?? Which Way To Tweak ??

[Y2k06]

Recall in an earlier post, I had a new roof put on and was wondering what success I would have in trying to reinstall myself. (the E* folks seem in absolutely no hurry to help and send someone out).

Well, I got it back on the roof and mounted! To my amazement it acquired a signal right away! Well......sort of....

110 and 119 have very good strong signals. 110 = 65%: 119=55%; but 129 is only 16% - It is locked but ocassionally goes down to 10% and won't hold.

Which way to I need to move the dish to get better signal? NO settings were made to azmith or skew. When removed, I just unbolted the mounting based and reinstalled in essentially the exact same place.

Do I need to elevate it -point "higher (or lower)" or rotate "left or right" - like east to west.

Whatever I don't think I need to mess with skew.....

Apprecite the help.. would like to resolve this as soon as possible. Any help appreciated....

Thanks

 

[garys]

From the sat locations you gave it is an E* (Echostar and Dish Network), so I am not surprised D* (Direct tv) was of no help to you. There is no way to tell until you are trying to point. Make sure the mast is level (most posters here like the term "plumb") then you basically have to try moving it in all directions until you get the best signal you can. You should also mark the starting position so if you lose the signal you have a point to go back to.

 

[Y2k06]

I've got a lock now on 129 at 23-27%.. 110 and 119 still show 50% + each with good lock.

Should I just leave well enough alone? Anything else to check? Dont remember what they were before I took dish down.

Question.. as long as it has a green signal and locked, does signal strength make any difference?

 

[Miner]

I've got a lock now on 129 at 23-27%.. 110 and 119 still show 50% + each with good lock.

Should I just leave well enough alone? Anything else to check? Dont remember what they were before I took dish down.

Question.. as long as it has a green signal and locked, does signal strength make any difference?

I'd say your signals are a little low, but if you don't lose 129 when the satellite wobbles, you're OK. The higher your signal once you get a locked green signal, the greater resistance to rain fade. If you happen to live in an area of moderate rain for long periods of time, your signal may be a little low.

For grins, check your mast for plumb, then working in 1 axis (either AZ or El), move the dish a little maximize signal. Then work the other axis. Or leave it alone for a while and if you don't lose signal, leave well enough alone.

Miner

 

[Jerryinvirginia]

I've got a lock now on 129 at 23-27%.. 110 and 119 still show 50% + each with good lock.

Should I just leave well enough alone? Anything else to check? Dont remember what they were before I took dish down.

Question.. as long as it has a green signal and locked, does signal strength make any difference?

It would be interesting to know which tsp are you quoting signal levels. As a general rule, 110...tsp 11....119...tsp 11.....129..tsp 19 should be selected to establish a base line. These recommendations are checked by the tech guys at E* when a customer reports signal problems. By the way, peaking a 1000.2 is a lot easier than the older 1000.

 

[Cokeswigga]

First and foremost, your arm must be plum... it has to be level, straight up and down.

Once you check this....
Then you can move your dish left and right until you get the highest signal on 119.

110/119 should be giving you much higher signals than that.

Then see what your 129 signal is... then you can make small adjustments (angle and skew) and to see if you can increase 129 without sacrificing 110 too much.

 

[Liquidforce88]

IT looks like you might be aimed a bit high also. With 110 having a higher signal. It won't take much change though.

 

[Y2k06]

It would be interesting to know which tsp are you quoting signal levels. As a general rule, 110...tsp 11....119...tsp 11.....129..tsp 19 should be selected to establish a base line. These recommendations are checked by the tech guys at E* when a customer reports signal problems. By the way, peaking a 1000.2 is a lot easier than the older 1000.

Baseline numbers are:

110 tsp 11= 75

119 tsp 11 = 68

129 tsp 19 = 40

FYI

I am tempted to leave well enough alone, even though 129 is still hovering in the 20's

 

[Miner]

As the saying goes "If it ain't broke, fix it til it is!"

Miner

 

[Jerryinvirginia]

Baseline numbers are:

110 tsp 11= 75

119 tsp 11 = 68

129 tsp 19 = 40

FYI

I am tempted to leave well enough alone, even though 129 is still hovering in the 20's

You didn't say which antenna that you are peaking. You're probably correct that what you have is ok, IF peaking a 1000. If you have 1000.2, try to set the skew on what your zip code calls for and with bolts tight, put a little torque on the dish to the west while viewing 119..tsp 11. If you see improvement, loosen bolts and position dish in that direction and tighten. Next, do the same for elev. by putting pressure on top and/or bottom of dish and see if any improvement is made. Much easier to see signal changes if you can do these suggestions from behind the dish. If signal improves on elev. , loosen bolts and move dish to get the best report and re-torque bolts. The reports that you noted indicate the dish is favoring 110. Usually, 110 will show about 3-6 pts lower than 119. 129 will come in lower than 110, but approx 10 pts higher than your report. Try to pick a fair weather day to make any changes....Good luck

 

[vegassatellite]

129 is always going to show a lower signal until it is replaced by a new one later this year. The satellite at 129 failed to have all of its solar panels open when launched a long time back. Without all solar panels operational, the power output of the satellite is diminished. In fact, they have transponders that are capable of working but they are shut off because the additional load would be too thinly spread to provide good signal output on all used transponders.