129 Satellite, which dish?

[ralfyguy]

Well that is pretty good then. I guess you are all set with the dish 1000 till the new 1000.2 comes out. Then I'll bet you'll want to try that one and see if there is any increase in strength.

Yeah I'm really curious about the new 1000.2. Though I wait and see if whoever tries it and tells me the improvement, I'll see and decide if it's worth the change. It isn't even available yet, hence no specs are known either. Which is pretty odd, because the plus dishes are out already. So what's the deal with the 1000.2?

 

[SimpleSimon]

So what's the deal with the 1000.2?

It's been discussed elsewhere, but in a nutshell it's just 3 LNBs and a DPP43 switch all integrated into one case.

 

[ralfyguy]

It's been discussed elsewhere, but in a nutshell it's just 3 LNBs and a DPP43 switch all integrated into one case.

Sorry Simon, I meant where is the new 1000.2? The 500+ and 1000+ are out, but where is the 1000.2?

 

[Big D]

We have some pretty sharp posters contributing to this thread now, so maybe it's time to ask the definitive question and get opinions. After all, the title of this thread is 'Which Dish'

Which stand alone dish should provide the better signal for 129:

A: 1000 using the W bracket's center position
B: 500 using an I bracket

My opinion? Don't know, not smart enough to have an educated guess. My uneducated guess would indicate a 1000 as it is wider than a 500 and you can slew it, but it is narrower, so maybe the 500 is better. Actual testing would be near impossible given the varying signal strengths of 129.

 

[hiker]

Sorry Simon, I meant where is the new 1000.2? The 500+ and 1000+ are out, but where is the 1000.2?

Today I called tech support to complain about low signal strength on the 129 with my new 1000 install. I asked the guy about the 1000.2 and he thought I was talking about the 1000+ so he didn't have a clue. If they haven't told the techs about it yet I would say it will be a while before we can get one. The web merchants like Sadoun aren't showing it yet either but are showing the 1000+. I'm going to keep checking there and when it shows up, it should be a week or two after that.

 

[SimpleSimon]

We have some pretty sharp posters contributing to this thread now, so maybe it's time to ask the definitive question and get opinions. After all, the title of this thread is 'Which Dish'

Which stand alone dish should provide the better signal for 129:

A: 1000 using the W bracket's center position
B: 500 using an I bracket

My opinion? Don't know, not smart enough to have an educated guess. My uneducated guess would indicate a 1000 as it is wider than a 500 and you can slew it, but it is narrower, so maybe the 500 is better. Actual testing would be near impossible given the varying signal strengths of 129.

Well, as for my opinion, as I posted in the other thread, I'm thinking the stand-alone 129 D1000 will be better, but you're right empirical testing would be nice.

It's not hard to do - if you have the time and the 2 dish pans.

I have them, but my test rig is tied up driving my 622 recording NTGEO-HD.

Tomorrow is boring for a few hours on that channel, so if nothing comes up, I guess I could test it.

 

[Big D]

Tomorrow is boring for a few hours on that channel, so if nothing comes up, I guess I could test it.

That would be great SimpleSimon, just be careful to record the signal strengths over a period of time as we are aware they vary considerably. Not sure what that time should be, my experience to date says maybe 15 minutes or more. I have been using TP-17 as a base, had low 60's with the 1000 set up with all 3 sats, went to low 70's with a 1000 set up with 129 only, using the center position of the W bracket. I also have a spare 500 and I bracket I could test with, but not for a couple of weeks, got some home remodeling going on, so I will be without my home theater for awhile.

This may all become mute for some of us, when the 1000.2 becomes available and if it shows a pronounced improvement, I plan on getting one.

 

[cebbigh]

Well, as for my opinion, as I posted in the other thread, I'm thinking the stand-alone 129 D1000 will be better, but you're right empirical testing would be nice.

It's not hard to do - if you have the time and the 2 dish pans.

I have them, but my test rig is tied up driving my 622 recording NTGEO-HD.

Tomorrow is boring for a few hours on that channel, so if nothing comes up, I guess I could test it.

I'd try this experiment too but the 500 I have pointed at 129 is mounted in a spot that makes connecting a 1000 difficult. But I'll be really interested in your results. What's a few more holes in my chimney?

 

[hiker]

We have some pretty sharp posters contributing to this thread now, so maybe it's time to ask the definitive question and get opinions. After all, the title of this thread is 'Which Dish'

Which stand alone dish should provide the better signal for 129:

A: 1000 using the W bracket's center position
B: 500 using an I bracket

My opinion? Don't know, not smart enough to have an educated guess. My uneducated guess would indicate a 1000 as it is wider than a 500 and you can slew it, but it is narrower, so maybe the 500 is better. Actual testing would be near impossible given the varying signal strengths of 129.

