G10 signal levels

[tvropro]

Has anyone noticed that the G-10 (G-18) signal levels on the RTN channels seem lower then they were when they first replaced the bird? I noticed even my 11800 channels are lower quality than they were on G-10.

It may have to do with weather conditions by me, quite a bit of rain here. Just curious before I get the wrenches out and start turning

Off subject a bit: Maybe Im just getting spoiled with C band and the rain... Gotta love the W5 4dtv feeds over the old X4 ones. Can be raining like crazy and I still peg the meter. Even on the 90cm Primestar when it rained that bad with KU it went bye bye...
C Band in bad weather ROCKS!!

 

[cracklincrotch]

I can't say I've noticed any change here.

 

[tvropro]

Let's expand this a bit. It's raining here now quality on 11720 is around 30 so I went outside and wiped the raindrops from the lnbf throat cover it went up 3 to 5 points Then I was looking at the surface of the dish, water droplets beading all over it. So I said I have to try to put something on there that will cause the water to roll off. So I took some mop & glo and wiped the dish surface down. (I know the stuff did wonders on my cars vinyl top years ago) It's causing the water to just run off on the dish vs beading. Quality went up about 12 more points. I think the secret is to get rid of the water as much as possible on the dish and lnbf with Ku. This is probably why a 10 foot mesh will work better in the rain then a smaller offset, while the offset may be better when dry. The increased surface area makes up for the attenuation of the water on the smaller surface area.

Experimenting is half the fun in this hobby

 

[Corrado]

I noticed it seemed down a bit lately also. I wondered if the high humidity in the atmosphere for the past 2 weeks could affect it. I compared the readings with another receiver and my Pansat 9200 reads lower than my old Viacast.

I thought about tweaking the dish too.

 

[tvropro]

I noticed it seemed down a bit lately also. I wondered if the high humidity in the atmosphere for the past 2 weeks could affect it. I compared the readings with another receiver and my Pansat 9200 reads lower than my old Viacast.

I thought about tweaking the dish too.

Ya, even dry outside it's down here. A couple weeks ago I took the tv out to the dish and checked if I was in the center of beam by pushing up and down on the reflector and moving the lnb arm, it seemed dead on. So I don't know if loosining up the bolts and moving it would do much if anything. If it's a global thing on RTN or the satellite end why mess with it.

Need more reports from all over.

 

[Mr Tony]

The 9200 does read lower

11800 did go down a smidge on the Coolsat 5000...was at 75 now at 72..but 11720 is also at 72

 

[TiminMb]

Levels here have definitely dropped since the initial improvement after the satellite swap. I frequently get breaking up of signal. 11720 is the strongest, 11800 is not as strong.

Edit: Here are my signal levels today

11800 50
11808 50
11720 45 (it was weaker, not stronger, my mistake, thought retrojams was on 11720 but it isn't)
12117 55

 

[tvropro]

Im out there now turning wrenches and not seeing much change if any, only Service 2 seems to be coming up a tiny bit. Need to get the 3ctv mux programed in and see if I can peak it that since it's 7/8 fec. Maybe I can hit the center of the box. Will report back later... back to work.

 

[tvropro]

Well I peaked out every little bit I could out of the dish. I went up about 1 to 2 quality points on 11720 about 47 now. Service 2 at 12107 is peaking as high as 45 now was about 30 before. 11800 is about where it was but lower than it was on G-10. For some reason G-18 seems to be weaker than G-10 was on some stuff. It may be Equity has there uplink output turned back now for some reason. Maybe cash related ??

My alignment was off by a hair, I increased elevation just a smidge. I skewed the LNBF just a bit too. I reset the azimuth although it ended up right back on the mark I made before I started. I did alignment at a good time since G-18 is hitting the center of the box in about an hour.

http://www.intelsat.com/isdocs/ephemeris/i_iar_c_123.00_G-18_20080710_000000.txt

My conclusion is attempt a dish tweek if you think it will help, but if your on good now you won't see too much if any increase. Use 12107 for maximum results. For some reason G-18 ain't puttiing out the numbers it did when they just put it up.

Weird part is G-27 (WSTV) on my offset LNBF is killing G-18 in quality and that puppy ain't at boresight. G-18 has not turned out to be the powerhouse I thought it would be.

 

[Keith Brannen]

My conclusion is attempt a dish tweek if you think it will help, but if your on good now you won't see too much if any increase. Use 12107 for maximum results. For some reason G-18 ain't puttiing out the numbers it did when they just put it up.

Noticed a drop in the two main Equity transponders myself, about a 10-15% drop. All other transponders are about the same as when G-18 first came on line. In fact the 3CTV mux has increased in strength recently and it is peaking at around 45, up from around 30, which means it doesn't pixelate (hate the 7/8 FEC!). Don't anticipate doing a tweak at the moment, did one a couple of weeks after G18 came on line, and with the recent increase in the 3CTV mux, I don't want to screw it up!

Weird part is G-27 (WSTV) on my offset LNBF is killing G-18 in quality and that puppy ain't at boresight. G-18 has not turned out to be the powerhouse I thought it would be.

After WSTV problems with a lightning strike two weeks ago, their signal now is 15% higher than I use to get it, up to 75% (was even higher when they first came back on line). My LNB is also off-centre.

