Finding 61.5????

[satinsticksguy]

I currently receive Columbia-Jeff City, MO locals which recently had HD locals added on 61.5. My current setup is a Dish 500 pointed at 110/119 with another dish pointed at 129 and connected through a DP34 to a VIP622. Due to LOS issues with the dish pointed at 129, this last weekend I put up a spare dish (Dish 500) to point at 61.5 and replace the dish pointed at 129. However, I am not able to find 61.5 with this dish. All dishes have DP duals.

After putting up the dish and pointing at azimuth 135 and elevation 34 which is what the receiver indicated for a Dish 300, I moved the dish left and right and up and down and was not able to find 61.5. After each adjustment of the dish, I did a check switch. Each time, the check switch results indicated a good connection but no signal for the third satellite. I also tried disconnecting the DP34 and running check switch to clear the matrix. I've aimed dishes before, but don't usually have this much trouble finding the satellite.

I actually live in the adjacent DMA (Quincy) and have "moved" to receive my current locals so I would rather not call Dish to have them install the dish for me. Is there something I'm missing or some trick to finding a new satellite with VIP622? Thanks.

 

[Voyager6]

Did you try the SatGuys satellite angle calculator? Satellite Angle Calculator - SatelliteGuys.US

 

[satinsticksguy]

I just looked at the calculator and it shows elevation 34.6 and azimuth 137.6. Since I started at 34 and 135 and adjusted left, right, up and down from there, I think I would have covered those, but thanks for the suggestion.

 

[garys]

Have you made sure the mast is level? Also what type dish are you using?

 

[satinsticksguy]

Yes, I used a level to plumb the mast. It may not be perfect, but it is very close. I'm using a Dish 500 dish with the skew set to 0°. The lnb is in the slot for 119.

 

[brownover]

Yes, I used a level to plumb the mast. It may not be perfect, but it is very close. I'm using a Dish 500 dish with the skew set to 0°. The lnb is in the slot for 119.

Set the dish at 137.6. Then from behind the dish turn the dish slowly to your left. That is because the lnb is not centered on the dish. And when I say slow, I mean very slow.

 

[AdamGott]

Yes, I used a level to plumb the mast. It may not be perfect, but it is very close. I'm using a Dish 500 dish with the skew set to 0°. The lnb is in the slot for 119.

Very close really isn't good enough when it comes to Ku band. Check switch is also a crappy way to tune the satellite. Use the Dish setup screen set to 6.15 and have someone sitting there watching it while you are communicating with them over the phone. It really is a pain in the ass and it isn't as easy as it seems that it should be but it is doable by most people if they are just patient enough.

 

[Voyager6]

Very close really isn't good enough when it comes to Ku band. Check switch is also a crappy way to tune the satellite. Use the Dish setup screen set to 6.15 and have someone sitting there watching it while you are communicating with them over the phone. It really is a pain in the ass and it isn't as easy as it seems that it should be but it is doable by most people if they are just patient enough.

Or get one of those $10 sat meters. They work great on single sat set-ups. For better SS get the I-adapter.

 

[satinsticksguy]

Very close really isn't good enough when it comes to Ku band. Check switch is also a crappy way to tune the satellite. Use the Dish setup screen set to 6.15 and have someone sitting there watching it while you are communicating with them over the phone. It really is a pain in the ass and it isn't as easy as it seems that it should be but it is doable by most people if they are just patient enough.

The reason I was using check switch is because when I re-connected 129, I had to run check switch before the point dish screen would find it. So when I was trying to adjust the 61.5 dish, I would run check switch and then go to the point dish screen. I really appreciate all of the suggestions here.

 

[chainblu]

When you say the skew is set to Zero, I hope you really mean 90 degrees.

 

[garys]

Yep, dish skew needs to be set to 90.

 

[jvriffel]

Get the I bracket first can be done otherwise but easier with proper parts.

For the Jeff City-Columbia-Moberly market area elevation is about 37 38, and skew should be 90. 135 137 is the correct azimuth. After finding the signal just tweak it in. The cell phone thing works great but a meter would be much better.

 

[satinsticksguy]

Found satellite, now what?

Thanks to all the great help I found here, I purchased a meter, set the elevation up to 38 and found 61.5. I was able to peak the dish using transponder/spotbeam 3 which is the SB my locals are on. However, I have lost some of the other HD channels due to low strength on some of the other transponders. This dish is about 100 ft away from the main dish and switch which are about 100 ft away from the house. I had to use 2 50 ft. cables (with a cheap barrel connector) to reach from the new dish to the house. Below are my signal strength on each transponder:
01 - 71 (SB)
02 - 2
03 - 52 (SB) (locals)
04 - --
05 - 72
06 - --
07 - 89 (SB)
08 - 9
09 - --
10 - 11
11 - --
12 - 28
13 - 53
14 - 25
15 - 55 (SB)
16 - 2
17 - 12
18 - 12
19 - 18
20 - 5
21 - 23
22 - 4
23 - 11
24 - 9
25 - 21
26 - --
27 - 33
28 - 7
29 - 27
30 - 9
31 - 32
32 - 11

I suspect my problem is the cheap barrel connector and have ordered some that are swept for satellite frequency (3 mhz?) since most of the even transponders are lower. Is this correct or am I missing something else? Again, thanks for all the great help.

 

[peano]

Forget using two pieces with a barrel connector. Buy some Belden 1694A RG6 and Snap and Seal compression fittings, the proper tool and make a dedicated cable.