Came home from the beach, 99(c) channels don't come in

[CompiledMonkey]

I was at the beach last week and noticed that 99(c) made the transition for a number of channels. I was sad to see that the channels aren't coming in for me. All I get is the searching for signal message on ESPN (206), TNT, HBO, and others. Thankfully ESPN (73) is still working so I'm able to watch the race today. I'm definitely sad that I won't be able to watch the other channels until the satellite is realigned. I have an appointment for Wednesday afternoon but would rather get this taken care of myself.

I've watched videos on getting the satellite aligned and believe I can do it myself. However, there's a device being used in the videos and I'm not sure what it is. Can anyone tell me what they're using to align their satellite? I'd like to see if I can get it done myself before Wednesday.

[techrep]

Have you checked signal strength for sat 99c on your HR21? Do you have good signals on sat 103c

[CompiledMonkey]

Have you checked signal strength for sat 99c on your HR21? Do you have good signals on sat 103c

On 99(c), it alternates between 0 and low 30s. 103(c) is between 40-75 across the board.

[HDTVsportsfan]

Certainly looks like your dish needs to be tweaked/peaked.

[CompiledMonkey]

Can anyone tell me what I need in order to tweak it myself?

[boba]

Can anyone tell me what I need in order to tweak it myself?
Luck/Talent/Ambition/ Patience/Skill
all will help. I think what your questioning is a tuning meter?:)

[Ken S]

Can anyone tell me what I need in order to tweak it myself?

I think if you search the forums you'll find some very informative posts on how to align your dish.

[Johnnie5000]

Can anyone tell me what I need in order to tweak it myself?

One of these
http://sadoun.com/Sat/Order/Signal-Meters.htm

Service Call is cheaper though. Ask the service tech to run a few self-tapping screws to hold the dish in place once it's peaked.

[tkrandall]

your dish needs aligning. you can use your signal strength meter/display on the tv to help. have someone read out the values as you alignt the dish.

1) make sure mast is plumb. if not, make it so.
2) check the values for tilt and elevation set on your dish compared to what the reciever says it should be. Set them to these values.
3) set signal meter to sat 101, transponder 1. loosen bolts holding dish on the mast and slowly rotate the dish azimuth until you get peak signal on sat 101 tr 1.
4) tighten the assembly against the mast. maybe mark it with marker in case you bump it later, but make sure you get it tight.
5) loosen elevation bolts (might be 3, includng the one affixed to the fine tuning screw assembly. peak sat 101, tr 1 again and tighten it down again.
6) set meter to sat 119 transponder 27. loosen tilt screws and find max signal tilt location. It should be at or close to your setting for your location, that is if the mast is plumb. tighten down tilt screws.
7) go back to sat 101, tr 1. loosen the 2 elevation screws that allow the dish to move, but not the screw at the rear of the fine tuning screw mechanism. fine tune by turning 2 turns to the left, and then return to the right. Count your turns to keep place in your mind. find location with max signal. go to sats 99c and or 103c and repeat process to fine tune these. they are more sensitive than the 101 Ku signals. once you find peak, tighten down the elevation screws.
8) go back to sat 101, tr 1. loosen azimuth adjustment screws and, depending on your dish, use the dither mechanism or the fine turning screw, like you did with elevation, to fine tune azimuth and find the peak. You should see signifcant signal variation on the Ka beams with as little a 1 or 2 turns on the dial. Find the peak signal azimuth location, tighten it all back down and you should be all set.

[Grydlok]

I was at the beach last week and noticed that 99(c) made the transition for a number of channels. I was sad to see that the channels aren't coming in for me. All I get is the searching for signal message on ESPN (206), TNT, HBO, and others. Thankfully ESPN (73) is still working so I'm able to watch the race today. I'm definitely sad that I won't be able to watch the other channels until the satellite is realigned. I have an appointment for Wednesday afternoon but would rather get this taken care of myself.

I've watched videos on getting the satellite aligned and believe I can do it myself. However, there's a device being used in the videos and I'm not sure what it is. Can anyone tell me what they're using to align their satellite? I'd like to see if I can get it done myself before Wednesday.

It's probably on a pole. Make sure the pole s level and adjust your elevation some.

[techrep]

Ok CompiledMonkey, you need to do a little tweaking. If you check your mast and it is mounted solid and plumb then, we can keep it simple.

Using a sat 103c TP on the HR21 signal meter, adjust elevation (try up first) for the highest number you can get. You will do this by turning the elevation fine tuning screw 1/4 of a turn at a time then, pause and check the results. Before you start making the adjustment, make sure that the fine tune adjustment lock down bolt is tight and then loosen the elevation lock down bolts: one each side in the slots.

If you get numbers in the upper 80's or higher, you probably don't need to adjust azimuth. With sat 103c in the upper 80's (or better) check sat 99c and they should be about the same. With sats 103c and 99c reading 80's (or higher) all other sats will have good signal strengths. Your tilt (skew) is probably supposed to be set around 68* for sat 119 and a setting of about 62-64* might get you a couple more points of signal strength on 99c with out compromising sat 119.

