[1Indy79]

Guys,

Very windy day in Indy and now I have signal strength on 119 only. Zero's on every other sat. I'm thinking it is an alignment issue but if I get strength in the 50's and 60's on 119, shouldn't I get at least something on the rest? As a follow up, when trying to dial in the strength, do you use a different sat for different attributes.....ie use 101 to dial in azimuth and 119 to dial in elevation? I thought I read that somewhere but might be wrong. Thanks for your help.

 

[Cheesebone]

I am in the Indy area also and have the exact same problem.

 

[Tom Robertson]

I am in the Indy area also and have the exact same problem.

Welcome to the forums, Cheesebone. :welcome_s

did you have the same installer? One who might have had the tilt wrong?

Cheers,
Tom

 

[1Indy79]

I am in the Indy area also and have the exact same problem.

Cheesebone, you only have 119? No signal on the other 4?

 

[1Indy79]

Welcome to the forums, Cheesebone. :welcome_s

did you have the same installer? One who might have had the tilt wrong?

Cheers,
Tom

But mine was fine when I went to bed last night.....and has been fine since it was installed in September. Tom, what makes you think it is tilt, as opposed to another attribute?

 

[harsh]

I'm thinking it is an alignment issue but if I get strength in the 50's and 60's on 119, shouldn't I get at least something on the rest?

Remember that the satellites aren't arranged in a straight line. Losing all but one is the way that it will typically happen; especially if the problem is with the skew or elevation.

As a follow up, when trying to dial in the strength, do you use a different sat for different attributes.....ie use 101 to dial in azimuth and 119 to dial in elevation?

Using a satellite in the middle is probably a better idea.

In theory, all you need to do is check to see that the mast is still vertical. The mount is pretty sturdy and while the dish is a veritable spinnaker, it shouldn't twist.

 

[Cheesebone]

Yep. Only getting a signal on 119.

 

[Tom Robertson]

It was your question about why 119 is barely coming in with everything else dead. Tilt is what puts all the sats. in a straight line per your location.

Since I didn't have a very serious answer to your question, I mostly tried to keep quiet, but two people with similar situations in one area could very well be a poor installer hit you both.

I guess I'd suggest you both see if you have snow on the dish (is it snowing there too?), then I'd confirm the alignment. (Or have D* do that.)

Wish I could help more,
Tom

 

[1Indy79]

It was your question about why 119 is barely coming in with everything else dead. Tilt is what puts all the sats. in a straight line per your location.

Since I didn't have a very serious answer to your question, I mostly tried to keep quiet, but two people with similar situations in one area could very well be a poor installer hit you both.

I guess I'd suggest you both see if you have snow on the dish (is it snowing there too?), then I'd confirm the alignment. (Or have D* do that.)

Wish I could help more,
Tom

Actually, that is very helpful....thank you. Is tilt the adjustment at the base of the mount or is that elevation?

 

[1Indy79]

Remember that the satellites aren't arranged in a straight line. Losing all but one is the way that it will typically happen; especially if the problem is with the skew or elevation.Using a satellite in the middle is probably a better idea.

Thanks Harsh. Are you saying that I should try to tune in 110 first as that is more in the middle? Once I do that, perhaps a small elevation or tilt adjustment might do the trick to get the other sats as well?

In theory, all you need to do is check to see that the mast is still vertical. The mount is pretty sturdy and while the dish is a veritable spinnaker, it shouldn't twist.

I agree. I wouldn't think that the skew would have been affected by a gust of wind.

 

[bighurtm]

Guys,

Very windy day in Indy and now I have signal strength on 119 only. Zero's on every other sat. I'm thinking it is an alignment issue but if I get strength in the 50's and 60's on 119, shouldn't I get at least something on the rest? As a follow up, when trying to dial in the strength, do you use a different sat for different attributes.....ie use 101 to dial in azimuth and 119 to dial in elevation? I thought I read that somewhere but might be wrong. Thanks for your help.

