I hate to admit how illiterate I am on the tech end of satellite tv. On most of the forums I have read, I don't even understand the questions, much less the answers! But, since everyone on here seems super smart, I think I am in the right place. My question is, does the size or type of dish have anything to do with signal strength? I have a 18" round dish pointed more or less at 101 W with probably 200' of R6 connected (to get out from under most of my trees). I had been noticing degradation of signal for awhile, so I thought moving the dish closer would help. It didn't. Tried using one of the cheap meters to aim it better. Played a game of "guess which satellite". Gave up on the meter and drug the box and a portable tv out in the yard. The absolute best I could get with the box on a 6' wire connected to the dish was 70%, and I spent an hour trying to do better. At that just a cloudy night causes LOS. I am thinking that the LNB support arm got tweeked at some point, probably by me pulling the dish around by the arm. So I am pretty sure I will be buying another dish anyway. What should I try? Will a bigger dish give me more gain with nearby trees?
Dish size question
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First..MAke sure the pole/mast are PLUMB.....Next, if you have a Droid phone, download the "satellite director" app. This app is spot on. Enter your address and satellite type. Use the phone to find the precise point at which aim your dish.
Finally, use a tv nearby. Bring up the signal strength screen .....Set elevation and then snug the nuts that are through the clamp tha holds the dish to the pole. This is so the dish cannot rock...
Then slowly sweep the dish west to east. The first bird you hit will be the 103...go past that SLOWLY...The next one will be the 101....Watch the meter on the screen. it will go up and once it starts down, STOP....Turn the dish back in the other direction.
When the signal reaches the upper 90's you're on it. Lock it down..Yer all set.
Finally, use a tv nearby. Bring up the signal strength screen .....Set elevation and then snug the nuts that are through the clamp tha holds the dish to the pole. This is so the dish cannot rock...
Then slowly sweep the dish west to east. The first bird you hit will be the 103...go past that SLOWLY...The next one will be the 101....Watch the meter on the screen. it will go up and once it starts down, STOP....Turn the dish back in the other direction.
When the signal reaches the upper 90's you're on it. Lock it down..Yer all set.
Oops, (face turns red) when I put LOS in the original post I was talking loss of signal instead of Line Of Sight. But you guys probably figured that one out. So, no matter how much radiation I am catching with the dish and reflecting back to the LNB the signal strength won't increase? Maybe a good thing I didn't order that 36" international dish then...
Thanks, that is just how I managed to get the 70% I have. Plumb mast, moving no more than 1/4 to 1/2 degree at a time. Did this before and got 96 strength, but like I said, it degraded over time. Oh yeah, also changed out the R6. Only a connector on each end btw.
Ok, back to an issue I know I have...the arm that supports the LNB. I checked it with my drywall square and found it was not 90 degrees to the dish. I bent it back as best I could to 90 degrees, but who knows. Is "close" close enough, or should I get another dish? And, if I am going to get one anyway, are there any dishes out there that have a more refined alignment system than my standard 18" round? You know, like maybe a screw adjustment or something to be more precise? Thanks again
Hello Tech_zero,
The first thing I would check is the signal level at the dish and compare it to what you are getting at the other end of the RG6 cable run. You are probably have too much signal loss (attenuation) through the cable. Try this url to get an idea about the RG cable you need for longer distances. All these cable types listed below are 75 ohm cables. If this is the case then I believe you or someone else will need some different tools and connectors to work with the different types of cables. An alternative could be some sort of signal amplification device. It will boost the signal but could add some noise or other problem(s) with the degree of amplification needed to get a stronger signal. SWM might do the trick as it provides an additional power supply to the satellite dish. A SWM 8 comes with a 21V power supply but I have read where you can substitute a 29V power supply. The 29V power supply is standard on the SWM 16 units. Best of luck in getting it working. :up
Coaxial cable - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I am no expert and have never used these cables personally but you might need one of these cables.
Reference numbers
15.
The first thing I would check is the signal level at the dish and compare it to what you are getting at the other end of the RG6 cable run. You are probably have too much signal loss (attenuation) through the cable. Try this url to get an idea about the RG cable you need for longer distances. All these cable types listed below are 75 ohm cables. If this is the case then I believe you or someone else will need some different tools and connectors to work with the different types of cables. An alternative could be some sort of signal amplification device. It will boost the signal but could add some noise or other problem(s) with the degree of amplification needed to get a stronger signal. SWM might do the trick as it provides an additional power supply to the satellite dish. A SWM 8 comes with a 21V power supply but I have read where you can substitute a 29V power supply. The 29V power supply is standard on the SWM 16 units. Best of luck in getting it working. :up
Coaxial cable - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I am no expert and have never used these cables personally but you might need one of these cables.
| RG-6/U | 75 | 1.0 mm | PF | 0.75 | 0.185 | 4.7 | 0.270 | 6.86 | double | Low loss at high frequency for cable television,satellite television and cable modems | 05.65dB/100 ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RG-6/UQ | 75 | PF | 0.298 | 7.57 | quad | This is "quad shield RG-6". It has four layers ofshielding; regular RG-6 has only one or two | 05.65dB/100 ft[SUP][15][/SUP] | ||||
| RG-7 | 75 | 1.30 mm | PF | 0.225 | 5.72 | 0.320 | 8.13 | double | Low loss at high frequency for cable television,satellite television and cable modems | 04.57dB/100 ft |
| RG-11/U | 75 | 1.63 mm | PE | 0.66 | 0.285 | 7.2 | 0.412 | 10.5 | Triple/Quad | Used for long drops and underground conduit[SUP][18][/SUP] | 03.65dB/100 ft |
|---|
Reference numbers
15.
- ^ "Coaxial Cable Specifications for RG-62". madaboutcable.com.
The arm isn't supposed to be at a 90 degree angle, it's set up to be off set. I think you now need a new dish. Once the arm is moved, it won't go back to exactly where it needs to be. If you are sd only, then an 18x20 dish will work fine. This is what you may need: DTV DIREC TV DIRECTV 18" Inch Dual LNB Dish Antenna | eBay
As Chip correctly stated ....once bend you are screwed.........sort of,
First....the length of the cable run and the trees are what has probably caused your problem.
Second...the repaired dish are is going to be the other problem until it is replaced. BUT I did bend one back successfully after some drunk truckers drove over their dish and pole. I also fixed a commercial dish by bending....so it is possible. What you can try is...get the dish back where you have a signal...then experiment with pushing the arm in different directions until you discover a direction that raises the signal. Bend the metal in that direction. Know that the spot welds that hold the arm in place will break if torqued too much. If it works go back to cutting trees out of the LOS.
Joe
That may work on some dished, hopefully this one. I've seen them with stamped connections from the arm to the dish. Once broken they are toast.
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