Superdish install question

[pilla]

Just installed SUPERDISH 121 ... connects to a 2700 receiver via dishpro legacy adapter.
did a check switch (full) and the status is "Problem detected check" with the following values
1A 1B 2A 2B 3A 3B
X X 110 X 121 121
X X Odd X Odd Even

My question why i am not seeing 119 for 1A and 1B and 110 for 2B ....
I pointed the dish towards 121 and the signal strength is around 50, did not do anything to point towards 110 or 119. The signal strength screen for 119w says "Wrong Sat E* 121W" and for 110w the bar is red with no signal at all.
Do I need to adjust the dish for these satellites too?
I have Top100 and international programming.

PS: Installed switch model is SW64
Thanks
P

[mcglauch]

The superdish is dishpro and MUST use dishpro switches. You need to replace the legacy sw64 switch with a DP 34 switch.

Marc

[pilla]

Thanks for the quick response Marc.
I installed a dp34 switch (came with the box)... also installed a Legacy DishPro Adapter and maybe that's the reason the screen says "Installed switch model is SW64".

[mcglauch]

Yes the 2700 will identify it as a SW64. It could be a bad DP adapter. But first make sure cable is rg6 rated for at least 2200mhz and in good shape without any splitters and double check those connections. Then try locking on to 119 first then fine tune from there.

[pilla]

I am getting some chanels on 121 and 110 but not all.
Will check the cables but am thinking that since I am receiving some chanels the cable should not be a problem.

[pilla]

any other ideas guys?

[Jacob S]

With the current switch configuration that you have you will get some channels off of 110 and all the channels off of 121 that you are supposed to get which does not leave you with a whole lot. Check your signal strengths to see what you have.

[SimpleSimon]

What Jacob S means, is bypass the switch.

Attach a LNB feed directly to the Legacy Adapter, run Check Switch, and see what you get. Repeat for all 3 birds, and report back ALL results - including signal strengths on transponders 11 & 12 for all three birds.

[pilla]

Thanks simnplesimon.
Also does anybody have a install manual for superdish?

Thanks

[SimpleSimon]

Yeah - but it's too big to post - almost 3MB. It would use all my quota.

Edit: Actually, I've got 2 versions - the other one is over 9MB. I'd have to look closely to see what the difference was.

[pilla]

last night tried again and got 106 signal strength (tpd 4) for 110w. locked the dish in that position did a check switch and the signal strength for 121 shows around 71-75 which I think is pretty good. does not show any signal for 119. I was thinking that a good signal on 110 will take care of the other satellites too, am i right?

When I did a check switch this is waht I see

1A 1B 2A 2B 3A 3B
X X 110 X 121 121
X X Odd X Odd Even

I am assuming 1A and 1B are for 119 satellite... my question is why is 119 not showing up at all and only 2A showing up for 110 ?

[SimpleSimon]

You shouldn't use spotbeams for signal strengths - it's gonna throw ya.

Sounds like you have NOT taken the suggestion to bypass the switch. :nono:

[pilla]

I have a very clear line of sight. As per your suggestion I bypassed the switch and connected directly to the legacy adapter one by one. on 110 and 119 I have >100 signal strength. For 121 it is around 60.
What do I need to do now?
Is there like a step by step instructions to get all 3 satellites.
I am pretty sure my switches are fine because the same switches worked at my friends place.

[Jacob S]

If you are getting a signal from all the satellites on both even and odd transponders from 110, 119, and 121 without the DP-34 connected then that means one of the following: The DP-34 is bad or wires from the lnbf's to the DP-34 switch are bad/not rated at 2.2 GHZ (2200 MHZ) which is what is needed to be DishPro approved. Seeing how you are getting some of the signals with the DP-34 switch connected with some of the wires it seems less likely for any of the wires to be bad if they are all the same type of wire. Also seeing how the switch works at your friend's house then it seems unlikely that is the case either. There is still a possibility that your wire is not DishPro approved for a rating of 2.2 GHZ which would cause the receiver to not receiver all the signals at the same time, but only some of them all at once with the switch connected. There is also that chance that your receiver is on the blink.

I assume that you only have one receiver. What you should do is not only take that switch to your friend's house but also your receiver to see if it acts up there as well on his switch then see if it acts up with your switch and your receiver connected to his satellite dish. If it works fine then you know it more than likely has to do with a connector or wire. Do not forget to take the DishPro adapter to your friend's house as well. There is that possibility that it could be that as well. If you knew someone that had a legacy setup with a switch that could handle three or more satellite locations you would be able to test your receiver to see if it is working correctly to be able to accept three or more orbital locations with a switch all at once. By using a legacy setup you would not have to use your DishPro adapter which would eliminate that as a possible problem. I have seen receivers that were able to receive one or two satellites but not able to accept three and these were DishPro receivers (301's) and I have seen this problem more than once.

[pilla]

Jacob S,
Thankyou for the detailed post.
I should check my cables not sure whether they are 2.4 Ghz rated. Used cables that are lying around the house.
If it's not printed on the cable how will I know whether they are rated or not?
Thanks again.
P

[SimpleSimon]

If it's not stamped, it's likely not rated.

"Cable lying around the house" is only suitable for connecting to a TV, NOT to pass satellite signals.

[pilla]

simplesimon,
the cables that I am using were used earlier for connecting to DISH500, does it mean that these are 2.4 Ghz rated?
Thanks

[Jason Nipp]

Thanks simnplesimon.
Also does anybody have a install manual for superdish?
Yeah - but it's too big to post - almost 3MB. It would use all my quota.

Edit: Actually, I've got 2 versions - the other one is over 9MB. I'd have to look closely to see what the difference was.The smaller manual is for 105 WL only. The larger manual has the extended tables and 121 WL guide in it. You can download the full manual here (http://www.dbstalk.com/specsheets/SuperDish.PDF).

[Jacob S]

If the cabling was used for the Dish500 previously then it should most likely work for the SuperDish as well.

[SimpleSimon]

simplesimon,
the cables that I am using were used earlier for connecting to DISH500, does it mean that these are 2.4 Ghz rated?
Thanks
No. Remember "Dish500" is a meaningless term in this context. DishPro vs. Legacy is very pertinent. With your Legacy receiver, it's likely that your Dish500 was also a Legacy setup, and those did NOT require the good cable.

However, below spec cable usually shows up as missing even transponders (due to the way DishPro is designed).

[Sandman]

When I went from my Dish 500 legacy to a 121 Superdish the existing cables did work, although the signal strengths were lower, 75's replacing the cable to sweep tested 2400 ghz increased the signal strength to near 100's, but the existing cable did work

Bob

[Jason Nipp]

Simon, Jacob, let me remind you that the technical definition of Dish500 is that it has a Skew adjustment to support 2 sats. A Dish300 has no Skew adjustment. It really has no relationship to Legacy vs Dish Pro.

[SimpleSimon]

Simon, Jacob, let me remind you that the technical definition of Dish500 is that it has a Skew adjustment to support 2 sats. A Dish300 has no Skew adjustment. It really has no relationship to Legacy vs Dish Pro.
That was my point. ;)

Dish500 = 20", skewable, "Y" arm. Says absolutely nothing about the electronics.

The electronics can be Legacy or DishPro - and THAT question is still unanswered.