LNB SWM
- Thread starter Endless99
- Start date
- Latest activity Latest activity:
- Replies 5
- Views 6K
- Status
Honestly, now this is coming from a tech. This stuff is getting harder and harder to install. If you feel your savvy enough to try it out then go for it but from my experience a lot of home owners have wasted hours trying to figure out how to connect the slimline up and even more trying to align the dish. A nice meter is needed to align it. The slimline has to be aligned to 5 different orbital slots and "fine tuned". Its not a simple as throwing a little 18" dish on a pole and turning until the tv beeps.
It is not that bad to install. You may need a satellite signal meter handy if you are going to do it. A professional meter is recommended if you do this for a living.
More info is needed. If your looking at getting a SWM5 or SWM3 LNB and already have a Slimline Dish up, then yes it is fairly straight forward to swap the LNB's..If you are looking for a fresh install from the mast up, why not take advantage of the "Free" Install and if curious, assist the tech. Anyways provide more info on what your trying to do and we can answer better.
My experience with both the SWM5 and SWM3 is that if you watch the install Videos on YouTube you can achieve good results in under thirty minutes. Yes there are several steps that you need to follow. It can be done with even a simple signal meter or if you have a helper you can do it with the "Hoot and Hollar" method. I have watched two professional installers and I have aligned four dishes myself. One of the professional installers used a standard 5 LNB ODU for the initial alignment and the other made all of his adjustments on Satellite 101 transponders using the DirecTV ASL-1 . The ASL-1 is a handy accessory but a splitter with power pass on one port works well with the SWM ODU. Here is my list of steps for aligning the Slimline SWM Dish.
1. Make sure your 2 inch OD mast is Verticle. A handy bubble insert accessory is available to make this task easy.
2. Set the Skew and Elevation based on the ZipCode that you enter in the Receiver Setup
Instructions.
3. Apply Power to the ODU using the PI-21 or equivalent Power Supply. Use a power passing splitter or the ASL-1. Connect your signal meter to the 101 port on the ASL-1 or to the non powered side of your splitter. If your signal meter has a frequency setting set it to 1484 mhz. This is the Channel 5 output frequency for the SWM ODU.
4. Adjust the Azimuth on your Slimline Dish for maximum signal. Use the Dithering Process to peak both Azimuth and Elevation using the fine tuning adjustments that are provided.
4. Disconnect your test setup and connect your receiver. Run the signal test on the receiver. Remember that 99 (b) , 103 (a) and several transponders on the 101 satellite are spot beams. Don't expect 90 plus signal levels on all transponders.
My limited experience has shown that if you properly peak the dish on the 101 satellite and you have the skew correctly set for your location you will not need to spend a lot of time trying to get maximum signal on all 3 or 5 satellites. The Slimline Dish design has excellent margin on the Ka Satellites. I achieve 90 plus readings on the 101, 99(a) and 103(b) using the above steps. The 110 and 119 satellites are no longer needed unless you subscribe to certain ethnic programming or want to receive SD locals in certain markets.
1. Make sure your 2 inch OD mast is Verticle. A handy bubble insert accessory is available to make this task easy.
2. Set the Skew and Elevation based on the ZipCode that you enter in the Receiver Setup
Instructions.
3. Apply Power to the ODU using the PI-21 or equivalent Power Supply. Use a power passing splitter or the ASL-1. Connect your signal meter to the 101 port on the ASL-1 or to the non powered side of your splitter. If your signal meter has a frequency setting set it to 1484 mhz. This is the Channel 5 output frequency for the SWM ODU.
4. Adjust the Azimuth on your Slimline Dish for maximum signal. Use the Dithering Process to peak both Azimuth and Elevation using the fine tuning adjustments that are provided.
4. Disconnect your test setup and connect your receiver. Run the signal test on the receiver. Remember that 99 (b) , 103 (a) and several transponders on the 101 satellite are spot beams. Don't expect 90 plus signal levels on all transponders.
My limited experience has shown that if you properly peak the dish on the 101 satellite and you have the skew correctly set for your location you will not need to spend a lot of time trying to get maximum signal on all 3 or 5 satellites. The Slimline Dish design has excellent margin on the Ka Satellites. I achieve 90 plus readings on the 101, 99(a) and 103(b) using the above steps. The 110 and 119 satellites are no longer needed unless you subscribe to certain ethnic programming or want to receive SD locals in certain markets.
If you are an existing customer call D* 800-531-5000 you may qualify for a FREE dish and installation, all it takes is a phone call to a toll free number.
- Status
