primestar dish help

[dani666]

hi,
i have an old primestar dish 40'' x 29 1/2 '' with lnb NJR2119F
it is possible make it work with true fta???
if it's possible do i have to buy a better lnb or a motor?
i live in florida usa and i have two recivers vs ultra and vs platinum


please any help

 

[wallyhts]

You should be able to pick something up if i remember primestar was pointed at AMC5.

 

[Mr Tony]

That dish will work fine as is for FTA (all FTA is "true")

I have one set up and one in storage (same size)

The LNB is odd as one port only does vertical and one does horizontal only. Its stamped on the LNB. You can get a DIrectv 3x4 multiswitch and combine the 2 ports together (or switch out the LNB)

 

[Mr Tony]

You should be able to pick something up if i remember primestar was pointed at AMC5.

actually Primestar was at 85W (AMC16)

 

[dani666]

so all i have to do is pointed to AMC5?

 

[dani666]

thanks for the information ICEBERG will get the switch and try to make it work

 

[Mr Tony]

so all i have to do is pointed to AMC5?

actually you can point it at any satellite

check thelist above for specific channels on a satellite or you could motorize it. Lots of posts and threads on that

 

[dani666]

ok that was fast i found the switch is the eagle aspen dtv3x4 mini max
so i assume i have to connect one end to 18v and the other one in to the 13v
the receiver will connect to Rx1, Rx2, Rx3 or Rx4 is that correct?
in my case i can connect one receiver in Rx1 and the other in Rx2 ???
to what satellite should i point the dish to 85W (AMC16) only or i have more options???

 

[Mr Tony]

ok that was fast i found the switch is the eagle aspen dtv3x4 mini max
so i assume i have to connect one end to 18v and the other one in to the 13v
the receiver will connect to Rx1, Rx2, Rx3 or Rx4 is that correct?
in my case i can connect one receiver in Rx1 and the other in Rx2 ???

correct

to what satellite should i point the dish to 85W (AMC16) only or i have more options???

again it depends on what channels you want. Since the dish is fixed you can move it to a variety of satellites
thelist has them
Menu of Channel Lists - FTAList.com is a little simpler list

 

[Dee_Ann]

I have two of them and they work great just as they are with the old fashioned lnb and all.

 

[dani666]

ok now i'm totally lost
i point the dish like THE LIST say and in any satellite i pointe it give me good signal streingth but quality is 0 in all of them i try 5 in C-band and 3 in Ku but all guive me 0 in quality cud be a bad lnb??? or is the settings in the receiver??? i try diffrent settings in my box and select the ones with better signal strength.

 

[oldford]

That dish/LNB is specific for Ku band. so forget about c-band for the moment. On your STB, Signal means there is noise from the LNB, just an indication that it is working. Quality is what you're looking for, and you'll peak that while adjusting the dish. Finding and peaking a satellite for the first time is somewhat time consuming. The azimuth and elevation you get from dishpointer programs are starting points. I usually set an elevation, then sweep azimuth SLOWLY until I find a signal. If no signal, adjust elevation up or down a degree and resweep. Having the STB and TV at the dish is by far the easiest way to go for those without a Birdog or equivalent. There are lots of posts regarding this procedure. Read, read, read, read.

GL, Eric

 

[dani666]

thank's oldford
so that mean i can't get c-band with my lnb. what if i change it for another one will i be able get it with the same dish? or my dish is too small??

 

[Mr Tony]

the dish is really too small. Yes some folks have been able to get a few signals with a 40x30 Primestar (including yours truly) but it takes precision aiming and lots of patience

 

[turbosat]

The dish is a ku dish, its too small for c-band. You want a 8-10' dish for reliable c-band reception. Are you using an active transponder frequency in the satellite receiver, from the satellite you are trying to aim toward? If you don't have an active freq in the receiver, you will not have much luck trying to find a satellite. Use the List, top of page to find active frequencies.
You may need to adjust "skew" on your lnbf also, for your location-it differs a little bit on each satellite.

 

[dani666]

thank's iceberg and turbosat for the explanation
will try to get me a bigger dish for what i need

 

[phpinfo]

What new Ku LNBs work good with Primestar dishes? As far as mounting, quality etc. Perhaps some gold sponsor links.

 

[turbosat]

I bought a couple of these last summer, seem to work well with the Primestars.
SATELLITE LNBF LNB DISH LNBF DUAL LNBF SINGLE LNB C BAND LNB C-BAND BUD BSC321 BSC 321 JSC321S JSC321S-2 ASC 321 ASC321 ASC-321 DVB321 DVB 321 DVB-321 SB ASC-321 ASC321 ASC 321 PF7600 PF 7600 PF-7600 GemSat ISA-321 ISA321 ISA 321 GEM SAT GEM-SAT KU B
The BSC321=standard..is the one I have. FYI-the lnb that comes on the primestars is hard to beat for stability, just hook up a 3x4 multiswitch to it. You can run multiple receivers that way too.

 

[WTguy]

For future expansion you might want to go turbosat's suggestion one better and get a 4x4 multiswitch. I have one of these on a Primestar twin (2 of the lnb's), run each v or h on each lnb to their own individual input on the 4x4. This setup would also work with two dishes each with their own lnb. This setup will also feed 4 receivers.