No line of sight for 99

[dtsmith]

I currently have a 3LNB dish that is working fine. For various reasons, I have had a frustrating time trying to get the dish upgraded to a 5LNB for the additional HD channels. Long story short, I can get a decent signal from all satellites execpt the one at 99 degrees, which is blocked by trees. The techs have declared no LoS, so no 5LNB dish for me and no additional HD channels. I did a little digging and it looks like that satellite has only signals for local channels, which isn't a problem since I don't qualify for locals. I have two questions about this situation. First, will DirecTV even allow an installation that does not receive signals from all of the satellites? And second, does anyone know if there are plans to put national networks on the 99 satellite, or will it be used strictly for locals? Thanks for the help.

[techrep]

I currently have a 3LNB dish that is working fine. For various reasons, I have had a frustrating time trying to get the dish upgraded to a 5LNB for the additional HD channels. Long story short, I can get a decent signal from all satellites execpt the one at 99 degrees, which is blocked by trees. The techs have declared no LoS, so no 5LNB dish for me and no additional HD channels. I did a little digging and it looks like that satellite has only signals for local channels, which isn't a problem since I don't qualify for locals. I have two questions about this situation. First, will DirecTV even allow an installation that does not receive signals from all of the satellites? And second, does anyone know if there are plans to put national networks on the 99 satellite, or will it be used strictly for locals? Thanks for the help.

You might be able to convince the local D* installer that you can do without the 99sat and get them to install anyway. A few dead presidents speaking on your behalf can be very convincing.

Another option is to get a independent install company, in your area, to set you up and then cost it back to D* You will find several posts on this forum from those who have done this.

If you are a DIY'er, you can do it yourself and cost it back to D*.

Nothing is for sure but, I don't see 99 used for anything except HD LIL in the near future.

[Mavrick]

99 will not be used for anything except for HD LIL in the near future but that will change next year when the D11 sat is launched and becomes active for then some national HD channels will be coming for the 99 slot.

[texasbrit]

DirecTV 11 will be going to 99 and is a clone of DirecTV10 so there will be capacity for 75+ national channels.
Are you sure your installer said you could not see the 99 satellite? I think he possibly meant the 119 satellite, that's the one most people have problems with because for you it's the lowest in the sky. If you get 101 OK it would be incredibly unlucky not to see 99, they are so close to each other...

[litzdog911]

It's surprising that you have cloear LOS to 101-deg W, but not 99-deg W, since there only a few degrees apart in the sky. See the link in my signature. You can still use the sun's location to verify the installer's verdict and possibly find a better location for your dish.

[dtsmith]

We checked signal stregnth inside on the receiver. There was good signal from every sat. but 99, which was 0 on every transponder. I've got a relatively small hole in the trees to get signals in, so moving the dish to get 99 would almost certainly put 119 behind the trees.

[techrep]

We checked signal stregnth inside on the receiver. There was good signal from every sat. but 99, which was 0 on every transponder. I've got a relatively small hole in the trees to get signals in, so moving the dish to get 99 would almost certainly put 119 behind the trees.

Ah, but 99 is spot beam only. Perhaps, there is no Transponder pointed to your area.