[ChrisR]

Asking this question for a friend here in California who recently signed up with Dish Network; I was wondering if there are subscribers out there who are able to pick up locals out of Los Angeles *north* of the city since they were moved to the spotbeam on 119, TP3? If so, how far north do they seem to be receivable?

 

[psnarula]

just tell your friend to check the signal strength on transponder 3 at 119 degrees. there is no need to guess by asking others. if the signal strength is 70 or above he'll be fine for a "move" to los angelse. anything less than that will be subject to a lot of rain fade, etc.

 

[ChrisR]

We've done that already when I was visiting, but I understand some people are using larger dishes to pick up that transponder with a much stronger quality signal. Again if anyone would care to provide feedback I'd appreciate it, before they go investing in expensive equipment that may/may not work.

 

[joblo]

if the signal strength is 70 or above he'll be fine for a "move" to los angelse. anything less than that will be subject to a lot of rain fade, etc.

The 119 spot beam footprint shifts as the satellite moves through its orbit, so you need to check at various times throughout a 24 hour period to be sure the signal will remain available. I have signals on some transponders that vary from 40s to 70s through the course of the day.

The good news is that 119 spots are well spaced, so a bigger dish will almost certainly improve things if your signal is weak.

 

[psnarula]

The 119 spot beam footprint shifts as the satellite moves through its orbit, so you need to check at various times throughout a 24 hour period to be sure the signal will remain available. I have signals on some transponders that vary from 40s to 70s through the course of the day.

i didn't know this. very interesting. is this true for all spotbeams at 119? the same thing isn't true for spotbeams at 110 is it? is the satellite at 119 degrees not in geosynchronous orbit? wouldn't this keep the spotbeams from shifting around?

The good news is that 119 spots are well spaced, so a bigger dish will almost certainly improve things if your signal is weak.

??

this is confusing. can you elaborate?

 

[digiblur]

i didn't know this. very interesting. is this true for all spotbeams at 119? the same thing isn't true for spotbeams at 110 is it? is the satellite at 119 degrees not in geosynchronous orbit? wouldn't this keep the spotbeams from shifting around?

??

this is confusing. can you elaborate?

This is true for all satellites as all satellites move around in space as the providers let them bump out of spec a little bit before using some fuel to put them back in place. Most people don't notice it unless you are on a fringe of a spotbeam.

 

[joblo]

The effect seems more pronounced at 119 than 110, at least at my location.

But the 110 spots are much closer together, and tend to be interference limited rather than noise limited, so I'm not sure whether there is an actual difference in footprint drift, or whether the effect is simply masked by interference at 110.

 

[Steve_LA]

How far North ?

I'm in Palmdale...SW part and LA locals work fine.

Steve

 

[ChrisR]

The 119 spot beam footprint shifts as the satellite moves through its orbit, so you need to check at various times throughout a 24 hour period to be sure the signal will remain available. I have signals on some transponders that vary from 40s to 70s through the course of the day.

The good news is that 119 spots are well spaced, so a bigger dish will almost certainly improve things if your signal is weak.

That is good news and thanks for confirming what I suspected about setting up a larger dish. I won't advise them to get one until it's confirmed they have a stable signal as you suggest.

 

[karspur]

I'm in the north-east corner of Kern county and everything is fine on my LA locals. My signal strength varies between the high eighties and low one-hundreds, depending on the weather and time of day.

 

[alebowgm]

That is true with any Dish, the larger the dish the better signal you will get, especially with fringe signals/spotbeams... although some say it is harder to point a larger dish, the rewards of better signal quality typically is worth the extra hassel...

 

[JohnH]

The signal fluctuation is most pronounced at the edge of the spotbeam. While the satellites do "move" very slightly, the signal level change is most affectred by the very slight wobble of the satellite causing the direction the antennas point to change on a 24 hour cycle.

 

[joblo]

While the satellites do "move" very slightly, the signal level change is most affectred by the very slight wobble of the satellite causing the direction the antennas point to change on a 24 hour cycle.

Indeed.

But just so there's no confusion, let's note that the "wobble" is NOT random. The variation is regular and predictable through the course of the day.

(And because I'm in an anal mood this morning, I'll point out that I didn't actually say what caused the footprint drift, just that it occurred "as the satellite moves through its orbit". )