On my knees here.......please help!....

[Aston Martin]

Hi

Appologies if this has been askend and answered before but I couldn't find the answer to my specific problem. As my name suggests, I am new to the world of dish network having enjoyed the delights of Sky+ in the U.K.

Here is my problem. I have just moved from the U.K. to a condo in the Cayman islands which has dish network. The receiver in the condo is a 322?? It has two coax cables feeding into the back of it (ports 1 annd 2).

However, the receiver wont pick up satellite 110 (which unfortunately is the one with the Fox Soccer Channel on it which, being from the UK, is the ONLY channel I care about). When I do a check switch test it only finds satellite 119. On the point dish screen, it says it is a 500 receiver. I can manually change it to satellite 110 whereupon it gives me a good signal but it the signal bar is red and it tells me its the wrong satellite!! Infuriating! Also, it wont stay on satelite 110 if I move from that screen (it automatically reverts to 119). Is there anything I can do, short of actually moving the dish (its a coimmunial dish and I don't think I would be thanked for moving it!)??

C'mon guys, consider me your good deed for the day.

Any help gratefully appreciated.....

 

[RandallA]

Sounds like the dish is misaligned. You're picking up 119 with the 110 lnb. Swing the dish about 9 degrees to you right if you're standing behind the dish.

 

[Aston Martin]

Thanks for taking the time RandallA. Unfortunately, I live in a condo with a communial dish which I can't move. Looks like I am not going to be able to get FSC after all!

 

[whatchel1]

Communal Dish

Thanks for taking the time RandallA. Unfortunately, I live in a condo with a communial dish which I can't move. Looks like I am not going to be able to get FSC after all!

1st have you looked at the dish? It maybe needs a new LNB. If it is a communal dish ask neighbors about what they are getting. It is also possible that no one else is really using the dish and so now one has a cue that it has a problem, If they are having the same problem then they would prolly thank you if it were fixed. If need be maybe all could share $$ for a service call if everyone is afraid to work on the dish.

 

[Aston Martin]

Thats Whatchel1. Some good thoughts. I may have a little chat with the 'strata' committee to see if there is a general issue. I miss my Sky+.....

 

[Jim5506]

I guess if you live in the Caymans you have to find something to gripe about? ;^)

 

[Aston Martin]

Indeed. But you always miss what you don't have. I have the sun, sea, sand and relaxed carribean lifestyle. It would just be a little better If I had the football....;-).....

By way of update, I have emailed the strata. Lets see what they come back.

Thanx for everyones help.

 

[RandallA]

1st have you looked at the dish? It maybe needs a new LNB. If it is a communal dish ask neighbors about what they are getting. It is also possible that no one else is really using the dish and so now one has a cue that it has a problem, If they are having the same problem then they would prolly thank you if it were fixed. If need be maybe all could share $$ for a service call if everyone is afraid to work on the dish.

Geesh buddy. Sorry I missed the communal dish part.

 

[Mr Tony]

most communal dishes are much larger and probably are just for 119

I know when I lived in an apartment, the geniuses put up a 4 foot dish for 119 only (this is when it was just AT50 & 100) so we couldn't get 110 (which our locals were on). Drove by there recently and most houses have a d500 on the railing because it is a high spanish population there.

 

[Aston Martin]

They have a couple of dishes which are both huge (I assumed this was because the signal was being aimed at the states and Cayman needed a larger dish to grab that signal....probably right though, they may well only be for 119. As a newbie to this, it seems odd that one satellite can't provide all the programming....Guess I will have to do some investigating as to what my optios are althought I think the out look is bleak.....

 

[SmityWhity]

Sometimes removing the two cables from the back of the receiver and doing a check switch so that it doesn't find anything, then connect the cables back and do another check switch may help it find a second satellite position.

That is, provided there is a second satellite position. But I suspect there may be just one dish pointing to 119, as Iceberg suggest.

Hopefully the "strata committee" has a contract with a local installer to maintain it and maybe can add a dish pointing to 110.

However, to sharpen your trouble shooting skills....

The 2 cables going to the back should be carrying the same satellite positions, such as 119; or 119 & 110; or maybe even 119, 110, and 61.5; as well as other posibilities. The 322 is a dual tuner, so it has a satellite input for each tuner and therefore the 2 cables.

If not applicable to the 322, someone can correct me on this.
But hopefully when you do a check switch, it shows which satellites are available for both tuners, which should be the same, and hopefully it will list some sort of switch. You did say there are a couple of dishes - maybe each dish is available to everyone for 2 different satellite locations.

In ref to "the screen reverts back to 119". If not all, in most cases the Point Dish screen will display the Satellite and Transponder of the channel you were on/watching when you went into "Menu-6-1-1", not what you last attempted to take a reading on.

The 500 does not mean you have a Dish 500, but you probably have several choices here; in which none of them have a bearing on the functionality of the receiver. These settings are only to help you determine where to point your dish from your location, by giving you the correct angles, etc... based on whatever Zip Code you may enter.

