OK, I just got back from my roof...

[T2k]

... and here's what I've found:

1. From right to left: my OTA setup, connected to my non-branded Voom dish, next is my ruined long-disabled DirecTV set and another, somebody else's single head DTV dish.

2. Here you can see my Voom dish and its switch - notice that wiring goes both direction: front and back, as my bedrooms are located on both sides of the building below (I have a 3-room Voom setup)

3. The dual LNB from Voom

4. The Voom multiswitch: white wires come from Voom LNB, the single black between them is the incoming OTA connection...

5. ... which has this black wire connected on the left side of the antenna as you can see here if you look for it.

And here is what I have:

6. a Dish 500 set - our very kind forumer, DarrellIP simply gave me for free! :clap

Besides all this I have 3 Voom STBs which I'd like to keep for OTA and I also bought a brand new shrink-wrapped Dish 6000U STB which I probably will send to Nextcom to get their 5000 firewire mod installed to be able to record/archive HD channels.


So... if I understand my setup correctly, I need to disconnect my Voom LNB from the current switch (leaving the rest of the connections intact for OTA) and put another, (presumably bigger for future STBs) switch in and connect Voom LNB AND the Dishh 500 LNB to its inputs and run a new wire from the ouput down to the 6000U - am I correct?

If so, I'm planning to do it tomorrow (I took Monday off already ) and I have few questions:

A. how am I suppose to aim the Dish 500 properly? I have no clue where to point to... is there any cheap device I can buy somewhere?

B. how should I munt the Dish 500: simply drill some new holes, like the other are monted? (I'm a tenant here, landlord is friendly and doesn't really care about dishes of his roof)

C. With my 6000U I also got a Dish Pro adapter - which, IIRC doesn't workd with legacy dishes like Voom or Dish 500 - can I utilize DTV's dish by any chance with this?

D. Can I use the current switch and buy another for OTA later?

Thanks for the help!

 

[larrystotler]

I can't see whta type of LNB your dish has. Does it say DP or not? As for what you need, it depends. If you have a DP Twin, you will need a DP LNB for the 61.5 and a DP34 for 4 receivers. If it is a legacy twin, it is useless for more than 2 receivers. You could use the LNB on the single DirecTV dish, get another dual LNB, make sure the 61.5 has a dual LNB and use an SW64 switch. As for where the D500 points, take down the DirecTV Phase 3 dish and the D500 points in a similar direction. Good luck.

 

[T2k]

It is a legacy Dish 500 set - no need for DP switch. And the multiLNB DTV set is my set, not the single one and even this multi-one is out of order since last fall - that's why it's aiming is most likely ruined too...

...but how the hell I can fine tune the Dish 500 aiming when I'm not in my apt?

 

[RandallA]

You could bring a portable TV, use walkie talkie's and talk to someone, or even baby monitors and listen to the pitch sound from the TV.

 

[normang]

You can get Satellite Finder meters for around $20-25, not sure how well they work, but if you aim right and get peak signal, it should just work. If someone else has experience with these low cost meters, perhaps they can describe whether they are worth it or not. I just know they are out there..

 

[RandallA]

Yes, they do work but will not tell you which satellite you are looking at nor the signal level. If you want to get the maximum signal level from both 110 and 119, you will need a TV in front of you or someone relaying the information to you.

 

[danielle_s]

You can get Satellite Finder meters for around $20-25, not sure how well they work, but if you aim right and get peak signal, it should just work. If someone else has experience with these low cost meters, perhaps they can describe whether they are worth it or not. I just know they are out there..

Yes, they do work but will not tell you which satellite you are looking at nor the signal level. If you want to get the maximum signal level from both 110 and 119, you will need a TV in front of you or someone relaying the information to you.

Actually there is a real good way to use the signal meter to figure out which sat your looking out. When you get a good signal hide cover one of the lnbs. So if you think your using the 119 lnb and you cover the 110 lnb and you loose the signal then...
Well you get the point.

 

[philhu]

This is where my brand-spanking new birdog comes in handy!!!

