I am about a month into my fta experience. I was able to tune in some of the major satelites AMC4, Galaxy 10R and 25. I tried to tune in to AMC3 and appeared to be successful but when I went to view the channels they were all blank. I had good signal and quality but no picture or sound. I foole around with the Freq-Pol SR but truely have no clue what they effect. At this point I am stumped. Can any one help me?
How do I tune in PBS stations on AMC3
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are you taking about the ones at 12179 V 30000?
If so, make sure you're on the right satellite. AMC9 (2 doors down) has the same info but is a data transponder so it would be blank
Can you get the other items on that Satellite like Patient Channel and the Arab guy?
If so, make sure you're on the right satellite. AMC9 (2 doors down) has the same info but is a data transponder so it would be blank
Can you get the other items on that Satellite like Patient Channel and the Arab guy?
are you taking about the ones at 12179 V 30000?
If so, make sure you're on the right satellite. AMC9 (2 doors down) has the same info but is a data transponder so it would be blank
Can you get the other items on that Satellite like Patient Channel and the Arab guy?
Yes those are the ones I am talking about.
I am not quite sure which satelite I am on. I am assuming I am on AMC3 because I selected it from the list and the signal and quality were both good.
I get no video or audio but I get good signal or strength.
What is my next step
sounds like you're on AM9 at 83W
Bring up AMC3 on the menu and log in a strong transponder from the attached list
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=85225
Them aim the dish for that one first. Once you get that locked in, then bring up the PBS channels and fine tune aiming
Bring up AMC3 on the menu and log in a strong transponder from the attached list
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=85225
Them aim the dish for that one first. Once you get that locked in, then bring up the PBS channels and fine tune aiming
Like Iceberg said, check to see if you can get the Patient Channel or not. If it's not there you are likely on AMC 9..........move the dish a wee bit to the west from 83Deg. to 87 Deg. and try again
Deano,
The audio for the PBSs on AMC 3 are AC 3. If you don't have AC 3 capibilities all you are gonna get is great video with no audio.
The audio for the PBSs on AMC 3 are AC 3. If you don't have AC 3 capibilities all you are gonna get is great video with no audio.
Made some headway
I tried the transponders Iceberg suggested and was able to get two feeds, Bloomberg and MTA International but no PBS. I am getting some channels labeled as program 101, 102 ........ but the is no video or audio.
I also noticed my signal strength was 82 and quality was 49. I have this same quality on other transponders but still seem to get pretty decent picture and sound quality. Is quality an issue? If I am getting the two feed mentioned above shouldn't I also receive PBS? Do I need to make any changes to setpoints in my receiver(see list below)? Diamond Jim mentioned AC3 for audio I 'm not sure what that is ofris my receiver is even cable of receiving or decoding AC 3. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I tried the transponders Iceberg suggested and was able to get two feeds, Bloomberg and MTA International but no PBS. I am getting some channels labeled as program 101, 102 ........ but the is no video or audio.
I also noticed my signal strength was 82 and quality was 49. I have this same quality on other transponders but still seem to get pretty decent picture and sound quality. Is quality an issue? If I am getting the two feed mentioned above shouldn't I also receive PBS? Do I need to make any changes to setpoints in my receiver(see list below)? Diamond Jim mentioned AC3 for audio I 'm not sure what that is ofris my receiver is even cable of receiving or decoding AC 3. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
OK. so now you're on AMC3
maybe. Those 2 feeds above are really strong and PBS is kinda weak. I've been able to lock the 2 above and not get PBS. But if you can lock on it, it should work.
AC-3 audio you need a separate audio receiver to decode the audio (dolby digital).
Can you lock on Montana PBS?
12145 freq
H pol
4340 s/r
I'm not certain I understand. In order to find Montana PBS @12145 freq H pol 4340 s/r do I make the adjustment for the entire satelite (AMC3) on the installatin screen or just the station? If this is just for the station where would I make the adjustment? Any suggestion on getting better signal strength?
OK....you already have 2 very strong transponders logged (arab guy & bloomberg). But just because those came in, the tohers are not and it could be the dish still isnt aimed 100% correct.
Lets put it this way...in terms of signal on a 1-10 scale (1 being very weak, 10 being strong)
Arab guy is 10
Bloomberg is a 9 1/2
Both of these I can get if I don't have AMC2 next door peaked right )(when I scan AMC2 next door sometimes I'll get these 2 signals)
Montana & PBS I rate a 6 (at least here in MN). Before moving anything on the dish, I would add Montana PBS to the transponder list and see what kind of signal you get. If it comes in, then you are VERY close. If it doesn't then there needs some more peaking on the dish
Lets put it this way...in terms of signal on a 1-10 scale (1 being very weak, 10 being strong)
Arab guy is 10
Bloomberg is a 9 1/2
Both of these I can get if I don't have AMC2 next door peaked right )(when I scan AMC2 next door sometimes I'll get these 2 signals)
Montana & PBS I rate a 6 (at least here in MN). Before moving anything on the dish, I would add Montana PBS to the transponder list and see what kind of signal you get. If it comes in, then you are VERY close. If it doesn't then there needs some more peaking on the dish
Might want to try a fixed dish for these channels. The PBS channels are marginal for me too, 63% on a Coolsat from my larger Fortec dish, which frequently means no picture or sound or macro blocking. So I have been playing with a fixed dish on this bird and getting better results. The fixed dish is a Digiwave 33" which is about 2" smaller all round than the Fortec, but I am getting a marked improvement in signal quality. Montana PBS boosts to 69% which is break out the champagne time, no macro blocking, perfect picture.
