Hello all. I've recently developed an interest in the FTA and got my hands on a Direcway dish and a Coolsat 6000. I plan to install my Direcway dish sometime soon, but as I'm new to the subject, I've began experimenting. I've connected my Coolsat 6000 to an 18'' DirecTV dish I left on the house from previous owners just to see what, if anything, I could pick up. After setting LNB type to "universal" on the Coolsat, it began getting excellent signals from 107.3W Anik F1 satellite, which, I assume it was originally aimed at. Level (whatever that is) is over 97% and quality is about the same. So I did a blind scan for TFA channels only and picked up about 9 TV and around 30 radio channels from that sat. Some of those channels are "R & R", "Adult Guard", and some other ones. I can hear all the sound but there seems to be no video feed. Plus a box keeps popping up saying "No Audio/Video Signal", even though only video signal is missing. All the radio channels also come lound'n'clear. From what I've read so far, it's either the pathetically small size of the dish or it's the LNB. But if that dish was used to pick up hundreds of DirecTV channels, why woulnd't it pick up a few FTA ones from the same satellite? Other than that I don't know what the problem is. Could somebody chime in and help a newbie? Thanks.
107.3W With DirecTV dish
- Thread starter Lachesis
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Lyngsat shows a pay-tv service on that satellite with a lot of the ku signals being Digicipher-scrambled. (Shaw-Direct from Canada). Theres prob a few that a circular lnb can get also due to the power level. You might have better luck changing to lnb type to circular and the LO freq to 11250 but probably not a lot of free tv channels on that sat. Mostly its just undersized and using the wrong type lnbf for free-to-air signals.
I'll take that a step further and suggest that's not really the satellite the dish is pointed at. If that is what the Coolsat is saying, it's lying to you. It's a common problem.
I'd say it is more likely pointed at 110W, and has a polarity or switching problem (Thus no TV channels? Just a guess.)
I'd say it is more likely pointed at 110W, and has a polarity or switching problem (Thus no TV channels? Just a guess.)
You mean change the type of LNB on the settings menu? If so, there's no such option. Only "single", "universal", and something like "double and quad legacy LNB". I tried changing those but the only way I get any kind of signal is with the "universal" option. Didn't mess with the frequency though, so I'll try that. I've also got an alliptical DirecTV dish something like 20'' by 30", with which I might replace one of those. Any suggestions on a good/reasonably cheap LNB? Heard QPH-31 is good but it seems to be designed for having both, FTA and Dish Network/DirecTV. Thanks.
Actually, There are two 18" dishes, which I think, are connected to a 22 Khz switch. The Coolsat I got from eBay and it was set to something like Galaxy 10R out of the package, but of course, it didn't pick it up since its new dish wasn't pointing there. I just skimmed through all sats in the antenna setup menu until I got a signal. Most other sats, I think including 110W, had around 30% quality and 107.3W was the only one with excellent quality.
107.3 is 99% subscription service called Shaw Direct (formerly Starchoice). There are 4 or 5 news feeds on that satellite that are DVB but they are a diferent setup (4:2:2)
You are somehow picking up 110 (Adult Guard and R&R are most definitely on 110...they're in the clear normally).
I have a feeling the original owner wasnt aimed at 101 (which is Directv)
You are somehow picking up 110 (Adult Guard and R&R are most definitely on 110...they're in the clear normally).
I have a feeling the original owner wasnt aimed at 101 (which is Directv)
Well, since you didn't verify your LNB LO frequency, that you got anything at all can be described as sort of blind luck. In this case, it happens that the settings present for the 107.3 bird in your receiver were enough to see "something". It does nothing to guarantee where the dish is pointing.
Doesn't 110 have a few DirecTV TP's too? It might be intentional.
Doesn't 110 have a few DirecTV TP's too? It might be intentional.
