Winegard doesn't make junk. I have the full sized 1m DS-3100 KU dish I bought years ago from Solid Signal. It's not installed right now, but when it was, it was a killer signal grabber.
33” FTA Dish for Orby?
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Winegard doesn't make junk. I have the full sized 1m DS-3100 KU dish I bought years ago from Solid Signal. It's not installed right now, but when it was, it was a killer signal grabber.
You’re right. I look at my photo next to the new one, and the arm is too low. I ordered a new one. I can measure it and maybe get the old one working as a backup. Thanks!
That's a great idea!
In Fact, why don't you send them an Ebay message and see if they'll also sell you an extra lnb arm. Maybe they have one laying around, and would even throw it in when your dish ships...
I think I might take the old arm off, and line it up next to the new one. I probably can bend it to match.
I got the new LNB, and still no signal. The new dish should be here today. I’ll keep everyone posted.
When you take the new dish out of it's shipping package, do this BEFORE putting it all together:
While standing up, have the "bowl" facing towards you. Grab it on the edges at 9am and 3pm like a car steering wheel. THRUST it straight out away from your chest, and then PULL it towards you quickly. You might have to do this several times.
What that does is "pop" it back into it's natural shape, if shipping has caused it to slightly deform.
Only do this procedure if the reflector is deformed. If the reflector is not warped, performing this procedure could warp the dish.
To determine if the reflector is warped, place the reflector face down on a perfectly flat surface (like a glass table) and observe if the rim lays flat around the entire parameter. If the rim is not laying flat, hold the reflector by the high points (rim raised above the flat surface) and use the exercise outlined by primestar31.
After exercising the reflector, lay it down on the flat surface again and see if the rim lays flat. If not, repeat the exercise.
With the Winegard 76cm or GEOSATpro 90cm/1.2m dishes, it is very easy to determine if the reflector is bent or warped without disassembling the dish using a string test.
Using two, three or four strings, stretch them across the reflector's face, rim edge to rim edge at opposing angles. Wrap the string aound the back side of the reflector and tape. If there is a gap between the strings crossing in the middle of the reflector, the reflector is warped and the satellite signals will not be focused into the prime sweet spot where the LNBF opening sits. The strings should lightly touch where they intersect. If the strings do not lightly touch, disassemble the dish and test the reflector on the perfectly flat surface.
Using two, three or four strings, stretch them across the reflector's face, rim edge to rim edge at opposing angles. Wrap the string aound the back side of the reflector and tape. If there is a gap between the strings crossing in the middle of the reflector, the reflector is warped and the satellite signals will not be focused into the prime sweet spot where the LNBF opening sits. The strings should lightly touch where they intersect. If the strings do not lightly touch, disassemble the dish and test the reflector on the perfectly flat surface.
The older version of the DS-2076 came with a bent arm. This one may be more bent than it should be but I'd be careful about drawing conclusions at this point.
Again, I highly recommend setting up the dish without the complication of diplexing and then add it back later after the satellite stuff is working. If you absolutely can't resist the temptation, at least make sure you have the dish connected to the dish input and not the OTA input. There are more than a few war stories about having the inputs swapped. What's the cost of a coupler versus hours of frustration?
Are you SURE you are pointing towards the proper satellite, and that there's nothing in the way? A KU signal is about the width of a pencil LEAD, so even a tree leaf can block it.
It's also digital, which means after you make a tiny move, you might have to wait a bit to see if it locks anything. "Tiny move" means the width of a human HAIR.
Can you post some pics of your dish pointing towards the sky where you think the satellite is, and a side-on pic of your dish facing that way?
It's also digital, which means after you make a tiny move, you might have to wait a bit to see if it locks anything. "Tiny move" means the width of a human HAIR.
Can you post some pics of your dish pointing towards the sky where you think the satellite is, and a side-on pic of your dish facing that way?
It might be worth investing in a cheap FTA receiver so you can start with a really strong satellite, then move west to the Orby sat. There are some on Ebay for about $20...
I Did it! The new LNB wasn’t working. I popped the old one on, and instant signal! I checked the alignment and level 5 or 6 times with two phone compasses and it was dead on. I knew I wasn’t crazy!
I don't get your pencil lead reference. The KU beam is as big as the area of your dish. The wavelength is around 1.5cm. The blockage of leaves is proportional to the percentage of "shade" they cast on the dish.
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