EVERY weekend about this time, ME and THIStv vanish like clockwork! Crazy...

[primestar31]

Well, I've been playing with this for a while. I finally got METV back, but only by deleting the transponder, moving the dish 6 points to the west, and then detailed-blind scan with the MicroHD. It picked them (Me1 and Me2) back up, but they are now at 3975 (and lower signal level) instead of the normal 3974

After they came back, I was able to move the dish back to the East 6 points (closer to 99w) and the signal level went back UP.

Beats me.............. Let's see if this holds for a while.

 

[stanleyjohn]

Well, I've been playing with this for a while. I finally got METV back, but only by deleting the transponder, moving the dish 6 points to the west, and then detailed-blind scan with the MicroHD. It picked them (Me1 and Me2) back up, but they are now at 3975 (and lower signal level) instead of the normal 3974

After they came back, I was able to move the dish back to the East 6 points (closer to 99w) and the signal level went back UP.

Beats me.............. Let's see if this holds for a while.

Thanks for this thread! I also have had MeTv going poof at times but it always came back on its own.If i dont see it today i will try what you did.Not sure if this is only a problem with using a 6 footer dish.PS in my case only Metv has been giving me problems! This TV always seems to be there.

 

[primestar31]

Thanks for this thread! I also have had MeTv going poof at times but it always came back on its own.If i dont see it today i will try what you did.Not sure if this is only a problem with using a 6 footer dish.PS in my case only Metv has been giving me problems! This TV always seems to be there.

Well, I think it's a combination of issues on both sides. 1: 6 foot smaller dish, with larger "beam-width". That translates into signal discrimination/swamping problems, plus less signal versus say a 10 foot dish. 2: Our sat dishes not being "tuned" perfectly for what signal level there is at any given time. 3: ME themselves doing "something", because if you do some searches, you will find threads where these EXACT same issues happened when they were on the other satellite before the move to 101, etc.. etc

I've never had to rescan for it before this, and it usually came back by itself after a varying degree of time. So, it's my hopes to continue to compare notes, until we can hopefully narrow down and help eliminate the times the signal level seems to vanish. By the way, ME is coming in booming this morning, at the slightly different frequency, and doing fine at the azimuth for my dish that it normally works at (slightly closer to 99W)

 

[stanleyjohn]

Checked just now and MeTv is back! no rescan needed.One thing i do know is that metvs sig has been lower than This TV since the switch to this sat.

 

[Diamond Jim]

Somewhere in this thread it was mentioned that it was possible that a signal from G16 could be over riding the ME signal. I don't know if this is possible, but shortly after ME went off yesterday I scanned G16 and ABC had a football game on with an FR of 3980. Could it be possible that this FR could have been interferring with ME at 3974 or 3975? I tried to stay up long enough to see if ME came back on after the game signed off, but it couldn't make it. Right now I am getting ME at 58%. In the past after the move I have had it as high as the low to mid 70s. After reading the post in this thread I am begining to think that they are messing with the signal for some reason.

Now for another question, when ME goes off KDEV, the ME channel out of Cheyenne is still on as strong as ever. When the ME feed goes off on SES1 where are they getting the feed from that keeps KDEV on the air?

 

[Magic Static]

I never lose it, why should they lose it? This problem is experienced by only a few people with smaller dishes.

 

[Diamond Jim]

I never lose it

From the post I see here and on other sites you must be the only one.

 

[primestar31]

I never lose it, why should they lose it? This problem is experienced by only a few people with smaller dishes.

Kinda harsh for an answer, isn't that? Just dismissing us out of hand? I'm happy you have no issue, but not everybody can have a 10 foot dish, or be in the exact center of the best and strongest satellite beam for any particular sat. Or be in a DMA where MEtv or any good sub-channel will EVER be. We are their audience, and deserve to get this channel if at all possible, if we choose to. So, that means peaking what dish and equipment we have, perhaps getting them to slightly UP their signal level, etc, and if nobody ever talks about it to find out what is going on, how could that happen?\

Kinda odd how I can get lower level dvb-s2 8psk channels and keep them locked, BUT METV vanishes like clockwork at certain times... It can't only be us that are having these issues.

 

[highskies]

One thing i do know is that metvs sig has been lower than This TV since the switch to this sat.

I just checked this on my S9. METV, METV2, and THISTV, all steady at 70 Q each. BTW, not suggesting you are imagining things, just pointing out that this doesn't seem to be the case at all on my setup, unless the S9 is not accurately reporting the Q level.

 

[shopman]

Kinda harsh for an answer, isn't that? Just dismissing us out of hand? I'm happy you have no issue, but not everybody can have a 10 foot dish, or be in the exact center of the best and strongest satellite beam for any particular sat. Or be in a DMA where MEtv or any good sub-channel will EVER be. We are their audience, and deserve to get this channel if at all possible, if we choose to. So, that means peaking what dish and equipment we have, perhaps getting them to slightly UP their signal level, etc, and if nobody ever talks about it to find out what is going on, how could that happen?\

Kinda odd how I can get lower level dvb-s2 8psk channels and keep them locked, BUT METV vanishes like clockwork at certain times... It can't only be us that are having these issues.

