Dish 500 61.5 and LNBF adapter

[boomerang]

I upgraded to HD a few weeks ago. The installer added a Dish 500 with a single Dual LNBF aimed at 61.5. I have an existing Dish 500 that now has two Dual LNBF's for 110 and 119.

He must not have had a Dish 500 I Adapter as he rigged it up with a Dish 500 Y Adapter. I didn't notice this until a week or so after he was here.

I've been experiencing rain fade problems. I've been with E* for 7 years and experienced rain fade many times before, but never like this.

Now, I am aware that I can call and they will come back and check it out and re-peak or do whatever is necessary. But I'm a hands-on kinda guy. Keeping that in mind, I purchased an I Adapter to clean up the look of the new Dish. (It's right on the front of the house.)

It looks like the Dish will need to be re-aimed. I was surprised to see this as I thought this was going to be a simple swap. I of course switched back to the Y adapter. With the I Adapter in place I lost 61.5 completely.

Are these two Adapters interchangeable within my configuration? Or are they interchangeable only with a re-aim of the dish?

 

[Jerryinvirginia]

The I adapter will work. The dish will need to be peaked. The result will be worth the trouble.

 

[boomerang]

Thanks for your help!

 

[Pepper]

Using a dish500 with the Y adapter, the dish is actually pointed at a point halfway between 61.5 and a nonexistent satellite at either 52.5 or 70.5 depending on which side the LNBF is attached to. With the I adapter you'd need to point it at 61.5.

 

[boomerang]

Using a dish500 with the Y adapter, the dish is actually pointed at a point halfway between 61.5 and a nonexistent satellite at either 52.5 or 70.5 depending on which side the LNBF is attached to. With the I adapter you'd need to point it at 61.5.

Ahh, I see! So, standing at the back of the dish, the LNBF is on the right branch of the Y. So if I'm thinking correctly, I will need to swing the dish to the right, correct?

I've got an inexpensive signal meter on the way. I hope it's up to the task. If needed, I'll just have a friend come over and he can watch the TV while I move the dish.

 

[Pepper]

left actually, looking from the back. The two lnbfs are on the opposite side of the dish from where the signal is coming from.

if you can see the tv while you do it, should take all of two minutes to get it done.

 

[old corps]

AHHHHHHHHHH, Maybe THIS is why my 61.5 (wing dish) signal strength is not what I expected! I'm in Mid-Michigan and I'd say the average ss is in the mid 30's on a clear day. No obstructions and I've peaked it numerous times. My locals are on spotbeam 03 and I only get mid 20's in good weather. My highest is tp02 and that will usually show mid 40's, again in good weather. Needless to say, I lose signal in rainy weather, doesn't have to be pouring either. The LNB IS on a "Y" adapter! So I could expect a marked improvment if I mount the LNB on an "I" adapter and reaim??? I imagine I could get one from The Dish Store? Calling Dish is the LAST thing on my list of things I like to do! Thanks for any input!

Ed

 

[old corps]

BUMP................

Will I see a noticable improvement in signal strength if I replace my "Y" adaptor with an "I" and re-aim??? See above post. Thanks!

Ed

 

[chainblu]

Ed, my first thoughts on this was that were making a bigger deal about having a "Y" adaptor than you needed to. Normally, I would think that going from "Y" to "I" would only add a few more signal points, but thats assuming clear LOS and an already strong signal.
What I have found in the field is going to a larger dish (which is basically what an "I" adaptor does for you), doesn't really gain you that much IF your signal strengths are strong to begin with with.
However, I've seen marked increases in signal when going from a Dish 300 to a Dish 500 when the signal was low due to partially blocked LOS or other reasons.
So yes, in your case I think it would be worth a try. Let us know how things turn out with 'before/after' results. You will have to tweak your dish a little one way or the other.

 

[digiblur]

I would like to see the results of the before and after I adapter installation and repeak. Thinking of getting one myself.

 

[old corps]

chainblu-
Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it! Guess I'll pick one up and try it, its not like its a lotta $$$. An improvement of just 5 or so points would be nice.

Ed

 

[old corps]

I'm gonna order one from Dish Store and I'll post the results after the swap and re-aim.

Ed

 

[old corps]

Jeeze, I was gonna get one from Dish Store but it's $4.95 for the adaptor and over $9 to ship it--and we're both in Michigan, maybe 60 miles apart. I'll try to pick one up locally.............

Ed

 

[boomerang]

Well, we've got a lot of Michiganders in this post - me included.

An update for all of you.

My signal meter showed up in the mail today. I grabbed a few tools and hoisted myself up on the roof to re-aim the dish. From the research I've done, my impression is that T29 is the home transponder on 61.5. My signal went from 63 to 71 on T29. The meter seemed rather simple to use. The azimuth I found to be easy to dial in. Doing the elevation was a slight pain as the dish kept wanting to sag down. I learned quickly not to raise or lower the dish using the arm.

In case someone missed it in my posts further up, I went from a Dish installed Y on a Dish 500 to a boomerang purchased I adapter.

I'm a nervous gertie, so I went through each transponder and recorded the readings. My two lowest transponders are T17 and T19, both at 37. I really, really wish I had recorded them before the adapter swap. Being the type that I am, I'm concerned that these are too low.

But, if T29 is the home transponder, I can only assume I've done this right. I hope so, I'm not as young as I used to be and am somewhat uncomfortable on the roof.

 

[chainblu]

Sounds like you did well. Don't worry too much about T17 and T19. My signals are 36 and 35 on those Transponders, so they must be that low all the time.

 

[boomerang]

Sounds like you did well. Don't worry too much about T17 and T19. My signals are 36 and 35 on those Transponders, so they must be that low all the time.

Thanks, that's the assurance I needed.

 

[rcdallas]

I've put in quite a few 61.5's in SE Michigan with a Y-bracket, as we didn't always have the I-brackets.

Personally I haven't seen any signal issues.

 

[tastim]

I've put in quite a few 61.5's in SE Michigan with a Y-bracket, as we didn't always have the I-brackets.

Personally I haven't seen any signal issues.

Nope... the adapter won't make much difference... if any. You just have to point it a bit differently to get MAX signal (same procedure though).

Anyway, glad you fixed your signal issues

 

[old corps]

Well, I spoke with a local installer that really seemed to know what he was talking about and he insisted that going from a "Y" bracket to an "I" wouldn't make ANY difference and that I'd be wasting my $$$. He suggested adjusting my skew a bit and I was able to pick up a few points by doing so. The 6x6 wolnamized pole is not perfectly plumb so I'm guessing that is the problem. Since it's set in concrete it ain't that easy to correct. LOL I thought that by tweaking the dish I could get around this but maybe I thought wrong. By changing the skew from 90 to about 80 I picked up about a 5 point increase. Still not as good as I'd like to see. I've got 57 on tp29 and 35 on spotbeam 03 (where my locals are). Clear day.
Would getting the pole perfectly plumb really make that much difference???

ED

 

[rcdallas]

Why make the post plumb? Just re-adjust the mast itself. For the power user it'd make a difference peace of mind, for the average joe that just wants to watch tv it wouldn't.