There is a western arc LNBF made specifically for the 1000.4. I have both arc LNBF's for my 1000.4 and switch as needed depending on my location and/or aiming needs.
Here's my 1000.4 with the western arc LNBF installed:
RV Satellite Woes
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There is a western arc LNBF made specifically for the 1000.4. I have both arc LNBF's for my 1000.4 and switch as needed depending on my location and/or aiming needs.
Here's my 1000.4 with the western arc LNBF installed:
I haven't seen it labeled that way, but I bought it as an eastern arc 1000.4 and just added the western arc LNBF to the order. Both LNBF boxes were labeled for the 1000.4. The 1000.2 is commonly used for either arc LNBF with the same dish number though, so I never gave it a thought until you mentioned it.
It sure has gotten confusing since the LNBs started getting mixed around. I think the 1000.4 reflector is prettier and that there screw elevation fine tuning adjustment rod looks awesome to me.
The elevation rod is probably not all that important in a "one time" residential install, but it sure is a nice feature for RV'ers like us that re-aim as often as daily. Combined with the "no tools needed" mods I made to our dish, setups go pretty fast...
TV4RV.com has a kit for adding screw elevation to a DPP 1000.2 dish. Works well. Never had to adjust Skew in 12 years so having screw adjustment for Skew is not a big thing for me. Space is an issue. The DPP 1000.2 disassembles to a smaller package that the DPP 1000.4.
Also since I have a Hopper 3, the Hybrid LNBFs only come for the DPP 1000.2 and I don't want to mess with a DPH-42 switch for the tripod. I use the DPH-42 switch with my Winegard Trav'ler.
Also since I have a Hopper 3, the Hybrid LNBFs only come for the DPP 1000.2 and I don't want to mess with a DPH-42 switch for the tripod. I use the DPH-42 switch with my Winegard Trav'ler.
1000.5 is a Frankenstein dish configuration replacing the reflector on a 1000.4 with the larger reflector from a 1000+ dish, using 1000.4 LNBs.
1000.5 is not an official Dish designation, just a slang term that caught on in the forums.
When I bother to break down the 1000.4 by just removing the four wingnuts and screws holding the reflector, the two pieces are easily stored in a bin along with the folded tripod, spare LNBF's, extra coax cables, and a bunch of unrelated stuff. Most of the time, I just pop the dish assembly off the tripod and stow it in the back of the towed car along with the tripod until we reach our next stop.
The 1000.4 screw rod adjustment is for the elevation not the skew, but I guess you don't move around much if you haven't had to adjust the skew in all those years. Where we are right now, just changing from the EA to the WA would mean a 40 degree skew change. And when we hit southern Florida in a few weeks, the skew settings will again be entirely different from our current location for either arc.
We don't have any immediate plans to switch to an H3, but I would have no problem using a DPH42 to maintain our current 1000.4 setup. We do find it useful at times to have access to the EA 77 sat, if for no other reason. Then again, there is a simple mod that adapts a DPH LNB to work with a 1000.4 dish if I wanted to go that route.
I agree with the ability to fine tune being the best part of a .4. Just like on an International dish, I can fine tune all 4 sats to maximum peak, and not just by elevation, but fine tuning the azimuth, also, whereas with a .2, you do the best you can but I always think in the back of my mind, how it COULD be better if I could fine tune it
I'm going with the 1000.2 install guide on this which says "Using a peaking meter attached to the DPP 1000.2 LNBF PORT 1, peak the dish on 119°W using transponder 11 or higher for maximum strength."
I'm gonna go with I've pointed 1000+ .2 dishes with port 3 and some with port 1 and port 2 and there's no difference but just to test, first chance I get today, I'm going to test it out and see what happens. If there IS a difference, it'll be so minimal, it won't matter. Bottom line is passing limit scans on the meter at the dish and mine always do with port 3
What meter are you using? With my Super Buddy 29 is does not matter since the Super Buddy is sending the DESQ signals for selecting the LNBF. It can check all three LNBF on the single coax port.
I posted this question a while back and somehow all my replies disappeared. I have a DISH satellite and set it up quite frequently because I live in my RV. My wife helps me aim the sat and most of the time, it's not a problem. What frustrates me is that I will aim on a sat signal and my sat finder will peg what appears to be a strong signal. The receiver is the trailer shows nothing received. Is this because the signal is too weak or does my receiver have a problem. I was thinking of getting a sat finder which identifies the sat and gives more info on strength. Those items are a bit pricey and I am not sure which is the best for my needs. Would appreciate any help out there.
