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Need help badly....

4K views 41 replies 15 participants last post by  bayouboy 
#1 ·
I have a 3 NLB 18X20 dish with no SWM. I am trying to use it in my RV with an H 25 receiver. I can not get the satellite to communicate with my receiver. I hooked it up directly and used a signal meter....got nothing! What am I missing or doing wrong?
 
#5 ·
Okay, I tried the other receiver with no luck! I switched the setting to the dish I have and connected the satellite finder and still nothing! Doesn't light up at all. Wanted to make sure it worked so I checked the home dish and finder works great! This is very frustrating....any other help would be awesome
 
#6 ·
What are the model numbers of your other receivers?

All of the HD receivers and DVRs will work with SWM. The R16 SD DVR and D12 SD receiver will work with SWM. But any older SD equipment will not.

If you have the b-band converters on any of your equipment, it has to be removed for use with SWM, and only one coax feed is connected to the Sat1/SWM input connector.

It is sometimes a bit tricky to switch a unit back and forth between SWM and non-SWM.
 
#7 ·
rdaily104 said:
Okay, I tried the other receiver with no luck! I switched the setting to the dish I have and connected the satellite finder and still nothing! Doesn't light up at all. Wanted to make sure it worked so I checked the home dish and finder works great! This is very frustrating....any other help would be awesome
With the older receiver set to the proper dish and Multi switch, if the signal meter gets no signal, the dish is misaligned or possibly a bad LNB.
There are different numbers for the side to side ( magnetic vs true ) that are conflicting and it is not unusual for a person to be pointed at the 110 sat instead of the 101. Try moving it about 15 degrees to the East from where you think it should be and then very slowly move it to the west.
 
#8 ·
You say you have an older 3 lnb 18x20, this dish does not recieve the HD channels. It also aligns on the 101 sat. As has been stated, with this dish, you will not recieve any signal with the H25 reciever.

If you have a D10, D12, or R16, R22, then you can use this dish and recieve ONLY SD programing.

Also, what kind of meter are you using? If you paid less then $60.00 for it, it is worthless for finding the CORRECT sat.

Good luck
 
#9 ·
cabletech said:
You say you have an older 3 lnb 18x20, this dish does not recieve the HD channels. It also aligns on the 101 sat. As has been stated, with this dish, you will not recieve any signal with the H25 reciever.

If you have a D10, D12, or R16, R22, then you can use this dish and recieve ONLY SD programing.

Also, what kind of meter are you using? If you paid less then $60.00 for it, it is worthless for finding the CORRECT sat.

Good luck
The 3 LNBF 18" x 20" dish (Phase III) actually aligns to the 110 sat. longitude position. The 101 and 119 slots are then received ± 9° in azimuth off-axis from there. Ideally at least.
 
#10 ·
HoTat2 said:
The 3 LNBF 18" x 20" dish (Phase III) actually aligns to the 110 sat. longitude position. The 101 and 119 slots are then received ± 9° in azimuth off-axis from there. Ideally at least.
this dish is "centered" on the 110, but "we" techs use the 101 to align the dish.
 
#14 ·
An 18x20 does not require an "inverter" it uses the power from the receiver to power the switch and lnb's.

Your Radio Shack meter requires power to operate, it also gets that from the receiver. An H25 is designed for SWM and does not put out power, so your meter would not work.

If your using the cable hookup on the outside of your RV thats most likely what it was designed for, cable. Most wont work with satellite without some re-engineering.
 
#15 ·
veryoldschool said:
Get get why, but it must make adjusting the tilt harder.
not really. I use the AIM meter and I never have to adjust the tilt. of course, the mast must be perfectly level and plumb
 
#16 ·
Okay and update, I put another receiver out there and connected straight to dish. The receiver is a D12-500, I got the signal meter to start sounding and arrow moving. I also have the receiver set to 3 lnb 18x20. Nothing still! I tried it with the b band and without the b band....I have used apps on the phone to find the satellite and also punched in the zip on the receiver and used those settings..... I need some help guys before I start throwing stuff.....
 
#17 ·
rdaily104 said:
Okay and update, I put another receiver out there and connected straight to dish. The receiver is a D12-500, I got the signal meter to start sounding and arrow moving. I also have the receiver set to 3 lnb 18x20. Nothing still! I tried it with the b band and without the b band....I have used apps on the phone to find the satellite and also punched in the zip on the receiver and used those settings..... I need some help guys before I start throwing stuff.....
Hummm ...

First ditch the B-Band Converter, it not used in this installation. And the Radio Shack meter is not very useful since it responds to Ku band signals from any satellite signal the LNBF picks up.

Just rely on the 101, 110, 119 satellite signal strength screens on the D12 for this.

Now if the mast is plumb and rigid once the dish elevation and tilt are then set correctly for your location, panning the dish carefully around wherever the 110 satellite position is with respect to your locale should bring in the 32 signals on the 101 signal strength screen with 0 on most if not all transponder numbers 4, 12, 18, 20, 26, and 28 as those are on local spotbeams.

This all assuming the mast is plumb as stated, the LNBF and connecting cable good, and the D12 in non-SWiM (or legacy) mode of course.

What is the zip code of your location BTW?
 
#18 ·
As Hotat2 stated, get rid of the b band adaptor, throw away the radio shack meter, it "LOOKS" at EVERY satellitte in the sky, it was a waste of money.

Now, go to dishpointer.com, enter your address, then go dowm and select mulit lnb setups, and select DTV 3 lnb (101,110,119), then click on the go button by your address.

This will bring up a picture of your location and at the bottom will give you the settings that you need to align the dish.
 
#19 ·
Perhaps is time to watch some YouTube videos on this subject to get a "feeling" since it looks like this is your first time doing this.
 
#20 ·
This is for sure my first time.... I will be taking the radioshack crap back then. What does D12 in non swm mean? Is there something I am missing on the receiver itself. I have changed the dish setting to LNB 3 multi dish... I have tried to find decent You tube videos and most seem to be for selling stuff....
 
#21 ·
THe D12 works in both SWM and non-SWM systems
 
#24 ·
To make life simple, set the receiver to 18" dish and multiswitch to do your initial aiming. It "sounds" like you are selecting a HD dish setup. Setting it to the 18" will only provide you with the 101 satellite. Once you have it aimed, then you can find the correct setup for your dish. Its been a long time since I installed a phase 3. If you are in an RV, the locals on 119 wont be needed anyway, and there is nothing on 110, so you could just leave it on 18" round/multiswitch.
 
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