Doubling on 61.5 & 129

[BUD_n_Sons]

Has anybody setup 4 dishes: 61.5, 72, 77 & 129?
I moved my 3 36" dishes from western to eastern arc ~10/16.
When I joined Dish, there was no eastern arc.
110 & 119 were quite fade free, 129 not so much.
After change, same with 72 & 77 being good, and 61.5 better, but not immune.

So, the idea is that when a 61.5 transponder fades, the 129 equivalent takes over.
Storm fronts are rarely that tall and wide (~Kalamazoo, MI)
Is this reasonable? Has anybody tried it, or know what to expect?
Attached image is before change to eastern.
Thanks in advance...

 

[ChadT41]

61.5 and 129 are not a one for one exchange. Almost all WA channels will be HD on 129, however it is split up throughout EA. Also, if a channel is on both, I believe it will report it as the first one in the matrix. That means if you scan in order 61.5, 72, 77, 129, if would take the channels on the EA over the 129. I've never set that system up, so I could be mistaken.

 

[mwdxer1]

I had 110/119/129 and a wing dish at the 61.5 for years. Being the NW Oregon, 61.5 is low, and often if the same channel was on both the 129 and the 61.5, it would lock on the weaker signal on the 61.5 and I would lose the signal during rain fade. I removed the 61.5 a while back as KBS World moved off the 61.5, so I had no use for the 61.5. I am happy to not have the 61.5 any longer.

 

[DishSubLA]

It seems over time some HD's that were at 129 have moved to 110 or 119, at least my my observations. 129 still has the most HD's.

 

[BUD_n_Sons]

Well the recent high winds pushed 2 of mine offline, so I had to revert to the single WA setup.
Glad I didn't take it down.
In a couple weeks (warmer), I'll peak all 4 and see / report what happens.

P.S. I'll be trying a baby monitor to hear the signal strength tone.
Easier than dragging a spare rcvr, display & power to the pole.

 

[Tampa8]

Has anybody setup 4 dishes: 61.5, 72, 77 & 129?

So, the idea is that when a 61.5 transponder fades, the 129 equivalent takes over.

It won't/can't work that way. A channel will only be scanned into the receiver from one of the satellites. It most often starts with 61.5 but I had some channels that consistently scanned in from 119 or 110. The only way to get a channel that has fade from one satellite is to do a check switch and if that channel is still too weak you may get it from the stronger signal on the other satellite. But it would be hit and miss even doing that and you would likely lose other channels doing it during a storm etc..

 

[pattykay]

Also, if a channel is on both, I believe it will report it as the first one in the matrix. That means if you scan in order 61.5, 72, 77, 129, if would take the channels on the EA over the 129. I've never set that system up, so I could be mistaken.

You are correct. I have a Dish 1000.4 for EA with a dish aimed at 129 hooked up to the input on that LNB. One time, I tried to "move" to get Detroit locals. I am outside the spotbeam on 61.5, but near the edge of acceptable signal for the spotbeam on 129. I always got Complete Signal Loss on the Detroit locals with 61.5 in the mix. I had to cover the 61.5 LNB with foil and do a check switch to receive the Detroit locals at all. After that, the signal from 129 was acceptable, but removing 61.5 from my setup removed many standard-def national channels and caused problems with some of the interactive apps in Dish Home.