103 Signal Strength Lower Than Others?

[Steve]

Installer just left and he's insisting that the 103 SAT has generally lower signal strength levels than the 99, 101, 110 and 119. I'm getting in the low 70s on all transponders on 103, and 90 and above on all the other sats, almost all transponders. Does this sound right? I'm located in NY with a clear view of the sky.

TIA.

/steve

[Tom Robertson]

Today, 99° and 103° are only used for spotbeam transmissions. Of those two satellite locations you likely will only see only one or two transponders above 90. (And I would hope he aligned the dish so that it is 95 or higher!). The rest are all transponders aimed for other sections of the US. I only get 1 above 50 most of the time. No other markets close enough for me to see their transponders.

If you have the one well aimed on 99° and 103°, you should be in great shape for the new national HD channels going up later this year. Then you will see more transponders lite up and should be with very nice numbers. :)

Cheers,
Tom

[Steve]

Thanks, Tom. So I guess you're saying that my 103° LNB needs to be re-aligned. All its transponders are in the low 70s. /steve

[Tom Robertson]

Thanks, Tom. So I guess you're saying that my 103° LNB needs to be re-aligned. All its transponders are in the low 70s. /steve

Sorry, wasn't clear. There are 17 transponders between 99° and 103°. Only one of them is likely pointed at your location, so if you have a at least one great signal on something on 99° you are in great shape. All my 99° are zeros, they currently are all pointed somewhere's else, not at my location. (Like toward you) :)

Only when the nationals lite up on both the new satellites will we have something to compare at both satellite locations. But the second new satellite is likely to happen very late this year or early next year, given the current satellite launch calendar.

Cheers,
Tom

[Steve]

Sorry, wasn't clear. There are 17 transponders between 99° and 103°. Only one of them is likely pointed at your location, so if you have a at least one great signal on something on 99° you are in great shape. All my 99° are zeros, they currently are all pointed somewhere's else, not at my location. (Like toward you) :)

Only when the nationals lite up on both the new satellites will we have something to compare at both satellite locations. But the second new satellite is likely to happen very late this year or early next year, given the current satellite launch calendar.

Cheers,
Tom

Tom, Here's what I'm seeing, FYI:

99:
01-08 98 97 95 95 94 96 n/a n/a

103:
01-08 77 82 0 85 83 79 n/a n/a
17-24 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

My 103 numbers are higher now than they were a couple of hours ago.

Thanks.

/steve

[Tom Robertson]

Tom, Here's what I'm seeing, FYI:

99:
01-08 98 97 95 95 94 96 n/a n/a

103:
01-08 77 82 0 85 83 79 n/a n/a
17-24 0 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

My 103 numbers are higher now than they were a couple of hours ago.

Thanks.

/steve

You should be in great shape. The only hard part is telling which of the tranponders on 99° is actually "yours". Most like #1, but who can tell. :)

I'm pretty certain all the 103° are for someone else, so they are not pointed toward you. If your 99° and 101° are this good, you will have no problems with the nationals on 103° later this year.

BTW, I need to correct a statement, there are 13 transponders lit up between 99° and 103°, not 17. Of those, only one or two is normally aimed specifically at one location right now.

Cheers,
Tom