Bad signal on Nimiq 6 at 91West

[JoshNZ]

Hi guys,

Just trying to get a dish aligned for in-laws as signal is very poor. Seems they have done a better job than me and I only make it worse.The switches are probably spent after sitting in the weather so long but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it!

For now, I have the Bell ExpressVu dish with the two LNBs, 91 on the left 82 on the right when looking the way the dish is pointing. I have disconnected all the gear and gone directly from the receiver (Bell 3100 - one input only) to one of the outputs of the 91 LNB with a single ~70ft length of RG-6. I also have a sat finder which I have connected in line at the LNB end while aligning, to help. I cannot for the life of me get it to go past 50-55% signal on the receiver. Where I have it now, the signal finder indicates a drop in signal if I flex the dish to the left or right, or up or down, and likewise with the skew. The TV is watchable but glitches every now and then and of course you can forget about it if a light rain cloud floats over.

Is there anything I could be doing wrong? Any quirks to finding Nimiq 6? I have tried a different LNB and a different coax cable, both showed no increase nor decrease in quality.

Any help much appreciated!
Josh

 

[JoshNZ]

Well I figured out if I move the dish to pretty much anywhere but the pole that it's mounted on, I can get perfect 100% signal. Is this common for there to be 'dark' spots around the place? The pole is cemented into the ground by the edge of the lake looking straight across it. I can rest the dish on a rock on the ground and get 100% signal quality but if I put it back on the pole or even hold it near the pole I can't get more than 55%...

Strange...?

 

[TheKrell]

Well I figured out if I move the dish to pretty much anywhere but the pole that it's mounted on, I can get perfect 100% signal. Is this common for there to be 'dark' spots around the place? The pole is cemented into the ground by the edge of the lake looking straight across it. I can rest the dish on a rock on the ground and get 100% signal quality but if I put it back on the pole or even hold it near the pole I can't get more than 55%...

Strange...?

More than strange! When you use the pole, are you using a different set of cables? How about the grounds? Is your dish "on a rock on the ground" actually grounded at all?

 

[Frenchophile]

this might be a dumb question, but is your mast plumb?

 

[JoshNZ]

I think I might have asked the dumbest question in the forum... I think the dish is looking through tree branches. I'd have never guessed it was looking that high, even accounting for the reflection angle due to the offset angle of the feed horn. But I decided to cut a wedge of wood at the elevation angle I was given from a website and sight along it - its a heap higher than I'd have ever guessed. Possibly looking through the tips of some branches. It would make sense anyway I'll do some gardening... And let you know.

Thanks for replies!

 

[JoshNZ]

I hacked away the branches and realigned. Sure enough 100%. lol

 

[Satellite KU FTA]

Those darn trees!. I have dishes where I can get an opening so dishes are all over the place. I want to cut some down but the wife says no way and this would be a tough battle to get my wish. I see homes with absolutely no trees with a clear LOS for the whole arc and that's the home I want to live in. Everything is working with all the workarounds so she is content. My fun is in the winter when all the leaves are gone so for a few months I can get more sats at least until spring.