I was over at a friends house today and asked him about any problems he has been having with his dish network system. He told me that he loses signal even in the lightest rainfall. So I checked his signal strength. 61.5 was 105-115 on all transponders, but 110/119 were very low, about 70-75 on most transponders. I probably need to re-align the dish, but one thing I am not sure of is if the plumb is dead level. The idiot that installed the system only used one bolt in the center of the mast, so I think the pole might have turned. Anyway, I am wondering which side of the lnb should I use to align it with my signal meter? I think I have heard to use the 119 side, but I am not sure.
Re-aligning Dish 500
- Thread starter kdarcangelis870
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You realign with 119 port. If it's on a post, my suggestion is to try and relevel the pole, dig out about a foot of dirt around the pole. Find something, such as zip ties, to put around the pole and then put quick crete (concrete) all the way around so it settles. You don't have to mix it, just put water and the concrete in a hole. It will dry within an hour. Then reaim the dish. It doesn't have to be perfectly dry-just be gentle with it.
Today I got a little better signal strength on my meter by turning the azimuth a little on the dish. The 322 gets 100s-115s now but the 522 gets 80s-85s. The cable runs are less than 50 feet from the dish, but the "professional" installer used wire staples instead of cable clips, so I think it might be a cabling issue for the 522.
Yeah, you are going to get a little different readings on different receivers but I wouldn't think that much. I don't have a 522, but I think some of the receivers have a range that only goes to 100 (or maybe that is just for the OTA reception?). Hopefully someone else can tell you for sure. How old is the cable that goes to the 522? Was any part of it already there? It is possible that you are losing signal strength if it isn't high quality cable, but that is a pretty short run to lose that much.
And 85 on a 100 scale is about 110 on a 125 scale. Both are good enough that unless you live in a very snowy area, you'll only lose signal in the heaviest of rain/hail.
i have a 721 and the scale for signal strenght only goes to 100. I get between 80 and 98 depending on time of day, transponder, input 1 or 2, sat 110 or 119, etc. I never lose signal, even in heavy LA rains, but we don't get snow.
i have a 721 and the scale for signal strenght only goes to 100. I get between 80 and 98 depending on time of day, transponder, input 1 or 2, sat 110 or 119, etc. I never lose signal, even in heavy LA rains, but we don't get snow.