Directv has 3 TP's at 110 but its all HD on there....and with their different setup (DSS instead of DVB) the COolsat wont pick it up. It will pick up the 29 TP's that Dish owns at 110
Lachesis, I am curious about your reception of many radio channels on the satellite you are aimed at. Are they music channels such as the Musak you hear in some office buildings, etc.?
I have an old DirecTV lnb I could use to point to the Dish sat at 110. Lyngsat does not list FTA radio channels on Echo. 8-10. Also, is your LNBF LO freq. set to 10750 or 11250? Thanks.
I have an old DirecTV lnb I could use to point to the Dish sat at 110. Lyngsat does not list FTA radio channels on Echo. 8-10. Also, is your LNBF LO freq. set to 10750 or 11250? Thanks.
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I don't believe any of this. -
Post us a picture of this DirecWay/DirecTV dish.
If you actually have a DirecWay dish, it's bigger than you described, and you set the LNB LO Frequency to 10750 standard.
Setting to anything else is wrong.
(just realized: you aren't trying to use that yet. still want a picture)
As for 18" dishes, I make no assumptions where they are pointed.
Oh, and having two 18" dishes is non-standard, too. Pictures of dishes and LNBs!
And if they were used for Dish Network, the "22khz switch" connecting them together may well be a SW22, which is a special Dish switch, not supported by all FTA receivers.
We need a picture of that to be sure.
18" dishes (unless modified) come with circular LNBs and their LO frequency is 11250.
Setting to anything else is just wrong!
Your receiver may conveniently say you have a signal when you select a particular bird from the menu, but that does not mean you are actually pointed to that satellite.
Let's inventory what you really have, and begin again.
If you have a dish with a linear LNB, we'll help you get some FTA.
If all you have are circular LNBs, we will identify the hardware, and at least get you NASA off 119°! -
I don't believe any of this. -
Post us a picture of this DirecWay/DirecTV dish.
If you actually have a DirecWay dish, it's bigger than you described, and you set the LNB LO Frequency to 10750 standard.
Setting to anything else is wrong.
(just realized: you aren't trying to use that yet. still want a picture)
As for 18" dishes, I make no assumptions where they are pointed.
Oh, and having two 18" dishes is non-standard, too. Pictures of dishes and LNBs!
And if they were used for Dish Network, the "22khz switch" connecting them together may well be a SW22, which is a special Dish switch, not supported by all FTA receivers.
We need a picture of that to be sure.
18" dishes (unless modified) come with circular LNBs and their LO frequency is 11250.
Setting to anything else is just wrong!
Your receiver may conveniently say you have a signal when you select a particular bird from the menu, but that does not mean you are actually pointed to that satellite.
Let's inventory what you really have, and begin again.
If you have a dish with a linear LNB, we'll help you get some FTA.
If all you have are circular LNBs, we will identify the hardware, and at least get you NASA off 119°! -
Most are music, some aren't but many seem to be repeating as in the hearing the same thing on like 10 channels with different numbers. A few have names, but most just have a number. Seems to be mostly country with some rock and some what's called "easy listening".
I don't believe any of this. -
Post us a picture of this DirecWay/DirecTV dish.
If you actually have a DirecWay dish, it's bigger than you described, and you set the LNB LO Frequency to 10750 standard.
Setting to anything else is wrong.
(just realized: you aren't trying to use that yet. still want a picture)
As for 18" dishes, I make no assumptions where they are pointed.
Oh, and having two 18" dishes is non-standard, too. Pictures of dishes and LNBs!
And if they were used for Dish Network, the "22khz switch" connecting them together may well be a SW22, which is a special Dish switch, not supported by all FTA receivers.
We need a picture of that to be sure.
18" dishes (unless modified) come with circular LNBs and their LO frequency is 11250.
Setting to anything else is just wrong!
Your receiver may conveniently say you have a signal when you select a particular bird from the menu, but that does not mean you are actually pointed to that satellite.
Let's inventory what you really have, and begin again.
