How do I aim my DirecTV slimline dish?

[BobStokesbary]

rbdaves,
With all due respect, your posts are all over the place. First it looks like you are in So. Cal. now you are in Oregon. You seem to have a new Slimline but never said if it was SWM or regular. (All the posts have assumed you have a regular dish.) You first sounded like you had a 5 lnb Slimline and now sound like you have a 3 lnb Slimline. Yes, it would be very helpful to understand where you are and what kind of equipment you are using.

As has been stated, everything focuses on sat 101 and having your mounting post vertical. You really need one of those small (bullet) levels to do the job right. Once you get the post the right diameter and get it vertical then you get your maximum signal on 101. You make the final adjustments with the dithering bolts (the ones that have those black degree markers on them). Once the 101 is at your optimum level you stop moving the dish back and forth or up and down. For the other birds you only move the tilt. On my SWM setup and meter I only use the reading on the 119 bird for the tilt adjustment. The others will fall into line.

It sounds like you keep knocking off your alignment by moving the dish after you get 101 locked into position.
Bob

 

[Jimbo]

Okay. I did peak the 101, then moved to 99 (ca) and 103 (ca) and peaked those signals. Ignored 99 (s) and 103 (s). Please excuse me if my memory on this isn't correct. I don't want to go back to the aiming process for fear I'll screw something up. One note: I tried using one of those Radio Shack screamers to find the satellite and it was problematic. Ended up having my wife doing the screaming into a personal communicator. Worked well, however, if she's not around, I'm out of business.

Thats because the "Screamers" as you mentioned, will see ALL the sats, not just the ones you need, also it doesn't tell you when you are on the one you need.

 

[raoul5788]

rbdaves,
With all due respect, your posts are all over the place. First it looks like you are in So. Cal. now you are in Oregon. You seem to have a new Slimline but never said if it was SWM or regular. (All the posts have assumed you have a regular dish.) You first sounded like you had a 5 lnb Slimline and now sound like you have a 3 lnb Slimline. Yes, it would be very helpful to understand where you are and what kind of equipment you are using.

As has been stated, everything focuses on sat 101 and having your mounting post vertical. You really need one of those small (bullet) levels to do the job right. Once you get the post the right diameter and get it vertical then you get your maximum signal on 101. You make the final adjustments with the dithering bolts (the ones that have those black degree markers on them). Once the 101 is at your optimum level you stop moving the dish back and forth or up and down. For the other birds you only move the tilt. On my SWM setup and meter I only use the reading on the 119 bird for the tilt adjustment. The others will fall into line.

It sounds like you keep knocking off your alignment by moving the dish after you get 101 locked into position.
Bob

I prefer using a post level on the mast. They sit nicely and you can check for plumb in all directions at once.

 

[rbdaves]

You have to pretty much aim these things often just to keep up. Where I am confused is why I do not have 119 available any more. Now, I have 99, 101, and 103. My 5 LNBs have been exchanged by a service tech for what looks like 3 LNBs all encased in a single box. The front of the box is made of plastic and has three almond shaped bumps on it. Also, what is an SWM dish? How does one tell if he has one and are there any advantages?

 

[Jimbo]

You have to pretty much aim these things often just to keep up.
????

I aim mine when I get a new one and thats IT.

IF you have a 5 lnb set up and your not getting the 119, you'll have guide issues.

A SWM dish is one that only requires 1 line going into the DVR.
SWM = Single Wire Multiswitch

Also if you look at your menu info, it will tell you what dish you currently are using.

 

[BobStokesbary]

Chip,
Thanks for the suggestion. Never heard about a post level until now. I plan to get one and use it the next time I set up. It certainly looks like it is a lot better than the bullet level.
Thanks again,
Bob

 

[schneid]

Jimbo. I use an SL3 so I don't see the 110 or 119. When you say "guide issues" are you just talking about Locals?

 

[MSoper72]

rbdaves,
With all due respect, your posts are all over the place. First it looks like you are in So. Cal. now you are in Oregon. You seem to have a new Slimline but never said if it was SWM or regular. (All the posts have assumed you have a regular dish.) You first sounded like you had a 5 lnb Slimline and now sound like you have a 3 lnb Slimline. Yes, it would be very helpful to understand where you are and what kind of equipment you are using.

As has been stated, everything focuses on sat 101 and having your mounting post vertical. You really need one of those small (bullet) levels to do the job right. Once you get the post the right diameter and get it vertical then you get your maximum signal on 101. You make the final adjustments with the dithering bolts (the ones that have those black degree markers on them). Once the 101 is at your optimum level you stop moving the dish back and forth or up and down. For the other birds you only move the tilt. On my SWM setup and meter I only use the reading on the 119 bird for the tilt adjustment. The others will fall into line.