Greg
Greg
Your sat finder is peaking on whatever LNBF that is electronically connected to the coax. If you are not forcing the LNBF selection, like setting the receiver to satellite 119 in the Point Dish page, what you are observing is what I was when I scrapped the cheap meter and got a meter that allowed me to select the LNBF with a 22 KHz tone, a Acutrac 22 Pro.
If you have the meter connected inline with the receiver and the dish, which you need to do to get the line voltage, then it doesn't matter which coax cable from the LNBF head you are connected to because the receiver can be selecting a different LNBF.
And when I had the VIP 622 and trying to force a LNBF selection, I found I couldn't trust the Tuner 1/Tuner 2 connection to be Coax In 1 and Coax In 2 so I set both to satellite 119.
Spending money on a meter is a choice of your time. Since I installed a Trav'ler after over 4 years of putting up the tripod about 40 times a year, I still have the tripod for when the Trav'ler has tree interference, and by nature, if the Trav'ler is blocked, the tripod needs to be away from the RV. A good meter says you can accurately point the dish where it is. I also use the tripod for EA PTAT HD Locals access when necessary.
The Acutrac 22 Pro aimed on a satellite but I needed to use the Switch Check to verify if it was the correct satellite. When the battery of the Acutac 22 Pro dies, I invested in a First Strike FS-1 which not only selected the 119 LNBF using the 22 KHz tone but also did a verification of the satellite. Still did Switch Checks as good policy.
The FS-1 did the job until the first time I set the tripod up after putting a Hybrid LNBF head on the DPP 1000.2 dish. The FS-1 could not deal with Hybrid LNBF head. I reverted to using the signal meter on the Hopper and made another discovery, the signal strength meter is useless until the satellites are locked in, a Catch-22 situation. I did a lot of trial an error on eye-balling the dish until I got it in the ball park, then did a little tweaking with the Hopper signal strength meter.
After a lot of research I found that the Applied Instruments people had the meters that would work with the Hybrid LNBF head. New, pricey as all-get-out but probably reasonable for a professional installer. Being a very active amateur, I got a used Super Buddy 29 off of eBay. First use found the reason for the Super Buddy 29 being on eBay was the battery was worn out. For the rest of the season, I dragged a power cord out to where I was using the Super Buddy. During the winter I sent Super Buddy to Applied Instruments for a new battery and a new faceplate. Even with my new battery and faceplate, my investment was half of the current Applied Instruments meter.
This year I had a failure on the relatively new Trav'ler, just out of warranty. Quite surprised as the Trav'ler on the fifth-wheel is 8 years old and working fine. I had to send it in to Winegard and had to schedule a removal and waited to get to a place I could reinstall the turret. The jest of this tale is that I had to put the tripod up 22 times this year, so far, and have really gotten to love it.
The Super Buddy 29 has all the setting for the dish adjustments inside and that included when we were in Canada last year. At the time satellitepointer.com didn't have Canadian Zip Codes but the Super Buddy 29 did. Aiming the dish is incredibly easy. Set the mast vertical, set the Skew on the dish, mount the dish, set the Elevation which is easy for me because I have an Align-a-Site for easy Elevation and compass viewing. Move the dish into the general area of the Azimuth, swing the dish until I get a popup on the signal display, which leaves a narrow history line of the best signal it saw during the swing. Move the dish back so the signal strength display is the height of the best seen number, and see the Locked display. Press ID and the satellite is verified. Step thru the other LNBFs and ID each and be done.
I wish I had the Super Buddy 29 from the beginning. Now I only do Switch Checks when I switch between the tripod and the Trav'ler or when I change the LNBF head on the tripod.
To bad the manufacturer of the Align-a-Site went out of business and are impossible to find. It really makes setting a dish up a lot easier. I got mine when I up also putting up a Hughesnet Satellite Internet dish on a Dusty Foot tripod which wasn't a modified surveyor tripod and only the Align-a-Site gave any setting reference. The periscope function is great as you look thru to see what the aiming LNBF is seeing. When in doubt, I swing the dish left and right to look for trees that could interfere with 110 or 129. I use the Align-a-Site to walk round looking for a place to put the tripod.
The closest thing I have seen to be close to an Align-a-Site is the Satellite Dish Aiming Scope from TV4RV.com except the Scope doesn't adjust for Skew but does handle the 15 degree reflection angle.
If you have the meter connected inline with the receiver and the dish, which you need to do to get the line voltage, then it doesn't matter which coax cable from the LNBF head you are connected to because the receiver can be selecting a different LNBF.
And when I had the VIP 622 and trying to force a LNBF selection, I found I couldn't trust the Tuner 1/Tuner 2 connection to be Coax In 1 and Coax In 2 so I set both to satellite 119.
