Need some help troubleshooting

[Veedubtech]

Heres my problem:

Upgraded to HD in November. Installer used the dish that was already installed on the roof. (5lnb used by downstairs neigbor, who is also my relative and recieves HD programing.) NESN Ch. 623, DisnHD Ch. 290 and ToonHD Ch. 292 are the only channels that dont come in. Either searching for signal or the picture tries to show but keeps dropping out. And sometimes NGC and DHC both HD. Im not really concerned right now with the disn. and toon channels but would like to watch a sox game every once and a while. Havent been able to. any idea? ran new cables and switched bbc. still nothing. running an hr20-100 with the 5 lnb dish. software 0x1fe which i believe is current for hr20s

101
1-8 92 95 91 100 88 96 94 99
9-16 92 95 94 100 91 99 92 99
17-24 91 100 92 100 94 100 95 99
25-32 91 97 92 100 92 99 88 100

110
1-8 na na na na na na na 86
9-16 na 79 na 86 na na na na
17-24 na na na na na na na na
25-32 na na na na na na na na

119
1-8 na na na na na na na na
9-16 na na na na na na na na
17-24 na na na na na 95 99 95
25-32 100 94 97 92 100 93 96 95

99(s)
1-8 75 93 0 88 95 90
9-16 na na na na na na na na
27-24 na na na na na na na na
25-32 na na na na na na na na

103(s)
1-8 0 0 0 0 0 0 na na
9-16 na na na na na na 51 0
17-24 42 55 0 0 0 0 38 0
25-32 na na na na na na na na

103(c)
1-8 60 25 52 23 56 28 47 23
9-16 55 26 49 18 54 18 na na
17-24 41 na na na na 0 na na
25-32 na na na na na na na na

around the same readings on both tuner 1 and 2. Any info would be greatly apprieciated. Thank you

[Michael D'Angelo]

Welcome to DBSTalk

Your signals on SAT 103c are way to low. They need to be in the high 80's to 90's. That is the SAT all the national MPEG4 HD channels are on. So you need to call DIRECTV and have a tech come out and realign the dish unless you can do it yourself.

[Veedubtech]

Thank you for the quick reponse. Is there anyway to make the adjustments myself? Im not too keen on having someone come out here and pay the $70 for the service charge. Work is slow and im living on ramen noodles.. haha

[Michael D'Angelo]

You could but the 5 LNB dish is much harder to align than the older dishes were. I am not sure what adjustments you would need to make to align it right. But I am sure someone on here will be able to help.

One thing to check is to make sure the bubble level in the top of the mast is still level.

[Veedubtech]

Are there any markings on the 5lnb dish, that you know of, that someone would be able to use to adjust?

[veryoldschool]

You would need to use the fine tuning adjustments. Each model dish [maker of them] has slightly different designs, so it's a bit hard to say do "x, y, z" and walk you through it.
What you need to do is loosen the locking bolts for both AZ and EL, and then turn the fine tuning adjusters, while monitoring the levels off 103c. Then lock everything down when done.

[Veedubtech]

now, if i make those adjustments to the 103c sat. will it throw off the settings for the other sats?

[veryoldschool]

now, if i make those adjustments to the 103c sat. will it throw off the settings for the other sats?
No
The "other settings" are a much broader beam than the 103c, so "fine tuning" of the 103c will still be in the center of the 101, 110, & 119 SATs. The 99s & 103s are spot beams [so they too are fairly strong].
I did this [103c tweak] a couple of weeks ago.

[TigersFanJJ]

The best tools to use are a torpedo level, a 1/2" socket with ratchet, a 1/2" nut driver, and a fine tipped marker to mark the settings before you start. That way you will be able to at least get it back to where you are now if something goes wrong.

Pull up the signal meter screen for 103(c). I'm not sure what transponder everyone uses that does it using your receiver. I'm not sure if it really even matters. Have your relative yell out the window or use cell phones to determine when the signals start to rise and when peaked out.

Use the torpedo level to make sure the pole that the dish is mounted on is plumb. If not, try to plumb it up first and see if that raises your signal levels. If it is plumb or if it doesn't make a difference, see below to fine tune your dish.

Loosen the two bolts on both sides of the back assembly. These are the lockdown bolts for the elevation. Then use the nutdriver to turn the dial that slants down towards the rear counter-clockwise. If the signal decreases, turn it the other way until your signal peaks out. Then lock down the two bolts using the ratchet that you loosened earlier. If your signal peaked out in the high 80s-90s, you don't need to do any more adjusting. If not, see below.

Loosen the two lockdown bolts on the front of the back assembly. They are kind of underneath, just in front of the dial on the bottom- right side. These are the lockdown bolts for the azimuth. Then adjust that dial the same as you did for the elevation dial. If it didn't before, you should get the high signals now. Lock those two bolts back down and enjoy your HD.

[Veedubtech]

Thank you everyone, went up on the roof with a wrench in one hand and cell phone in the other... wife downstairs watching the meters... got the signal much better and i am now finally watching a sox game!. i appreciate all your help and Thanks again.