In ref to "the dishes aimed at the States". The Cayman Islands are about due south of Key West, but across/south of Cuba. The satellites are floating above the equator, so the dishes are pointing away from the States and south of you. I don't know if the 110 CONUS transponders (that is, the non-spotbeams) transmit to south of Cuba or not. However, it looks like Satellite 110, Transponders 18, 20, 23, 25, and 27 are on Spotbeam 48 towards Cuba and includes the Cayman Islands. So you may want to try these transponders when doing a Check Switch.

Other options: I don't know what size dish you would need, but if you are facing the southern sky, particularly southwestern sky, you may be able to set up a single dish for your sole use and get 110 (and 119).

This may be more than you wanted to know, but maybe it will help if you start having night mares without your sports.

 

[Aston Martin]

Exceelent post, thank you. All help is much appreciated. By way of update, the local company who installed the satellite system tell me I should be getting the 110 satellite as well as the 119. All good so far! However, this is Cayman and everythin g runs on 'island' time so who knows when they will actually get round to fixing the damn thing!

By way of a follow up question, I went out at the weekend to buy a BBQ, so enivitably brought a new LCD for the bedroom for they were on sale in the same shop! My landlord tells me that I can simply plug the TV into the wall upstairs and utilise the 322 tuner downstairs. And now the interesting part, two issues:

1 the TV does not have a coaxial input so how do I plug the coaxial cable into the back (spur of the moment by!); and

2 when I brought the cable box from downstairs to test the tv out, it wouldn't find any signal at all while plugged into the wall upstairs. All very baffling.

Clearly, my education on all things AV is sadly lacking. I have been reduced to watching sport over the internet which trust me, is an incredibly frustrating experiance!

As always, any help appreciated.

T

 

[Smith P.]

Take a look at official Dish site and read 322 manual (2 parts !) here
http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/products/userguides_manuals/index.shtml

 

[Jim5506]

Exceelent post, thank you. All help is much appreciated. By way of update, the local company who installed the satellite system tell me I should be getting the 110 satellite as well as the 119. All good so far! However, this is Cayman and everythin g runs on 'island' time so who knows when they will actually get round to fixing the damn thing!

By way of a follow up question, I went out at the weekend to buy a BBQ, so enivitably brought a new LCD for the bedroom for they were on sale in the same shop! My landlord tells me that I can simply plug the TV into the wall upstairs and utilise the 322 tuner downstairs. And now the interesting part, two issues:

1 the TV does not have a coaxial input so how do I plug the coaxial cable into the back (spur of the moment by!); and

2 when I brought the cable box from downstairs to test the tv out, it wouldn't find any signal at all while plugged into the wall upstairs. All very baffling.

Clearly, my education on all things AV is sadly lacking. I have been reduced to watching sport over the internet which trust me, is an incredibly frustrating experiance!

As always, any help appreciated.

T

Use an old VCR to convert RF to composite output.

 

[RandallA]

Use an old VCR to convert RF to component output.

You mean composite, right? Component is the Red, Green, and Blue cable. Composite is the Yellow, White, and Red cable.

 

[Aston Martin]

Thanks Guys

After some research it seemd the only way to make the connection was with the help of a VCR or a de-modulator (not an easy pick-up on island) so I decided to swap the TV out for one that had the right connections (a new 26" Sammy LCD).

As to connecting TV2 up, I shall review the brochure and give it a bash tonight.

Thanks for the help guys. In the future I can hopefully add something meaningful to the site rather than just newbie questions!

 

[navychop]

Welcome to our little community. We don't eat our young here. Well, not always....

 

[Mr Tony]

If not applicable to the 322, someone can correct me on this.
But hopefully when you do a check switch, it shows which satellites are available for both tuners, which should be the same, and hopefully it will list some sort of switch. You did say there are a couple of dishes - maybe each dish is available to everyone for 2 different satellite locations.

if there is just one satellite, under switch it says "none" and will just show 119 with "only one satellite connected"

 

[Aston Martin]

Thanks Guys

The check switch page shows two feeds with 119 on both. The switch section shows "DP Feed" for both. I was hoping the switch section would show 'dual' or something like that to encourage that there actully twin LNB's going on here.

I am hoping that the satellite installers knew / know what they are doing but I have very little confidence.

Becoming less confussed by the day but more irritated by the lack of proffesionalism shown by some installers who, apparently, have been doing this for years!

 

[SmityWhity]

Dual does not mean two satellite locations. A DP Dual LNBF, is a single LNBF that picks up one orbital location but has two outputs of the same signals, such as used to feed two single tuner receivers.

I am not familiar with the 322, so I don't know what you mean by "the check switch page shows two feeds with 119 on both.

Hopefully that means Tuner 1 is receiving 119, and Tuner 2 is receiving 119, and neither tuner is currently receiving a second orbital location; and not that there are two dishes each feeding 119.

Maybe Iceberg or someone has more info.

When I was installing my 622 and was having problems with the switch, I once had 119 showing up twice for each of the two tuners. On the 622, each tuner can list up to 6 orbital locations.