Spending money on a meter is a choice of your time. Since I installed a Trav'ler after over 4 years of putting up the tripod about 40 times a year, I still have the tripod for when the Trav'ler has tree interference, and by nature, if the Trav'ler is blocked, the tripod needs to be away from the RV. A good meter says you can accurately point the dish where it is. I also use the tripod for EA PTAT HD Locals access when necessary.
The Acutrac 22 Pro aimed on a satellite but I needed to use the Switch Check to verify if it was the correct satellite. When the battery of the Acutac 22 Pro dies, I invested in a First Strike FS-1 which not only selected the 119 LNBF using the 22 KHz tone but also did a verification of the satellite. Still did Switch Checks as good policy.
The FS-1 did the job until the first time I set the tripod up after putting a Hybrid LNBF head on the DPP 1000.2 dish. The FS-1 could not deal with Hybrid LNBF head. I reverted to using the signal meter on the Hopper and made another discovery, the signal strength meter is useless until the satellites are locked in, a Catch-22 situation. I did a lot of trial an error on eye-balling the dish until I got it in the ball park, then did a little tweaking with the Hopper signal strength meter.
After a lot of research I found that the Applied Instruments people had the meters that would work with the Hybrid LNBF head. New, pricey as all-get-out but probably reasonable for a professional installer. Being a very active amateur, I got a used Super Buddy 29 off of eBay. First use found the reason for the Super Buddy 29 being on eBay was the battery was worn out. For the rest of the season, I dragged a power cord out to where I was using the Super Buddy. During the winter I sent Super Buddy to Applied Instruments for a new battery and a new faceplate. Even with my new battery and faceplate, my investment was half of the current Applied Instruments meter.
This year I had a failure on the relatively new Trav'ler, just out of warranty. Quite surprised as the Trav'ler on the fifth-wheel is 8 years old and working fine. I had to send it in to Winegard and had to schedule a removal and waited to get to a place I could reinstall the turret. The jest of this tale is that I had to put the tripod up 22 times this year, so far, and have really gotten to love it.
The Super Buddy 29 has all the setting for the dish adjustments inside and that included when we were in Canada last year. At the time satellitepointer.com didn't have Canadian Zip Codes but the Super Buddy 29 did. Aiming the dish is incredibly easy. Set the mast vertical, set the Skew on the dish, mount the dish, set the Elevation which is easy for me because I have an Align-a-Site for easy Elevation and compass viewing. Move the dish into the general area of the Azimuth, swing the dish until I get a popup on the signal display, which leaves a narrow history line of the best signal it saw during the swing. Move the dish back so the signal strength display is the height of the best seen number, and see the Locked display. Press ID and the satellite is verified. Step thru the other LNBFs and ID each and be done.
I wish I had the Super Buddy 29 from the beginning. Now I only do Switch Checks when I switch between the tripod and the Trav'ler or when I change the LNBF head on the tripod.
To bad the manufacturer of the Align-a-Site went out of business and are impossible to find. It really makes setting a dish up a lot easier. I got mine when I up also putting up a Hughesnet Satellite Internet dish on a Dusty Foot tripod which wasn't a modified surveyor tripod and only the Align-a-Site gave any setting reference. The periscope function is great as you look thru to see what the aiming LNBF is seeing. When in doubt, I swing the dish left and right to look for trees that could interfere with 110 or 129. I use the Align-a-Site to walk round looking for a place to put the tripod.
The closest thing I have seen to be close to an Align-a-Site is the Satellite Dish Aiming Scope from TV4RV.com except the Scope doesn't adjust for Skew but does handle the 15 degree reflection angle.
After a decade or so of aiming Dish 500s (like the one above in Lake Michigan), 1000.2s, 1000.4s, 1000+, and now a .98 meter HughesNET Gen 5 dish, I opted for easy. Expensive meter, yes, but easy-to-use.
I'm still working on mine. I have switched from the hybrid lnb to a western . The winegard free satfinder app has the augmented reality. You can see the satellites on your phone .
Sat finder apps are handy for finding holes in the trees but in my viewpoint, pretty useless for aiming the dish. Trying to make a link of where the app is showing where the satellite is and where the signal beam path is a challenge. The arm does not represent where the signal beam is.
Remember the dish is looking out at the center of the dish, pretty hard to look at the smartphone if it is located there.
Remember the dish is looking out at the center of the dish, pretty hard to look at the smartphone if it is located there.
I stand in front of the dish and hold my phone parallel to the dish face and at the approximate correct signal height to check for tree clearances when it's tight. Or find a clear spot and locate the tripod/dish a few feet back from where I'm standing. That's worked well enough that I've not been skunked at finding a signal somewhere at every campsite we've been on for the past 8 years. Being able to switch LNB's/arcs is a big help as well.
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