RTN & AMC 9

[mikelib]

I'm wondering if the transponder at 11730 with color bars is interfering with RTN at 11735. I've scanned over and over and RTN comes in exactly at 11735 4430 according to my Traxis. It will not lock at 11740 or at 4440. I've peaked with a signal meter and get the other transponders at the highest I've ever seen this receiver get anything.
Has anyone done a spectrum analysis of the sat?

I'm also having trouble receiving RTN east and west. My Fortec Dynamic scans RTN in at 11735/H/4444 with a SQ of 30, with an 18x20 dish. I also get the color test pattern on 11730 and some times it showns up on RTN east. I also go to anntena set up and the LEO-1 label pops up for 83 W.

By the way I have the problem in Southern NJ and I am in Charlotte NC now with the same set up and get the same RTN problem.

I played around with changing the frequency and symbol rate without any success. I wonder if LEO-1 is blocking RTN and/or the strong transponder at 11730 is interfering with RTN.

If anyone knows a solution please post, thanks.
mikelib

 

[guapoharry]

That is a pretty small dish...
good luck

 

[Mr Tony]

nothing tonight on RTN but its been raining and gloomy all day so I guess I'll wait and see

 

[guapoharry]

I'm wondering if the transponder at 11730 with color bars is interfering with RTN at 11735. I've scanned over and over and RTN comes in exactly at 11735 4430 according to my Traxis. It will not lock at 11740 or at 4440. I've peaked with a signal meter and get the other transponders at the highest I've ever seen this receiver get anything.
Has anyone done a spectrum analysis of the sat?

That would make sense especially, if you watched TV with your signal meter.

Why don't you use the receiver to peak the dish?

Tonight I watched the lame movie hosted by the people dressed up with old clothes...

 

[Tron]

I'm also having trouble receiving RTN east and west. My Fortec Dynamic scans RTN in at 11735/H/4444 with a SQ of 30, with an 18x20 dish.

I agree with Guapoharry, that dish is way too small. Most members on here are having problems with anything under one meter. An 18x20 might pick up some strong transponders, but generally it won't pick up FSS Ku signals very well. RTN is one of the tougher signals up there to receive.

 

[tvropro]

I agree with Guapoharry, that dish is way too small. Most members on here are having problems with anything under one meter. An 18x20 might pick up some strong transponders, but generally it won't pick up FSS Ku signals very well. RTN is one of the tougher signals up there to receive.

I also agree, RTN is in the mud and the strong transponders on a small dish knock it out. I know when Gary came here back in January looking for a 1 meter dish to use for testing that is what they considered was needed for there link budget. My 90cm works well but the Primestars are a hot dish. Other brand 90's may not fair as well.

Bigger is always better.

 

[Bluemaxxx]

I used my Birdog satellite finder to nail this bird.
On my Birdog - S: 85%+ and S:85%-90%.

Using my Viewsat 9000 HD
30X33 inch dish
Invacom LNB using linear connection

Auto and blind scanned - Bell 82 kept coming in instead.

Its been raining the last 2 days - when it stops I will play with it a bit more and will also try my Fortec 6 foot dish to see what I can do there.

I will post results asap.

On a side note - does any one have a antenna set up list of the various setting for the free birds up there?

Thanks.

 

[Bluemaxxx]

Correction:
S:85%+ and Q:85-90%

 

[Wescopc]

On a side note - does any one have a antenna set up list of the various setting for the free birds up there?

Thanks.

Try:
GeoSatFinder - Satellite Finder Calculator - Satellite AV
Bob

 

[DJ Rob]

That would make sense especially, if you watched TV with your signal meter.

Why don't you use the receiver to peak the dish?

The external signal meter is way more sensitive than the quality meter on the receiver. I tweak the dish first with the receiver's quality meter, then I get it dead on within a hair's width of movement with the external signal meter.

 

[mikelib]

That is a pretty small dish...
good luck

I agree with Guapoharry, that dish is way too small. Most members on here are having problems with anything under one meter. An 18x20 might pick up some strong transponders, but generally it won't pick up FSS Ku signals very well. RTN is one of the tougher signals up there to receive.

I also agree, RTN is in the mud and the strong transponders on a small dish knock it out. I know when Gary came here back in January looking for a 1 meter dish to use for testing that is what they considered was needed for there link budget. My 90cm works well but the Primestars are a hot dish. Other brand 90's may not fair as well.

