curved slot.
I thought the tick marks were in relation to the center of the bolt that rides in the slot and locks down the setting.
After looking at a neighbor's setup I realized that the 38 degrees is set at the edge of metal visible thru the slot.

Using a quality orienteering compass like a Sylva helps to find your azimuth angle. Know your magnetic declination for your area and know whether the stated angle is true north or magnetic. Get away from metal objects that distort the direction of the earth's magnetic field lines.

The system test menu lets you test if there's comms from the box to the SWM. That's helpful.

Glad you got it...............now compare the signal levels for the 101 to the 99 & 103. It is possible to have very high readings with the 101 (SD) and almost nothing on the 99 & 103 (where HD lives!). With a little tweaking you should get 90s all around. These adjustments are about one degree from 0 to 100 so work slowly with one parameter at a time......az is easiest. Make a mark on the mast and dish base before you start! Loosen the rear bolts and poooosh a little west...see what ya get.

Report success!

Joe