I'm in the Cleveland area and have the same issue. Very gusty winds and no signal on anything except 119. Sporadic signal on transponder 4 on the 101 but the 103 lists as failed. Think a gust of wind may have knocked the dish out of alignment. Hoping someone will be here tomorrow to re-align. No snow or rain.

 

[harsh]

I agree. I wouldn't think that the skew would have been affected by a gust of wind.

If the mounting base rocked in a complementary way, it would be similar to adjusting the skew.

 

[Tom Robertson]

Actually, that is very helpful....thank you. Is tilt the adjustment at the base of the mount or is that elevation?

Tilt is at the back of the dish itself. And Harsh is very right, more likely its the mast having shifted from absolutely vertical and your tilt is just enough "off" to still pick up 119.

To clarify my confusing remarks (thats what I get for a bit of fun now and again)
Start with mast. Dead on vertical is very important, cuz everything relies on that.

Next tweak (in very small moves) the left/right (Azimuth).
Next Elevation.

That should get you there. Tilt is usually just an eyeball on the compass embossed on the dish back.

But for the MPEG4 sats. you really want to get a copy of the proper alignment videos. Solid signal has them here. Others have done it themselves with care and patience.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[1Indy79]

Tilt is at the back of the dish itself. And Harsh is very right, more likely its the mast having shifted from absolutely vertical and your tilt is just enough "off" to still pick up 119.

To clarify my confusing remarks (thats what I get for a bit of fun now and again)
Start with mast. Dead on vertical is very important, cuz everything relies on that.

Next tweak (in very small moves) the left/right (Azimuth).
Next Elevation.

That should get you there. Tilt is usually just an eyeball on the compass embossed on the dish back.

But for the MPEG4 sats. you really want to get a copy of the proper alignment videos. Solid signal has them here. Others have done it themselves with care and patience.

Cheers,
Tom

Great! One final question.....as Harsh mentioned, should I try to find 110 first and then work from there or should I work off of the 119 that I have already?

 

[1Indy79]

I'm in the Cleveland area and have the same issue. Very gusty winds and no signal on anything except 119. Sporadic signal on transponder 4 on the 101 but the 103 lists as failed. Think a gust of wind may have knocked the dish out of alignment. Hoping someone will be here tomorrow to re-align. No snow or rain.

You're very lucky. I called and the earliest someone can be here is next Friday.....hence the need for all of this info....so I can do it myself.

 

[Tom Robertson]

Great! One final question.....as Harsh mentioned, should I try to find 110 first and then work from there or should I work off of the 119 that I have already?

Guess since you've got, start with 119. Then switch to 101 would be my suggestion. And test both the even and odd transponders.

Good luck. I've aligned several dishes in the past, even a Big Ugly Dish when I lived in TH. Its not hard at all, but I hate doing it in cold weather...

Cheers,
Tom

 

[bighurtm]

You're very lucky. I called and the earliest someone can be here is next Friday.....hence the need for all of this info....so I can do it myself.

Try calling again. The first time I called, the earliest I could get someone was Tuesday. Called again an hour later and they were able to escalate me via a priorty and got me scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. I think it helps that I have been a customer for over ten years, but you never know.

 

[1Indy79]

Guess since you've got, start with 119. Then switch to 101 would be my suggestion. And test both the even and odd transponders.

Good luck. I've aligned several dishes in the past, even a Big Ugly Dish when I lived in TH. Its not hard at all, but I hate doing it in cold weather...

Cheers,
Tom

Thanks Tom, I really appreciate it.

 

[Cheesebone]

I adjusted the vertical. Now I am getting signals on 110 and 119. Should I try the tilt next? Thank you very much for the info.

 

[Tom Robertson]

if the tilt pointer is at the right spot on the dial on back, you're likely close enough. i'd play with left/right before tilt. Usually tilt is good just by the setting on the dial.

Left/Right (azimuth) and up/down (elevation) have greater effect upon the signal strength. (For two reasons: they are more likely to get blown off by wind and the twist has to be extreme to move a the LNB a large enough angle off line.)

Good luck,
Tom