I don't reply to threads to often but feel the need to chime in here. Remember, this signal is not intended for you and you don't deserve anything. That being said, I think there are several issues at play here. First, any dish less than 10 feet in diameter is out of compliance for two degree spacing so you can expect signal interference from adjacent satellites. Second, you are most likely also experiencing issues with center of box because of the undersized reflector and other factors. Satellites are not stationary in the sky, they move around in a figure eight pattern inside of a theoretical box about 10 miles wide. Third, any variance in signal frequency is most likely a result of drift within an LNB or receiver. Try a google search on "center of box" and after a little reading grab that information from the SES website and try tuning your dish for maximum signal. Sadly, I have a feeling your issues will continue despite your best efforts simply because your reflector is severely undersized for this application. I'll also add I receive both ThisTV and MeTV 24/7 without any problems on both my 8 1/2ft Paraclipse and 10ft Orbitron dishes. An 8 foot dish is the bare minimum for decent C band performance so try and upgrade if you can.

 

[primestar31]

There you go. I was watching it, had 70% signal, and it just vanished a few minutes ago! NO signal at all, gone like the wind, and the dish wasn't moved, or anything else. Just POOF, and gone. Everything else still comes in on that sat...

 

[stanleyjohn]

Correct on the above statement! We are just hitching a free ride on a sat that's not for us in the first place.
For me Fta is a great hobby and should be treated as such.l have been very happy with what my 6 footer can do.

 

[kingofku]

You may be getting RFI from a microwave link that fires up.....especially true since this is C Band and susceptible to terrestrial microwave interference. Most likely telephone company mw.

 

[primestar31]

You may be getting RFI from a microwave link that fires up.....especially true since this is C Band and susceptible to terrestrial microwave interference. Most likely telephone company mw.

Nope, not a chance. At least not local to me, maybe local to ME's uplink site. I'm nowhere near stanleyjohn's location above, and he loses it the same time I do. Explain that, if it's a local microwave link. Not only that, but I'm deep in the woods and shielded from any links such as that, even if there was one nearby, which there isn't. Even the closest cellphone tower is over 5 miles away from me. The closest commercial airport is 25 miles, no military base for 60 miles, etc, etc...

But I agree it was a good thought, so I'm glad you chimed in.

 

[primestar31]

Hey, I just found MEtv on 118.8W! KDEV-TV, and "That Girl" is on right now....

 

[stanleyjohn]

Hey, I just found MEtv on 118.8W! KDEV-TV, and "That Girl" is on right now....

Its a good backup! but the time zone is a killer for me.Last night i wanted to finish off the night by watching Voyage to the bottom of the sea but on KDEV that would be 2 am here.

 

[primestar31]

Its a good backup! but the time zone is a killer for me.Last night i wanted to finish off the night by watching Voyage to the bottom of the sea but on KDEV that would be 2 am here.

Get a MicroHD receiver, and plug a usb drive into it. I have one, and use it like a dvr. Now that I know this channel exists, I can record Metv stuff from it, and watch it later. You could never stay up long enough to watch any of this stuff without a dvr function on your receiver.

 

[stanleyjohn]

Get a MicroHD receiver, and plug a usb drive into it. I have one, and use it like a dvr. Now that I know this channel exists, I can record Metv stuff from it, and watch it later. You could never stay up long enough to watch any of this stuff without a dvr function on your receiver.

I do have a DVR in my AZbox but was to lazy last night to set it up.Next time we loose MeTv lets see if some of our fellow FTA people with a larger dish can see if there is a signal drop.With our 6 footers it wouldnt take much of loss to cause us to loose MeTv!This way we can see if its a signal decrease at times that causing our headaches.

 

[primestar31]

Well, I've been hoping more people would chime in with useful info for additional data-points, but so far it hasn't been much.

Size of dish, their approximate location (so we can figure EIRP signal levels) if signal vanishes or goes down at all, or even stays steady, and what the signal level is. Perhaps what receiver they are using, what lnb and feed, anything that maybe could be useful, and they are willing to give.

 

[shopman]

Well, I did a little investigating for you, fired up the SA and can see two transponders on adjacent satellite AMC1 that may be causing your problems. There is a very strong data transponder at 3980V and a very strong DC2 transponder at 3940V. Looking at Galaxy16 on the other side of SES1 there is another transponder at 3971V which could also be giving you fits. This information coupled with what I gave you in a previous post I believe points to your problem. Any way you slice it you need a larger dish! There are a couple of unidentified signals on adjacent transponders on SES1 and I'll keep an eye on them for you as well as adjacent satellites but can only do so when time permits.

I hear your frustration in your posts and understand just how frustrating it can be to receive a signal fine and then have it suddenly vanish but you must understand that there are several variables that can be causing this to happen. What's frustrating on my end is you have been given the solution but don't want to accept it. A larger dish=more gain=better rejection of adjacent signals=solid reception.