Don't worry, if I tell you something wrong, K4SMX, texasbrit, and others will jump all over it (me).

[Jin So]

majority of the time, you will have to run throught hte setup again "repeat satellite setup", had the same issue the day of the move, did that and then popped in

yea your dish is out of wack, you should at least have 60 or above on signal strenght, higher the better

[CompiledMonkey]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I adjusted the elevation and I'm seeing 90+ on 103(c) and 99(c). My 101 readings even went up, nearly 97-100 on all transponders. Awesome! The D11 channels are coming in great now! :)

[techrep]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I adjusted the elevation and I'm seeing 90+ on 103(c) and 99(c). My 101 readings even went up, nearly 97-100 on all transponders. Awesome! The D11 channels are coming in great now! :)

Nice job! :righton:

[Grydlok]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I adjusted the elevation and I'm seeing 90+ on 103(c) and 99(c). My 101 readings even went up, nearly 97-100 on all transponders. Awesome! The D11 channels are coming in great now! :)

Good call D* and cancel the service call. I'll be on light duty next week, and I know they will give me service calls.

[ARKDTVfan]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I adjusted the elevation and I'm seeing 90+ on 103(c) and 99(c). My 101 readings even went up, nearly 97-100 on all transponders. Awesome! The D11 channels are coming in great now! :)

do mine now ;)

PS you might wanna by one of those fans with the mist things they use at football games
it's hot as hell here :p

[CompiledMonkey]

do mine now ;)

PS you might wanna by one of those fans with the mist things they use at football games
it's hot as hell here :p

If you're providing the gas and the brew, I'm there. :D

[tzphotos.com]

I was at the beach last week and noticed that 99(c) made the transition for a number of channels.


I'm still trying to figure out what this has to do with the beach?:D

[K4SMX]

...... Your tilt (skew) is probably supposed to be set around 68* for sat 119 and a setting of about 62-64* might get you a couple more points of signal strength on 99c with out compromising sat 119.

Don't worry, if I tell you something wrong, K4SMX, texasbrit, and others will jump all over it (me).
:lol: Actually, the tilt for Richmond, VA is 62.5.

[tkrandall]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I adjusted the elevation and I'm seeing 90+ on 103(c) and 99(c). My 101 readings even went up, nearly 97-100 on all transponders. Awesome! The D11 channels are coming in great now! :)

well done!

[techrep]

:lol: Actually, the tilt for Richmond, VA is 62.5.

Ok, K4SMX 13, techrep 0.

[K4SMX]

Ok, K4SMX 13, techrep 0.
All your posts are very helpful. More like ~3000:~800. You've just been on temporary leave of absence. And we're all pleased to welcome you back!

[techrep]

All your posts are very helpful. More like ~3000:~800. You've just been on temporary leave of absence. And we're all pleased to welcome you back!

Aw shucks. :o Thanks K4SMX.

[tkrandall]

As I reported here:
http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=1713080&postcount=17

I had good success peaking my 99c and 103c signals using the technique above. :)

Another person here at work was having difficulty receiving many of the HD channels and I told him to dive into the signal strength pages and I also gave him the dish alignment procedure I used. He got just abnout all of his signals in the 92-100 range, after gettting zeros on half or more of the 103c and 99c beams. He was only getting mid 80s on the 101 Ku beams before (but high 90s on 119), so clearly he had mast-not-plumb and dish alignment issues.

The stupid thing is he had called Directv support before and they had him check 101 beams (he was not aware of the other sats at the time) and they told him 80s signal strength was fine (hello - no it's not, especially for a SL5 dish) and did not even ask him to check the other sats. They simply sent him new sets of b band converters. :rolleyes:

He was able to fix the issue himself in less then an hour and now has rock solid signals.

[techrep]

That is one of the things makes this site great. We, as members and users, see what works and are able to pass it on both here and like with your friend.


As I reported here:
http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=1713080&postcount=17

I had good success peaking my 99c and 103c signals using the technique above. :)

Another person here at work was having difficulty receiving many of the HD channels and I told him to dive into the signal strength pages and I also gave him the dish alignment procedure I used. He got just abnout all of his signals in the 92-100 range, after gettting zeros on half or more of the 103c and 99c beams. He was only getting mid 80s on the 101 Ku beams before (but high 90s on 119), so clearly he had mast-not-plumb and dish alignment issues.

The stupid thing is he had called Directv support before and they had him check 101 beams (he was not aware of the other sats at the time) and they told him 80s signal strength was fine (hello - no it's not, especially for a SL5 dish) and did not even ask him to check the other sats. They simply sent him new sets of b band converters. :rolleyes:

He was able to fix the issue himself in less then an hour and now has rock solid signals.