PROBLEM: IA5 and other sats- getting IA5 with signal meter-NOTHING

[shahdad]

I am trying to get IA5/97 (1 week now)

Setup: pansat 2700a, digiwave 33" dish, digiwave standard linear lnbf. lnb straight to receiver.

Approach:

On the roof, with walkie talkie, brother with walkie talkie by the receiver and TV. He sees signal go up, he contacts me.

I use a compass to get azimuth. Can’t be 100% right b/c I can only eye it. So I use a signal meter to see if I'm pointed at any sats. Elevation is by eye too, using 18" dish that is pointed at 110 as reference- difference of only 4 degrees.

Using the signal meter I seem to hit 3-5 different sats in the region of 97. I believe they can be IA6/93, G3C/95, IA5/97 G4R/99, AMC4/101 and IA5 is what I want. By moving the dish just a little bit I get a signal on the meter, and moving it a bit more looses it and a little more I get another signal.

Between these sats I get a signal from one of them and on the receiver its a bouncing signal of 10% to 99%. and it doesn’t matter how much I adjust, as little as it may be, I can’t get a lock. I either loose it completely or get the bouncing signal. With the bouncing signal I only have a signal on 2 TPs and all other ones are 0%.

PROBLEMS:
How do I know that I have IA5?
How do I get a lock on IA5?
How do I get a better signal?
How do I get a signal on other TP's

Oh ya, if you say the dish is too small- I know 4 other people that have the same size dish and they get all 200 channels off IA5- these peoples paid $300 for "professional installation."

 

[PSB]

MOVING OUT OF THE PC DVB AREA !!!
(Please use the regular FTA area)

If you think you are on a satellite do a blind scan!

 

[shahdad]

anything else to help me lock the signal?

 

[digiblur]

You'll save yourself a ton of time if you get a little TV and put it by the dish. I tried the signal meter thing but it pulled too much juice and motor wouldn't move. So I tried the telephone with headset thing, too much trouble. I found the TV next to the dish was the quickest thing.

 

[W_Tracy_Parnell]

Well, you have to be close.

Here's what I would do. Leave the azimuth and elevation loose enough so you can move the dish either way with some pressure. Now with your brother helping use VERY SMALL adjustments until you get something. You may also have to pause to let the receiver aquire signal. As PSB said, run a blind scan when you get a lock. Get on Lyngsat or FTA-List and find out for sure what satellite you are on by comparing the TPs and the type of programming you are seeing.

If you are still not on IA5 make a mark on the pole in pencil indicating what sat you are on. You should now have an idea which way to move the dish to find IA5. Keep repeating this process until you hit your bird. You will have to change both azimuth and elevation slightly.

Tedious, yes-but it should work.

 

[shahdad]

k I have officially given up. I cant even get the 10% anymore. i hear the signal meter go off many times with adjustments but no signal on the reciver. ive tried different skews, using a channel list and seeing if a channel comes up and nothing.

i think i have to resort to professional help- anyone have a number for the vancouver area?

 

[PSB]

As usual try here for a Pro installer.....

www.dbsinstall.com

 

[shahdad]

The site is for USA waht about Canada?

 

[PSB]

Yellow Pages?

Ask if they have ever done a FTA KU install before! Ask what kind of signal meter they use if they say they use a small TV tell them to forget it!

 

[shahdad]

All right,

So I had a pro come to try it set it up.

This is what happened:

He hooked up a spectrum analyzer and played with the dish. It seemed as if he got it pointed at IA5 as the spectrum looked right to him. And then he was like I think the skew is wrong. He tweaked and made correct to a negative skew, just like I had it before, that’s ccw from behind the dish, at 11 and 12 o’clock. Then looked at the spectrum and said that’s weird it seems that spectrum looks wrong when it’s a negative so he made it a positive, at 1-2 o’clock. Then checks the spectrum and goes that odd when it’s a positive skew the spectrum looks correct.

Now at this point the battery died so he wasn’t able to tweak it but said that he locked it to 11836.

So we came down and checked the receiver and the signal was still 0%. He was like that’s not right, I know the analyzer said I have a signal but the quality is 0%.