If you have a dish with a linear LNB, we'll help you get some FTA.
If all you have are circular LNBs, we will identify the hardware, and at least get you NASA off 119°! -
Looks like I've got a lot to prove. Alright I'll post some pics just as soon as I find my camera's memory card. If I don't by the end of today, I will by tomorrow. As for having two dishes, be unusual as it may, I've seen quite a few houses in my town with two dishes. It's for TiVo/multiple DVR setups. Also, like I said, it didn't get much signal in cirlular polarity setting, but seemed to pick up Anik in "universal" without a problem. But I did get at least 2% signal from other satellites while scanning, so I wouldn't be surprised if I'm not even pointing at Anik. Bus as I'm new to the whole field, I still think it's pretty cool that I was able to pick up anything at all just by connecting Coolsat to existing DirecTV setup.
Blind luck is exactly what I was going for. But why does it say that signal quality/level is over 95% if most of my settings are wrong?
Are those channles circular in polarization? If not that might explain why I'm getting no video feed. Plus the fact that I've scanned wrong satellite. Plus the fact that I've next to no clue to what I'm doing...
I am really not getting this whole scenario. If you were really on 107.3 W the only radio channels you could possibly receive are on C BAND!!! And I can't believe you are getting signal from a small dish and using a KU lnbf from this satellite. You have still not described your receiver settings such as LO freq. or described radio channels by name [what are they}? It is just all too implausible! Is this just a joke or something?
The pictures may help. The transponder frequencies, polarization, and data rates for the channels will also provide some clues.
The settings can be wrong because - in particular the LO frequency - doesn't actually alter anything the hardware does to tune the signals you are seeing. It's the difference between the LO frequency and the TP frequency that matters. So, say you increased the LO frequency by 50 MHz. It may initially appear that you "lose" the channels. If you then increase the TP frequency by 50MHz, the channels would reappear. Restated a slightly different way: If your settings are wrong, your TP frequencies will be wrong. It won't affect S/Q numbers at all.
The settings can be wrong because - in particular the LO frequency - doesn't actually alter anything the hardware does to tune the signals you are seeing. It's the difference between the LO frequency and the TP frequency that matters. So, say you increased the LO frequency by 50 MHz. It may initially appear that you "lose" the channels. If you then increase the TP frequency by 50MHz, the channels would reappear. Restated a slightly different way: If your settings are wrong, your TP frequencies will be wrong. It won't affect S/Q numbers at all.
Since the OP has a location of Iowa, for Directv in the Cedar Rapids market, 2 18" dish setups were the norm. The locals were on 72.5 and the main is on 101. Directv has since moved those locals to 99/103 so folks only need one dish but I remember a couple months ago when iafirebuff got D* we were trying to figure out what dish setup he was gonna get
So as long as you didnt have HD in that market (Eastern Iowa) you got 2 dishes. So I can belive that part. Now as to where they are actually aimed is anyone's guess.
If one dish is aimed SSW and one is more SE then the normal spots (101 & 72) are probably right
but if both dishes are aimed at the same type of direction then they were reaimed by someone.
If its aimed at the "normal" sats, its very possible that he is picking it up off 72 (both Dish & Direct as of now still use 72W circular)
I guess either pictures or more info from the OP would help. I'll throw out these questions
-how are the dishes aimed? (see above)
-what is the transponder info on a channel you logged?
-is there video or just audio?
-if just audio, did it log the channel under the "radio" category? (MPEG4 channels will usually show under radio which would confirm he is getting 72.5)
So as long as you didnt have HD in that market (Eastern Iowa) you got 2 dishes. So I can belive that part. Now as to where they are actually aimed is anyone's guess.
If one dish is aimed SSW and one is more SE then the normal spots (101 & 72) are probably right
but if both dishes are aimed at the same type of direction then they were reaimed by someone.
