Has anyone been able to successfully acquire a decent signal from the 129 sat in Alaska? I brought this question up a while ago and have been wondering if anyone has tried it lately.
129 in Alaska?
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I’m not in Alaska but might be able to shed some light on it.
I am in Minnesota and can pull a 75 signal on most transponders…best is 81. This is with a 20” dish. Most other people have between 75-100, 100 being the closest to the middle of the US (Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, etc)
I don’t think 129 is at full power so it may not be feasible in Alaska…even with a 4 foot dish
I am in Minnesota and can pull a 75 signal on most transponders…best is 81. This is with a 20” dish. Most other people have between 75-100, 100 being the closest to the middle of the US (Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, etc)
I don’t think 129 is at full power so it may not be feasible in Alaska…even with a 4 foot dish
Thanks, Iceberg.
I've been waiting for them to switch on the HD distant nets on the 129. Once they do, I'm going to have to try it with my six footer. Just wanted to see if anyone else had already tried.
When we first subscribed, believe it was 1997, we had a similar situation with the 119. I don't think there was any spot beam coverage for us back then and we were just on the fringe of the CONUS footprint. Thus, the requirement for the six footer. Nowdays, a 30" is all that is necessary for 119.
BTW, are you in Duluth?
I've been waiting for them to switch on the HD distant nets on the 129. Once they do, I'm going to have to try it with my six footer. Just wanted to see if anyone else had already tried.
When we first subscribed, believe it was 1997, we had a similar situation with the 119. I don't think there was any spot beam coverage for us back then and we were just on the fringe of the CONUS footprint. Thus, the requirement for the six footer. Nowdays, a 30" is all that is necessary for 119.
BTW, are you in Duluth?
Thats good to know because I always thought Alaska needed a 4 foot minimum for 1196coho said:
use to be..now I'm in a suburb of Minneapolis
Any new Alaska 129 info? One of my Dish distributers said they couldn't find it with a 6' and the other said it goes in and out on a 1M. I guess I'll have to play with it when it warms up a bit.
according to the dish 1000 map, Alaska and hawaii should be included. I'm sure a d1000 wont actually work there, but it should be available with a 30" or larger dish.
Your only problem may be the 19 degree look angle, but if you can get 119, 129 should be there too.
Your only problem may be the 19 degree look angle, but if you can get 119, 129 should be there too.
I'm not going to try it until we are authorized to receive the rest of the HD distant nets. Those are all that I'm interested in. Until we get some determination on that, I'm standing pat. Right now, it would take me two six footers for 129 and 110 and two 30" dishes for the 119 and 148 to get the full HD package. That's never going to happen! 
Who is Microcom?
It seems I remember another thread talking about Microcom engineers in Alaska reporting to DISH engineers about 129.
I can't find the thread
It seems I remember another thread talking about Microcom engineers in Alaska reporting to DISH engineers about 129.
I can't find the thread
Good luck Mopey, I look forward to hearing about your results. FYI, one of the installers I talked to down here in ANC said that he recommended a min 6' antenna.
Success. Sort of....
Well, I've completed my 129 install in Fairbanks. I am on a south facing hill with an unobstructed view and it is clear and sunny. Using a separate 1.2m dish I am able to get 129 locks, albeit with low signal levels. My highest signal was 56 on Transponder 17.
That's the good news. The erratic signal levels others report on 129 are valid here (no surprise). As a result, when your highest level is 56, you get a whole lot of drop outs. (Not to mention, it is really hard to find a satellite when the signal level is zero!!)
A 1.5m dish might help, but I suspect the fluctuating signal level will give you too many dropouts to make viewing any fun. I have a 6 meter dish at the office that I expect will work great, but I suspect it really would piss off the neighbors if I brought it home.
Sorry the news isn't any better. It appears AK is once again on the corporate "who cares" list.
Well, I've completed my 129 install in Fairbanks. I am on a south facing hill with an unobstructed view and it is clear and sunny. Using a separate 1.2m dish I am able to get 129 locks, albeit with low signal levels. My highest signal was 56 on Transponder 17.
That's the good news. The erratic signal levels others report on 129 are valid here (no surprise). As a result, when your highest level is 56, you get a whole lot of drop outs. (Not to mention, it is really hard to find a satellite when the signal level is zero!!)
A 1.5m dish might help, but I suspect the fluctuating signal level will give you too many dropouts to make viewing any fun. I have a 6 meter dish at the office that I expect will work great, but I suspect it really would piss off the neighbors if I brought it home.
Sorry the news isn't any better. It appears AK is once again on the corporate "who cares" list.
Can anyone tell me where one can find, on the internet, a satellite 129 map showing the spot beam coverages ?
Found 129 in North Pole with a 1.8m(6ft) dish, the signal will go from zero to 76 on just about any transponer. My under standing is that that satellite is unstable and that is why the drop outs. In about a 20 min. span you can watch the signal slowly climb into the 70's than go back down to nothing than back up again, a repeating cycle.
I personally think that they will put the HD content from 129 to 118 because of the better look angle across the entire U.S unless there is not enough space at 118 to do so.
