Fine Tuning Help - Marin County CA

[aeneas01]

just installed my slimline using sat 101 as my meter (directv setup) - install went smoothly and 101 signal strength is strong but goose eggs on 99a, 103a and 103b. the mast is plumbed perfectly (according to the level bubble) so i'm thinking it's just a matter of using the fine tuning knobs to dial in the other sats.

while i was tuning the dish i did notice that i was able to turn each fine tuning knob several times without weakening the 101 signal - as such i'm thinking that if i now use 99 and/or 103 as my meter (instead of 101), slowly turning these knobs will result in signal strength/variations for 99/103 without impacting 101.

but before i tackle this i'm wondering if a seasoned pro might let me know which setting i should play with first - the fine tuning knob for elevation? the fine tuning knob for azimuth? or perhaps i should start with tilt? i'm reluctant to start with tilt or course elevation/azimuth because i did notice that slight adjustments to these settings does impact my 101 signal strength.

btw, should i even be seeing signal readings other than zero on sats 99a, 103a and 103b? is their activity on these sats/transponders? any help would be greatly appreciated!

here's what i have:

101 - 32 total
01-08: 090, 095, 093, 100, 093, 100, 091, 098
09-16: 095, 096, 095, 100, 095, 100, 094, 100
17-24: 095, 000, 094, 100, 093, 098, 094, 098
25-32: 095, 000, 095, 000, 095, 100, 093, 100

110 - 3 total
01-08: ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, 097
09-16: ___, 095, ___, 096, ___, ___, ___, ___
17-24: ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___
25-32: ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___

119 - 11 total
01-08: ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___
09-16: ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___
17-24: ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, 000, 092, 093
25-32: 069, 096, 095, 095, 094, 096, 089, 096

99a - 14 total
01-08: 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000
09-16: 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, ___, ___
17-24: ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___
25-32: ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___

99b - 16 total
01-08: 095, 000, 095, 000, 093, 000, ___, ___
09-16: ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, 000, 000
17-24: 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000
25-32: ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___

103a - 16 total
01-08: 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, ___, ___
09-16: ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, 000, 000
17-24: 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000
25-32: ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___

103b - 16 total
01-08: 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000
09-16: 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, ___, ___
17-24: ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, 000, ___, ___
25-32: ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___

 

[texasbrit]

OK, forget 99b and 103a, they only show spotbeam transponders aimed at different cities. Based on your other numbers, my first guess is that it probably isn't an alignment issue but that your B-band converter is not connected or is faulty, because this would give you zero on both 103b and 99a. Certainly I think that's a place to start, you can order a new BBC by calling DirecTV.
Just FYI. The standard alignment process for the dish is based on finding the center of the 101 beam by finding the edges and then using those values to estimate the midpoint. Have you read the installation manual and watched the installation videos? The 101 beam is very wide whereas the 99a/103b beams are much narrower. You should not have to adjust tilt once you have got good readings on 119, 99 and 103 are so close to 101 that tilt has the least effect of the three axes. If you have good 101/119 signals then using the fine tuning for elevation (most likely) and azimuth will give you optimum 99a/103b signals. When you maximize 99a/103b you will find that your 101 and 119 signals are also improved.

 

[aeneas01]

texasbrit -

exactly the sort of response i was hoping to get before venturing onto the roof again and messing/tinkering with my current alignment - i'm really glad i waited to hear from a forum member and your response was extremely helpful.

as it turns out i must have accidentally tossed out the b-band converter with the cheepo cables when i set up the receiver - i've never used a b-band before and didn't know to look for it during installation. and the fact that the directv user's manual only mentions the b-band converter once under "package contents" didn't help much either!

anyway i just ordered another one so hopefully i will be pleasantly surprised to find that the other birds are zeroed in with strong signals once i install it!

thanks again texasbrit!

 

[gilp456]

Did the new BBC fix the problem?