Bigger is always better.

Guys, I know the dish is small, but it works. The small dish I travel with gets around 95 % of what my 90 cm big dish gets with decent signal and quality. Right now I’m in Charlotte NC with the small dish showing my son-in-law FTA, he’s looking to get into it.

The dish is an old DTV 18x20 and when I’m home I have the dish mounted on a board. I have good LOS in front of my house that I can get satellites from 15º to 125º W. I usually leave the small dish pointed at 123º W Galaxy 18. I get a good signal except when there are very low, heavy, black, rain clouds. I must say that it takes a while to adjust and peak a small dish to get the most SQ as possible. When I get the peak on a satellite I mark the dish with a marking pen so that it can be positioned again. I change satellites by readjusting the dish.

Right now I’m trying a C/KU LNB on the 90 cm dish, it is taking me a lot longer to get that adjusted then I thought. I work long and hard to get the maximum signal out of the dish and I’m not there yet. So I use the small dish to watch TV with, I have been promised a used 500 D* from a Dish installer and if he comes through I will retire the little dish and use the larger 500 as my travel and play around dish

Figuring out why I’m not getting RTN and fixing the problem is one of the things that I like about the hobby.

 

[guapoharry]

I'm also having trouble receiving RTN east and west....

It works but you don't get RTN. OK.

Some people probably think the DirecTV 18x20 dish application for RTN is a problem that is explained by physics.

But it sounds like you are undeterred. If you keep at it and solve the problem, people will bow at your feet.

again,

good luck

 

[Fizbi]

Mystery to me...

I'm getting 70+ Q on my CS5000 but I'm still unable to lock in RTN.

I know I'm on 83W, so I'm not sure why I can't get it. I do get the stronger signals with bars, etc.

I've tried going up and down on the TP settings, fine tuning the dish, and even gave up drinking coffee just in case the caffeine was getting to me.

I must be getting old or something...

 

[cruzin]

For the first time since I set up a dish on RTN tonight it will not come in. I have a better Q tonight but it tells me no audio no video. I have 90-91% Q tonight.

 

[AcWxRadar]

Im using the stock NJR (National Japan Radio) LNB and feed horn that came with the 90cm Primestar I found in the garbage. I had a bit of trouble with RTN taking longer to lock up when Leo-1 fired up and played with the SR and freq.

I am currently using

Freq: 11740
SR: 4.440

RTN E:
Vpid 32
Apid 33
PCR 32

RTN W:
Vpid 37
Apid 38
PCR 37

It locks right away now. I don't know if this can help anyone but hope so.

In your case AcWxRadar I hate to say it but you may need quite a larger dish 4-6 foot ku to bring RTN way up so Leo-1 no longer will be an issue. Also larger dishes have a tighter beamwidth and are less prone to interference from other sources. My 90 actually is taller then wider which rejects adjacent satellites better.

Hi TVRoPro,

Well, I tried the larger dish (1.2 M) and in a totally different location in my yard and gained nothing regarding the RTN feeds except increasing the signal strength from LEO-1's VIDEO-1 channel, which still blocks my RTN signals.

Darn it anyway!

TRIED:

Five Coolsat 5Ks
One Fortec Dynamic receiver
Four Invacom QPH-031 LNBFs
Three different DS-2076 antennas
One GeoSat Pro 1.2 M dish
Three different locations at my residence
Every angle and TP setting that I could muster

No Dice here!

I used to be able to select RTN WEST and head to work in the night and when I returned home, RTN would have found its way to come in. Until about 9 am, then Leo-1 would crash the party. That no longer works for me.

I fancy myself as being fairly smart, but this is one that I cannot figure out. No matter what I try, all I can pull in is the news feed channels and Video-1. The RTN feeds are gone for me now.

If anyone has any further suggestions, I will try them! Please give me anything to try!

I will "beg" if I need to! LOL!

RADAR

 

[dunnsept]

I finally got RTN back tonight. Carried the pansat & a 13" TV out to the dish.. ah.. you all know how it goes..
anyway, I had made marks on the pole with a sharpie for where I had it set. Tried peaking everything again, went thru the whole routine, never got any better than 14% on the data TP!
then, looked up. one single solitary tiny little branch from a tree, right in the LOS.
got out the pole pruner, snipped that branch off.. voy oy lay! Data TP was up around 40%. re-peaked, had 79% on the data TP, but NO RTN, changed the TP to 11738 and 4444 and got RTN again! yea!
SQ is much lower than it used to be but at least I have it again.
oh and just in case you were wondering, yes, the marks I made with the sharpie lined up again, exactly ;-)

 

[key2way]

Ok well I got the spectrum analyzer out and did some checking on AMC-9.