Got it today from saddoun satellite.

Phil

 

[RandallA]

Actually there is a real good way to use the signal meter to figure out which sat your looking out. When you get a good signal hide cover one of the lnbs. So if you think your using the 119 lnb and you cover the 110 lnb and you loose the signal then...
Well you get the point.

Not necessarily, I could be pointing at 110 with the 119 LNB and the satellite finder will just show that it found a satellite but won't tell you which one.

 

[mdonnelly]

Not necessarily, I could be pointing at 110 with the 119 LNB and the satellite finder will just show that it found a satellite but won't tell you which one.

Get a signal on one LNB, then move the finder to the other line. If you get a signal, you're set. If not, adjust.

 

[RandallA]

Get a signal on one LNB, then move the finder to the other line. If you get a signal, you're set. If not, adjust.

That makes more sense. My point is that the satellite finder won't show the signal levels and you have to go back to the roof or wherever you have the dish installed to peak the dish. Yes they help but it's better to look at the signal levels on the screen or use a birddog.

 

[normang]

That makes more sense. My point is that the satellite finder won't show the signal levels and you have to go back to the roof or wherever you have the dish installed to peak the dish. Yes they help but it's better to look at the signal levels on the screen or use a birddog.

I am not sure which satellite finder your referring to, but the one that I've spotted here at the Dishnet Store (again I have not used one) seems to show that you can see the signal strength. While you are correct, it will not tell you whether you are aiming at the correct satellite, with a Dish 500 you can as indicated, use the process of elimination to determine whether you have more than one Sat locked in. The final determination will be when you go to your receiver and check whether it thinks your locked, But you should be close or right on if peaked on the meter..

Now if this thing doesn't work as it appears, then you can take your best shot and have someone yelling out the window when the green bar appears.. -

 

[RandallA]

That's the same one I have. It will show the max. level on the sat. finder but if you go to the receiver, the signal level is only in the mid 80's or 90's. So yes they help but I prefer to have a small TV in front of me to avoid going back and forth.

 

[Raddude]

You can pretty much fine tune your signal strength with a sat-finder. Start with the meter level at 5 and then adjust the dish very slowly until the level 10 is reached. Turn the level back to 5 and slowly adjust until it reaches 10 again. Keep repeating the steps until it wont reach 10 and you've got the strongest signal possible.

 

[larrystotler]

That's why some sat finders have an attenuation setting for fine tuning. Best bet: Grab your call phone, and have someone inside looking at the screen hollering number for you.

 

[T2k]

OK, here we go... when I finally started the process late today, rain just started.

I also had to unplug my 6000U few times to get some picture on screen - it seemed dead originally.
Remote control doesn't work currently (it works, red light is on when button pushed but no reaction on the STB - any trick to marry them?

Also where can I check my angles? I'm in 11215 and I think my numbers are 241 Azimut and 30 elevation for the 110 sat but I'm not sure...

 

[larrystotler]

Pull the smart card. It will give you the remote address. To set the remote to that address, hold the sat button till all the lights blink. Type the address(adding 0 it it, 0x if under 10), hit the # key twice, and then hit the REC key twice. This verifies that the remote is now on the same address as the receiver(unhook any other UHF remote based receivers while doing this).

 

[Raddude]

Remote control doesn't work currently (it works, red light is on when button pushed but no reaction on the STB - any trick to marry them?

Have you checked your remote address ?
If not,
Menu, 6-1-3
Hold Hold Sat button until all mode button backlights come on.
Release Sat button and enter any number between 1 and 15.
Press the pound button.
Then press Record.
The Remote Address feild should match the number you entered.

 

[Raddude]

Hey Larry,
You beat me to it. I'm one of those slow two fingered typers. lol

 

[T2k]

Great, it's working now!

Many thx, Larry & Raddude!

Any tip on why my HD output mode is dead? It's on RGB 1080i, my TV doesn't get any picture after I pushed the front HD button... I tried RGB as well, nothing there too...

BBL - thx!

<T2k is climbing up to the roof again...>