One reason I hesitate to do a tweak on G18 is that I then usually have to do a tweak on G27 which can be a real pain to get it at maximum! It is such a tiny adjustment to get it from (old numbers) 45 to 60 that it can take quite a while to a) find the peak, and b) tighten down the LNB without moving it at all! Otherwise, you are back to square one and 45% (which has a wide range of movement of the LNB)!

 

[tvropro]

Noticed a drop in the two main Equity transponders myself, about a 10-15% drop. All other transponders are about the same as when G-18 first came on line. In fact the 3CTV mux has increased in strength recently and it is peaking at around 45, up from around 30, which means it doesn't pixelate (hate the 7/8 FEC!). Don't anticipate doing a tweak at the moment, did one a couple of weeks after G18 came on line, and with the recent increase in the 3CTV mux, I don't want to screw it up!



After WSTV problems with a lightning strike two weeks ago, their signal now is 15% higher than I use to get it, up to 75% (was even higher when they first came back on line). My LNB is also off-centre.

One reason I hesitate to do a tweak on G18 is that I then usually have to do a tweak on G27 which can be a real pain to get it at maximum! It is such a tiny adjustment to get it from (old numbers) 45 to 60 that it can take quite a while to a) find the peak, and b) tighten down the LNB without moving it at all! Otherwise, you are back to square one and 45% (which has a wide range of movement of the LNB)!

WSTV was hitting 90 last night and getting 75 this morning. I thought I was going to mess up G-27 myself, if anything I improved it as G-18. I usually get higher numbers in the morning which go down as the day progresses, been like that forever. Never figured that one out.

My 11720 even after the tweek is not much different than I got on G-10. 11800 is lower than G-10 gave me, which is a disappointment.

I wonder if Intelsat adjusted the bird and caused these changes or is it Equity doing something different. Maybe Equity's uplink needs a tweek? At the lower levels I can't see them rushing into S2. If they do were all going to need bigger dishes besides receivers. After what I've been reading about the few S2 receivers out there they don't receive that well anyway (especially the 9200)

At least in my mind I know my 85cm is peaked to the max so now any changes for the better must come from the other end.

 

[phlatwound]

11798 = 37%
11805 = 62%
11718 = 29%
12114 = 61%
12135 = 82%

Taken on 90 cm 3ABN & Visionsat IV200 tonight, clear skies. I lose 11718 with the slightest bit of rain, 20% Q is where my Visionsat totally loses picture. I haven't noticed a dropoff recently, but I didn't see much of a bump when the new bird came online either.

 

[tvropro]

I wonder if Intelsat has the beam directed different than on G-18? With lower numbers it falls apart faster in bad rainstorms. 11800 used to hang in there very well. Now being like 11720 in Q it craps out almost as fast If Im watching Ku when it starts to pour I've been switching to C band lately and watching the 4DTV.

Before I tweaked it the other day I switched to my Primestar dish on AMC-4 ku and it was still hanging in there at about 50% Q during the storm. I would like to see if the 90cm P* would do better on G-18 but it's looking at my house at that angle and I think it may be blocked by it.

 

[Mr Tony]

Visionsat & Primestar dish showing
11800-87
11720-82
11805-75
12103-84
12113-83

 

[phlatwound]

Visionsat & Primestar dish showing
11800-87
11720-82
11805-75
12103-84
12113-83

I find it interesting that you and TiminMb have such consistent Q numbers on the various transponders, while I have such a wide range of numbers (and always have on this sat if IIRC).

With my Visionsat I always see a consistent 5-8% fluctuation in the Q numbers on all Ku sats (but typically just 1-2% on C-band sats) while I am watching the meter bars, is that common or typical? I have swapped between 3 different Ku LNBs, they all fluctuate like that.

 

[Mr Tony]

yeah it does fluxuate on occasion depending on weather. I've seen quality meters on the Visionsat fluxuate 10% all the time.

But yeah it does seem weird that me & Tim both have higher numbers (and constant ones)

 

[phlatwound]

yeah it does fluxuate on occasion depending on weather. I've seen quality meters on the Visionsat fluxuate 10% all the time.

But yeah it does seem weird that me & Tim both have higher numbers (and constant ones)

Thanks for the confirmation on the quality fluctuation with the Visionsat, I have seen it consistently on all transponders and (especially) Ku sats, even before I motorized.

Doesn't make sense why I would have such a variation in transponders on the same sat.....must be that northern air you guys are in! Maybe some more people will post their readings for comparison.

I just noticed where tvrpro talked earlier in the thread about getting the rain off his offset dish, and it improving Quality....I wonder if that stuff that was sold for windshields (Rain-X?) might be just the ticket for that? I remember trying that stuff several years ago and you could drive in a light to moderate rain without using your wipers, the rain would just fly off the windshield.

 

[truckracer]

a little lower here too on the 10' mesh.

 

[Vacosta]

I have a fixed position for what used to be G10 and have not been able to recoup the original signal levels. G18 is much lower for me on the Equity muxes. Did you guys have to move your dishes a smidge to compensate?? May have been explained back when the change occurred and I missed it.

 

[cracklincrotch]

Well it's weird. Like I said in an earlier post, I haven't seen any change at all. All signals increase significantly for me when G18 went online and haven't changed, for me.

Haven't tried moving the dish at all.

I have noticed that Lyngsat had G18 at 123.2 when it went online and now it's at 123. Could that make a difference to some?