If its aimed at the "normal" sats, its very possible that he is picking it up off 72 (both Dish & Direct as of now still use 72W circular)
I guess either pictures or more info from the OP would help. I'll throw out these questions
-how are the dishes aimed? (see above)
-what is the transponder info on a channel you logged?
-is there video or just audio?
-if just audio, did it log the channel under the "radio" category? (MPEG4 channels will usually show under radio which would confirm he is getting 72.5)
Alright, here is a few pictures. As shown in pictures, my settings are as follows:
Satellite 107.3W Anik F1
LNB Power ON
LNB Type Universal
LO Frequency 9.750/10.600
22Khz Auto
DiSEqC Switch OFF
Legacy Switch OFF
You can see the channles I got in picture of the Auto Scan. As you can see, I got 6 video channles and by the end of the scan had around 33 radio channels. But despite of those 6 channels being labeled as video, I'm only getting audio signals from those. As for reaming the dishes, I'm pretty sure it didn't happen, since I know previous owners. They aren't the types who would mess around with stuff like that.
Satellite 107.3W Anik F1
LNB Power ON
LNB Type Universal
LO Frequency 9.750/10.600
22Khz Auto
DiSEqC Switch OFF
Legacy Switch OFF
You can see the channles I got in picture of the Auto Scan. As you can see, I got 6 video channles and by the end of the scan had around 33 radio channels. But despite of those 6 channels being labeled as video, I'm only getting audio signals from those. As for reaming the dishes, I'm pretty sure it didn't happen, since I know previous owners. They aren't the types who would mess around with stuff like that.
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OK...the dishes are aimed still at 101 & 72
If you look in the right top corner of the 1st pic it says "echostar 72.7 west" so you are picking up channels from
tada
72.7
in the dish pic the dish on the left is at 72 and the one on the right is 101.....using the UNIVERSAL setting turned the 22k on which would force the receiver to check the 72 dish.
The ANikF1 is making sense as Starchoice (Canadian DTH provider) uses 19510 as their symbol rate...DIsh uses 20000 so it probably tried to pick that up. If you did a blind scan that is moot but the numbers and pics make a lot of sence
If you look in the right top corner of the 1st pic it says "echostar 72.7 west" so you are picking up channels from
tada
72.7
in the dish pic the dish on the left is at 72 and the one on the right is 101.....using the UNIVERSAL setting turned the 22k on which would force the receiver to check the 72 dish.
The ANikF1 is making sense as Starchoice (Canadian DTH provider) uses 19510 as their symbol rate...DIsh uses 20000 so it probably tried to pick that up. If you did a blind scan that is moot but the numbers and pics make a lot of sence
also that CS6000 must have some old hackerware in it because hackerware makes the Dish channels show the name as it does on Dish "Adult Guard, Dish Home, etc".....factory ware shows something like
"TVXXX" where XXX is the Dish channel, then the satellite and frequency...like what the radio channels show in the pics
"TVXXX" where XXX is the Dish channel, then the satellite and frequency...like what the radio channels show in the pics
To be a little more explicit, and if you'd like to take this exercise to completion, you can do the following:
Find the correct satellite in the menu, or pick a blank one. Make the settings as follows:
Satellite (Whatever you chose)
LNB Power ON
LNB Type Single
LO Frequency 11250
22Khz ON
DiSEqC Switch OFF
Legacy Switch OFF
Then blind scan. You will get the same results you got on the Anik F1 satellite, but now your frequencies and settings will actually be correct for that given arrangement of switches and dishes.
Find the correct satellite in the menu, or pick a blank one. Make the settings as follows:
Satellite (Whatever you chose)
LNB Power ON
LNB Type Single
LO Frequency 11250
22Khz ON
DiSEqC Switch OFF
Legacy Switch OFF
Then blind scan. You will get the same results you got on the Anik F1 satellite, but now your frequencies and settings will actually be correct for that given arrangement of switches and dishes.
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