Dish 1000.2 shows 129 as 119?

[1969_Charger]

I have been trying to get this Dish 1000.2 pointed for what seems like forever. I have finally gotten 110 and 119 in with a fairly strong signal (using a 311 receiver). I am confident the mast is plumb but when I do a check switch it only shows 119, 110, Conn. When I go to the signal strength screen and put it on 129, transponder 16 I get a signal of 78 -- but it says it is "Not Locked Echostar 119 West". What gives?


Sat 119 is also 78 strength (on transponder 11 or 16). I thought my problem might be trees, but if so why is it showing such good strength on 129 -- but as 119? I also show good signal strength for sat 121, I noticed, as I was on my way from 119 to 129 on the screen.

If anyone can offer some advice / suggestions it would be very much appreciated. Am missing my local channels until I can lock in on 129. Zip is 43973, skew 126 (set by the guy that sold me the dish, and he says that is what he sets for for his customers w/ my zip), elev about 31. Not sure the azimuth but I have it peaked by the signal meter from the receiver.

Also, I have seen posts where its said to tweak on weakest sat -- in this case 129 -- but how can you do that if you don't have a meter that tells you which sat you're looking at, and the check switch doesn't recognize that sat?! I am also a bit confused by the ports on the switch/LNB for this model: can you hook a meter (cheap signal meter is what I have) to a different port other than 1? Sorry, but this is soooo frustrating....

 

[RandallA]

The 129 eye is seeing 119. You need to swing your dish slowly to your right if standing behind the dish or to the West. The best way to align a 1000.2 is to cover the 110 and 129 eyes with aluminun foil and just aim at 119 first. Peak 119 and then run check switch and if you have the settings correctly (skew, elevation, etc) 110 and 129 will fall into place.

 

[1969_Charger]

The 129 eye is seeing 119. You need to swing your dish slowly to your right if standing behind the dish or to the West. The best way to align a 1000.2 is to cover the 110 and 129 eyes with aluminun foil and just aim at 119 first. Peak 119 and then run check switch and if you have the settings correctly (skew, elevation, etc) 110 and 129 will fall into place.

Sorry I didn't go in to ALL the details I have been thru; I was trying to keep it short. I was already thru the scenario you mentioned - having 119 on the 129 LNB (which a check switch in this case shows the sats out of order -- at least according to another post I read) - so I moved to the right ( and down) to get where I am now. I did put foil on the two outside LNBs; that's how I found I had 119 sat on the 129 LNB. Ran a check switch and still just shows 119, 110, Conn.

I figured the leftmost LNB must be good cuz I did have 119 coming in thru it before -- and when I did I had no signal strength showing on 129, of course -- but now... I am lost.

Thx for the reply.

 

[RandallA]

These are the settings for zipcode 43973,

Azimuth 237
Elevation 29
Skew 126.

Are they correct? Then do as I suggested and peak on 119 TP 11. Once you peak it run check switch. If you think you already peaked it then just check switch.

One very important thing is that 129 has some transponders that only the ViP receivers can see. Since you're using a 311, try these transponders 5, 16, 21 to see if you're getting any signal on 129.

 

[1969_Charger]

Other than elevation, which I have as a slight bit higher, yes, that is correct. My SuperDish elev was also slightly higher than they called for in installation instructions.

I did peak on 119; I also then verified signal for 110 and peaked it so that it did not affect 119 strength. I then ran a check switch and it only shows the two sats listed above (119, 110): no 129. If I go back to signal strength screen from there, thru the receiver, and put it on sat 129, transponder 16, it shows strong signal (78) but it stays red, NOT LOCKED EchoStar 119 West.

 

[RandallA]

That's strange. Ok, clear the switch matrix and let's see if it works.

Disconnect the satellite feed from the back of the receiver and run check switch.
Connect the satellite feed back and run check switch.

I'm assuming that you have a straight RG6 cable run from the lnb to the 311 receiver, correct?

 

[jimjo3298]

If the mast is only slightly out of plumb and elevation is off by a degree or so you'll get 129 on the 119 lnb. Been there and it has done it to me on many installs

 

[Pepper]

Is there maybe a tree or something in the way?

 

[kilon]

Assuming you have the dish peaked correctly, the 311 won't show the 129 in a check switch until you update the software since it's not a HD receiver. While the receiver is still plugged in, press the power button to turn the receiver off and wait for a while till the receiver powers itself back on and updates the software.

Assuming you don't have the dish peaked correctly, turn it about a half inch to the left and lower the elevation 1 degrees.

 

[vegassatellite]

The reason you are seeing 78 signal on both 119 T16 and 129 T16 is that since you don't have a valid checkswitch, the receiver doesn't know what DISEQC command to send to tell the LNB to route the 129 to the box. So, since no command is being sent, you are getting the default satellite that is routed when no command is sent, ie, the 119. To be certain, simply cover up the 119 eye (center eye) while watching your receiver for 129 T16 and you'll see you lose the signal lock.

From what you've said so far, it appears the LNB and receiver are both OK in that the LNB can route LNB C and your receiver can map a signal on PORT 3. I would suggest disconnecting the satellite line from the receiver and running a check switch. That'll clear the matrix and you can start fresh. If you don't get a good checkswitch, then let the receiver download. Try peaking the dish with the receiver on 129 T31 as it is a fairly strong signal and should be easy to locate. I don't know if a 301 will pick up 129 T31 though.

 

[RandallA]

"I don't know if a 301 will pick up 129 T31 though."

