Why is the signal from 129 so weak?

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Stargazer said:
The satellite was meant for Canada and not the U.S. therefore some places cannot receive 129 well if at all.

The satellite at 129 W is Echostar-5 (E-5), a Dish satellite that was originally launched to 110 W in 1999 but had been moved to 119 W as a backup. E-5 has suffered several failures primarily to its Attitude Control System which should not affect signal strength. It has also suffered some solar array and Transponder amplifier failures although the latest information indicates that there was backup/redundancy available to keep the satellite fully operational. Now there could have been additional failures since E-5 has moved to 129 W since this satellite had not been in use for a few years. There are certain areas of the country that can not see E-5, primarily in the northeast U.S. but also in the southeast. Much of is this is because of bad "look angles" i.e., the satellite is at a location that requires a dish to have a very low elevation angle making it difficult for one to have a clear line of sight. The other problem with a low elevation angle is that the satellite signal strength is reduced because it has to travel through a greater distance of the earth's atmosphere. The other problem is because the satellite is operating at a slot a bit farther west than what it was designed for.
 
although I know the thought of a one dish "truly" one dish solution is exciting. for right now, you would be wise to get a 500 with an I-bracket or even better a 24" commercial dish to pull in the signal. The 500 should give you about 8-12 pts, and the 24 should give you about 12-18 approximately of course. Good luck
 
Actually, I do have a 30 inch, round Ku Band dish that is brand new which I never used. How easy or difficult would it be to set up my "1000" lnb's to the bracketing of this dish? Do you think it would significantly help my 129 signal strength? :eureka
 
Well, some have said it and I'll add to it.. since that bird has been known for having issues.. (wasn't that the one they got an insurance settlement for?) and only recently did it become somewhat usable... maybe they are having power issues with it again.
 
Dish 1000:

Here's what we found at the store and at new Dish1000 customers.

While using our meter, if we peaked the dish in the center of the 'wide' signal pattern, our 129 signal also suffered. We found that adjusting the dish to the far right of the signal peak our 129 signal increased considerably while only affecting 110, 119 just slightly.

fred
 
Fredinva said:
Dish 1000:

Here's what we found at the store and at new Dish1000 customers.

While using our meter, if we peaked the dish in the center of the 'wide' signal pattern, our 129 signal also suffered. We found that adjusting the dish to the far right of the signal peak our 129 signal increased considerably while only affecting 110, 119 just slightly.

fred

Ok...so let me get this straight. You're suggesting that it is better to peak on the 129 instead of the 119, when aiming this dish? That's how I interpret what is being said here.
 
bcshields said:
Well, some have said it and I'll add to it.. since that bird has been known for having issues.. (wasn't that the one they got an insurance settlement for?) and only recently did it become somewhat usable... maybe they are having power issues with it again.

I believe you are thinking about E-4 that was moved from 157 W to 77 W. Dish did receive an insurance settlement for E-4 because the last report was that it had only 6 usable TPs. At last report E-5 at 129 W, all 32 of its TPs are usable but has attitude control problems that require greater use of propellant. Its predicted life based on propellant usage is through the end of 2008. The fluctuations in E-5's signal strength maybe due to the method being used to maintain its proper attitude.
 
Stargazer said:
They are telling installers to peak 119 and by doing thise 110 and 129 should be in already.
Yeah - but you know those instructions are for the hacks that don't actually understand what they're doing.
Stargazer said:
The only reason why someone should want to peak 129 first is if they are not getting a very strong signal with it.
Well, my method is now to aim to 119 (easiest), then peak to 129.
 

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