Pointing question from a newbie

[rolltide33]

Ok guys, any help would be greatly appreciated. At our tailgate this weekend we could only lock 119, and despite massive efforts could never even find a signal for 110. Now that being said, we did keep hitting the signal for 129 in the process. I have no idea what 129 is for, but it really doesn't matter. We have had no problems in years past on this setup. The setup includes a dish 500 dish and a dishpro plus twin LNBF. It was my understanding that no switches, etc are necessary with this LNBF, but I could definitely be wrong.

Thoughts??? and Thanks in advance, you guys usually know your stuff!

 

[boba]

Ok guys, any help would be greatly appreciated. At our tailgate this weekend we could only lock 119, and despite massive efforts could never even find a signal for 110. Now that being said, we did keep hitting the signal for 129 in the process. I have no idea what 129 is for, but it really doesn't matter. We have had no problems in years past on this setup. The setup includes a dish 500 dish and a dishpro plus twin LNBF. It was my understanding that no switches, etc are necessary with this LNBF, but I could definitely be wrong.

Thoughts??? and Thanks in advance, you guys usually know your stuff!

If you did a search you would probably find this question has been asked many times.
110 & 119 are 9 degrees apart 119 & 129 are 10 degrees apart and all three are used by DISH Notwerk so your receiver regognizes signals from them. The dish 500 is designed to pickup satellites 9 degrees apart so it will see both combinations of satellites. When someone is picking up 119 & 129 it usually means they are looking too far West and most of the time their elevation is also off. Depending on where you are located the elevation it is usually too low by a few degrees.

 

[STEELERSRULE]

Ok guys, any help would be greatly appreciated. At our tailgate this weekend we could only lock 119, and despite massive efforts could never even find a signal for 110. Now that being said, we did keep hitting the signal for 129 in the process. I have no idea what 129 is for, but it really doesn't matter. We have had no problems in years past on this setup. The setup includes a dish 500 dish and a dishpro plus twin LNBF. It was my understanding that no switches, etc are necessary with this LNBF, but I could definitely be wrong.

Thoughts??? and Thanks in advance, you guys usually know your stuff!

Since this is for tailgating, I would assume that the Dish is either on a tripod or a fixed mount on a camper or the like.

Make sure that:

1. The grounding of the tripod, or permanent setup is PLUMB(flat). Carry a leveler(thing with the bubble to make sure something is level) with you to make sure that your set mast(arm) is FLAT on the top, and has is straight up and down. Making sure the bubble in the level is between the two lines(you said you were a newbie, so if I am trying to explain it too you like you were in 2nd grade. Sorry if this is insulting )

2. Make sure the above is done, and then using the proper ZIP CODE for the location of the tailgate, set the SKEW(this is MOST IMPORTANT), ELEVATION, and DEGREES pointing direction for that ZIP CODE recommended by Dish.

The SKEW is most important to be set correctly before hand as this is specific for you to pick up 119 and 110 at the same time.

The ELEVATION ANGLE and the DEGREES POINTING angle(towards the South/Southwestern sky) should be clear of obstruction.

I use a tripod on mine, and as long as I adjust the direction it is pointing in, then the elevation, I usually fine tune it pretty easily.

They say you can fine tune it even more by adjusting the SKEW, but my experience has shown me that is better to adjust the ELEVATION angle and the direction it is pointing to get a solid signal.

I usually don't touch the SKEW as this tends to scre things up. At least for me it does. But if you want to fine tune your SKEW, go ahead.

Like the ELEVATION and direction, moving it slightly a degree or two may help even more.

 

[highdefjeff]

You were simply low on elevation and just a couple of degrees to the west of where you needed to be, just like boba said.

Your skew shouldn't be messed with - start with a plumb mast!

When using elevation numbers given for Dish Network, add 2 degrees to elevation. I believe that the scale printed on the dish units is off by 2 degrees - low. Whatever the reason, peak is just a hair shy of 2 degrees higher elevation on the dish.

If it happens again, raise elevation and move a little to the left.

To get the best signal, invest a little in a dual analog meter.

Read about it:

Super Signal!