No, it won't. There are some HD channels on that TP. I gave him 5, 16, 21 to play with, the 301 should see of of those.

 

[1969_Charger]

RandallA, thx for the suggestion. I cleared the switch matrix as you and vegassatellite suggested, but when I run the check switch again after clearing it still just sees 119 and 110. And yes, just RG6 straight from dish to receiver.

vegassatellite: I have rebooted the receiver several times, both by unplugging (something Dish Support had me do before) and holding in the On/Off button; however, when it powers back up it just finds the satellite, downloads the program guide and that's it. It seems as if it will not take a software download.

Pepper: I cut down a few trees that I don't think were in the way, but close enough I figured it wouldn't hurt to take 'em down. We need the firewood for next winter anyway, lol.

Can I peak on 129 if the switch/receiver is not recognizing that sat? Could it be like Kilon suggested -- move slightly to left and down 1 degree?

I appreciate all the help and suggestions, but this is driving me absolutely nutz. I moved the 500 Super dish a few times and never had a problem, but this 1000.2 has been one heck of a thorn in my side.

 

[1969_Charger]

QUESTION -

When you do a check switch, does it do any kind of diagnostic to verify the switch is working as it should? Or does it just verify there is one there and what model it is?

The reason I ask is because I tried something new: I swapped my receiver with a similar one my parents have -- except that they have the older Super Dish, upgraded for the new local/HD channels. Their receiver says its the same model (311) but it is slightly different than mine.

Anyway, I hooked my receiver to their setup, ran check switch and boom: all three sat's came in. I took their receiver and hooked up to mine. As soon as it booted up it said "Acquiring satellite signal" -- for 129! So I let it go thru all 5 steps; the programming came thru (the channel and program title at the top of the screen -- which with mine it won't even recognize the programming on the locals, of course), but then it would go to an error screen about the switch.

So I ran a check switch and only the two sats. Could the problem be in the LNB/Switch? The LNBs work cuzI had 119 coming in on 129 LNB once, but the switch itself maybe is hosed? It's brand new, sure, but that's not to say it didn't come from the factory defective. Makes sense to me (but I am not too familiar with the technology), cuz I made a line of sight rig and looked from the sats mast point-of-view and I have a clear view to the sky. Even moved the dish to the opposite end of the house to really make sure mast was plumb and solid, plus get further away from any trees.

I'd hate to have to pay someone to come out, and worse than that is actually getting someone here. Last time I scheduled for someone to come out, they re-scheduled at the last minute FOUR times and it endeed up taking months....

 

[RandallA]

What software version does the 311 have? Press Menu twice on the remote. If you have anything older than P419 or P431 then you need of the new updates.

Connected to the satellite feed, turn off the 311 receiver and let it sit for 20-30 minutes. The receiver will download the new update. You may see the lights come back on and then off, that means the receiver is installing the update.

 

[1969_Charger]

I checked and the software is P349. I usually turn the receiver off at night, but turned it off for over an hour after doing the software version check. Turned it back on and still has the same software. When going into other screens from the MENU-MENU clicking, it says it has a good connection but no signal. I'm thinking either my line-of-site is off at the dish and I don't have the clear sky I think I do, or... I dunno. I'm thinking I need to have a pro out here to take a look. Thanks everyone.

 

[vegassatellite]

P349 software is for a 301 receiver, not a 311. It was released on 4/8/08 so it should be good software. Both receivers are nearly identical. One surefire way to see a difference is that the 301 has a two-prong power cord whereas the 311 has a 3 prong power cord.

Did you get a switch error message while it was hooked up at your parent's house? Will they let you take one of their receivers to your house and check it there?

Also, what city is your locals from?

 

[ben_D]

if the results are coming back 119, 110, conn, then you have the dish peaked in correctly if its a dish 1000.2. 78 on 119 is crap unless its a modified signal screen. If its unmodified then you have a LOS issue.

 

[1969_Charger]

Oh, OK, so that explains the slight difference between the two receivers. No, I didn't get any switch errors at my parents house with my receiver (3-prong power cord). Also, I did bring their receiver home (two-prong) and that is the one that once I powered it up it went to acquiring satellite signal for 129 as explained in my last post.

The locals are Columbus, OH. I went up on the roof again but just don't know where -- in relation to the direction of the mast for the LNBs -- to look to see if I have a clear line of site. If I don't have a clear line of site due to trees, I am going to have a heck of alot of trees, going up an incline, to cut down. Considering I got a decent signal from the old Dish Plus with local channels, I wouldn't think that the difference in the azimuth and skew between the two dishes would be enough to cause such a problem.

 

[1969_Charger]

Thanks Ben, but it is the modified signal screen, so from what I've read that oughta be pretty decent.

 

[vegassatellite]

Then it is definitely related to your home site. The satellite system is 3 basic components. Cables, receivers, LNBs/Switches. You've already eliminated the receiver as the possible problem since your parent's box won't work at your home either. That leaves the cabling and the LNB. You can try a different cable from the LNB to the receiver to eliminate that as a possible culprit. If you're still having problems, try a different LNB. If that doesn't work, you may not have good line of sight to 129. Check your line of sight with a compass. 129 is at 248 degrees magnetic at 22.8 elevation, so that's pretty low. If you want to verify the elevation, get a 2x4 block of wood and cut it with a miter saw at 22 degrees. Holding the 2x4 level, sight up the angle cut and see if there are any obstructions beyond it when facing 248 degrees.