RTPi on AMC4 - Can't get it, but get other channels...

[clubman]

I have a 39" dish and a Pansat 2500a system.

I live in Toronto.

I have the dish pointing at the AMC4 sattelite cause the scan found 7 channels from AMC4.

But it couldn't find RTPi.

When I manually entered the info in the Advanced Scan section of the Pansat 2500A it shows 0 quality.

Why can it not see that channel? I know its weak, but what kind of minor adjustment should I do now to the dish so that it catches it.

Should I twist the lnb clockwise and counterclockwise, or should i adjust the dish slightly?

I dont want to move the dish too much since it took me 3 days and 8 hours to finally hit the AMC4 satellite.

Thanks for your help guys!!!

 

[PSB]

Welcome to SatelliteGuys.US forum!


What kind of signals are you getting right now? If its a fixed dish then rotating the LNB (skew) may help but may also make it worse so mark it or remember the position so you can get back to where you are. RTPI can be tough channel to pull in maybe try moving the Freq. up and down a few digits to see if it will help. Forgot to add make sure to have the LNBF as far back from the dish in the holder as it will go. Good Luck.

 

[Mr Tony]

Welcome!

That transponder really isn't weak, as I get around a 60 on my Pansat 1500 in Minneapolis, MN (which is farther north an Toronto) Some of the others are around 75 (KUIL, KTEL, etc). Chuck Harder is around 50

I would try to turn the LNB counterclockwise (if your looking in front of the dish at it) a little bit or maybe move the dish a little bit to the left or right (like 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch). if it gets worse, you can always bump it back

 

[drhydro]

from behind the dish press lightly on one side and watch signal quality. if signal quality goes up than you know you have to move the dish slightly in that direction. Do that on both sides, and top and bottom, it is amazing how just a little "tweak" can strengthen the signal.

 

[clubman]

Ok, good to know it is just a tweak of the lnb or the dish.

Again, its good to be part of the family, thanks for the welcome guys!

Gotta have those Super Liga games!

 

[Mr Tony]

yes. Once you're near it, it should work out just by nudging it

 

[clubman]

Ok, I finally was able to scan the satellite with 12169 and 3.003 and it found the transponder and the channel!

But nothing shows up on the screen. The Channel stays black and then says "Scrambled or bad channel"

Now the quality was at 15% as I was up there on a cludy day and it is still cloudy as hell right now in Toronto.

Is that perhaps the problem?

I'm good to go just waiting for the clouds to clear?

 

[Mr Tony]

Weird...

I checked it last night and the signal quality in Mpls, MN was 75-77 on my Pansat

Cloudy and snowing yesterday
Colder than a bugger today...-20C

 

[PSB]

You are still not getting quite enough signal (needs to be at least 35%), as the weather clears up the quality should rise then you can try again to peak the signal quality, if needed.

 

[clubman]

Ok thanks. I'll wait for a nice clear day, hopefully it clears or else I'm bringing my TV to the roof again.

Yes, I gave in and brought up a 10" TV and it made it easier than screaming at my girlfriend from the roof if there was any 'signal'

lol

 

[clubman]

sh*t it comes in digitized for a few seconds all choppy then goes away, but I see the RTP on the upper left corner!

Woohoo!

It must be the clouds!

Gonna have a beer now,

Thanks guys!

 

[Mr Tony]

Have you tried to move the LNBF? (adjusting skew) ?

You must have one heckuva cloud cover to knock it out

 

[clubman]

I have the top of the lnb turned clockwise when facing the dish about 2 o'clock.

 

[clubman]

and yes, in Toronto right now its some serious dark clouds overhead...

 

[Mr Tony]

You didnt post what kind of LNB you have..

If the LNB looks like a "L", with the coax facing the ground...Toronto has a 21 skew. The cable should be towards 4:00...like this

sounds like your skew

 

[clubman]

Yep, thats my skew...

Here's my cloud cover...

 

[Mr Tony]

you might have to wait until that moves through

 

[clubman]

Thanks for all your help guys, finally got it coming in!

This Saturday night!

Woohoo!

 

[PSB]

You are welcome! What time is the soccer on Saturdays?

 

[n4bbq]

One other thing is to adjust the distance the LNB is from the dish. Most documents say place the LNB at the furtherest point from the dish, but I have found that to be not true a few times. On one dish I installed for a friend, I had to re-drill the holes to mount the LNB even closer than the factory specs.