did i miss something?

[warh0und]

i've been messing around with my fta setup for a little while, when i have the time, but nothing's been working. no matter where i point the 33" dish, my reciever (fortec ultra) would say that i have 0% signal quality (but good signal level). so yesterday i got the bright idea of attaching the coax from the directv dish to the fta reciever (the diretv system works well). i did a blind scan (or "power scan", as it's called), and got nothing. i scanned for just FTA channels first, then all channels, and still got nothing.
like i said, the directv system works well, so there was definitely signals coming down the coax from the directv dish, so i would imagine that the receiver SHOULD pick up something (albeit mostly scrambled/audio-only channels, plus maybe GOLtv and NASA), right?
and also, i made sure that the coax was connected to the "IF" connection on the back of the receiver.

is there something obvious i'm missing?

 

[PSB]

Should be connected to where is says LNB IN!

What channels and satellite are you aiming for?

 

[warh0und]

whoops. when i said "IF" in the above posting, i meant "IF input", which would be the equiv. of an "LNB in", i guess.
my reciever (fortec lifetime ultra) just has "ant in" (which i would assume is for OTA broadcasts), "IF input", "IF output", and "TV out".

i'm aiming for anything right now, i just want to get something, even if it's a bunch of uselessly scrambled tp's, and go from there. i'm just worried that my receiver's "IF input" connection isn't working correctly (even though everything else seems to work fine with the receiver).
but i believe the directv dish i used is pointing at either 110 or 119, as i common in the area.
i know it's pointed at something, but the FTA receiver gave me "0 transponders found" when i did an "scrambled and unscrambled" blind scan.

 

[warh0und]

oh, and yes, i use only "RG6"-type coax.

 

[PSB]

Most DirecTV dish are pointed at 101ºw

There is NO FTA programming on DirecTV there is however a linear Ku satellite at the same position, this would require at least a 30" dish and linear Ku LNBF

 

[warh0und]

well, that would explain why i'm not getting any fta channels.
shouldn't i be getting something, tho? some scrambled tp's, or something?
i obviously can't use scrambled tp's, but they would at least tell me that my receiver is receiving, ya know?

 

[drhydro]

If your dish is pointed at 101 you wont see anything at all. DTV uses a different broadcasting method than our recievers can pick up.

 

[warh0und]

ya, i thought i could pick up something.
but nope. my receiver can't pick up anything that's not vertical or horizontal polarization.
crap in a hat

oh well.

 

[PSB]

Yes it can!

But you need to be pointing to a satellite that uses MPEG2 like NASA on 119w

RV

Right Hand = Vertical

Left Hand = Horizontal

 

[SATisfied]

I get a high quality signal (75%) when I point at 72.5W (direct tv ) on a lot of tp's, but no channels. I have a universal lnb set on "universal", and a 36" dish.

 

[PSB]

Thats AMC-6 also at @ 72ºw ?

http://www.lyngsat.com/amc6.html

 

[Mr Tony]

are you sure you aren't picking up AMC6 at 72?

 

[Tron]

Warhound, if you have a Phase III DirecTV dish (the one with 3 LNBFs in one unit), the internal switch is proprietary and the LNBF will default to 101w when connected to a FTA receiver. There's no circular DVB at 101w (only DirecTV, which is not DVB), thats why you're not getting anything.

 

[warh0und]

Warhound, if you have a Phase III DirecTV dish (the one with 3 LNBFs in one unit), the internal switch is proprietary and the LNBF will default to 101w when connected to a FTA receiver. There's no circular DVB at 101w (only DirecTV, which is not DVB), thats why you're not getting anything.

ya, i figured that 101 must not be broadcasting what i need. i thought i was pointed at 110 or 119, tho, but obviously not (i haven't gone outside with a compass to check yet).
and i only have a 1-lnb directv dish.

but thanks for all you guys' help anyways!

 

[Tron]

You can re-aim the 1 LNB dish to 119 for the music and NASA, but that might not be a good idea (in fact it wouldn't) if you're using the dish for a DirecTV subscription. Maybe DirecTV would come out and install a Phase III for you, leaving you the old dish for 119's audio.

You can't mix DirecTV and FTA stuff on the same system, so its best to add a second dish in any case. While you're at it, go with a 30" or more, and you'll be able to get more than just the free circular DBS stuff.