I'm not blaming the Fortec dish. I am sure it is professionally manufactured, but it is second hand and may have a history of ding wars, motored into a tree, who knows. Also a motor mount is inherently more wobbly than fixed. The dish arm is not perfectly centred on the dish, so I have tried using some shims in the bracket on the back of the dish to try to bring it back into alignment. I should make some arms to hold the lnb exactly in place.
Later I must try to mount the smaller dish on the motor and see if the results are maintained.
I'm not blaming the Fortec dish. I am sure it is professionally manufactured, but it is second hand and may have a history of ding wars, motored into a tree, who knows. Also a motor mount is inherently more wobbly than fixed. The dish arm is not perfectly centred on the dish, so I have tried using some shims in the bracket on the back of the dish to try to bring it back into alignment. I should make some arms to hold the lnb exactly in place.
Later I must try to mount the smaller dish on the motor and see if the results are maintained.
Agreed, here as well. I was replacing an LNB on my Express-Vu over the winter and somehow I knocked my AMC-3 dish (30") off kilter and can get all signals except for the PBS's. It was too damn cold that day to re-peak the dish and as soon as the leaves come out I'm screwed anyway but yeah, all the PBS signals are weaker than others on that satellite.
Today for the first time in ages I moved my motorized dish to AMC3 to scan in the PBS channels. I did a Power Scan on my Fortec receiver, and none of the PBS channels came in. The Patient Channel, etc all had good signal quality in the 80's, but no PBS channels at all. I had to get back to work from my lunch break, but before I left I told the receiver to do a Satellite Scan using the stored transponders in the receiver instead of a blind "Power Scan". I'm hoping that the PBS channels will show up using the stored transponders.
I tried, but with no success
I tried all of the things that were suggested, short of buying another dish and dedicating it to AMC3, but had no success getting PBS. I was able to get 5 more MTA channels but I lost the Bloomburg channel.
I entered the Montana PBS station transponder numbers and had 82 strength signal and 57 quality (which is the norm for most of the satelites I have locked onto) but got nothing in the way of pictures or sound.
I used the transponder numbers you gave me to get a good lock on AMC3 and then tried unsing 12179 V 30000 to try to fine tune for PBS and had 82 strength signal and 63 quality but again no picture or sound.
I could use some pointers on peaking as I am not sure I fully understand what is meant by the term.
I tried all of the things that were suggested, short of buying another dish and dedicating it to AMC3, but had no success getting PBS. I was able to get 5 more MTA channels but I lost the Bloomburg channel.
I entered the Montana PBS station transponder numbers and had 82 strength signal and 57 quality (which is the norm for most of the satelites I have locked onto) but got nothing in the way of pictures or sound.
I used the transponder numbers you gave me to get a good lock on AMC3 and then tried unsing 12179 V 30000 to try to fine tune for PBS and had 82 strength signal and 63 quality but again no picture or sound.
I could use some pointers on peaking as I am not sure I fully understand what is meant by the term.
Have you tried going into Diseqc 1.2 and manually moving the dish a button or 2 in each direction? It is possible that you can improve your signal by doing this. Also if you go out to your dish, and lightly pull up/push down on it and see if your signal get bigger or lower. By doing this, you can tell if it needs any adjustment also. DON'T give up!
I have tried to adjust the dish manually but the signal doesnt seem to get any better. I push and pull on the dish but only make matters worse. I failed to mention I now get Lifechurch TV, something I wasn't getting before. I'm still not able to get PBS which was my real reason for buying the dish. Please feel free to give as many suggestion as you think will help, I'll try anything at this point.
I guess just make sure your lnb is secure, and all the way back (away) from the dish in its holder, and make sure when you are at your true south satellite, that you peak it at this loction as a starting point. I was having some issues and I found that I did not have the dish lined up with thhe center of the motor arm, and I had the u bolts on the motor off kilter. I straightened thos 2 things up and my problem went away. The key is to not give up!
Those were my famous last words before getting sucked in.. I just looked back at my previous postings, and it was almost 2 months ago that I had an old analog c-band reciever and a 7.5 foot dish in my basement. I decided that I needed to have a single free church-related channel, and FTA was the way to go. After being led down the wrong road (through my own stupidity), and after the channel being moved, I've acquired 3 fta receivers, a 10ft BUD, a 36" fortec dish with mover, a couple primestar dishes, a half mile of cable, and several various switches - finally I have my channel, and many more. (in otherwords, be cautious in your quest for that single channel.. it may become your downfall *g*)
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