What could I have done?

[EKrimmer]

Been extremely windy here in Southern CA - although we've had worse. However, this is the first time I noticed picture freezes and pixelation. Home for the day I went out and just eyeballed the dish and snugged down the mounting bolts. It was stable but the bolts took a turn or half here and there into the wood.

Voila - come inside to 771. No troubleshooting worked. Service call available after the Super Bowl!!!

Coax connections are tight and I'm getting 70-85 percent signal strength on both DVR tuners but only a handful of HD channels would come in. SD on DVR as well as elsewhere in the house on old Hughes receivers is fine.

I swear that dish didn't move a millimeter - could it possibly have been failing already or gotten misaligned from the wind and this is just a bizarre coincidence?

Thankfully I found an OTA antenna at Best Buy and am able to get NBC-HD.

Any thoughts appreciated

GO STEELERS!!!

[bonscott87]

Sounds like it needs to be aligned. First thing I'd check is to make sure the mast is plumb (level) at all angles (H and V). It may be off plumb now that you tightened it. And you may need to tweak it ever so slightly side to side, angle or tilt. It's not too hard to do. Just make marks with a pencil of where you start so you can always go back and make every so slight adjustments and see where your numbers are at. 85-90+ across the board other then spotbeams is ideal.

[EKrimmer]

Thanks. May tackle it tomorrow. Nothing to lose at this point.

[litzdog911]

Find your dish and its alignment videos here ....
http://www.solidsignal.com/satellite/directv_dish_antenna_types.asp

[bobnielsen]

Check the signal strength numbers on 99(c) and 103(c). The tuning is more critical at Ka band and that is where the HD channels are.

[JLucPicard]

I am by no means an expert on this, but with the HD signals I believe even a very minor movement (by tightening things by 1 1/2 turns?) may be just enough to adversly affect the signal.

[BattleZone]

I am by no means an expert on this, but with the HD signals I believe even a very minor movement (by tightening things by 1 1/2 turns?) may be just enough to adversly affect the signal.

Absolutely. The Ka signals require 10 times the aiming precision of the dish than the Ku signals do. You can have Ku signals in the high 80s and have zero on the Ka, because the aiming circle is so much smaller. That's the reason for the big 8-pound steel fine-tuning mechanism, and why it is VITAL to dither the dish to ensure that you are pointed at the CENTER of the circle.

[EKrimmer]

Excellent information all - thank you. While you all seem to imply I could do this myself given that SD channels are still operational I'm reluctant now to tinker prior to the Super Bowl and potentially make things worse. Could I possibly expect to find someone not necessarily affiliated with DirecTV that could work on it? Or even contact an D* installer on my own? Been with them since 2000 and never had have any type of service...

[EKrimmer]

Find your dish and its alignment videos here ....
http://www.solidsignal.com/satellite/directv_dish_antenna_types.asp

I actually found that video earlier on my own - but lacking a signal meter I don't see what I'd really accomplish. Otherwise it'd be pretty hit or miss am I right? Unless the suggestion is to use the DVR signal indicators?

[litzdog911]

Got any geeky friends that know about satellite stuff? One of them might be able to help you adjust the dish.

[armophob]

I actually found that video earlier on my own - but lacking a signal meter I don't see what I'd really accomplish. Otherwise it'd be pretty hit or miss am I right? Unless the suggestion is to use the DVR signal indicators?

Check your signal strengths on all your sat signals and when you find the low ones, switch to the meter level screen. Have someone on a cell phone watching the tv while you push the dish slightly in all directions to see what direction makes it improve. Then lightly loosen the nut that affects that direction and fine tune it with the meter on screen and lock it down. Then repeat checking all signals and adjustment.

[bonscott87]

I actually found that video earlier on my own - but lacking a signal meter I don't see what I'd really accomplish. Otherwise it'd be pretty hit or miss am I right? Unless the suggestion is to use the DVR signal indicators?

Yes, just use the DVR signal indicator. Have your wife, kid, friend inside telling you if the numbers go up or down. Seriously, it is very easy.

Like I said, the first and easiest thing to do is make sure the mast is plumb. Get a level and get up there and plumb the mast. If you were able to tighten down the base it's very possible it's not plumb now. Simply doing that without touching the rest of the dish may be enough to get your KA (HD) signal back online for now.

And peaking the dish is really just as easy as 1/8 inch adjustments left/right, up/down and tilt. Tilt would be the easiest to do. See what the receiver says your readings should be then go out and see what they are. You might be surprised to find tilt or something off. For example my installer had the tilt off by 3 degrees. Simply loosen up 2 bolts, adjust and tighten and I got a 10 point jump across the board.

I understand if you've never done this before or aren't technical it can seem scary. But it really is easy. Good luck.

[BattleZone]

In general, you should NOT touch the tilt, and the tilt will have very little effect on 99/103 unless it is way off.

What you should be adjusting is elevation and azimuth (side to side).

[EKrimmer]

You people are Heroes!! Thanks to all for the advice and encouragement. A couple of degrees on the elevation was all it took and we're golden!

I'm going to keep my appointment with D* anyhow - can't hurt to have it precisely aligned by a pro.

Thanks again and GO STEELERS!!

[JLucPicard]

Great job, EKrimmer (and DBSTalkers!).

Enjoy the game!

Go Vikes. Oh, never mind! :lol:

[Canis Lupus]

Good to hear it all worked out :)

Do yourself a favor - cancel the appointment unless you have the Protection Plan and would pay nothing. aside from IIP and many of the other great installers etc. frequenting this board, I generally would not let anyone touch my dish.

You people are Heroes!! Thanks to all for the advice and encouragement. A couple of degrees on the elevation was all it took and we're golden!

I'm going to keep my appointment with D* anyhow - can't hurt to have it precisely aligned by a pro.

Thanks again and GO STEELERS!!

[EKrimmer]

Interesting advice. Perhaps I'll gauge performance through the early week and follow your suggestion.