1000.2 vs two 550's?

[Rook]

I recently upgraded to the Dishing it up programing. It required switching out our preexisting superDish. Initially the installer was going to install a new Dish 1000.2. However, after several hours of not being able to get a strong enough signal he put in two Dish 500's and has one pointing at the 61.5 sat.

Is this a problem? Does the 1000.2 offer any advantages? As a note, we do not have locals in HD via Dish, I do have them via an OTA.

Thanks.

 

[RandallA]

Where do you live? Location has a lot to do with what dishes you'll need. A D1000.2 will get you 119, 110 and 129 in a single dish but 129 has been a problem with lower signals depending on your location.

If you ask me, the best solution is two dishes and 61.5 has stronger signals than 129. So you're OK.

 

[Rook]

Sorry, I live just north of Lansing MI. The problem was lack of signal strength, but the installer admitted that the 1000.2 was new, that they were not well trained in installing them yet, and he stated that there meters cannot work to find the signal on the 1000.2 yet thus he kept trying to find a good signal by trial and error.

Everything looks great, especially after he had me switch to HDMI versus the component (red/blue/green) cables. I just did not know if I was missing anything with the two 500's over the 1000.2.

 

[rcdallas]

Sorry, I live just north of Lansing MI. The problem was lack of signal strength, but the installer admitted that the 1000.2 was new, that they were not well trained in installing them yet, and he stated that there meters cannot work to find the signal on the 1000.2 yet thus he kept trying to find a good signal by trial and error.

Everything looks great, especially after he had me switch to HDMI versus the component (red/blue/green) cables. I just did not know if I was missing anything with the two 500's over the 1000.2.

Ahh... so the 1000.2 are finally starting to roll out in Michigan.

129 bird elevation for our area is about 23 degrees, it's somewhat challenging finding LOS at times.

It's not hard to tune the 1000.2, Dish states to set your skew, for you it should be about 122, peak on the 119 and thats it. I think I'd probably tune off the 119 and peak it on the 129.

As RandallA said the two dish setup is really probably one of best setups.

Michigan trees and the 129 is a pain.

 

[RandallA]

"129 bird elevation for our area is about 23 degrees"

That's low, I wasn't aware of that. 61.5 for me is at 14 degrees here in the West Coast so I'm stuck with 129, I got big trees in the way.

 

[Rook]

Thanks for the information. Of course, I may have a problem down the road if they offer programing on the 129, right?

 

[rcdallas]

I highly doubt they'll remove HD from the 61.5 just because of the foot print for both 129 and 61.5.

You just need to make sure DISH knows you are recieving 61.5 orbital and not the 129.

When Lansing HD locals are launched, my bet it'll be on the 118.7.

RandallA:

Elevation for the 61.5 here is 36-37 degrees. What's the elevation for the 129 on the west coast?

 

[RandallA]

129 for the the SF Bay Area is 46, so we don't have a problem with elevation but the signals in general are just crappy.

 

[lunkie]

Wonder if something else was causing a problem. I'm a little south of Ypsilanti had the 1000.2 installed 3 weeks ago. My readings on 129 are:
TP 6 55
TP 11 60
TP 19 85
TP 22 58
TP 23 63
TP 27 60
TP 30 80
TP 31 89
Not as strong as 110 and 119 but has been working good so far.

 

[ezriser]

Here in SC, for 61.5, the el is 45 and for 129, el is 26. Between the west coast and the east coas, someone should be getting great signals

 

[Liquidforce88]

We have been installing the 1000.2 for the last week or so in the Kalamazoo area. The problem with the 1000.2 is if you don't have a Birdog you can't peak it. Plus you can't peak up just the 129 like you could with the old 1000.

I have been getting a constant 95 to 100 on the 129 with the 1000.2, and I don't have to really peak at the 129. That is the same signals I was getting on the old 1000. The nice thing is you can run 3 receivers with the 1000.2.

 

[rcdallas]

We have been installing the 1000.2 for the last week or so in the Kalamazoo area. The problem with the 1000.2 is if you don't have a Birdog you can't peak it. Plus you can't peak up just the 129 like you could with the old 1000.

I have been getting a constant 95 to 100 on the 129 with the 1000.2, and I don't have to really peak at the 129. That is the same signals I was getting on the old 1000. The nice thing is you can run 3 receivers with the 1000.2.

You lucky guys out there on the Central/West Side.

No birdog here, just a dual buddy. Maybe one day I'll be given a Superbuddy, but I doubt that'll happen anytime soon.

So it sounds like pretty much just set the skew, tune off the 119 and leave it.

Yes there has been jobs where a 1000.2 would be nice, especially while out in the Jackson/Hillsdale areas where Dish 1000's are being installed, 1 622 and 2 211's.

 

[diu.steve]

We have had pretty good luck in the Missouri area with the 1000.2. The first few installs I did were a little troublesome getting good signal on the 129. One of my co-workers bumped the skew up 2 degrees from the recommended setting for our area and it gained us another 5-10 on signal strength. Most installs we can reach about 95, but this sometimes can be affected by the 129 wobble =). Our elevation for the 129 is about 31 degrees here.

 

[RandallA]

We have had pretty good luck in the Missouri area with the 1000.2. The first few installs I did were a little troublesome getting good signal on the 129. One of my co-workers bumped the skew up 2 degrees from the recommended setting for our area and it gained us another 5-10 on signal strength. Most installs we can reach about 95, but this sometimes can be affected by the 129 wobble =). Our elevation for the 129 is about 31 degrees here.

Location has a lot to do with the higher signals on 129. Seems like Missouri is one of the lucky states to get good signals from 129.

See this thread:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=92011

 

[MikeD-C05]

We have had pretty good luck in the Missouri area with the 1000.2. The first few installs I did were a little troublesome getting good signal on the 129. One of my co-workers bumped the skew up 2 degrees from the recommended setting for our area and it gained us another 5-10 on signal strength. Most installs we can reach about 95, but this sometimes can be affected by the 129 wobble =). Our elevation for the 129 is about 31 degrees here.

What was the skew suppossed to be and what did you bump it up to? I am curious if this brought your 110/119 sats down in strength too?

 

[ezriser]

I have heard but haven't tried this yet. Do the install then power back to any meter that takes power back from the receiver and then do the final adjustments.

 

[diu.steve]

What was the skew suppossed to be and what did you bump it up to? I am curious if this brought your 110/119 sats down in strength too?

The skew for our area was supposed to be 119. We bumped it to 121. Suprisingly, this also helped our signal strength on 119 and 110, whereas they were in the high 90's, now in the 110 range on the strongest transponders.

-Steve

 

[MikeD-C05]

My skew is 125 for my area of southeast Texas . I wonder if I change mine up to 127 if that will change my readings for the better? I know that the elevation I use on my dish 1000.2 is set to 46 for the strongest signal, but the manual says 45. On my parents dish 1000.2 across town , I set it for 44 and they get better signals than me. When I tried to adjust mine to the same 44 elevation the readings dropped. There is no consistentcy in it. Both are level on top and to the sides of the mast and both are on pole mounts. Either way I will see if it changes anything by adjusting the skew. I will report back my findings if it works.

 

[RandallA]

Changing my skew helped me with 110. The manual said skew = 87, I set it to 85.5 and I got better readings off 110. My elevation is set to 46.5 and the manual said 45.