When I use the BUD I am getting some type of pulses in the upper spectrum.

Not sure what it is.
I posed two photos and 1 video of it.
SatelliteGuys Photo Gallery - AMC9 SA - Powered by PhotoPost

I can see the pulses with the small dish if I offset it from AMC-9 to the east (i think, will have to try in the daytime.).
There is nothing around here producing the pulses or a signal.

When the pulses are there RTN's peak is gone, when it's not there you can see RTN clearly.
Looks like whatever the pulses are it's wiping out RTN.

Maybe someone has seen this before and knows what it is.

John

 

[B.J.]

Ok well I got the spectrum analyzer out and did some checking on AMC-9.

When I use the BUD I am getting some type of pulses in the upper spectrum.

Not sure what it is.
I posed two photos and 1 video of it.
SatelliteGuys Photo Gallery - AMC9 SA - Powered by PhotoPost

I can see the pulses with the small dish if I offset it from AMC-9 to the east (i think, will have to try in the daytime.).
There is nothing around here producing the pulses or a signal.

When the pulses are there RTN's peak is gone, when it's not there you can see RTN clearly.
Looks like whatever the pulses are it's wiping out RTN.

Maybe someone has seen this before and knows what it is.

John

I really have a hard time believing that what you're seeing is coming from the sat, and I'm having a harder time believing that anything is wiping out RTN. I've been reading complaints about the RTN signal for months, and each time, I go check it out and the signals are there, and nothing looks unusual. The only variable seems to be a slight variation in the relative strengths of the 11729 and 11735 peaks. I am still convinced that all the problems observed are due to different receivers having difficulty with narrow signals that are close to each other.
Attached is a scan I did a couple days ago when people were having problems, and it looks pretty much the same as scans I did a week ago or a month ago, or 2 months ago. Only problems I've had with the signal is with my Fortec Ultra, ie a blind scan with a loose tuner. My other receivers don't have any problem with the channel.

Is it possible that what you're seeing is something local. perhaps even a diseqC signal coming though that's altering the starting trigger point of your SA, so that you're really not even looking at the same area of the spectrum when you're seeing the strange behavior?

 

[tvropro]

Hi TVRoPro,

Well, I tried the larger dish (1.2 M) and in a totally different location in my yard and gained nothing regarding the RTN feeds except increasing the signal strength from LEO-1's VIDEO-1 channel, which still blocks my RTN signals.

Darn it anyway!

TRIED:

Five Coolsat 5Ks
One Fortec Dynamic receiver
Four Invacom QPH-031 LNBFs
Three different DS-2076 antennas
One GeoSat Pro 1.2 M dish
Three different locations at my residence
Every angle and TP setting that I could muster

No Dice here!

I used to be able to select RTN WEST and head to work in the night and when I returned home, RTN would have found its way to come in. Until about 9 am, then Leo-1 would crash the party. That no longer works for me.

I fancy myself as being fairly smart, but this is one that I cannot figure out. No matter what I try, all I can pull in is the news feed channels and Video-1. The RTN feeds are gone for me now.

If anyone has any further suggestions, I will try them! Please give me anything to try!

I will "beg" if I need to! LOL!

RADAR

I guess the Satellite God's are mad at you Honestly it has to do probably with your location, which makes no sense since as long as your in the footprint a larger dish will help. This throws all the textbook theory out the window.

Could you be getting local TI or a harmonic causing RTN to go down? Need to check your location for offending microwave traffic. That what I would do next.

Attached is the dish I use for RTN (no issues here) BTW theres a house for sale a few doors down you could always move here

 

[SatinKzo]

Felt I should add to the thread a bit with my RTN troubles and succes.

From same basic location, only a couple feet apart, I cannot get RTN on an 80cm at all, SQ is like 20% at most and jumping all over on my CS5k.
On a 90cm I can tun it in somedays, SQ is 50-62%
on my used(new to me) 1.2m, I can slam dunk the signal hitting 90% easily on rainy day that I tested.
So for me, it's dish size and probably the neighbors old tree to a degree.