Dish signal levels

[tsduke]

I know I've seen this posted somewhere but can't find it.

What kind of signal level should I be seeing on the 119 with Dish 1000?

The highest TP on 119 I have right now is 96 and some in the 80's. I'm watching HDNews off 129 and seeing a little pixelation here and there and the signal level at 52.

I'm wondering if this is normal or if I should have my retailer come out and repeak before my install warranty is up.

 

[Scorpion.sting]

I know I've seen this posted somewhere but can't find it.

What kind of signal level should I be seeing on the 119 with Dish 1000?

The highest TP on 119 I have right now is 96 and some in the 80's. I'm watching HDNews off 129 and seeing a little pixelation here and there and the signal level at 52.

I'm wondering if this is normal or if I should have my retailer come out and repeak before my install warranty is up.

I would think that you would not want any signal under 80.

 

[RandallA]

Dish Network says 70 and up, I say 75 and up. 129 is a POS but given your location, I would call E* to complain about pixelation so they can send someone and repeak your dish. Because of your location, 129 signals should be higher.

 

[tsduke]

I know the 129 isn't great, but 52 is terrible. There was just a little overcast when I checked it.

When I had my 500 I always had some 100+ signals on 119 and now I have none. I could mess with it myself, but I figure, I have 90 days with the retailer so I will call them. I haven't messed with the 1000 enough to know how to peak anyway.

 

[Yes616]

I am almost always at 120 - 125 (pinned on top) when looking at 119 and around 100 - 110 when looking at 110.

I have the Dish 500 and those signal strengths are shown above plus I have a Dish 300 looking at 61.5 where that is usually 90 - 100.

I have a great signal during sunshine, cloudiness and normal types of rain and snow storms. The precipitation needs to be coming down very hard before I loose the signal.

My installer did pretty good but I did have to supply the caulking so the roof wouldn't leak.

 

[tsduke]

How tedious a job is it to peak the 1000? Is it so easy to screw up that I shouldn't mess with it? I don't mind doing stuff myself as long as I think I can handle the job.

I called my retailer and they can't come out until mid next week. I'm not sure I'm patient enough to wait.

If I try it myself can anyone advise on some tip?
1. Should the signal level be peaked on a certain tp of 119
2. What adjustments should I try first between the AZ/EL/SK?
3. How will peaking 119 effect 129?

 

[RandallA]

Mark with a pencil your current elevation and azimuth and then try adjusting one at a time. I would start with the elevation and use a TP on 129. HDNews comes off TP22 so you may want to try that one. You'll need a 7/16 wrench when you go up there.

 

[tsduke]

Is peaking on an overcast day ok?

Would I be correct in assuming I will only need to move it ever so slightly?

 

[RandallA]

Is peaking on an overcast day ok?

Would I be correct in assuming I will only need to move it ever so slightly?

Yes to both questions.

 

[cebbigh]

Keep in mind while adjusting 129 that approx every 20-30 min the signal will take a dive. (There are lots of threads on this, just do a search using 129 as the keyword.) That makes the adjustment a little more difficult. If you don't have a meter its best to have someone watching the screen in earshot or on the phone while you tweek. I'd suggest not adjusting until immediately after the signal restores after it drops so you have a little more time to work with it. And keep in mind that the adjustment can be very sensitive. Just tightening the bolts can drop a few points.

As far as 119 as long as you don't see pixelation you should be fine. Yes you could get higher numbers but the picture doesn't improve. 110 and 119 are stable satelltes so you don't have the same issues as with 129 (a wobbly piece of space junk).

 

[RandallA]

He's in Iowa so he won't see the woobling effect as much as the Pacific Northwest. All other advise is right on the money.

"Just tightening the bolts can drop a few points." I usually do this very slowly.

 

[tsduke]

I appreciate the advise. I'll report back the results.

 

[tsduke]

By messing with the elevation only, I get 119-11 up to 105. It was under 100 before. The best I've seen on 129-22 since adjusting is 75-76. It is complete overcast today if that matters. 129 seems to have a different reading everytime I look.(71 now)

I see yes616 gets 120-125 on 119.(not sure what you mean by pinned at top) I don't know if I can get that high or not. It looks like I wont get there by adjusting elevetion alone anyway.

 

[RandallA]

You're not gonna get 125 unless it's a spotbeam. TP 11 is not a spotbeam, that's why we use that TP to compare numbers all around. Also if you use one of the new ViP receivers to read your SS you won't see 125. Also the dual tuners receiver read lower than the single receivers (625, 522, 322).

For TP22 on 129, I get 70 on a 622 receiver. So 75-76 seems fairly reasonable to me. You did good!

Take a look at this thread and compare SS with others by location:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=92011