Dish1000 and Super Dish install

[gretzky99]

Hi, I installed a dish1000/Vip622 last year and due to line-of-sight issues I cannot get 129 (or 61.5) signal above 50 reliably. I have peak'd my setup on 119, so 110 and 119 hit 82-86. Thats the best I can get due to trees. Now I am in process of installing a second dish to point to 129. Someone gave me a Superdish and is supposed to drop it off today.

Based on my location in Raleigh (35.77L x 78.63L) I think my dish settings for a direct shot at 129 should be:

244.17 deg
23.18 az
0 sk

My question is about installing the second dish. Since the Superdish has multiple LNB's should I use one LNBF versus another in order to center the beam on the LNBF? Can they be paralleled in order to gain signal strength? Do I need a switch? (Dont think so, I just connect the second satellite to the 110 input on the original dish1000)? There are tons of trees here and I dont think I am going to get an easy shot at 129.

I think its overkill to use a Superdish, but with the trees I think the larger size will help get a good signal. Please let me know if I'm on the right track? If the Superdish doesnt work, do you have any suggestions (other than moving my house)? Are there larger dish's which would work better? If so, can I use the Superdish LNBF and just swap the dish?

This forum is excellent. I've been reading and the experts are great and really helpful. Ive learned alot already. Just need to get over the final hurdle...

Thanks, Tom

 

[SmityWhity]

Not that it matters, but what is "(35.77L x 78.63L)"? I don't know if it will help with all of the trees, but maybe a little.

Here's what I would do.

(1) Skew. Set the Skew to 0 degrees, which is 90 on the Skew Plate. Since the dish is heavy, I recommend doing this on the ground, where you can make sure the dish pan is properly aligned all the way around, and then tighten, but do not over tighten the bolts. Over tighting will result in a warpped pan and/or skew plate.

(2) Elevation. Set the Elevation a hair more than 23 (23.1 - 23.2).

(3) Azimuth. Set the Azimuth about 244 True or 250 Magnetic.

(4) LNBF. On the SD-121, use the 119 LNBF which is in the center. Once you are ready to connect it, I would run a RG-6 directly from this LNBF to the receiver, and then try peaking it without going through a DPP Twin and/or Switch (DP34, DPP44).

(5) Peaking. When peaking, make adjustments of less than 1/8" at a time.

(6) Connecting. The 119/121 LNBF Cluster is not a DishPro LNBF, but is a DishPro compatible LNBF; therefore, you should be able to connect it to the switch or DPP Twin where you would normally connect the 129 or 61.5.

If it doesn't work, then try for the 61.5 sat by changing the Elevation and Azimuth as follows:

E = A hair less than 45 (44.7)
A = 152 True or 159 Magnetic

We all would like to hear your results.

NOTES:
I don't know what may or may not happen when you try to feed the 119/121 LNBF Cluster from the SD-121 into the DPP Twin LNBF. Since they are DishPro compatible, I personally don't see any reason it won't work. Maybe someone else has info on it.

Also, the elevations and azimuths are approximate starting points, and you may have to make slightly more adjustments than if you were using a Dish 300 or a Dish 500.

 

[Claude Greiner]

If your using the superDish for a better signal, its not going to do you any good since the DBS KU LNB's are off-set.

What you need to do is some how re-mount the LNB so only the DBS KU LNB (Dishpro Dual) is at the focal point of the DISH.

Or forget the superdish completely and get a Dish with the correct LNB support holder.

 

[gretzky99]

Thanks SmityWity. 35.77x78.63 are the latitude and longitude here in Raleigh.

I picked up the SD today (it's a 105 actually) but unfortunately the mast, mounting plate, and switch were not in the box. The dish is very heavy indeed!

Tomorrow I need to hunt for a mount.

I'll use your recommended steps 1-5 to hopefully get a lock on 129. If not, I will move the dish to the back of the house where I should have a shot at 61.5.

I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[gretzky99]

Well, today I was finally able to see the 129 satellite. I could only get 60-70 peak readings. But from this location the 119 satellite is blocked by a huge tree. Its not easy to find holes in the trees here. I moved the dish 3 times until I finally found a spot.

I didnt play with the SuperDish yet. Need to get the mast tomorrow when the satellite store opens.

I'll report on how the connection works hopefully tomorrow.

 

[BobaBird]

If you're in Raleigh, you don't want a Dish 1000 or a SuperDISH. You need a Dish 500+ (adds 118.75° for HD locals) and a second dish to help with your 129 aiming problem. Have to backtrack a bit here -- you can use the middle LNB of either of those larger dishes. I believe the Plus dish comes with a DPP44 switch. Check with Dish for upgrade terms.

 

[ezriser]

If he says that he has a tree problem and is getting decent signals on 110/119 and is not even getting the 129, he needs to move the 2nd dish as far away from those trees as possible. Depending on the type of 1000 dish, if the 1000 dish uses a DPP Plus, all he needs to do is put up a second dish as far away from the trees as possible and put a dp dual on the new dish/point it to the 61.5 (which is pointed higher in the sky) and wire it to the port 3 of the DPP Plus.
BTW, a dish 500+ does also get the 129 sat. with the added bracket that comes with the lnb kit

 

[gretzky99]

I finally got everything working with the existing setup. The trees were a bitch. Hopefully this fall I can lop some of the tops off to get a better shot at the satellites.

I ended up using the Dish1000 pointed at 110/119. Then I pointed the Superdish using the center LNB at 61.5 and fed this into the Dish1000 LNB input and it works fine.

It took a few hours of tweaking, but I managed to peak:
61.5 at 102
119 at 85
110 reads pretty low, in the low 70's so I might need to tweak the Dish1000 again when the weather cools down. It was 115 degrees up there.

Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions! Tom