My tech used the 500 and a Y bracket (for 2 LNBs) with the LNB installed on the right side (normally for 119) and no LNB on the left. Is that correct?

 

[Grandude]

Well, as for my opinion, as I posted in the other thread, I'm thinking the stand-alone 129 D1000 will be better, but you're right empirical testing would be nice.

Tomorrow is boring for a few hours on that channel, so if nothing comes up, I guess I could test it.

I am also very interested in the outcome of your tests if you do still plan on doing so.

I have two dish500's now, one for 110/119 and one for 148. I could move the one for 148 to aim at 129 but would rather keep the 148 as is and get another, Dish1000 if your tests are reasonably conclusive that a better signal could be gained that way. If no discernable increase in gain on 129 using a Dish1000 with one LNB mounted in the center, then I would give up the 500 pointing at 148 and use it for 129.

 

[Big D]

My tech used the 500 and a Y bracket (for 2 LNBs) with the LNB installed on the right side (normally for 119) and no LNB on the left. Is that correct?

It would have been better to use a I bracket (single LNB) instead of the Y since the LNB would have been centered on the dish. Probably makes very little difference in actual signal strength, I made the change from a Y to an I on a 148 dish, maybe it was a little bit better, won't swear it was.

If no discernable increase in gain on 129 using a Dish1000 with one LNB mounted in the center, then I would give up the 500 pointing at 148 and use it for 129.

I still have not had the time to make the switch from the 1000 to a 500 to test the difference. I did see about a 10% to 15% gain in going from a 1000 with a W bracket 110/119/129 to a separate 1000 with an I bracket for 129. Since 129 is better for me now, I have less interest in getting back up there to make the swap to a 500 just for a test. Actually I was hoping some others with either more time than I have or easier access to their dishes would do it and post results.

 

[SimpleSimon]

a separate 1000 with an I bracket for 129

I have never seen an I-bracket for a D1000. Where'd you get it?

Grandude: I haven't forgotten about the test, just haven't had time a cleqr skies on the same day.

Plus I took a lightning strike on Saturday. The only thing I lost was my 622, which was hooked to my unprotected test rig.

Take it from me, get a surge protector on your power, coax, and phone. In this case, it was definitely via the coax - the ONLY unprotected wires in the house.

 

[Big D]

I have never seen an I-bracket for a D1000. Where'd you get it?

I used a standard I-bracket I had for a 148 installation. Do you think it may not be the correct length to work with a 1000 dish? It is kind of short. One has to wonder if it is shorter than it should be, would it still be better than a Y-bracket with it's off-center LNB.

 

[shane73]

I just got the 1000 installed a couple of days ago and the following day I called dish because I lost the signal. They will be coming tomorrow to get the signal back.
Will this be a contstant problem with the 129?
I have no issues with the 110 and 119.

 

[Big D]

Will this be a contstant problem with the 129?

In a word, probably. Your mileage may vary, but the 129 on a Dish 1000 is not going to be very solid anywhere. Check out the other posts on the 129 signal reception issues.

 

[SimpleSimon]

Unh. It's too dark to go out and look, but I thought the D1000 had a wider arm, different mounting holes (2 instead of one), and the W-bracket was longer than a D500's Y-bracket (thereby making a 500 I-bracket too short.

Why not just use the center hole of the original W-bracket?

 

[Big D]

Unh. It's too dark to go out and look, but I thought the D1000 had a wider arm, different mounting holes (2 instead of one), and the W-bracket was longer than a D500's Y-bracket (thereby making a 500 I-bracket too short.

Why not just use the center hole of the original W-bracket?

Duh! I had to go out and take a look, I did use the original W-bracket's center mount. Don't know why I was thinking I used an I-bracket, sorry for the confusion. It was the 500 that had an I-bracket on it. :sleeo

 

[SimpleSimon]

Now it is all clear and logical.

As you see, the ONLY reason for a D1000 I-adapter would be appearance - so that there wouldn't be two empty holes. There IS a very small reason for a D1000 Y-adapter, tho, but I doubt we'll ever see either one.

 

[cebbigh]

Has anyone heard anything more about the 1000.2?

I've had one episode of complete signal loss on the 129 (think it dropped to the high 30's on TP10...72 is max on that TP) in the past few weeks using a dedicated 500 here in the Seattle area. This is an improvement for me. I did re-aim the dish and that might explain it. That signal is really touchy. Had to re-tighten several times because apparently the dish moved a hair during the tightening process and the signal dropped. And every point of signal strength counts a whole lot keeping above threshhold during the periodic drops.

 

[Jim5506]

Is there a reason you are not looking to 61.5 instead of or in addition to 129?