On the road with DirecTV

[gpenzenik]

First time on the road with DirecTV in my RV.
Tested system before leaving and all was well.
First time I tried it on the road, pointed dish and tweaked using "toner"
Go into RV and the system is not locked and searching for bird.

The system is very straight forward.
Dish - round, 12 feet of RG-62, reciever, and TV setting on picnic table outside RV with clean line of sight.

Did system test from reciever menu and the system chceks out OK except it is not locked.

Voltage from reciever to end of cable tested with DVM is good for lo and hi transducers.

So if I was at home I'd swap reciever and then LNB, but I'm 1,600 miles from home and my spare parts.

 

[davidrumm]

Check your signal and see if you show signal on any transponders. If you get a signal on 22-32 then you have the dish pointed at the 119 and if you only get a signal on 28, 30 or 32 then it would be pointing at 110. If this is the case then you will need to repeak the dish to the 101 sat.

David

 

[gpenzenik]

Well that's the wierd part. When I run the "test" under the setup I get no signal on ANY transponder. Is it possible that I'm hitting a Dish bird??

 

[100144618]

Well that's the wierd part. When I run the "test" under the setup I get no signal on ANY transponder. Is it possible that I'm hitting a Dish bird??

Yup, it's possible.

On the 101 sat - which is the one you're going to want - you'll want a signal on transponders 1 and 2, at least.

Try channels 490 and 491. They should read "Test 1 Sat (A) 101 ODD txp 13v" and "Test 2 Sat (A) 101 EVEN txp 18v." If not, then you gotta problem.

 

[HCI]

yhea the toner is just letting you know that you are hitting a signal, may not be 101 did you put the zip code in were you are currently located?

 

[charper1]

...and if you did change the zip to your new RV location, do you have a heading compass to make sure where you are pointing? you may need to change the current azimuth and/or elevation?

 

[gpenzenik]

Well I'm leaving New Mexico and heading for Tucson today. When I make camp I'll breakout the old magnetic direction pointer and recheck my AZ and EL again.

Heck I'm close enough to Roswell that who knows what I'm picking up ;-)

 

[fkostyn]

If your in tucson, it should be pointed pretty much south, but, double check the elevation.

I am in Phoenix, and when I was in Denver, I have to change the elevation quite a bit.

One thing I've done is to look at how dishes in the neighborhood (or area) are pointed - and use that to help me point the dish in the right direction. (didn't have a compas)

 

[Doctor Bob]

Well I'm leaving New Mexico and heading for Tucson today. When I make camp I'll breakout the old magnetic direction pointer and recheck my AZ and EL again.

Heck I'm close enough to Roswell that who knows what I'm picking up ;-)

Call me when you get settled in, and I can help... 951-688-1281 ... Normally between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM, unless you get lucky... LOL

 

[gpenzenik]

Well, well, well....
First as always thanks to those to read and replied.
Second, a "GOOD" compass and the correct magnetic declinatin helped.
I was hitting 109 and as soon as I tweaked the antenna to the correct azimuth setting life was good.
However I'm guessing that the transponders for my "home" locals stations, Seattle WA don't shine this far south.
But as long as this 62 year old man can keep his 28 year old wife happy with her Sci-FI channel on the road, life is VERY good.

Cheers
George

 

[Doctor Bob]

Cheers George!!! 28 eh' Bless you George!!! LOL