It sounds like you keep knocking off your alignment by moving the dish after you get 101 locked into position.
Bob

I agree with you. I used to be a tech for D* in the Austin, Texas area. Those slimlines were a pain to align properly at times. However, we used the Birdog meters and would first peek 101 to the highest peek and then switch over to the 99 and 103 and very slowly peek them to the highest using those dials. I forgot how many turns to the left and to the right to peek both satellites.

Mike

 

[rbdaves]

My dish is a slimline and, right now, has two cables running out of the LNB device. When the technician came to install my second receiver in my California home (permanently situated 5th-wheel), he removed the 5 LNB set because it had sun deterioration on the plastic parts. He didn't have another 5 LNB device so put a different one in place. I assume it is a 3 LNB device. At my California location, there are 3 cables coming out of the LNB (one of them is for the bedroom receiver). Right now, I am in my motorhome and am staying for awhile in Oregon. I brought my slimline with me and have it sitting on a tripod. I've managed to aim it and have good HDTV signals. However, I am still looking for an answer as to why I cannot get to 119 any more. Assume it has to do with the different LNB device. I am a full-time RVer and I have a Hughes 2-way internet dish plus the HDTV dish to set up each time I stop for awhile. I've set up the Hughes dish scores of times and have had good success. I have only set up the HDTV dish about 3-times and, because of the change in the LNB, things are different. I am assuming that the answer to why I cannot get to 119 has to do with the 3 LNB apparatus and that apparatus looks at different sats. I am also wondering why, when I change sats during the aiming process, there's a 99 (s) and (c) and a 103 (s) and (c). I think I ignored the (s) guys and peaked the (c) guys, or visa versa. In any event, I ignored one set of the 99s and 103s.

 

[raoul5788]

If he swapped a 5 lnb for a 3 lnb, then you can't get 110 or 119. The 3 lnb only gets 99, 101, and 103.

 

[Jimbo]

Jimbo. I use an SL3 so I don't see the 110 or 119. When you say "guide issues" are you just talking about Locals?

Sorry, I may have confused some.
If you have a 5 lnb setup and can't get the 119 you'll likely have guide issues.
Not so with the 3 lnb set up as the guide info is populated from the 101.
Never understood why they didn't do the guide for all of them on the 101 seeing it's always going to be a Sat thats required for signal.

 

[raoul5788]

Sorry, I may have confused some.
If you have a 5 lnb setup and can't get the 119 you'll likely have guide issues.
Not so with the 3 lnb set up as the guide info is populated from the 101.
Never understood why they didn't do the guide for all of them on the 101 seeing it's always going to be a Sat thats required for signal.

They could, but they made the 5 lnbs to pick up from 119 instead of 101. Who knows why.

 

[rbdaves]

Chip writes:
"If he swapped a 5 lnb for a 3 lnb, then you can't get 110 or 119. The 3 lnb only gets 99, 101, and 103. "

Is this bad?

Also,I am also wondering why there's a 99 (s) and (c) and a 103 (s) and (c)

 

[Jimbo]

Chip writes:
"If he swapped a 5 lnb for a 3 lnb, then you can't get 110 or 119. The 3 lnb only gets 99, 101, and 103. "

Is this bad?

Also,I am also wondering why there's a 99 (s) and (c) and a 103 (s) and (c)

99 and 103 S and C ... S is for spotbeam, mainly locals, while C is for Conus programming.

 

[rbdaves]

what about a 5 lnb vs 3 lnb device on the end of that radio arm? Is the 5 lnb device better?

 

[raoul5788]

The 5 lnb picks up the 110 and 119 satellites in addition to 99, 101, and 103. 110 has nothing on it now, and the 119 has local sd channels for some markets as well as some music channels and a few niche channels. For the most part, if your local sd channels aren't on 119, you don't need the 5 lnb.

 

[Blktaws6]

Also on the 119 comes spanish programming in some markets as well

 

[Jimbo]

Did they finally move the international off 95 and on to 119 ?
Then again, Spanish probably isn't considered International.

 

[Blktaws6]

International is still on 95 and a whole different dish, which is horrible. Supposedly they are working on a new lnb for the slimline to pickup the 95 so you can have international with just one dish. Spanish is not considered international. Korean, and south African are the only kind I have installed so far. Poor guy with the south African channel got just that. One extra channel with that dish. Lol. Koreans get 10.

 

[35LKSA]

I too had a pole that was a little too thin. i picked up some 6" wide aluminum flashing at a home center. I wrapped the flashing around the pole until I got it to 2". I then cut the flashing and ran a bead of glue along the edge and clamped it in place. Next day I put the dish on the pole.