Then he was like I have to come back when it’s light out and my analyzer has batteries to be able to tweak the dish.

Now the thing is the dish is pointed in the right direction as he left it that way. But the signal is still 0%

So what I want to do is figure out why its still 0% so he doesn’t have to come back so I don’t have to pay anything.

The thing is that I know the lnb works as I was able to 121.

So what does that leave??? Assuming the dish is pointed at IA5 as the pro said, why the signal would be 0%. What are some possible solutions to this???

 

[PSB]

A true professional installer shows up with at least one spare receiver and LNBF and would be able to trouble shoot a system in minutes! I use a Positive satellite identification satellite meter and I can find and lock on IA-5 in around 10 seconds....

He seemed to be having trouble with the LNBF/Dish/Pointing before he ever got to the receiver so I would start there. Its always a good idea to have a spare LNBF as you never know when one will go bad, does not happen often but does happen.

 

[shahdad]

well i did try and get a scope on the guy. I tried to test his knowledge. he seemed to be up to date with everything.

I could tell he was in the biznez for a while. he had all the essential tools, plus a spectrum analyzer isnt cheap right?

i asked if he does this for a living and he said yes. he does DN too and so on.

now the only thing i can come up with is that hes going to come back and say something of mine is not working and try to sell that to me.

where should i start for trouble shooting.

i know my reciver works, i get 110 from the 18"
the lnb on the 33" works too, i got 121 accidently with 60 channels when searching for 97.

so ya, what could it be? is it possible that the software on the pansat is not right? as in the echostar sats work but the software for ia5 dosent??

im not experienced enogh to make up a trouble shooting list

so what do you think? where should i start

 

[shahdad]

k i did a test and heres what i got.

i connected the 33" directly to the reciever.
signal level went to 80% on 11836. changing tps gets signal level of 76%-80%

BUT still no qauility level

there is a switch problem, ports 1 and 2 dont work, thats why the 26% signal level.

when disconnecting the cable from the back of the reciver it still shows 26%. meaning that port 1 was not letting throw the signal

so heres the new setup, and working given signals level

18" connected to port 3 and full levels
33" connected to port 4 and singal from level, but no qauility.

so given this new info what could be the prob?

 

[PSB]

Forget the switch, get the system up and running before ever adding a switch!

Do not even LOOK at the signal strength, it means NOTHING!

 

[Mr Tony]

make sure you have an active transponder too...some symbol rates may have changed.

Also, if removing and adding switches, make sure to turn the switch on the back of the unit off so you don't screw up the unit or fry the switch

 

[shahdad]

so what does the signal level mean? it must be something or else they pansat wouldnt spend time on programming it there.

Also, why does it change from 76%-80% when you change the tp's?

iceberg,

the disteqc has no on off switch- with that how should i remove/add cable connections?

 

[PSB]

Signal strength means nothing, you can have the dish and LNBF in doors and still get signal strength. Dont waste your time looking at it at all!

 

[shahdad]

all right,

so now given the pro lined it up with IA5 and the quaility is 0% is it just a matter of fine tuning again?

if the skew is postive instead of negative, will it still pick up a signal?

 

[sksatellite]

Maybe you has the bad LNBF or the LNBF did not sent out the 13/18 V power, you may try switching TP polarity and see what happen. Signal strengh means nothing but it does show you if you close to or at a satellite, thats why you will see the strengh changed, also, the higher the number you has, the closer you to a satellite, also, the receiver maybe bad as well, I do see receivers has only show strengh but no quality, once replaced another receiver, it work like a charm.

But I would further doing more on the receiver before announce the bad receiver, you can change the frequency number to a bit higher or lower like 12120 to 12125 or 12115 and see what happen.

 

[shahdad]

k so heres the update

all my settings are right

when on the roof i pull the dish and essentially deforming it and the signal moves up to 30%

while holding the dish a blind scan was done and all the cctv channels off that tp picked up,

i am able to get 10% on tp 11780 from 95 when not pulling the dish but no channels.

so there is only one reason i can think of, the dish is not 100% vertical.

i will have to relocated the dish so its 100% vertical and then run everything again.

any comments or suggestions?